Rooftops of Tehran

Pasha has a nightmare about a woman falling off the roof. He wakes up sweating and gasping and is afraid to go back to sleep. He wonders why he is at the hospital and why he cannot remember certain recent events. Later, he asks Apple Face for some medicine to stop the dreams, and she assures him his condition is normal and temporary.

While Faheemeh and her parents vacation in the Caspian Sea for a few days, Soraya visits Zari. Without Faheemeh, Ahmed and Pasha cannot visit Zari without inspiring gossip. Soraya never takes off her burqa, and Iraj’s mother, who appreciates Soraya’s modesty, always compliments her. One evening, Pasha overhears Zari crying to Soraya, saying she is being disloyal, and wonders if she is talking about her feelings for him.

Since school starts in two weeks, Doctor should be back soon. Soraya has returned to Qum, her town, and Ahmed has gone to Ghamsar with his father for a few days. Late one afternoon, Pasha notices unusual activities around Zari’s house, and later that night, he sees Doctor running frantically down the alley. Doctor knocks at Zari’s door and then climbs the wall to get inside, where he leans against the door, scared. Three evil-looking men turn into the street, looking for Doctor. Pasha feels terrified and worried for Doctor because he guesses the men must be SAVAK agents. Zari and her family silently come out, aware of what is happening, while the neighbors look out from behind their curtains.

Zari hugs Doctor and weeps. If Doctor is taken by SAVAK, he will be beaten and tortured cruelly in retaliation for opposing the Shah’s regime. Pasha realizes too late that the men in the street are observing him, and, unknowingly, he has led them to Zari’s house because he kept looking at the house. One of the agents smiles evilly at Pasha. The SAVAK men knock on Zari’s door; Doctor braces himself and walks onto the street. One of the agents punches Doctor, and Zari screams. The agents load Doctor into their car and drive off.

Zari runs after the car, and Zari’s mother faints. The women of the neighborhood try to revive Zari’s mother. Doctor’s parents also join the mourning, with Doctor’s mother scratching at her face. Doctor’s father, coming across Doctor’s blood on the street, cries out and falls onto his knees. He kisses his son’s blood and cries in despair. Pasha feels unimaginable rage at the world.

Doctor’s arrest weighs heavily on the neighborhood. Pasha asks his father why Persians embody their grief and mourn loudly, and Pasha’s father explains that since Persians were persecuted throughout history, mourning became a source of resistance against the oppression they faced.

Zari does not come out to the yard anymore. Pasha blames himself for Doctor’s arrest, and to distract himself, he reads a lot of Freud and Darwin. He also reads anarchist literature. However, he has a hard time focusing, and he instead imagines how he could have helped Doctor if he had known what was happening beforehand.

Ahmed returns, and Pasha tells him everything, including how he blames himself for Doctor’s arrest. However, Ahmed explains that Doctor’s arrest wasn’t Pasha’s fault since it was preplanned by the agents for months and was a consequence of Doctor’s political activism. No one knows what is happening to Doctor, and Doctor’s mother spends most of her time outside of Evin Prison asking about her son. In response, agents have threatened Doctor’s father not to attract attention to his son’s arrest; they say that otherwise, he will never see his son again.

Ahmed asks Pasha what anarchy is, but Pasha cannot explain it well. They organize a gathering of the boys in the neighborhood, and Ahmed pretends to be a professor who has a degree in masturbation. The boys laugh uncontrollably at Ahmed’s antics, and Pasha understands that this was Ahmed’s attempt at anarchy.

As Iraj, Ahmed, and Pasha walk to school together, Iraj shares conspiracy theories with them that the US is spying on them. Pasha and Ahmed laugh at him, but Iraj is convinced. Then, Iraj talks about Mosaddegh, claiming that the Americans spied on him too. Mosaddegh was the only prime minister in Iran’s history who was democratically elected. However, in 1953, the American CIA overthrew him, and he died in 1967 while under house arrest. Iraj says his father is a true Iranian and will never leave Iran; he proclaims he, too, will never leave Iran.

