Sara Farizan

“We aren’t gay, we are just in love.”

    Mr. Mehdi is a prominent exporter of pistachios to foreign countries and it is fair to say that he is nuts about nuts.

“[…] I know this isn’t much of a life we have here, but we still have to live it.”

    Covering my head has always made me feel foolish, but I respect a woman’s decision to cover up so long as it’s the woman’s decision. It shouldn’t be a decision for a man or a government to make.

“ Salam! Do you like Britney Spears?”

    Her laughter subsides, but she still has a bit of a grin left over, and I do my best not to smack her. Or kiss her.

“Sometimes the best things for us aren’t necessarily the things we want,”

The love bite on my neck could one day be replaced by rope burn.

    She just smiled sweetly and told me not to worry so much. That’s what we do. Smile and not worry so much. Riot in the street? Smile and don’t worry so much. See the swinging bodies in the square? Smile and don’t worry so much. Can’t be with the person you love because it’s against the law? Smile, damn it.