Drift Reality > Iran > Siamak

When Siamak was eleven years old, and his brother Siavash thirteen, their Father built a Summer home in Mazandaran, a town in Northern Iran located south of the Caspian Sea and north of the Alborz mountain range.

The house was in a small community that was populated by four other families, whom collectively shared a swimming pool, soccer field, tennis court, and a garden.

Siamak loved the vacation home because here, his family had their own space where they could do whatever they wanted, act however they wanted in peace.

On a typical summer day, Siamak would roll out of bed around noon and walk down to the swimming pool, where he would eat feta cheese, pita bread, and fresh fruit.

The next several hours would be spent outdoors with Siavash and the other children in the community: playing sports, hiking, horseback riding, or visiting the nearby beaches.

In the late afternoon, physically drained from the hours spent in the sun, they would all retire to one of the homes, where they would play backgammon or Hokm until the sun began to set.

Dinner was normally spent at home with the family, and it was during this time that Siamak began to see how he was different from his brother Siavash. While Siamak and his Mother looked on, Siavash and his Father would discuss politics in Iran.

Siavash never understood the need to becomes so emotional about such a topic, when they had everything they could ever want all around them.

When they were finished eating, Siamak would help his Mother clear the table while his Father and Siamak would sip tea and continue their discussion.

After dinner, the five families would gather by the pool and while the adults drank, talked, and played cards, the children would once again gather to play games.

It was during this time that Siamak would separate from the group and go to his favorite place - the balcony in his house that overlooked the garden.

Here, he would observe the way that the nightlights illuminated the garden, the pool, and the people he held most dear to him, while he thought about the future.

He would wonder whether or not he would get into university, whether the girl with the perfect skin who went to his school liked him, and whether he was going to be successful like his father.