Aria by Nazanine Hozar

Author:Nazanine Hozar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knopf Canada
Published: 2019-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

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EARLY THE NEXT morning, Aria rang the broken bell of the Shirazi home. The green gates to the courtyard were open and so she entered. It was cleaner than the day before; someone had been sweeping. She walked up the few stairs to the front door, but before she could knock, Farangeez opened it. She looked at Aria, spat in her face, and slammed the door shut.

Aria wiped away the spit. A moment later, Roohangeez opened the door. “Hello, Ari,” she said. Her voice was so faint that Aria could barely hear her. Her dark eyes and olive skin looked even darker in the sunlight, and like Farangeez, she had a fold of skin under her eyes that made it look as if she were smiling all the time. For the first time, Aria noticed she had a dimple, too, at the corner of her mouth. “Mama’s okay but she can’t touch anything,” Roohangeez said.

“Can I come in?” Aria asked.

But Farangeez had shoved her way in front of Roohangeez, holding little Gohar’s hand. “No, you can’t,” she said. “And Roohi, hurry up.” She grabbed her hand, too, and led both sisters down the courtyard. Roohangeez turned and waved. “We’re going shopping. Because Mama can’t touch anything. Bye.” The three sisters disappeared beyond the gates, wearing only slippers for shoes.

Aria waited, unsure what to do. After a moment, she tried to peek through a nearby window, but it was too high up. Another window to her left had a wooden board nailed to its frame, blocking her view. Broken glass clung to its edges. She knocked on the door, at first softly, then more boldly. Then just as she was about to give up and leave, Mrs. Shirazi opened it, using a cloth to hold the doorknob. Her hands were bright pink, and a layer of skin was peeling off them.

Aria could not look away. What have I done? she thought.

With her foot, Mrs. Shirazi opened the door wider and retreated inside. Aria followed.

Mrs. Shirazi sat on one of the dusty rugs in the main room. A bowl of peeled and diced cucumbers was at her side. She dipped one hand in. Moments later she switched hands.

Aria sat down, as far from Mrs. Shirazi as she could. “Mana told me to come apologize,” she said. “She says I have a temper.”

Mrs. Shirazi said nothing, and her eyes were as quiet as the day before.

“Do your hands hurt?” Aria asked.

Mrs. Shirazi did not reply.

“I only got angry because Roohi is really smart and Farangeez was teasing her, and…” She stopped. Mrs. Shirazi was looking away, not even listening to her.

“You teach my girls to read,” Mrs. Shirazi said at last. “You teach them how to leave this life.” She was not looking at Aria, but gazing into the courtyard.

“That’s what I was trying…”

“Not about books. Not about words. About people. Teach them about the kind of people you’re with now. Those upper-crust sorts of people. Teach them to read those people.

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