The noonday sun was perched high in the sky that day, the first day of Spring, shedding warmth and light upon the rugged countryside. Appropriately enough, the entire hillside was covered in a verdant green, with flowers in full bloom. As Iksander made his trek up the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, he took a moment to savor the sweet smell of the wild flowers and the beautiful music of the swallows that flickered across his path.
He knew this path well, for he took the same route each
Nowruz
(Persian New Years). In fact, it had become something of a tradition for him. Every year since his parents had died, young Iksander had begun coming up to the solitude of these sacred peaks to appreciate the beauty of nature in full bloom. While his friends and co-workers down in Tabriz threw parties and went out to the countryside to have picnics with their loved ones, Iksander sought a simpler path. By now, he knew this route quite well.
Or at least, he
thought
he knew this path...
As Iksander made his way around the trail, he realized that the scenery was no longer familiar to him. Perhaps it was because of some new growth, or perhaps because he had taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Either way, the fact slowly dawned upon him that he was now lost.
'Damn it,' Iksander thought to himself. As much as he loved trekking out into the wilderness, especially at this time of year, the fact was that he was really a city boy at heart, not some sort of rugged outdoorsman! Iksander had been born and raised in Tabriz, educated abroad, and spent much of his time going back and forth between Iran, the US and Europe.
He sat down on a log, trying to regain his bearings. Setting down his khaki backpack, he ruffled through it and looked for his mobile phone. He clicked it on, only to discover to his dismay that he didn't have any bars. He briefly walked around in circles, futilely hoping that he could somehow get reception, but to no avail! Returning his mobile, Iksander looked in the backpack again, this time pulling out a map and a compass.
Iksander briefly took a glance at the map, hoping that he could identify some sort of landmark to find his location, but once again, nothing. Not quite sure of what to do, he began to follow the trail, hoping that it would at least lead him towards some town or village along the way where he could ask for directions. Walking down the dirt trail, Iksander smiled as he saw little butterflies flit across his path. Hearing the melodic sounds of bird songs, he started to whistle along with them, trying to imitate their songs. Sometimes, the birds would return his calls, and other times they flew away as he approached. The simple pleasures of a walk in the countryside put him in better spirits. Then, when he grew bored of that, Iksander started to whistle the tunes to old folk songs and movies he remembered from his youth.
Iksander trekked on for what seemed like hours, yet he didn't see so much as a sign of civilization anywhere along the way. Far from it, in fact, he seemed to heading deeper and deeper into the uncharted wilderness. Looking over at his wrist, he noticed that his watch had long ago ceased working. He tapped it once to be sure, but nothing happened. Yet another small problem he would have to overcome. He shrugged.
Boldly continuing onward, Iksander noticed that the ground beneath his feet seemed to grow soft. He had to be near a source of water. In fact, listening closely, Iksander was certain that he could hear the sound of running water. Cool, refreshing water. Iksander wiped the sweat from his brow and thought about how good it would be to get a nice drink of water. Eagerly, he began rushing toward the source of the sound.
As he got closer, Iksander suddenly realized that he was not alone. Faintly at first, he could hear singing -- a woman's voice, in fact. And it was the most elegant and hauntingly beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life. Her voice was as sweet and melodic as the singing of the swallows along the foothills of the Zagros. He could make out the lyrics:
"I wish that I had a chance to see,
The face of my beloved,
What can I do? what can I do?"
Iksander knew those lyrics well. They were the lyrics to 'Sari Galin' -- 'The Golden Bride' -- a popular Iranian folk song that Iksander and his friends used to sing in his boyhood. Iksander was nervuous, but at the same time, he was also extremely curious. He wanted... no
NEEDED
to find out what intriguing beauty was singing this song. Not wanting to give away his presence, he quietly snuck up to the river bank, staying well hidden behind the shrubs and bushes.
Taking a deep breath, Iksander carefully peeled back the dark green branches of the bush and laid eyes upon the most beautiful woman he had ever seen! Swimming in the water, fully nude, was an absolutely gorgeous young woman. Iksander could see that she had full womanly curves, a nice big, round ass and full, perky breasts without a hint of sagging. Her long, auburn hair flowed behind her.
Barely conscious of his surroundings, Iksander stood up in awe of this spectacle. His jaw just about dropped. As the woman swam past him, she noticed him and turned her head. Not even fazed by his presence, this stunning woman stood up, revealing her entire body to him. She didn't even make an effort to cover herself.