Pasha, who goes to an all-boys school, talks about three different teachers in his school who have differing views on the US and differing teaching styles. Mr. Moradi, the discipline and gym teacher, commends the US for their discipline, claiming that discipline has allowed their society to advance to great heights. Mr. Bana, the geometry teacher, is arrogant and considers himself superior to his students. Mr. Bana punished Pasha for solving the problems he outlined in class. When Pasha went to Mr. Yazdi, the principal, Mr. Yazdi took Mr. Bana’s side. Lastly, Pasha talks about Mr. Gorji, the religious studies and dictation teacher, who is against Western influence in Iran. Mr. Gorji is abusive; he slaps and insults students who get low grades.

Over two weeks after Doctor’s arrest, there is still no news of him. Ahmed assures Pasha that Doctor will be freed, and everything will go back to normal. Pasha expresses deep anger and frustration at the world, and Ahmed suggests they go and watch an Iranian movie to feel better. They take Iraj with them.

Doctor once told Pasha that Iranian movies encourage class distinctions; they valorize the rich, who are portrayed as “powerful, but not evil” (106). Before entering the theatre, Iraj tells them he will sit between them because the last time he was in the theater, a pervert hit on him. The movie they are watching features a famous actor and the theater is full. Halfway through the movie, a woman starts screaming; Ahmed realizes it’s his grandmother, who has a bad memory. She thinks her husband is still alive, but he has been dead for many years. Pasha, Iraj, and Ahmed, alongside the usher, carry Ahmed’s grandmother out of the theater.

Later, Pasha’s mom tells him to clean up to greet guests. Pasha’s father’s close friend, Mr. Mehrbaan, is visiting with his wife. The two friends are seeing each other after 18 years and have an emotional reunion. Mr. Mehrbaan and Pasha’s father reminisce; Mr. Mehrbaan talks about Mr. Kasravi, another friend, who is rich and in the Caspian Sea region. Mr. Mehrbaan says he heard about Mr. Kasravi while he was in prison. Pasha wonders if Mr. Mehrbaan was in prison for 18 years, and later, he finds out that he was.

Mr. Mehrbaan was taken by SAVAK on his wedding night. During almost two decades of imprisonment, his right leg was broken multiple times, leaving him with a permanent limp, and he was tortured with drugs and beaten severely. Mr. Mehrbaan was imprisoned for communicating with comrades in the Bolshevik party in Russia. For 18 years, Mrs. Mehrbaan awaited his release. As his parents and their friends talk, Pasha goes to another room and watches Bewitched, an American TV show. He wonders if the TV show portrays life in America accurately. Then, he wonders why Iranian women must wait 18 years to be with the men they love while women in the US can live carefree domestic lives.

Pasha feels frustrated because he hasn’t seen Zari in over two weeks and is desperate to talk to her. He also continues to feel guilty about being in love with her, especially since Doctor has been arrested. A few nights after Mr. and Mrs. Mehrbaan’s visit, Mrs. Mehrbaan calls to inform them that Mr. Mehrbaan has been arrested by the SAVAK again. She is unsure if she can survive without him and is worried about his health.

Pasha’s father acknowledges that the friendship between him and Mr. Mehrbaan is like Pasha and Ahmed’s friendship. Then, noticing Pasha’s eagerness, he tells Pasha about a particularly fond memory:

Mr. Mehrbaan and Pasha’s father were friends since high school and lived in a town called Hashtpar. They were drafted together into the Iranian army for two years. At the time, Pasha’s father was in love with Pasha’s mother and found the separation unbearable. Only Mehrbaan’s friendship helped him through that difficult period of his life. They lived in barracks at the army, alongside approximately 300 other soldiers, and each soldier had night duty twice a month—they were to protect the barracks from nonexistent intruders. No one took night duty seriously unless their corporal, an old man, was there. Soldiers were also forbidden from roaming the area after dark.

One night, Pasha’s father was walking around in frustration when the old corporal saw him. The corporal thought he was an intruder and ordered the guards to catch him or shoot him. Pasha’s father was almost caught before Mr. Mehrbaan distracted the guards by creating a diversion. He threw stones at the barrack windows, allowing Pasha’s father to escape. Then, Pasha’s father threw stones at the barrack windows to stop the guards from catching Mr. Mehrbaan. Soon, the two of them kept throwing stones at the windows, and the other soldiers inside whistled at them and encouraged their rebellion against army rules.

After narrating this story, Pasha’s father wonders if he will ever see his best friend again.