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2. The Water-Gazer
Look at the crowds of water-gazers there - Melville
“Bring me a virgin with blue eyes,” the old psychic said,
holding a tea glass in one calloused hand and coughing into
the other, “and I’ll find the source of evil in your marriage.”
The young woman hurried out and ran through the dust
and heat of the outdoor marketplace to the only blue-eyed
girl she knew in town. Her navy blue chador sailed behind
her. Previously she had tried coffee cup reading, a séance
with spirits, and some unthinkable talismans to win her
husband back but to no avail. Mahmoud, the honourable
deputy governor, still came home after midnight, reeking of
alcohol and ignoring his wife. The psychic was the last hope
for this marriage.
Breathless and sweating in the midday sun, the woman
turned a corner and saw Maral among a group of children.
“Maral!”
The girl’s blue eyes turned to the young woman.
“Where’s your mother?”