"Nowruz Mubarak," she said, with a wickedly sensual smile crossing her full lips. The pure mountain water dripped down her curvy frame.
Iksander had no idea how to respond to this. He began to sweat and could feel his pulse quickening, but he was completely dumbfounded.
"Nowruz Mubarak," he replied nervously, flashing this strange woman a rather sheepish smile. Iksander was enchanted by this beautiful woman, but at the same time, still felt some sense of impropriety at staring upon her nudity.
The young woman laughed playfully and dived back into the water. Turning around, she splashed water at him. Iksander wasn't quite sure what he had stumbled into, or how he should respond to the situation.
"The water is very nice today," she said, "Don't you want to join me?"
"Well," he said, trying to stall.
"What," she asked him, "Don't you think I'm attractive?"
Iksander was taken aback by the casual tone in her voice when she asked that question. He didn't expect her to be so forward. There were few women who could be so forthright even in Europe, let alone in his beloved homeland of Iran! Still, there was something undeniably appealing about it.
"No! Wait! That's not what I meant," he said, "I mean, you
are
beautiful... it's just, I'm not sure if it's appropriate. Maybe you should get dressed in case somebody comes along."
"Spoil sport," the woman frowned.
She slowly made her way out of the water and toward the shore where Iksander stood.
"But then," she said as she came ashore, "I suppose it's just as well..."
Still completely nude and soaking wet, the woman brought her body up against Iksander. She playfully kissed him on the check. With her ripe, young body pressed up against him, Iksander could feel his cock start to grow hard.
"You know," she whispered into his ear, "I have a Nowruz picnic set up in that clearing. If you would like, you can join me if you would like..."
Looking deep into her dark, almond-shaped eyes, Iksander felt all of his hesitations wash away. Her eyes seemed as infinite as the depths of the ocean. In fact, he felt that he could stare into her eyes for an eternity.
"Yes," he said firmly, "I think I would like to join you for Nowruz."
"All right," said the woman, "Just let me put my clothes on.
Gracefully, the woman walked over to a tree which she had hung her clothes on while she went swimming. Iksander noticed that she had traditional Iranian women's clothing, with colorful floral embroidery appropriate for the holiday. Pulling her dress over her luscious breasts, the woman turned and looked at Iksander.
"No peeking," she said jokingly.
Iksander quickly looked away when she said that.
Unseen by Iksander, the woman giggled and shook her head. As soon as she had finished getting dressed, the woman walked over toward Iksander, who still had his back turned. She playfully put her arm around him.
"You know," she said, "I was just kidding with you. I really don't mind if you see me naked."
She smiled at Iksander, who started to blush.
"Now," she continued, "About that picnic, why don't you follow me."
Iksander couldn't help but notice her long, dark hair flowing wildly behind her.
"You aren't wearing the hijab," he asked her, "Aren't you worried about VEVAK? I mean, what if somebody finds us out here?"
"Nobody ever comes out here," she said with an enigmatic smile upon her face, "And besides, even if they do, we'll just tell them a lie. Let's just say I'm your sister."
Iksander decided to just go along with it at this point. Soon, they came upon the clearing where the woman had set out her Nowruz picnic. Quite a feast was laid out before the two of them... The beautiful young woman had prepared all manner of dishes for her picnic - sabzi polo, kabab, khoresht-e-mast, dolmeh, naan, halvah and dozens of freshly picked fruits, berries and nuts. Some were familiar to Iksander, like pistachios, figs, dates, pomegranate and apricots, while others were exotic delicacies that he had never seen. All of these, and more, were arranged on a blanket in front of him. A small brazier of fire sat in the center, slowly billowing smoke up into the heavens.
Iksander sat down beside the woman.
"So," she said leaning over by him, "I just realized that I never asked your name?"
"I'm Iksander," he said.
"You mean like the warrior from the Shah-Nameh (Book of Kings)," she asked him, "The Greek who conquered Persia... conquered the entire world in fact?"
"Yes," he said smiling, "My parents taught history and classical studies at the university back in the days of the Shah."
"I see," she said, "My name is Roxanna."
"Pleasure to meet you," Iksander responded.
"So you are from the city then Iksander," Roxanna asked.
"Yes," he replied, "Tabriz."
"And what brings you all the way out here," she asked.