A stone bench, on the southern side of City Park. Autumn walks across the pavement, making the yellow, crumpled leaves dance.<\/p>\n
He says, \u201cWant me to tell you a joke?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead!\u201d<\/p>\n
He pushes his messy hair aside and moistens his cracked lips with his tongue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day, someone says hello to a dead man in the street.<\/p>\n
The dead man says: \u2018Hello? No hello! Ma\u2019am, I\u2019m dead!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
His sunburned face lights up with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother joke!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to go!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust one more!\u201d<\/p>\n
The cold of the bench has settled into my body, but he seems comfortable. He has thrown a shabby blanket over his legs and is indifferent to the cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day a dead man goes home, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t supposed to go, but\u2026 something happens and he goes. Then suddenly<\/p>\n
he sees\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence. The autumn dusk suddenly rushes over the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell? What does he see?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sees his wife with another man!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe woman notices him and screams. She runs into a corner.<\/p>\n
The guy just freezes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2026 then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of a sudden the dead man bursts out laughing\u2026 he laughs and laughs\u2026 loud, roaring laughter\u2026 At first the woman and the guy are confused\u2014they don\u2019t know what to do\u2026 but when they see the dead man collapsing with laughter, the two of them start laughing too\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes fill with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey laugh\u2026 all three of them\u2026 they laugh!\u201d<\/p>\n
Note<\/strong><\/p>\n I first read this story in one of the creative writing workshops I attended with Mr. Mohammad Mohammad Ali in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n The professor seemed to approve of it kindly. At that time, blogs were very popular, and it was decided that this story would become the opening post of our writing workshop\u2019s blog, which Amirhossein Yazdanbod*\u2014an engineer who was also a writer and later published a short story collection\u2014had taken responsibility for.<\/p>\n Many years have passed since then\u2026<\/p>\n Writers emerged from those classes\u2014unfortunately, I was not among them.<\/p>\n Amirhossein Yazdanbod moved to Canada; I do not know whether it was before the professor or after him\u2026 In one session, I saw Yazdanbod and Mohammad Ali sitting together, talking.<\/p>\n Mohammad Mohammad Ali passed away last year\u2026<\/p>\n And we continue circling through night and day\u2014<\/p>\n still.<\/p>\n This story is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Mohammad Ali, who, beyond being a writer, was also a noble human being.<\/p>\n