|  Return
of Shahrzad
Part 2
By Eric J. Jerpe
November 26, 2003
The Iranian
The old man spoke in a Persian that
was regionally-accented yet clearly understandable to the city-dwellers
from Tehran: "I am on my way to Chek-Chek, the Mountain of
the Sacred Spring."
The place name rang a bell in the memories of Romeen
and Roxana, but both had some difficulty recalling. After a few
moments, Roxana
announced, "Chek-Chek! Yes, I have heard of Chek-Chek. It
is a place where Zoroastrians worship fire."
"We do not worship fire," responded the elderly
spokesman for his minority group in a manner corrective yet not
overly
indignant.
Roxana had not meant to be impolite. Her early upbringing
had taught her that Zoroastrians were polytheistic fire-worshippers;
however,
as she had matured and come into contact with urbanized Zoroastrians,
she had learned that Zoroatrianism was every bit as monotheistic
as the God of Abraham religions. Zoroatrianism had once reigned
as the dominant faith in Iran, but it was now a minority
religion
whose members had been marrying among themselves ever since
Iran had become Islamic fourteen centuries ago.
"We are going to Yazd," informed Roxana. She was
not sure what to say next. She had a vague notion of Chek-Chek's
locale
as somewhat in the same direction the young couple was
headed, but definitely off the main highway. She could not imagine
how this frail old man was ever going to make it to his
destination
without some assistance. Concerned, she wanted to offer
him a
ride, but also felt that she must defer to her husband's
wishes.
We cannot leave him here, thought Romeen. He looked
at his lovely wife; she looked at him. Their desire to be
alone
together conflicted
with their sense of obligation until Romeen offered,
"You may come with us part of the way if you so wish."
The old man put his hands together and raised them
in supplication. "Spento-Mainyu," he said again, then stepped
feebly towards
the car. Roxana opened
the door and allowed him into the back seat. He entered
with his sack. Roxana closed the door and he settled
in. The car
drove off
with its third occupant.
"Thank you so much," said the old man. "My name
is Porzand. I am a magi."
A magi, thought both Romeen and Roxana, a clergyman
of the ancient faith.
"My name is Romeen," said the driver. "This is
my wife, Roxana."
Speaking of the young wife's name, Porzand noted,
"Daughter of Darius the Third and wife of Alexander
the Curse."
He sighed before adding, "If only she could
have tamed the
wild beast of Macedonia as Shahrzad tamed
the vengeful Shahrizar."
Roxana enjoyed talking about the legendary
past, if only as a way of forgetting the
fearful present.
As
the vehicle
and
its
occupants
voyaged on, she conversed with the magi while
Romeen silently kept his eyes to the road.
Roxana was
very interested in
the ancient
faith and asked him many questions about
it. He answered her questions, expounding upon
Asha, the
Eternal
Law; upon Vohu-Mano,
the Good
Mind; upon Kshathra-Vairya, the Perfect Strength,
Omnipotence and Universal Sovereignty of
the Lord. Romeen listened
silently during
the discussion; eventually though, he grew
exasperated with all the talk on theology,
which by its very
nature is always
inconclusive.
"Religion has failed us," he interjected.
"Why has religion failed us?" asked Porzand.
"Look at the state of our country," responded
Romeen. "Nowhere else are the people as
devoutly religious
as in Iran. But
have you ever driven a car or crossed a
street in Tehran?
You risk
your life every time you do. There are
no rules, no regulations, only
chaos and many quite avoidable deaths and
injuries. The police are too busy arresting
women for
immodesty to
establish order
in automobile traffic. Iranians may praise
God in the mosque, but
they are devil-worshippers behind the wheel
of a car."
"Things will change for the better," said
the magi. "Hopefully, there is now enough
Spento-Mainyu
to
induce the Return."
A superstitious messianist, thought Romeen.
"Return of whom?" asked Roxana.
"Shahrzad," replied the magi. Romeen laughed before saying, "I have a sister,
a cousin and an aunt named Shahrzad."
"I am speaking of Shahrzad of the Hazar
Afsanah," said the magi with solemnity
in his voice.
Hazar Afsanah, thought both Romeen and
Roxana, the Thousand and One Nights.
"I remember that story," said Roxana. "Shahrzad
saved her life by telling wondrous tales."
"It is more than a story," declared Porzand.
"It is truth."
Disdainful of argument and always trying
to be polite, Roxana ventured, "There is
some
historical
record
that Shahrzad
actually lived long
ago in the days of the Sassanian dynasty,
before the Faith of the Holy Koran came
to Persia.
She saved her
people
by ending the wholesale
slaughter of virgins."
"She will save her people again," announced
the magi. "Her return is imminent."
Romeen could not refrain from scoffing: "Now
I know you're sick in the head."
Roxana whispered, "Romeen," in a low voice
of disapproval, but this did not dissuade
her husband
from continuing
his tirade.
"Shahrzad is myth; the state of the world
is reality. Look at where it's taking us.
Nuclear non-proliferation is in total
disarray. The prevailing rule is you're
allowed to cheat if you don't get caught. There is
no standard,
only selective
prosecution. We have four Russian-built
nuclear facilities
in our
country. The Americans are not going to
tolerate them.
They will bomb us preemptively. If they
don't the Israelis will.
How
are you going to stop that, magi? By rubbing
a magic lamp and unleashing a genie?"
In a mild tone of voice, Porzand responded
to Romeen's harsh rhetoric: "For many years
now,
I have been
striving to bring
salvation for my own land and for the rest
of the world. I now believe that enough
Spento-Mainyu has been accumulated
so that
I can succeed."
"I'm sorry, magi," said Romeen, "but I don't
believe in miracles. I believe in science;
and, as religion has failed us, so science
has betrayed
us.
We are next
in line to
feel the fury of America, the land epitomizing
high-technology. We will
suffer the same devastation as Iraq, the
land where civilization began."
"That is why the Return of Shahrzad is
so urgent," countered Porzand. >>> Part
3 >>> Index
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