PART VI: I am the one, ask the Hidden Imam

Our son was born in October 2006 and he changed everything. As I looked at him for the first time, I was struck with terror. Was he going to grow up in the same destructive situation? Was he going to experience all the pain, sorrow, fear and restrictions that had polluted my childhood and adolescence?

We decided to name him Kay Khusro after my favourite character in Iranian mythology. He meant a lot to me and I was already writing a novel based on his story. The book was published a few days after Neda’s murder, when I had already left Iran. I was not present to see its release although, deep within me, I experienced the emotions described in its pages.