‘Open your eyes properly, soldier. Are you quite sure you saw it right?’
‘Come and see for yourself, Captain. I saw it myself. But it suddenly vanished.’
‘Where exactly did you see it? Move that thing aside. Is the safety on?’
‘Yes, Captain.’
‘I don’t see anything. Show me where you saw it.’
‘Over there, where that white stone is. Next to the broken tree. Look over there. Behind that tree. I saw it through the branches.’
‘Idiot! There’s nothing there. What did you see this time? Were you keeping guard or nodding off.’
‘Wait a moment. It seems to be gone now. But I swear I saw it. It was wearing local clothes. White. And a white headscarf.’
‘I don’t see anything. You must be suffering from lack of sleep. You probably mistook that white stone for something. Eh? You made a mistake. Impossible. Go up on the wall and see if you can spot anything from there. Hurry up. It’s dark here and your eyes are playing tricks on you.’
‘Me?’
‘Why the confusion? Is there anyone else here besides the two of us in this ruin? Where’s your head at? Hurry. And close the tower door behind you. The wind’s howling up the stairs. Look carefully. It might be a smuggler or something.’
‘Alright.’
* * *
‘Did you see anything?’
‘What? The wind’s too loud. I can’t hear.’
‘Open that damned door so you can hear me. I said, can you see anything?’
‘No, Captain. Nothing’s visible. Not a thing. Shall I come back in?’
‘Come in. Come in, you’ve turned delusional tonight. Come on, lad, you’ve robbed me of sleep as well.’
* * *
‘Davoudi!’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘How many months left of your service?’
‘Seventeen months.’
‘Ha. Seven’s a sacred number. Did you know that?’
‘Yes, Captain. Seven is sacred.’
‘Pass me that piece of bread. This has turned into quite a bean stew. Well done, soldier. When you’ve finished eating, go and fetch a jerrycan of diesel from the fort’s storeroom and keep it handy. It’s not right for a border post’s chimney to stay cold. … Not now. I said when you’ve finished eating.’
‘Captain! What year does this fort date from?’
‘You mean the fort?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘God knows… Yes, God knows. But joking aside, the locals say it was built in Reza Shah’s time. Seems the Italians did the work. Don’t you see how much it resembles a church? Who else would build such a tall structure like this in the middle of this desert? Who else would make the towers and battlements circular? No one… It’s as if the fellow wanted to reach God. The bloody wind is always whirling through the tower. Winter and summer, it never stops. Come on, eat up so you can stay on guard till morning. Come on, boy.’
‘Thank you. How did they bring all these stones out to the middle of the desert? It’s desert here. There aren’t this many stones.’
‘Finish that last bite and be done with it. They must have forced the same villagers to work. They themselves wouldn’t lift a finger, of course. These foreigners use their heads. But what a fortress they built. Even a cannon wouldn’t shift it. Just look at this opening in the tower. It wasn’t here before. They made this hole so the soldier wouldn’t have to go up on the tower. So he could watch outside from inside. It took a whole month to cut this hole in the wall. Colonel Faraki gave the order. The poor man didn’t live long. God rest his soul.’
‘So they moved all these stones without machines? Pass me that jug of water, please.’
‘How should I know? They themselves say the stones came of their own accord.’
‘What? The Italians say that?’
‘You’re confused as well. The locals, I mean.’
‘Ah. The locals.’
‘You’re laughing? You should sit down with one of their old men. Then your guts will come up into your mouth from laughing. Don’t forget the diesel.’
‘Alright. I’ll take another look outside. Maybe it was one of those locals. Do you want a blanket too? Shall I bring an extra one from the storeroom?’
‘No, my boy. I’m used to it… I don’t think there’s anything out there. You must have seen a ghost or something. It’s natural. Come back quickly.’
* * *
‘I brought an extra blanket too. In case you get cold. You said ghost? Do you believe in such things? Have you ever seen one?’
‘Don’t be afraid, son. No, I don’t believe in them, but these locals here are steeped in such nonsense. It’s in their flesh and blood. They invent a superstition for everything. You’re not scared, are you?’
‘No, Captain. I’m not a child.’
‘Ha, bravo — you’re not a child. Now, let’s do a quick patrol round here. If we run into one of these locals at our post, I’ll get him talking. Then listen to the stories they spin.’
‘What do they say? Shall I give you the blanket? It’s cold.’
‘No. I told you, I’m used to it… From these same superstitions… Illiteracy is a terrible affliction… How many years of schooling do you have yourself?’
‘I have a diploma.’
‘Ha! That’s good. They don’t send anyone more educated than that here. Education is a fine thing. If I’d done four more years at school, I’d have an easy office job now instead of rotting in this wasteland.’
‘What a wind is blowing. When I was on the wall, it was howling like a jackal through the crenellations. Is that what they call them?’
