The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani Page B

that had found the right spot for its nest. He couldn't stop looking, even after I had covered my face."
    "But now how will he find you?"
    "I shall have to keep going to the games until he knows who I am."
    "Be careful," I said.
    Naheed looked at me with slightly narrowed eyes, as if she wasn't sure she could trust me. "You would never tell anyone, would you?"
    "Of course not: I'm your friend!"
    Naheed looked unconvinced. Abruptly, she turned away and called for a servant, who returned soon with refreshments. Naheed offered me a vessel of coffee and a plate of dates. I refused the fruit a few times, but since it would have been impolite to insist, I selected a small date and placed it in my mouth. It took all my spirit to prevent myself from making a childish face of disgust. I swallowed the date quickly and ejected the pit.
    Naheed was watching me closely. "Was it good?"
    One of the stock phrases rushed to my lips--"Your hospitality shames me, your obedient servant"--but I couldn't say it. I shifted on my cushion and gulped a mouthful of coffee while I tried to think of what to say.
    "It's sour," I said finally.
    Naheed laughed so hard that her slender body shook like a cypress in the wind. "You are so much yourself!" she said.
    "What else could I say but the truth?" I asked.
    "So many things," she replied. "Yesterday, I served the same dates to friends, including the girl I took to the polo game. She ate one and said, 'The dates of paradise must be like these,' and another girl added, 'But these are sweeter.' I tasted a date after they left and discovered the truth."
    Naheed sighed. "I'm tired of such ta'arof," she said. "I wish people would just be honest."
    "People from my village have a reputation for being plain-spoken," I replied, not knowing what else to say.
    "That's one of the things I like about you," she replied.
    Right before I rose to go, Naheed asked if I would grant her a special favor.
    "It's about the polo games," she said. "My friend is too afraid to accompany me any longer, so will you come instead?"
    I imagined that the games would be full of young men who assembled in packs and shouted for their favorite teams. Even though I was new to the city, I knew it was not a place for two girls of marriageable age to go alone.
    "Aren't you worried about what your parents would think?"
    "Don't you understand?--I have to go," she said with a pleading look in her eyes.
    "But how will we do it without our families knowing?"
    "I'll say that I'm visiting you, and you'll tell your family you're visiting me. We'll be wrapped up in our chadors and our pichehs, so no one will recognize us once we leave the house."
    "I don't know," I said doubtfully.
    A look of disdain clouded Naheed's eyes, and I thought I must seem spineless. I didn't want her to think of me that way, so I agreed to accompany her and help her ensnare her beloved.
    NAHEED HAD SURPRISED me with her boldness in showing a glimpse of herself to a man she admired. Only a few days later, I revealed myself to a man I had never seen before. It was a Thursday afternoon, and I was returning from the hammam with my hair still wet. As soon as I passed through the tall, heavy door that led into Gostaham's home, I tore off my chador, my picheh, and my head scarf and shook my hair free. I failed to notice a stranger waiting to be shown in to see Gostaham; a servant must have just gone to announce him. He wore a multicolored turban shot with golden thread, and a blue silk robe over a pale orange tunic. I caught a faint, fresh whiff of grass and horses. I was so startled I said, "Ya, Ali!"
    If the stranger had been polite, he would have looked away. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on me, enjoying every minute of my surprise and discomfiture.
    "Well, don't just stand there looking!" I snapped, walking quickly to the andarooni, the part of the house where women were safe from male eyes. Behind me, he burst out laughing. Who was this insolent fellow? There was no one around to