May 2, but not really

The children turned into adolescents. Farid, a handsome youngster, excelled in all martial sports and showed an insatiable curiosity. He had dreams of seeing the whole world, of crossing mighty seas and roaming parched deserts. He wanted to find the land of the Golden Horn, the land of plenty with trees laden with fruit, lakes teeming with fishes and people living simply but happily. Maryam was more sedate. She enjoyed her studies as well as all the arts taught by the finest teachers: dancing, singing, reciting poetry, weaving and mosaic painting. She had realized early that she loved Farid more than anything in the world and that she wanted to be his wife and bear his children. For both families, it was tacitly understood that Farid and Maryam would be wed when they came of age. Consequently, King Abbas was greatly surprised when his beloved son announced one day that his mind was made up and that he was going to see the world.

Everybody tried to make him see reason: his father, his mother, the great priest Mohammed Reza, the oracles, even the keeper of the Royal Stables, but to no avail. Farid was adamant. He had to see the world and was not ready to succeed his father to the throne or to marry, even though he loved Maryam dearly. Maryam was inconsolable. She cried torrents of tears. The farewells were poignantly sad. Farid felt secretly guilty but had no choice but to answer the call of adventure. The oracles told Maryam that she had to let him go to quench the thirst for travel inside him. She could not clip his wings; he was like a bird yearning to be free. He would come back some day to wed her according to the predictions. Maryam, sobbing like the fountain of eternal water, ran all the way up to the highest turret of her father's castle where she locked herself to live as a recluse.

Farid, joined a caravan of spice merchants heading as far East as one can go on camel back. Then he boarded a great vessel. After many days he reached a strange land that, the legend said, had been formed by the anger of a mighty dragon. All the people there had strangely shaped eyes. The men wore a long tail on their backs. The women, dainty and graceful like porcelain dolls, looked like colorful butterflies in their shiny silk robes. Farid, unsure that he had reached the land of the Golden Horn, remained there 4 years.

Though he nearly married one of those porcelain dolls, Farid came to his senses at the last minute, remembering Maryam who had promised to wait for him and decided that maybe it was time to head back. In the meantime, Maryam had remained locked in her tower. She would not see or talk to anyone. Her meals brought to her would only be half eaten. Her parents and King Abbas, truly worried, resolved to introduce her to well born and wealthy young men, afraid that she would die of sorrow. Maryam would have none of it, even though portraits of handsome youngsters were put under her door. Instead, she asked for wool, lots of wool because she was going to weave a carpet until the return of her beloved. Her family, unwilling to cross her, provided her with threads of every imaginable thickness and shade.

The royal trumpets were sounded triumphantly when Farid's caravan appeared! Maryam nearly broke her pretty neck running down the stairs, a half finished carpet in her hand. Everybody cheered. The king threw another party as grand and as joyful as the one for the birth of his son and thought contentedly that a wedding would occur soon and that Maryam would be made queen. The unfortunate monarch could not be more wrong. Farid was not coming back. He was just passing through to see Maryam and his family, still searching for the land of the Golden Horn. Abbas, the proud king, shed tears, got on his knees and pleaded with his son to stay. Soon he would be gone to the land of the dead and the kingdom would need a new ruler. Farid, greatly chagrined by the sorrow of the whole kingdom, remained inflexible, however. He had to go to the other side of the world as far west as he could to see if he could find the country of the Golden Horn. He was prisoner of an obsessive dream and had to make it come true in order to find peace. Maryam's reaction, as you can imagine, was frightening. This time she shed oceans of tears, pulled her lustrous black hair and scratched her ivory cheeks in despair. She ran back up to the top of her tower and asked for more wool.

So Farid left again. This time he sailed across many expanses of turbulent waters until he reached a land of ice, snow and giant forests. There people's hair shined like copper or gold, their eyes had the colour of the Caspian sea and they wore furs on their sturdy bodies. "Was that the land of the Golden Horn?" wondered Farid. He stayed three years and then came to the conclusion that indeed he had reached the land of plenty. Wait a minute! Remember what the oracles had said about Maryam and Farid having their destinies entwined together?

Furthermore, Maryam, every minute of the day, in her tower while she was finishing her carpet had been praying for a miracle that would bring back her fiance once and for all. Farid was not meant to remain in the land of plenty. The laws in that county of ice and giant forests were very strict. A great trial took place and it was decided by an all powerful judge that Farid would have to be sent back to Persia.

When Farid returned, the whole kingdom danced, sang and was merry for a whole week. Abbas, the old king having just died, everybody was longing for a new monarch and Farid's sudden return was the answer to their problem. Maryam dashed down the stairs, her carpet completely finished in her hand! Even though she now had a few touches of grey in her lustrous hair, she was as pretty as ever. She was looking at Farid with luminous green eyes brimming with happiness. Farid had mixed feelings: he was sad at the demise of his father but at the same time he felt pleased for making everybody happy.

King Farid and Princess Maryam were wed in great pomp. They were kind and just rulers of the Kingdom of Persia. They had many children and lived happily everafter.

Epilogue This tale is the story of real people, Mahnaz and Hossein. I took liberties, put a few touches of humor to alleviate the sadness and gave it an happy ending even though the story to this day is unfinished. Mahnaz and Hossein met when they were very young. First they were friends and then became romantically involved. Mahnaz was eager to marry but Hossein wanted to see the world. Hossein left and Mahnaz who was very much in love decided that she would never be able to wed another and would wait for his return. Hossein went to Japan, then came back for a few months to go away again first to Europe and then to Canada. He fell in love with Vancouver, lived and worked there for 3 years, applied for refugee status but was denied permanent residence and had to go back to Iran. All this time, Mahnaz had been waiting for Hossein, a total of 20 years. They eventually married 4 years ago. They are now both nearing middle age and Maryam is especially sorry that they may now never have children. I wish them all the happiness in the world because they are both lovely people.