2. THIS IS ONLY THE BEGIN. STORIES OF A FUTURE TO BE TOLD (ENG VERSION)

10. The fateful dress rehearsal

"You're just scared." Ayhan teased her.

"Alright, I'm in!" replied Leyla, extending her hand towards Ayhan. They exchanged a squeeze.

"There, perfect..." sighed Sanem looking up. "Are you satisfied now?" she said looking seriously at first one and then the other. "It seems the roles have reversed with time. Until recently, I was the child of the group, instead look at you now." she shot back.

"That's right. Girls, Sanem is right. We are in a public place and you are no longer children. You are two married women!" pointed out Deniz to them.

"Besides, we are here for Deren. Let's go back to talking about her. She is the main character." added Sanem.

"Little lamb? What do you think Deren will wear instead? Have you seen him?" asked Deniz.

"Who? Me? No! Not at all!" exclaimed Sanem.

"She really didn't mention anything to you? I mean, you're her best man after all?" asked her sister suspiciously.

"No, she didn't mention anything to me. She did it all by herself. I will find out with you." replied Sanem truthfully.

"But what do you think? You must have an idea..." said Ayhan looking at her.

"Here..." began Sanem reflectively looking up at the ceiling lit by the spotlights.

"I don't agree with what my sister said. Deren will also dress as a 'leader', if you will. It's true that she normally has a strong, creative style of a certain level, but that doesn't mean she can't choose a romantic fairytale princess wedding dress. When it comes to weddings, there are no canons to adhere to, so I believe she will surprise us." Sanem said.

"I agree with your idea little lamb." said Deniz with a thoughtful look, her hand resting under her chin. He had been paying close attention to her words. Surely she was drawing out her therapist's analysis.

"Why not... maybe from the dress we will discover a new side of Deren that we have never seen. We will understand how she wants to present herself to her husband. How she wants to see herself, above all." she said.

"Or it will confirm her style." Leyla said simply.

"We will find out." Ayhan replied.

Meanwhile, Deren, in the dressing room with two seamstresses, helped her into the dress for the last time before the big day.

"Are you nervous, Mrs Deren?" asked young Mrs Ezgi, the most experienced seamstress. In the atelier she was renowned for being able to work miracles in even the most unthinkable situations. She had hands of gold.

The other seamstress was Mrs Sevge, Ezgi's right-hand woman. There was no Ezgi without Sevge in the atelier. The two made up for each other.

Sevge had a millimetric eye. Capable of glimpsing the smallest flaw, error or change even before Ezgi. She practically had a tape measure in her eyes. She knew how to quantify an error before even measuring it. It was no wonder then, that such a couple worked for the most famous atelier in Istanbul and all of Turkey.

"Not for the dress. I'm sure it will be perfect." Deren replied serenely.

"And for tomorrow?" asked Ezgi then.

"Yes, for tomorrow I am, and very much so. I want everything to be perfect." admitted Deren with emotion.

"It will be, it will be." Ezgi reassured her.

Deren had chosen an unusual dress for her standards. Normally she would never have given such a dress a second glance. It was not at all her style, but when she saw it, a black and white photo immediately came to her mind. A cherished photo, which her grandmother, Pembe, proudly displayed on the console table at the entrance of her house. To that photo, framed in a massive gold frame, her grandmother paid constant attention, cleaning it and talking to it every day.