We arrived at the bazaar but this time we stepped down in a much less crowded area. There were only a few shops on either side of the road and all the shops were closed.
I followed Walid through a armored door and we walked through the narrow hallway and entered one of the shops. He lead me to the staff room where we went through yet another door.
We stepped inside another room and I looked around at the normal sized room with tables spread out everywhere and a pool table placed in one corner.
I noticed Pasha and Isak seated around one of the tables, looking through the laptops in front of them. Both of them looked up when me and Walid entered the room.
"Oh, look who's here." Isak wiggled his eyebrows at me while I rolled my eyes and took a seat on the chair Walid pulled out for me. "Now it will be more fun to come here everyday and-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because of Walid's heavy hand landing on the back of his head. The sound echoed in the room and I winced.
"Finally, he always gets away with it." Pasha had a satisfied look while Isak glared at his cousin.
"I wasn't ready for that." Isak muttered, scratching the back of his head while Walid took a seat beside me.
The door opened suddenly, making everyone's attention turn to it. I watched as Alauddin made his way towards us. "What did I tell you?" Walid suddenly snapped, looking at his younger brother.
"I won't sit back and do nothing when there's so much we have to do." Alauddin announced, taking a seat across from us.
"We? Kiddo go home you have homework to do." Isak teased, making Alauddin glare at him.
"From now on, this is my school. Now, hand over my homework."
"I've told you to stay away from here. How many times do I have to tell you?" Walid asked.
"You can't make me listen this time. You've forced me to sit in a classroom all these years but don't you get it? When those bastards attacks us, my education won't save us. You need people you trust, especially now." Alauddin let out, leaning back in his seat.
I felt bad for him. He was so young yet he felt the need to leave his studies to protect his family...
My eyes turned to Walid and I noticed he didn't like the idea but he didn't argue either. I couldn't help but notice how much Alauddin's education meant for Walid and I guessed it was because he didn't want Alauddin to end up like his own self.
He was trying to protect him by keeping him away...
"Fine. But one mistake from you and you're going back to where you came from." Walid agreed.
Alauddin nodded and all of a sudden, the door behind us opened again. I turned to see Rashid walk in with Zaid behind him.
"Missed me?" Zaid said, a grin on his face as he approached us.
"Now, what are you doing here?" Walid frowned, standing up to greet him.
"Come on, so many bones to break and I'll miss that opportunity?" Zaid raised his eyebrow at Walid after giving him a manly hug.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Alauddin whistled while Isak and Pasha started drumming with their hands on the table to celebrate Zaid's return.
I couldn't help but smile while watching everyone welcome Zaid. Even a fool could tell that the bond between these men was unbreakable. I inwardly prayed to God to always keep them together and safe.
Zaid stilled all of a sudden when he noticed me. "Nice to see you here, did you pass the test?"
His question made me look at him confused. "What test?" I asked.
"Oh, I thought Walid had told you the rules. Whoever enters this room, can't leave without a round of Russian roulette. It's just to prove your loyalty. Doesn't matter if you're a woman or not..." Zaid continued, his words made the color drain from my face.
"W-what." I stuttered, feeling my hands start shaking.
Suddenly, almost all of them erupted in loud laughs. I looked at Walid and he was trying to hide the amusement showing on his face.
I let out a sigh in relief when I realized he was just playing with me. Zaid laughed and ran a hand through his brown locks falling on his forehead before taking a seat beside Rashid.
"Very funny." I huffed, crossing my arms.
"Sorry, won't happen again. How are you though? I heard about what happened, I hope you didn't get hurt?" The amusement disappeared from his face and a serious expression took over.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking." I assured, forgetting the prank he just pulled on me and giving him a smile.
After that, all the attention was back on Walid and they waited for him to speak. Walid leaned back in his seat and looked at me. Just as he was about to say something, a knock on the door interrupted him.
"Come in, Zara." Walid said, the name caught my attention and I quickly turned around to see who had entered.
My eyes landed on a young and beautiful girl. Her dark brown hair was put in a high ponytail and she had big brown eyes and a captivating smile.
"You asked for me, abi?" The girl stopped by our table. I relaxed when I heard her call him abi, which I knew meant brother in turkish.
"Yes. Can you take Jasmin with you? Go to the market or something." Upon hearing Walid mention my name, the girl turned to me with almost wide eyes.
"O-of course I will. Let's go, abla." She stuttered out, seeming as if my presence was making her nervous.
I looked at Walid and he nodded for me to go ahead. "But don't step out of the bazaar." Walid warned and I nodded before proceeding to follow Zara. "Wait." Walid said abruptly, turning to look at Zara. "I got a phone call from your teacher telling me about Alauddin's behavior last week. Was it true, what he did to the teacher?"
The question made Alauddin groan in annoyance. "We already talked about this!" He defended.
"Of course it's true! The poor teacher, Mr Ilyas just told Alauddin not to talk on the phone during lecture but Alauddin responded with throwing the whole table at Mr Ilyas." Zara was quick to say while Alauddin glared at her for ratting him out. "Mr Ilyas started bleeding as well, the table hit him pretty bad."
"Look at this BBC news she won't stop talking. Stop making it seem like I killed the man. It was only a few droplets of blood." Alauddin frowned.
