[Part II of three installments. Previously: Part I, “Inspecting the Massacre from a New Direction,” July 21. Keywords: Dr. Ali, Leila, Rosemary.]
When Dr. Ali asked Leila to marry him, she happily accepted.
Of course, first she was converted officially to Islam, and then the ceremony of wedding was officiated.
Leila became Mrs. Doctor A., as it is the custom in Iran to call the wife of a physician by the husband’s last name and title.
She continued her routine of cooking and cleaning, but she added the five official daily prayers to her schedule.
She never shared with anyone her Armenian origin or her past experiences as a survivor of the Armenian Massacre.
The three old churches of the city were destroyed by men and by nature.
The only visitors for these churches were the rare tourists, historians or the local boys who loved to play in the ruins of these old historical monuments.
Who Knew? No One
Nobody knew if Leila prayed in Armenian or Arabic, or if she addressed her prayers to Mohammad or spoke to her original Christian faith inside her being.
But her appearance showed that she had faithfully and fully accepted the Muslim religion and had adapted well to her husband’s life and traditions.
The sole reminder of her past was the natural light coloration of her skin, her eyes and her hairdo that remained as before, two thick-braided hairs hanging on each side of her face.
She continued her life as a good wife, mother and a pious Muslim woman.
The Years Alone
The couple lived a very happy and peaceful existence with their four children.
Leila died 10 years prior to her husband. He looked tearfully at her pale face for the last time before the burial. Her blue eyes were closed. Yet she looked beautiful and peaceful as always, wrapped in the white cloth.
Dr. Ali’s warm tears were falling on his wife’s cold face, he gently touched the two snowy colored braids, which still were hanging down on each side of her face.
Dr. Ali never re-married.
He continued to live with the memories of his beloved wife, surrounded by his children and grandchildren.
(To be concluded Tuesday)
Dr. Rosemary Hartounian Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published three books in America and is working on her fourth. Since 1985, she has operated Atelier de Paris, an international art business, on Robertson Boulevard. Her email address is Rosemary@atelierdeparis.com
