The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani Read Free Book Online Page A

when I was working at my loom on a warm spring day, I used to envy the birds and even the scrawny dogs, who were free to roam as they liked. To be young and have to sit quietly and work, when your blood is racing and you long to be chattering and laughing--that will make a child grow old quickly.
    "The truth is, the owner of the workshop was right," Gostaham continued. "I tried to shirk my duties because I didn't want to remain a knotter. Whenever I could, I spent time with his master designer and master colorist. The designer allowed me to copy some of his patterns, and the colorist took me with him to the bazaar to show me how he selected shades of wool. Secretly, I learned all I could."
    It had never occurred to me that it was possible to be more than just a knotter. Although I was sleepy from the large meal, I listened to Gostaham's tale with care.
    "My husband didn't need much teaching," Gordiyeh burst in. "His eye for color is better than any man's."
    Gostaham leaned back into the cushions with a smile, enjoying his wife's praise. "I was so ambitious that I told the master designer I wanted to make a carpet of my own. He offered me a design on paper that he wasn't using anymore and allowed me to copy it. Taking all my earnings, I went to the bazaar and bought the best wool I could afford. I spent hours choosing the colors, taking so long at it that the merchants yelled at me to buy something or leave their shops. But I had to be certain beyond certainty that I was choosing the right hues.
    "By then I was seventeen, and it took me nearly a year to knot that carpet outside of working hours. It was the best I had ever made. My mother was pleased with me, for it would bring money into our household. But then I took the biggest risk of my life, which is the reason you see me here today in this fine home, with a wife who outshines the brightest stars of the age."
    I sat up straighter, eager to learn how he had made such a fortune.
    "I heard that Shah Abbas the Great was coming to Shiraz and would be holding audiences for his subjects every afternoon. I finished the rug, rolled it up, and carried it to his palace on my back. Presenting it to one of his guards, I explained that it was a gift. The guard unrolled it, making sure there were no assassins, animals, poisons, or the like hidden within--and promised to place it before his eyes."
    "How bold to part with your only treasure!" exclaimed my mother.
    "The rug was presented to the Shah after he heard testimony from a servant accused of stealing and ordered him to be punished with a beating," Gostaham continued. "I think he was ready to enjoy some sweeter news. When my carpet was unrolled before him, he flipped over a corner to check the tightness of the knots. I worried that he was simply going to tell his servants to carry it away, but then he asked that its maker make himself known.
    "Looking at me with eyes that seemed to understand my poverty and my ambition, the Shah said, 'Every day, kings offer me gifts of gold, but not one compares with the sacrifice you have just made.' It was my great fortune that he had just started the royal rug workshop in Isfahan to make the finest rugs for his palaces and to sell to rich men. He liked my carpet enough to invite me to join the workshop for a year's trial. My mother almost beat me when she heard I had given away the carpet. When I told her how my fortunes had changed, she praised the Shah's name."
    "That is a story beyond stories!" said my mother.
    "There was a long road yet ahead," said Gostaham. "When I started at the royal rug workshop, I was the lowliest of the low. I was lucky because all of us were paid an annual salary, and even though mine was the smallest, it was enough for me to live on and send money to my family. Conditions were much better at the Shah's workshop than in Shiraz. We worked from dawn until midday, but then we were at liberty to work for ourselves. In the afternoons, I freely learned from the masters with