Darius the Great Is Not Okay: The Borg of Herbs Summary & Analysis

Darius wakes up to clanking in the middle of the night and finds Mom in the kitchen, doing dishes in her robe. Darius picks up a towel to dry and remarks on a platter that his family sent Mamou and Babou last year. Mom says it was for their anniversary—and Darius thinks of how they might not reach their 52nd anniversary. He apologizes to Mom about Babou, but Mom apologizes for not bringing Darius and Laleh to meet him until now. She shares an anecdote about when she and Mahvash, Sohrab’s mom, were kids, and they went to the park in the morning. They were barefoot, and it was too hot to walk home by midday. Babou came to find them and carried Mahvash back, leaving Mom to find her own way home as punishment. But he forgot to bring Mom shoes, so he had to carry her home, too.

Mom sniffles as she says Babou was so strong, and she apologizes for not teaching Darius Farsi. She says she’s failed at teaching Darius where he came from because she wanted him to be American and feel like he belonged. Darius understands, and Mom apologizes again. She says Babou is more comfortable speaking Farsi, and she says Babou does love Darius. Darius says he loves Babou too, but he thinks that might be an exaggeration: he likes Babou as an idea.

Laleh is up early the next morning, and Darius gets up to help her get breakfast. She asks for what she wants in Farsi and when they’re done, they go to the living room. Darius reads The Lord of the Rings, while Laleh turns on a soap opera and switches to English to tell Darius what’s going on. Mamou wakes up a bit later and asks if Darius would make her the tea he brought. She also pulls out a bowl of qottab and winks. When she tries the tea, she says it’s perfect and thanks him.

Mom emerges around 10:00 a.m., dressed nicely, and says she and Mamou are going to visit friends. It’s a Nowruz tradition that Darius has never heard of. She suggests Darius go visit Sohrab and draws a map for Darius. Mahvash Rezaei answers and shows Darius in. She offers Darius food, but Darius says he’s eaten and gives her a container of Mamou’s qottab, which Khanum Rezaei insists is the best. She then returns to her bread and asks Darius to take the romaine lettuce leaves in the sink to the table outside. They’re Sohrab’s favorite food—and Sohrab’s dad’s, too. Darius is confused and feels awful for Sohrab.

Outside, Darius observes overgrown mint and finds only a Ping-Pong table. Khanum Rezaei appears behind him with a tablecloth and asks him to lay the lettuce out to dry. Just then, Sohrab appears and grabs Darius from behind. He’s still in pajamas, and when he sees the lettuce, he races inside. Somehow, Sohrab looks younger, and Darius can tell he’s missing Sohrab’s dad. But when Sohrab reappears and asks if Darius likes sekanjabin, he looks wildly happy. He explains that it’s mint syrup and shows Darius how to dip lettuce leaves in the jar. It’s very tasty. But it’s surprising when Sohrab says Babou made it, and that Sohrab’s dad used to grow extra mint for Babou. The mint in the garden is overgrown now because Babou hasn’t made it in a while. When they’re done eating, Sohrab gets dressed and leads Darius out the door.