The House of the Mosque

The Television

As Lizard grew up, he became even more of an enigma. People were never sure if he was a disabled child or an animal. His head, hands and feet were human, but his movements were like those of a reptile.

The older he got, the more reptilian he became.

Sadiq tried to teach him how to talk, but he never learned. He wasn’t interested.

Lizard did things his own way and paid little attention to other people’s behaviour and habits. He refused to eat with everyone else, go to bed at a normal hour or use a knife and fork. He ate his meals like a cat.

‘I can’t stand it another minute! I’m exhausted. I don’t want this strange child any more!’

‘You mustn’t say that!’ Aqa Jaan protested.

Sadiq burst into tears. ‘I’ve had one misfortune after another!’ she lamented. ‘Why has everything in my life gone wrong?’

‘You’re still young, my daughter; you have a long life ahead of you. No one expects life to be a bed of roses. Remember: there’s a reason things happen the way they do. If anyone has a right to complain, it’s Muezzin. He was born blind, but you don’t hear him moaning about it. He’s accepted the fact that his eyes are sightless, and so have we. He can’t see, but he has two keen ears, two sensitive hands and two strong legs that remember the way. If you ask me, he sees everything, even things you and I will never see. Don’t cry, my daughter! Your son is a natural part of life. I’m glad we have him. I think of him as a gift to our house. I mean that. We must need him for some reason; otherwise he wouldn’t have been sent to us. Hundreds of people have lived in this house, and he isn’t the first unusual creature to be born here. Trust in life. We must need your son, or else he wouldn’t have been sent to us!’

‘I wish I were as trusting as you are,’ Sadiq said between sobs.

The next day Aqa Jaan summoned Lizard to his study and made it clear to him that he was to come there every day after the morning prayer. He had decided that he would spend the next few years teaching him how to read. All that was needed was patience and old-fashioned discipline. Lizard’s response was unexpectedly positive: he took to crawling over to Aqa Jaan with a book between his teeth, dropping it in his lap and making him read every word of it.

Once Lizard had learned to read, he spent much of his time lying in the garden in the shade of the cedar tree. When that got too hot, he crawled up to the roof with his book, seeking the shadow of the dome. During the winter, he went down to the cellar so he could sit by Muezzin’s stove and read.

Ahmad let him come into the library, where he spent hours among the books. No one ever knew if he understood a word of what he was reading or whether he simply made up stories of his own.

His world was the world of the house. He rarely left it, going outside only when Am Ramazan took him for a ride on his donkey. As they passed the grocery shop, the old men lounging around outside always stopped the donkey so they could get a better look at Lizard. Everyone had heard of the boy. They doffed their hats and joked with him. Lizard enjoyed it and responded enthusiastically to their attention.

Later Am Ramazam started taking him along to the river when he was mining sand. He would dig a hollow in the warm sand, and Lizard would curl up inside it and read his book. Lizard felt comfortable with Am Ramazam.

At first Sadiq had stopped Am Ramazam and asked him not to take Lizard with him.

‘Why not?’ Am Ramazam had asked. ‘There’s no need to hide him.’

Zinat was often away from home these days. She spent a lot of time in the countryside, giving Koran lessons to rural women. The moment she got home, however, she went looking for Lizard. She liked to tell him ancient tales, and he never tired of listening to them.

Zinat looked after Lizard more than the others did. She thought of him as a punishment for her sins. Lizard never learned to talk, but he had an acute sense of hearing and could move with extraordinary speed. He compelled everyone to interact with him in some way.

Nosrat avoided him during his visits. He stroked Lizard’s hair and gave him a few sweets, but that was all, and he slept with his door closed so Lizard wouldn’t come in.

One night Lizard crawled in anyway. He lay down in the corner of the room and took out his book. Nosrat didn’t know what to do. For a while he simply sat in his bed and stared at him. He wanted to help the boy in some way, but didn’t know how. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration. ‘Come with me,’ he said.

Nosrat went into the courtyard and down into the cellar, with Lizard scuttling along behind him. ‘Listen, Lizard. Shahbal brought a television into this house a number of years ago so that Aqa Jaan and Alsaberi could see the moon. Alsaberi was an unsophisticated imam who fell into the hauz and died, but that television ought to be here somewhere. It’s yours, if I can find it. You were born in the wrong house, you know. The world is changing, but everything in this house is forbidden. Do you understand what I’m saying?’

Of course he didn’t. Lizard stared at him blankly.

‘Still, you’re lucky. If you’d been born to any other family, you would have been sold to a circus long ago. This family gives you love, and people need love. But in many ways they’re backward. They’re God-fearing people who are afraid of everything — radios, TVs, music, the cinema, the theatre, happiness, other women, other men. There’s only one thing they like: cemeteries. They feel at home among the dead. I’m serious! Have you ever gone to a cemetery with them? Suddenly they get all happy and excited, absolutely in their element. That’s why I left when I was young. Anyway, let’s see if we can find that television; it must be in here among all this junk. Let’s hope the grandmothers didn’t throw it out. Ah, the grandmothers. It’s a pity you never knew them. They were very dignified. They didn’t approve of me, but that’s beside the point. They went to Mecca and never came back, the crafty old biddies. Oh, I think I’ve found it! Look, Lizard, here’s a portable TV for you! As soon as I’ve rigged up the aerial, your life will change for ever. Hmm, let me think. Where can we put it so you can watch without being disturbed? I know: in the shed behind the dome. It used to be my secret hideout, the place where I went to read dirty books. Later Shahbal added a bed. Now that he’s gone, you can have the shed.’

Lizard crawled up to the roof behind Nosrat. Nosrat set the television on the table next to Shahbal’s bed.

‘From now on this bed belongs to you. Go ahead and lie on it. I’ll show you how to use the TV.’

Lizard climbed onto the bed. Nosrat strung the cable through the window and carefully screwed the tiny aerial onto the end of a beam, where no one could see it.

‘Now watch closely,’ he said, and switched on the television.

A young woman wearing heavy make-up and a sleeveless red dress appeared on the screen.

‘Don’t be scared, my boy! The world outside of this house looks very different. Do you like women? Oh, oh, don’t ask me that question! One of these days I’ll take you to Tehran. Actually, this TV is too small. The next time I come I’ll bring you a bigger one. Meanwhile, you’ll have to make do with this one. It’s yours, and no one can take it from you. If anyone tries to take it away, bite him. Sink your teeth into his ankle and bite down hard. Is that clear?’

For an entire year Lizard managed to keep his hideout a secret, but one night Aqa Jaan tiptoed up the stairs and flung open the door. Lizard was so surprised that he bounded from the bed to the television in one leap and draped himself over it like a cat, with his feet dangling over one side and his head over the other.

Aqa Jaan stood for a moment in the doorway. Then he shut the door, walked over to the stairs and went down to the mosque.