‘Crenellations. Yes, there are plenty of jackals here too. This wind is typical of this season. Sometimes it whips up such dust you won’t believe it. You’ll see. Tonight is still quite mild. You’ve a long way to go before you really know this place. Anyway, as I was saying. These people talk a lot of rubbish. They believe stones have souls. They say if you can speak their language, the stones can move. Or talk to you; the stones, can you believe it? They tell stories about these spirits you won’t believe. So-and-so fell in love and turned to stone from the pain of it. Another one, the doorstep of his house was a stone, and when he stepped on it and sank through it and was never seen again. One made friends with a stone and became a jinn. One fell in love with a stone, and so on… One old man swore he saw with his own eyes a boulder running. Such nonsense. None of it makes sense. Did you see their village on the way here?’
‘The villages of spirits?’
‘No, you fool. The locals. These headscarf people.’
‘No. I was asleep on the bus. I didn’t see anything. Why?’
‘Well, all their houses are made of mud. No stones in them. They say the spirit of a stone might be unclean. It might suddenly seize hold and, crash! bring the house down on their heads. That’s why their houses are made of mud, basically earth. Earlier when you said you saw one of the locals, I knew you were mistaken. Because they don’t show themselves round here at all. Especially at night. I was sure you were imagining things. After a lifetime, you learn.’
‘Do you want me to take another look, maybe…’
‘Sit down, no need to get up. I’ll look…
* * *
Nothing. There’s nothing here… What a nasty wind.’
‘I told you.’
‘Get up, get up and bring that blanket. It’s really turned cold tonight. Listen, hear how it’s howling. Do you hear? The wind! The flag on the fort is about to rip apart… Give me the blanket.’
‘What a frightening sound it has.’
‘Yes, but I’m used to it. Did you patrol round here or not?’
‘No. I’m not very familiar with this place. I haven’t been here long. I told you…’
‘Ah. Yes, you did. Seventeen. Seven. Anyway, listen, Davoudi…’
‘Yes, Captain.’
‘Remind me tomorrow to take you over to the other side of that broken tree. It can’t be seen from there. It can’t be seen from the tower either. It’s a hollow.’
‘What’s there?’
‘It’s a cemetery.’
‘A cemetery? Which village’s?’
‘Yes. The nearest village is fifteen miles away. Now, if possible, we’ll do a patrol there. On clear nights with no dust, its lights can be seen from the top of the tower. You can see them from the wall too. But tonight they’re invisible. Too much wind. The desert’s full of dust.’
‘You were talking about the cemetery.’
‘Ah yes. I was saying. This cemetery belongs to that same village. They put stones on the graves, after all. That’s why they built it far from the village. Same business with the souls of stones.’
‘So they were afraid to have stones near their village? If that’s the case, why do they put stones on their dead’s graves?’
‘How should I know? Maybe the spirits in the graves can get along with the spirits in the stones. Besides, not all spirits are evil. They probably put good stones on the graves to have those good spirits nearby.’
‘If they put good stones, why did they build their cemetery so far away?’
‘How should I know? You’ve found time for questions. They must have cooked up some nonsense for that too. Ah, what was I going to say… Yes. I was going to say there’s a cemetery here. Probably someone came to visit a grave, prayed a little and left. That’s what I meant about earlier.’
‘Oh right. I’d forgotten. You reminded me. I’ll take another look.’
* * *
‘Captain! Captain! Come and see. Come. It’s back. I swear.’
‘Where? Move aside. Let me see. There. I see it.’
‘Look. It’s wearing white clothes too. I told you.’
‘Yes, it looks like one of the locals. Behind that same tree. Jump down. Go and see who it is and what the bastard wants here at this hour. Hurry.’
‘Now? Go outside?’
‘What? Are you scared? Hurry before I write you up for disobedience. I’ve got your back.’
‘What should I say to him? Do they know our language?’
‘Idiot, you don’t need to say anything. Just ask what the hell he’s doing here at this time of night. Why he’s been watching the post since evening. Go, I’ve got your back from the wall. Hurry before he disappears.’
* * *
‘Captain, there’s no one. It’s just that same tree. Shall I come back?’
‘Eh? What did you say? Louder. I can’t hear you. The wind’s strong.’
‘There’s no one here. Shall I come back?’
‘No. Search around properly. He must have slipped away somewhere nearby. He’s probably lying in ambush. Go down the hill over there and check that area too.’
‘Captain Jahani! Let me come back. There’s no one. It’s very dark here. Nothing can be seen.’
‘You useless fool. Don’t mutter to yourself. Do what I told you. Look on the ground for footprints or tyre tracks. You’ve got a torch. Go, I’ve got your back.’
‘Captain! There’s a pair of boots…’
‘What? Louder. I can’t see you. Where did you go? I can’t hear your voice.’
‘There’s a pair of boots. A complete set of military uniform. Almost new. Shall I bring them? Captain? Captain Jahani? Can you hear me?’