Darius the Great Is Not Okay: A Holodeck Vision Summary & Analysis

It takes Babou 10 minutes to water his fig trees, and he never falls. Sohrab holds the ladder while Babou climbs down, and then Babou grabs Darius by the shoulders, calling him Darioush, and welcomes him to Yazd. Instead of hugging Darius, as Darius expects, Babou just says that Darius is tall like Dad. Darius awkwardly thanks Babou for hosting, and then Babou introduces Sohrab and says Sohrab and Darius should be friends. Sohrab smiles and shakes his head, and Darius’s face burns. In Farsi, Babou says something about Mamou and robe, which is pomegranate molasses. In English, Sohrab invites Darius to come with him to his uncle’s store.

As Darius follows Sohrab down the street, he can appreciate that the houses are varying shades of off-white and that all the cars are makes and models he’s never seen. Darius wonders what Dad thinks of Iranian cars, but Dad’s still asleep. Mostly silently, the boys walk to a part of town with shops. Most of the women just wear headscarves, but some wear black chadors that cover them from head to toe. Darius is hot just with his black hair, so he wonders how they don’t overheat. When Sohrab asks if this is Darius’s first visit to Iran, Darius says he thinks Mom was a bit afraid to come due to Dad being American. Sohrab says he thinks it’s not so bad. Darius thinks of Customs Officer II and agrees, and then they fall into a comfortable silence. Darius is sure he and Sohrab will be friends.

Finally, Sohrab leads Darius into his uncle’s store. To Darius’s surprise, it looks exactly like Persian grocery stores back home. Sohrab’s uncle is obviously a “True Persian,” as thick chest hair sticks out of his shirt collar, but he’s taller and bigger than Dad. Sohrab and his uncle greet each other with “Alláh-u-Abhá,” the traditional Bahá’í greeting, and then Sohrab introduces Darius to his uncle, Agha Rezaei. Darius blushes when Agha Rezaei asks if Mamou prefers sweeter or sourer robe—he doesn’t know—but Agha Rezaei chooses one for Darius. At the counter, he offers Darius faludeh, which is rosewater sorbet with thin noodles in it. Sohrab says he can’t have any now, since he’s Bahá’í and they fast the last month until Nowruz. Darius suggests they come back after Nowruz, so they can both have some.

Back on the street, Darius suggests that when he and Sohrab come back for faludeh, he could bring Laleh. Sohrab says he’d love to have a brother so he could have someone to play soccer with. He asks if Darius plays. Darius used to play on a team but quit when he was 12 and now only plays in gym class. Sohrab invites Darius to come play tomorrow afternoon, and surprising himself, Darius agrees. Sohrab laughs and observes that Darius doesn’t taarof, so Darius asks if Sohrab wants him to come. Throwing an arm over Darius’s shoulders, Sohrab says he does.

Back at the house, Darius takes the robe to the kitchen and finds Babou there pouring himself tea. Darius forgets to taarof when Babou offers him tea, but Babou doesn’t seem to mind. They sip their tea in silence, Babou holding a sugar cube between his teeth to sweeten his. Darius is extremely uncomfortable. He thought he’d know what to say to his grandfather when they finally met in person, but he doesn’t.

Darius falls asleep at the table and only wakes up when Mom rouses him for dinner. Over a noodle soup, Laleh tells Babou about the flight in Farsi. Darius keeps nodding off and finally, Mom and Mamou tell Darius to go to bed. Mamou walks Darius to his room and says she’s glad Darius met Sohrab and has made a friend. Darius is glad too, and he’s genuinely looking forward to playing soccer tomorrow.