Chapters (20)

Nowadays, whenever there is a feast at my own synagogue across the street, I stare at those chandeliers, close my right eye, and allow my left eye to become a dazzle of colors and shooting lights. It is at times like these that I remember our ghosts up and down the breadth of these lands. And I especially remember Miss Homa, whose canvas of the dome of the sublime Goharshad Mosque stares back at me on my wall as I gaze through my opaque vision at the sky-blue door of Haim Synagogue and those tall chandeliers inside. I will never sell this second painting. There is much speculation about where Miss Homa really is and if she is even dead and if all of this is not just some ploy to drive up her prices. One person behind these false rumors is none other than Avesta, my “cousin” who stole Miss Homa’s ideas and who has seen his own prices plummet ever since news of Miss Homa’s passing hit the market.

I keep my silence.

It’s all I need to do.

Because the business of the living is always too immensely turbulent to stop at anything for long. As early as next week, for example, one of the martyrs foundations to which Miss Homa left a number of works is holding an auction of three of her paintings. The auction, naturally, is to take place at Mafiha’s new gallery where the richest men and women of the city have been invited. On the surface, the proceeds will go to the families of the martyrs, particularly those who left behind young children. But, of course, a good half of the take will be skimmed right off top by the people who run the foundation, with another 15 to 20 percent to the auction house. This leaves only a fraction of what Miss Homa originally intended, and there is bound to be a fight over that sum too. You could say that this is inexcusable.

But no.

It is an acceptable loss—like a broken and brave Frenchman, minus his joie de vivre, finding immortality at the Eye of the Horse.

About Salar Abdoh

SALAR ABDOH was born in Iran and splits his time between Tehran and New York City. He is the author of the novels Tehran at Twilight, The Poet Game, and Opium; and he is the editor of Tehran Noir. He teaches in the MFA program at the City College of New York. Out of Mesopotamia is his latest novel.

Copyright Page

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by Akashic Books

ISBN-13: 978-1-61775-860-7
eISBN-13: 978-1-61775-891-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020935751

First printing

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