Maru

At first it was only about work, but we gradually switched to other personal issues.

At first he was so cautious because he was our employee, but little by little he stepped forward.

To be honest with you, I already knew that he was a religious guy, at least more than me.

But I didn't expect him to be a religious fanatic with rigid opinions about Islam and the regime.

The first time that I was shocked at his perspectives was during the 12-day war with Israel around nine months ago.

He believed that Iran should not reach an agreement or stop the war because doing so will make us lose our dignity.

I was like, what are you talking about?

Iranian people are being killed.

To me, dignity was an abstract concept.

People's lives was something that mattered to me.

Since then, I chose not to talk about politics with him.

Honestly, I knew that trying to be dismissive of politics and religion was not the solution, but unfortunately, I was deeply involved with him.

A few days before the war, he left our pharmacy because he was about to establish his own.

Since then, we've met a couple times.

The last time we met, almost 20 days ago, he mentioned that he agreed with the idea of digital blackout for now.

Because in this way, the government can be in control of the enemy's propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

I was like, how dare you say so?

People are losing their jobs because of this blackout, and you're talking about your idea of propaganda?

I think this war made me far more realistic about Reza and my love for him.

This war was an accelerator.