Stranger Than Paradise

By Ramin Seirafi far

Dear Sir / Madam,

Best Seller Novel, “The Stranger than Paradise”, was published here in 2011 (ISBN:  978-964-5539-99-1). Witness to readers, this book is far singular novel, so that classifying the book in different genres is hard to do. The book intended to depict a love story in form of humorous, wired and wonderful events.

After the internet advertising, I received lots of requests from my worldwide readers, from Afghanistan to United Arabic Emirates to Norway, Canada and United States, so I make a translation of my book to distribute it globally,

Truly Yours,

Ramin Seirafifar

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ramin Seirafi far
• Release date: Jan 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524226213

Ramin Seirafi far

Ramin Seirafi far 1969 - Iran BD in History

Book preview

When I go down to the depths of misery,

Then I understood that it is the time to come to rise ....

Chapter 1

Human gets accustomed to happiness too quickly and since they get accustomed to it very fast, they forget their happiness real soon

Young woman went through the lobby with her big bag. She sat on a chair out of fatigue, although she knew it would not take too much. Reclusion of the lobby at a public bathhouse was not unexpected at 12 noon on Tuesday, in the begin of the week, nonetheless, a vague and weirdly nostalgic tumult was heard related to the public bathhouses: the colliding sound of bowls and water tubs, the voice of a man singing under the shower and the mothers and children talking were the very old melodies familiar to the young woman ears. These sounds turned into tranquility to her. It was not an issue for her to rent the Royal regal Suite at the most luxurious hotel of the city, but she might have chosen this old bathhouse to recall her childhood sweet memories. She was thinking to herself that just like the foreigners, they should have also built a place where people in need of meditation could have a little solitude.

Perhaps that was the reason why Istanbul Turkish Bath was so popular. The reason for its prosperity, in her opinion, was only summarized in one word: tranquility.

At this time, the old man in charge of the bathhouse showed up and while limping through the lobby with his slippers, pointed the young woman to follow him. The young woman stood up slowly and followed the old man who looked at the plaques attached to the booths as going forward.

Finally the old man stopped in front of the door of a booth and after removing the old plaque, he hanged the new plaque instead. Then opened the bathroom door and went in.

Young women waited a little outside until the old man had finished cleaning the bath and had come out. Then the woman went into the bathroom and came out after putting her sack on the cloakroom platform and said: ((It will take three to four hours.))

Seeing the surprised and suspicious look of the old man, she said: ((Don’t be afraid ... I don’t want to kill myself, I just want to be relaxed for a few hours.))

And then to make the old man assured, gave him a few large paper money and said to him: ((Please bring me a chilly Canada drink in two hours, and keep the change.))

The old man shook his head as a confirmation sign and left. The young woman went into the bathroom and closed the door. She glanced at the bath for an instant. Nothing had changed in these baths. Even the same delightful radiation of the sun reflected from the wet floor of the bathroom on the walls and.....

these were enough for her.

The woman started undressing at cloakroom. Her own image in the rusty mirror of the bath caught her eyes and stood motionless where she was. During the last few days, it was the first time she was carefully eying her in the mirror.

What was she doing here at this time of the day? Who was she anyway?

She tried to pronounce her own name, not by the heart, but by the tongue....

Chapter 2

If human wants to be happy, they will reach to it real soon, but they want to be happier than the others and this is the problem, because they imagine the others happier than they are. Happiness is the only thing which we can offer to the others without having it ourselves.

((Nasrin))!

There was no answer.

((Nasrin))!

Again there was no response.

The aunt looked up to the upstairs for the last time muttering: ((again no one knows where she has gone. God, please send a few good suitors earlier to marry these girls so that my poor brother would be relieved.))

She pitied her brother so much. She always wished that his younger brother, Manouchehr, had a little bit of the reason and policy of his older brother, Arsalan. But alas Manouchehr spent his life with his unsuitable friends and then after he finished his military service, the enchanter Shahin stuck on him. This woman, although a few years older than Manouchehr, stole away his heart thoroughly. Well....

