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

10. The fateful dress rehearsal

It was the wedding photo of her and her husband, who passed away early. The grandfather, whom Deren never met in person, but whom she learned to love thanks to her grandmother's stories.

In the photo, grandmother Pembe poses, embracing her husband with a loving gaze. 'Grandpa' as Deren called him was much taller than his wife, and in that photo, although they were both very young, Pembe looked like a child because of her stature. In her hand was a bouquet of pink and white roses (Pembe means pink in Turkish), as she had told her.

As she was lost in her reflection in the mirror, she thought back to the day she first saw the dress in the atelier.

She had just discarded all the choices they had offered based on her tastes, so she decided to take a look herself, and scrolling through the various dresses hanging, in a corner, alone, she saw it. For a moment her heart stopped.

Without a word she reached out and caressed it with a trembling hand. She was afraid that, that was just a dream.

"The picture..." she whispered with tears in her eyes. " But how is this possible? It can't be..." she whispered reaching for that dress.

She immediately touched it, to make sure it was real.

At that moment without realising it, she was joined by Mrs Ezgi.

"Mrs Deren?" she asked seeing her trembling. "Are you all right?"

"This is exactly like my grandmother's wedding dress..." said Deren through tears stroking it gently.

"Ah, indeed this is a rare piece. One of a kind. It is part of a collection inspired by vintage designs from the 1950s." Ezgi reported to her.

"My grandmother got married in 1955, in fact." Deren said.

"Oh, your grandmother may have bought the original version of the dress you see now then. It is possible." replied the seamstress.

"Do you like it?" asked Ezgi kindly, handing her a tissue for her tears.

"Well, I have a very special sentimental memory attached to this dress. It reminds me of my grandmother." said Deren through tears.

"Oh, your grandmother is...?" she left the sentence hanging.

"She has been missing for many years now." confirmed Deren wiping away her tears. With the handkerchief.

"Thank you." she said pointing to the handkerchief.

"You're welcome. I'm very sorry for your loss. You miss her a lot, don't you?" said Ezgi cutely.

"Every day." admitted Deren. "She was the most important person to me. The person who understood me the most." she added, looking at the dress.

Then she turned sharply towards Mrs Ezgi.

"Normally I wouldn't even consider such a dress, but... can I try it on?" asked Deren with a new light in her eyes.

"Wait, I need to hear from the department head for a moment. This is a sample garment, and as you may have noticed it was in a separate hanging stand. I knew it had to be archived."

"Ah... I see." replied Deren with a broken heart. Mrs Ezgi saw the light go out in her eyes.

"One moment. I'll inquire." she said walking away.

Deren stood there, bewitched, motionless with her hands on tha familiar dress as if holding it in fear that it might disappear from her hands like a dream. Poof! Instinctively, she brought the fabric to her nose, hoping, albeit in vain, to be able to smell the perfume of her grandmother.