I appeared in G Firdusi completed train  intricate of ring t poets of S a peasant. I em  of eed; I became t spe torious ogre in  upon ruly, I’ve been everyraitorously decapitated acular as a dream, claseppes; and as Alexander’s lifeblood sly from er roke. Yes, S every nig beauty beneatant lands, listening to tory sed, and I fit of triking maiden ed on a tuesday, o tan of ure. Verily, I ary banners of armies besieging fortresses, upon tableclotables set for feasts, upon t caftans of ambassadors kissing t of sultans, and  bruso tan and Buks, ation, ting cocks, pomegranates, ts of fabled lands, tan, tle accent lines ure borders, tents, floo tist’s ounning stretccreet tters, tatues made of sugar, tockings of sens of tan of t proficient of bards listening to music on a countryside outing as pretty boys and poets partake of ing th blood.

    I ion upon your lips:  is it to be a color?

    Color is touco t of tened to souls  to object for tens of

    to say t my toucouc of me, t to your vision wh your glances.

    I’m so fortunate to be red! I’m fiery. I’m strong. I knoake notice of me and t I cannot be resisted.

    I do not conceal myself: For me, delicacy manifests itself neitlety, but termination and tention to myself. I’m not afraid of ot is to cover a surface t as me orious being! beats quicken. Be is to live! Beo see. Beurns to me.  I tell you.

    en to  red tone. A master miniaturist, an expert in paints, furiously pounded t variety of dried red beetle from ttest climes of an into a fine pole.  and a or.  in a pot containing ter. Next, or into ter.  it boil for as long as it took to drink an excellent cup of coffee. As ient as a c to be born. ter’s mind and given o ttle and carefully mixed tion icks reserved for task. I o become genuine red, but tency most importance: t be permitted to just boil aick across tely unacceptable). Oe it is to be red! I gracefully painted t t running off tery e. In s, I  consistency, but I still contained sediment. ook t off tove and strained me t, ed me up again, bringing me to a froter adding a pinc me to cool.

    A fe tly in ticipation of being applied to pages, of being spread everyting still like t broke my  and spirit. It  I meditated upon  meant to be red.

    Once, in a Persian city, as I ice to t a blind miniaturist , I overers :

    “Because  our entire lives ardently and faiters, naturally,  is,” said t, o compre our ice is using?”

    “An excellent issue,” t do not forget t colors are not kno felt.”

    “My dear master, explain red to somebody who has never known red.”

    “If ouc ip of a finger, it ook it into our palm, it asted it, it ed meat. If ook it bet , it’d  of a

    a red rose.”

    One en years ago Venetian artistry  yet t enoug our rulers  it, and ters believed in tly as tian mety of red tones for every ordinary s common sackclot and vulgarity ant miniaturist y of red tones to depict tan, t an excuse. Besides, we believe in only one red.

    “ is turist whe horse from memory asked again.

    “t it is t,” said t be explained to  see.”

    “to deny God’s existence, victims of Satan maintain t God is not visible to us,” said turist whe horse.

    “Yet, o ter. “It is for t tates t t equal.”

    tice ever so delicately dabbed me onto t a ion to fix my fullness, poo te of a ed illustration: as t-o ting page, I become deligickliso t’s as if I command to “Be!” Yes, t see , but truth is I can be found everywhere.

    I, Se Black a brief note telling o o t into  s ruso Estook tter, so my eyes e o become of us; and I, urned emerity. termine tone of our relationsure. Over t ted  even ting atus as slave, maneuver to become lady of ted my unfortunate fatfully kissing iffened

    lost its softness. I ed turban and purple cloak, to t tten better and  for tafa Pasrict early in the morning.

    urned from  table for breakfast, and I ion of orange jam in t, I imagined  Black’s door. topped and to shine.

    In tered a familiar scene. t smelled of mold and rotting leaves ing in t w seen  nig seemed so long ago, as if weeks had passed. I raised my veil and said:

    “You can be glad, if you feel tions and doubts  come betrying to lay your  nigo our empty her.”

    Rat Black’s reaction, you’re probably puzzling over  quite kno I’d cry oto embrace me, and I’d become intimate ed.

    “royed our  clearly reveals anger and red. I don’t t expect tire to some corner noure. I’m calling on you to protect me—protect us—and keep my fatell me, under  and conditions o our safety? t we o resolve.”

    ure to speak, but I easily silenced less times before.

    “In t is my o till alive. It o take advantage of me during  t embarrassed my fat I o return to my fat officially a  no my fat even a brotion t my only possible guardians are my o urned to tening me. Once t ate to take official action. My only o prevent to conceal my fathe crime.”

    At t very moment, a t gracefully filtered tters and fell beting t dust inside the room.

    “t to Black’s eyes, in tentiveness more to prove my  time of my fat be discounted, I’m afraid t ions, if not against me, t my fat a protector, t of my fatially simplifying matters at  ed, cause me great misfortune at ance,   me to marry you?”

    “Your fat  you to marry me?” asked Black.

    “No, ,  you’d take me aunate fation. Do you have any?”

    “None at all, my darling.”

    “Fine, ty of my discussing marital circumstances on my oes t I must, unfortunately, explain to you.”

    As I fell silent for a ed an apology for ation.

    “First,” I began, “you must snesses t if you beoo a degree t I find unbearable, or if you take a second  me a divorce  snesses t if for  from t a visit, I ed a divorce er o my il t or until you find o torture him myself!

    —and until Our Sultan’s book, completed under talents and efforts, ed to  shey were your own children.”

    “I agree.”

    “Good. If all of tacles t still lie before us disappear this quickly, we’ll soon be wed.”

    “Yes,  not in the same bed.”

    “t step is marriage,” I said. “Let’s see to t first. Love comes after marriage. Don’t forget: Marriage douses love’s flame, leaving not a barren and melancer marriage, love itself y fools

    o be t goal in life.”

    “, trutter?”

    “trutentment. Love and marriage are but a means to obtaining it: a  you see t even in my state, ter off tion? I’d die  my sons, ussling and loving. Moreover, since you long for me even in my present predicament, since you secretly aco spend t  in to listen  to w I now o say.”

    “I’m listening.”

    “t I mignesses could s before my  out on campaign, tnessed  me a conditional divorce; for example, t  if  return tle, citing various convincing and descriptive details. But taking my fations of my in-lao consideration, to rely on false nesses o proceed, as no judge of any intelligence or caution  my  me  alimony and  returned from  me a divorce. tuation is increasing eacic and so—an and to rule in ing divorces left and rigo ions of alimony. Nonesses to testify openly to my predicament, pay to tain t  in for  be granted by virtue of tnesses, register tain a certificate testifying to tain ten permission for my immediate remarriage, and if you can accomplis back to ternoon, ty in finding a preac marry us t  of eps of t deviliscected woman whe morning.”

    “Yes,” said Black  co make you mine.”

    You remember ly I declared I didn’t kno only by assuming sucone mig to outgroy of events t even I ime believing o pass.

    “e  to do in figruct tion of my fatest my divorce and our marriage ceremony—han I.”

    “You aren’t confused at all,” said Black.

    “Per only because t my o dismiss  these plans had sprung from my feminine mind.

    Next, Black said o admit elligent:

    “You’re very beautiful.”

    “Yes,” I said, “it pleases me to be praised for my intelligence. en do so.”

    I  to add t once I’d groo praise my intelligence, but I began to   myself and irely separate roubled by a sad picture in tside and pitied  in crying over one’s troubles, as t ime, as o affect the adversaries circling us.