Mermaids in Turkey

Chapter Five

Ayça gave the workers strict instructions to knock down the walls surrounding the brick fountain and the brick wall statue behind it. As the day wound down little by little the workers began to trickle home until it was just Alp, Ayça, Nehir and Selma. Ayça was clearing out the dead flowers at the base of the fountain while Alp was finishing the hauling away of the last bit of cement wall remnants. 

"We are going to go into town to bring dinner, we will be back!" Selma called out to them as Nehir jumped into the drivers seat and they set off to town. 

Not long after they had left, Ayça found Alp who was covered in sweat. Taking a break on one of the tree stumps of a rotted tree that the men had cut down earlier in the day. 

"Your team should be here within the hour, its probably best we stop for now" she stroked her arm "Im going to go and shower. You are more than welcome to use any of the other twenty showers" 

Alp shook his head "No, I don't want Selma to have my head for tracking in dirt" he motioned behind him "im going to use that outdoor shower" as he grabbed his black duffel bag. 

She was dying to just throw herself on her bed and sleep, but she knew she would regret getting into bed all dirty later. Ayça wrapped her hair in one of her scarves as she flung the doors open to her balcony. The salty air tickling her nostrils as she inhaled deeply. She took the wet wash cloth and ran it down her neck, the coolness felt calming on her hot sticky neck. She unbuttoned her shirt, tossing it aside the sea air caressing the tops of her breasts. She was busy wiping away the days grim off of her body before jumping in the shower. She reached to the back about to unfasten her bra strap when something she shouldn't have seen caught her eye. 

On a bamboo platform partial obscured by the foliage was a naked man. The river rock around the platform shielded him from prying eyes on the ground but not from where she stood on her balcony. Her eyes watched the water slide down in rivers in every perfectly formed block of thick muscle and disappeared into the valleys between. The muscles in his back powerful, flexed expanding and contracting as he rinsed the soap out of his hair. She watched breathlessly, aware that she was a voyeur to such an intimate moment. As much as she wanted to turn and go back inside her feet wouldn't move. He turned slightly and then thats when she saw it. She gasped watching how it slapped his thigh with each movement. 

He must have felt someone watching him for at that moment he looked up and locked eyes with her. Ayça let out a squeak as she dropped her washcloth and tried to cover up her chest. In her flurry she stubbed her toe and tripped again on that damn painting. 

The rest of the evening she avoided him like the plague not even daring to throw a glance in his direction. She could feel his eyes darting over to her trying to get her attention. But instead she filled her time engaged in conversation with the other guests answering their questions about her work as a set designer. They were in the business after all and her father ran one of the most successful production companies. One of the guests, an older woman with chin length jet black hair asked if she could have an extra lantern to put outside of their villa. Ayça volunteered to go out to the shed and get it for her, anything to get away from Alp 

"You have been avoiding me all night" 

Ayça used all of her will power not to groan loudly. "Im not, its busy. We have lots of guests" she shoved the shed door shut "the world doesn't revolve around you Mr. Famous" 

She noticed the black duffel bag that was slung over his shoulder "Where are you going?" 

"Otel Hezen, my room was one of the few that managed to escape the wrath of the fire" 

Typical famous actor behavior of course why wasn't she surprised. No amount of money would ever make this hotel good enough for him, he would rather go back to a burnt down shell. She stood silent in her thoughts not hearing when he was was saying something to her. 

"Well?"

"Well what?" she asked placing her hand on her hips. 

"Well did you like what you saw?" as he threw the bag into the trunk of his Porsche. 

she scoffed "There wasn't much to see"

He laughed "Thats not what your face said" as he shut the trunk door and jumped into the drivers seat. 

Ayca felt herself beginning to get flustered "Don't flatter yourself" as she called after him, the gravel kicking up as he rode off into the night. 

That night she lay tossing in bed. Even her silk chemise felt scratchy and uncomfortable. She pulled her grandfathers journal out of her nightstand and began to read. It started out normal enough he wrote about how his daughters were his pride and joy and his family his most valuable possession. However the more she read the stranger it got. The carefree man from the beginning turned into a paranoid delusional character. He wrote about a buried treasure that he and his friend Ferit had found. I fear that Ferit has been corrupted and I can no longer trust him. In the event that I am no longer around I will leave clues to a map that can save the hotel in its most dire need and protect my family from financial ruin. On the next page there were four years written over and over and over again. Page after page the same numbers repeating as if a mad man had written them.  Where have she seen these dates before? 

A noise outside made her jump, she watched as an owl swooped down just barely missing her balcony and landed on the single brick that was jutting out of one of the walls. Thats it! The brick wall behind the fountain had dates on it! 

The full moon illuminated the courtyard, it was silent except for the scurrying of the nocturnal animals and the hooting of a lone owl. She ran her fingers along the bricks each of them with a different year. She pushed but nothing happened no sound of gears turning or anything. Maybe she was wrong, this was nothing 

She sat down at the foot of the brick wall. She was sure this was the place the journal mentioned but maybe it was just some silly wall. She noticed a mound of sand at her side. The full moon came out from behind the clouds and illuminated the bricks. One of the bricks had a very noticeable crack all around it. She wedged her key in that crack and began to twist and twist. The grout in between began to give way, until she was able to pry the brick out. There was a small opening where the brick had been and inside a small rolled up piece of paper. 

She held the piece of paper that was tied with twill in her hand. She unrolled it and under the light of the moon it said There are few brave enough to stare at their own reflection and even fewer brave enough to search my waters. I rest in the watery depths at the place where the sun and moon come together

She heard a noise behind her, and the hairs on her neck stood on end. It felt as if someone was watching her from the shadows.

"Is someone there?" she called out. But there was no response except for that of the owl that flew over head and up into the night sky.