Distance

Chapter 2

In the rich neighborhood of Rizavi in Istanbul, the courier guy drove through the streets housing luxurious villas; one more magnificent than the other. He stopped in front of No.22 and rang the doorbell. No. 22 wasn't nesting a villa though. It was a comparatively small, two-story house with metallic gray exterior. The house screamed about the class and excellent taste of its owner and was small, yet, expensive than some of those villas around.

An elegant maid received the official-looking letter addressed to Yagiz Egemen. Going back inside, she gave the letter to Nisan, Yagiz's secretary since the old times.

Nisan approached the dining table laden with a simple breakfast and placed the letter in front of Yagiz.

"It's for you, Yagiz bey."

"Thank you, Nisan."

Yagiz Egemen sat there, in a crisp three piece, with a stubble that wasn't there before. He put down the cup of coffee and picked up the letter.

Yagiz: "Looks like Arif bey didn't take too long to be convinced," he said while opening the letter.

Nisan: "How couldn't he be? We have been doing excellent recently." She paused to shut his breifcase. "I had the financial department prepare the new strategy as well," she added after a pause, "they will be presenting it today."

Yagiz: "Great, but it's a bit early. I'll be going with the old one for a while. Anyway," he continued while getting up from the table, "let's get going. There's a lot to do today."

The chauffeur opened the door for him and he got in.

This wasn't like Yagiz Egemen at all. Being driven around by a chauffeur.

A lot of things Yagiz Egemen did now wasn't like him at all.

As the car drove around Istanbul, Yagiz thought about how far he had come in the past two years.

He was now co-head of the cosmetics giant Solaker Cosmetics along with Mert Solaker. The company was faring better than ever and they couldn't have asked for a better potential. His partner, Mert, was a great friend to him. He was the one of the only two children of a filthy rich family. His parents had died a few years ago and he had struggled to keep the company going and take care of his twin sister. The company had gone into bankruptcy before Yagiz had bought half the shares from Mert, and they had revived the company together. Since then, they had developed a special bond.

The roads were blocked today. There was some protest going on. The chauffeur explained that he had to take a different route today.

Yagiz was lost in his thoughts when he saw it. The Yali in its full magnificence.

The memories were awakened in his mind like the color is added to curry and stirred. Images, flashes, sounds; all of it came back. It played like a poorly edited montage while he struggled to get hold of his mind. But it was no use. As much as he would try to shut all of it out, he would never be able to do it.

A flash. Selin's funeral. Just two days after the launch night. He remembered looking at her picture beside the coffin and realizing that none of them had done what was desperately needed: take Selin to the doctor. Regrets aside, he resolved to remember her only with her beautiful smile and contagious happiness.

Another flash. A fortnight after the launch night. Gokhan and him sitting by riverside and him telling about Hazim being bed-ridden. Yagiz had gone to seen his father only once. That too before he got crippled on the night of Selin's death. The confrontation was bitter but much needed.

Hazim had killed his father, he had taken up the dead man's son as his own. But that was not what pained him. What pained him was being raised up as an investment. Hazim Egemen adopted a boy, gave him the best of education, all the facilities, everything that a luxurious lifestyle includes, only to make him a golden boy. Someone who would look after the Egemen estate after him, someone who would make sure that the Egemens are happy. Someone who is bound to look after the Egemens because they had spent their money on him. Someone who wasn't allowed mistakes because he was needed to clear Egemens' mess.