Shahin’s mother was terribly beautiful! And Shahin also had inherited the beauty to some extent, but the problem that Shahin had had another unhappy marriage before Manouchehr and this had ruined everything (the aunt always spited whenever Shahin called him Manouch. with coquetry).

The aunt still remembered that eventful Friday night thoroughly, when his late father; Mr. Abdi; who could not cope with Manouchehr, invited the whole family to talk to this stubborn boy, hoping to bring him to his senses.

The whole family had put Manouchehr at the center of attraction in the party and kept advising and warning him; even some of them were trying to lure him by referring to the acquainted and stranger pretty girls. Manouchehr was sitting silently and did not talk. He had thrown down his head playing with the carpet flowers. The family had taken it as a good omen.

Until Manouchehr got up by the Morning Call to Prayer [Izan] and said: ((all your words were right, however I want only Shahin!))

Then, he left the party having given us all a curt reply with this word.

Leaving the party, Kal Abram; the intimate friend of Mr. Kass had said to father: ((he is your son indeed! he is obstinate and stubborn just like you!)).

Seeing how badly this girl had won his heart, Dad agreed with their marriage inevitably. Mamma had nothing to say at all. Her philosophy was to at least marry a girl who, though not admirable, is not disgusting from people’s view. God bless her, she was naive and kind hearted enough to look at all people from a positive view. Shahin did neither linger after the marriage and to secure her position completely; gave birth to five successive children.

The aunt was a religious woman, but she was so upset by Shahin that she allowed herself to tell her to curse her in her thoughts as long as it made her feel good; the curses which if Ms. Batool; the one in charge of the local mosque Basij, heard she would certainly reproach.

The aunt went back to her room and sat on her bed sighed from the bottom of her heart. At the beginning, their last name was not Abdi.... it was Eshqi.

But once their grandfather was three years old and had gone to the river edge to play game, in he fell into the water suddenly! Thank God a stranger passing by the river at the same time saves Grandpa’s life. When they notify the great grandfather's, he goes to the stranger and asks him how he could compensate his kindness? (At great grandfather’s time, their financial and wealth status was very well) the stranger man unhesitatingly asks my father only to name the grandfather after his last name. It was difficult for the great grandfather to comply this request; nonetheless he sticks to his promise and entitles the grandfather as Abdi. However, this did not deprive the grandfather of inheritance after the great grandfather's death (inheritors respected and trusted one another so much that no one talked about the inheritance even a few years after the death of the deceased), but what is the use? .... Mr. Kass wasted all his money smoking and left nothing for his inheritors after his death. However, the aunt and Manouchehr were still discerning enough to hold a gathering once a year to read Quran entirely for the deceased’s soul to rest in peace, and to donate the neighbors the whole breads of the bakery every Friday night for him who may rest in peace.

The aunt was still too reasonable and fair to put the blame on Manouchehr or Shahin for dad’s death which occurred a few months after their wedding, but alas, the bully boorish Mr. Kass- who was able to defeat a neighborhood at the beginning of his arrival to Tehran-had turned into a frail creature at the end of his life who had habituated to smoking and medication and the doctors were of no use anymore. It was not surprising for a country where one and a half million out of its 14 million populations were addicted in 1943. Country needed law not freedom!

The very Kal Abram, daddy’s friend was explaining the time when daddy had already arrived in the town and had found a job in the slaughterhouse out of his good luck. He had gone to coffeehouse at noon for lunch. The coffeehouse keeper had recognized his naivety at a glance. He said to daddy in a serious tone: ((look boy; if you want to eat here always for free for the rest of your life, it only happens one way!))

Daddy asked eagerly: ((Are you serious? Well, what’s that?))

Winking at the other customers, the coffeehouse keeper said: ((it is very simple ... Just go and say hello to that hulky guy standing over the street under the electric pole!))

Daddy said with annoyance: ((Are you pulling my leg?))

The coffeehouse keeper said explicitly: ((I swear on your beloved’s life! Do it, but provided that he also returns your greeting.))

