IN TEHRAN

Never before had I seen a just-married car with dark red decorations, instead of the customary white. Maybe the bride was having her period?

LATH

Just now I remembered, suddenly, the way it was when I was around 15 years old. I remembered a day in late summer, like today, in a quieter, calmer Tehran. I remembered the feel, the light, the curiosity, recklessness, frustration and the beginning of the end of illusions. It only lasted a split second but it was a trés trés cool feeling, like a combination of reading, thinking, laughing, learning and travelling, and something else I cannot quite place.

Normally I wouldn't have written this but I had a smoke a little earlier and so I did.