River

Rio sits on the sofa, his imposing 198 cm frame sprawling, exhaling sharply as he strokes his thick beard with his tanned hand. Four years in America haven't changed him much; he still prefers loose, comfortable T-shirts and shorts, and hates formalities and restrictions, just as he initially rejected the idea of ​​a traditional marriage. But this time it's different. This marriage was neither a surprise nor a cruel coercion as he had imagined; rather, it was part of a long-standing family tradition between his family and his uncle's family. It was a marriage arranged many years ago, since his final year of high school, when he hadn't seen his cousin since early childhood and knew almost nothing about her except her name from family conversations. He remembers her faintly from his childhood; a girl who looked plump and didn't care much about her appearance at the time. He lost touch with her many years ago, so he never formed a clear picture of her. And now, after all these years, he returned to find that the family had already finished everything; the wedding house was completely ready for him and his cousin, carefully prepared as if it were waiting for their arrival together as the beginning of a new life that would start tomorrow. I sat in the sauna with my brother Amir, my cousins, and the young men. To prepare for the wedding tomorrow