Daddy looked at the others for a moment and seeing the approval sign in their faces, stood up determinedly and got out of the coffeehouse. After he left, the customers’ laughter was burst out. The fact they had not told daddy was that the man was vigorous and had opened a shop due to a funny issue and he hated the others greeting him and as hearing someone saying hello, he beated them up!

The coffeehouse keeper and the customers rushed to the windows not to miss this spectacular scene. My dupe dad went in the front of the man and greeted him like a polite boy. The man took a look at daddy and mumbled something. Daddy greeted again. The man turned to Daddy angrily and threatened him: ((Hey boy! don’t you have a life? Go away! Rumors may be made about you!))

Dad again said credulously: ((Sir, I did not say a bad word, I just said hello. If you're discerning and transcendent, you know that it is incumbent to return the greeting)). The man angrily said: ((Do you want the reply? Wait I will reply now!)) And threw dad a kick. Dad just took the man’s foot in the air. The man lost his balance and fell into the water brook. While falling, his head struck the curb edge and died from a brain damage! That simple!

But that was not that simple to the others.

The police did not drop the case, but the inhabitants providing an affidavit exonerated daddy. After that, it was daddy who the boss there and everybody respected him very much.

Even coffeehouse keeper kept his promise and daddy had abundant meals for free. (Once again daddy fought with three people; actually three people was too many at that time!!) .Although these incidents and communications did not end well.

Having visited daddy for the last time, Dr. Zabihi, the acquainted and old doctor, who had undertaken the treatment of the family for a long time, said to the aunt and Arsalan outside the room ((you know, only in two cases we, doctors, tell to give the patient whatever they wants to eat: either they are doing well and no danger threatens them anymore, or it is all over and the patient would be better off being left alone at the very last moments)).

With this word, Doctor left nothing unsaid.

The aunt objected ((Doctor! Do you always pronounce people helpless so easily? Please tell us if there is any hope.))

Putting his supplies in his sack, Dr. Zabihi said: ((The old doctors got things done better; if a convicted person said that he had become paralyzed; Then,  they threw him into the snakes pit. if he came out, they would realize that was lying)). Arsalan asked curiously: ((And what if he did not come out?))

The doctor closed his sack and said in a philosophical tone: ((Then we had lost a patient, but we would have found a noble and honest man instead!))

It did not take a month before dad died in sleep so simply.

Memorial ceremony was held properly, but mamma that never stood separation from dad, was wailing on the grave so that everyone was moved with compassion.

You said that no color would prevail over black 

Then, how come my black hair has turned into white

On the grave, Mamma raised her head up with supplication and said: ((St. Imam Hussein! I have never prayed and asked you for anything. You can take a look at your list. Now I swear you on the holy tomb of Ms. Fatima Zahra (SA) to take with Mr. Kass))

Imam Hussein interceded for mamma with God and she died as easily as Dad.

Now, the ominous inheritance has ruined Houshang weirdly, the single and certainly pampered son of Manouchehr and Shahin.

The world Punishment cannot be avoided

if the father won’t face it, the son will

God knows how many suitors gave up on the daughters and went away once they had been informed about Houshang addiction. That was the time when the aunt felt guilty. After all, she was the one who spoiled Houshang by admiring him along with his ​​mother and father’s. Mr. Abbas, the aunt's husband, had divorced her due to her sterility. (The poor woman had a bladder problem but in the hospital they mistakenly removed her womb during the surgery. Having divorced her, Mr. Abbas remarried a woman who gave birth to numerous children but they were all daughters! After she had given birth to nine girls; having seen the ultrasound result indicating the tenth baby to be girl, he forced her to abort. However, having taken the fetus out, they had realized the baby to be boy!).

After that, the aunt lived alone on the first floor of the paternal home. Manouchehr lived on the second floor with her wife and ​​kids.

Arsalan, the older brother, was distinct from the rest of the family. Arsalan lived separately from them not on a house, but on an aristocratic palace in Tehran uptown. He, who was almost the headman in the whole family after the father’s death, showed that he has