"You're such a disrespectful person. You don't even respect your elders, every opportunity you get you're ready to throw hands." Zara shoot back, crossing her arms.
I noticed Isak and Pasha lean back in their seat as if they were watching a drama they loved while Zaid and Rashid sighed as if whatever was happening in front of them wasn't happening for the first time. Walid had a blank face while staring at Alauddin.
"And why does anything I do bother you? Why do you keep your eyes on every move I take? I don't remember anyone giving you the task of spying on me!" Alauddin stood up in anger.
"Walid abi asked me and I told him. I'm not spying on you. I'm just telling you that you should be ashamed of yourself for what you did. You're turning twenty soon, you should've graduated senior year last year but you're still where you are because you don't even open your books." Zara let out, making Alauddin narrow his eyes at her.
"Why would I have the need to open my books when you're always there to write my assignments?" He blurted out.
"And that's another thing! Did you hear that Walid abi? He forces me to do all his homework and assignments! See, he admitted it himself!" Zara turned to Walid and pointed at Alauddin.
"Oh shut up Walid abi's little secret agent. I'll deal with you later." Alauddin warned, making her hiss in fear meanwhile he turned to look at Walid. "She's talking nonsense. I didn't-"
"Enough." Walid interrupted, his hand raised to warn Alauddin from saying anything further. Alauddin's shoulders slumped and he glared at Zara one last time before sitting back down. "Zara, thank you for informing me."
Zara turned to me before leading me out of the room. We stepped outside and I wrapped my arms around myself as we walked through the empty street.
"I'm sorry for what happened. I couldn't even introduce myself properly, I'm Zara." She held out her hand and I shook it.
"Jasmin." I smiled. "And it's fine, although I don't understand how Alauddin's making you do his assignments for him. You stood up to him pretty well back there."
"Well, I try to stand up for myself most of the time but sometimes when Walid abi isn't present or involved, I fail." She explained and we took a left, stepping into a similar street.
"I see." I nodded. I wanted to ask her if her and Alauddin were friends but decided against it. I had seen the way Alauddin had looked at her when she had first entered the room, giving me the answer to my question.
"Enough of him. How are you? I can't believe I'm finally meeting you. Everyone's talking about you. They want to see you, which I now think is a bad idea because they'll cast the evil eye on you. Mashallah you're so pretty." She looked at me with adoration.
"Look who's talking. You're more than just pretty." I spoke honestly, making her shyly look down. She was so adorable.
She was perfect for Alauddin...
I could see that we were getting closer to the busy market. "Tell me about yourself." I started, wanting to know more about her.
"Well, I live just down that street." She pointed at the apartments. "I work at a cafe at the market, I can show you when we arrive. And ummm....I recently turned eighteen and I'm in my final year in high school."
"You called Walid abi....which means brother in turkish. I'm guessing you're turkish, right?" My question made her nod.
"I'm mixed, my father is Turkish and my mother was Pakistani." She stated.
"Was?"
"Yeah, she passed away when I was five." She declared, a sad smile forming on her lips.
"I'm so sorry. May Allah forgive all her sins and grant her paradise." I prayed, genuinely feeling for her.
"Ameen."
I couldn't help but feel grateful for having my parents. Zara had lost her mother and so had Walid and Alauddin. I couldn't even imagine how they must've felt.
The only thing I could do was pray to God to ease their sufferings...
All of a sudden, the peaceful street was interrupted by two women stepping out of the three-story apartment building, stopping in front of us on the narrow street we were walking on.
I watched them bicker and raise their voice against each other. I noticed two boys who seemed to be around eight clinging to the women's legs, who were most probably their mothers.
When they almost started dragging each other's hair in front of the kids, I couldn't take it anymore and stepped in. "Excuse me, please calm down. Stop fighting in front of the kids!" I tried to stop them as I got in between.
"Stop barking like the dog that you are!" One of them said to the other, ignoring me completely.
"You ugly snake. I considered you not just my friend but my sister! You can't even sacrifice this much for me!" The second woman said.
"Oh just shut up! It's your day today to watch the kids you witch!" They went on and on and their kids started crying, making them finally shut up.
"What's wrong with you, why are you fighting in the middle of the street and that too in front of your kids?" I asked in disbelief.
A few people were peeking through the windows, wanting to watch the drama. "Who are you? Stop interfering." One of them said, glaring at me.
I sighed and spent my next ten minutes trying to help them solve their problem. I felt distressed when I found out the two friends were single mothers who took turns in watching their kids.
However, the woman named Seren had gotten a call from the family she worked as a housekeeper for and they needed her to work extra today. Seren wanted the second woman Mina to watch the kids today but Mina was refusing because apparently it was Seren's task to do that today.
"Why don't the boys go to school?" I asked.
"We don't have the money to send them to school. I sell fruits in the market. We barely make it to fulfill our needs. My husband died in a accident and I don't have anyone else to turn to." Mina said, caressing her son's hair.
"Why don't you turn to the Aydin family? I heard they help a lot of people. Especially Walid..." I wanted to see what their thoughts were of Walid.
I had seen people adore him last week when we had first arrived in the bazaar. But those were all men and it wouldn't hurt to know what the women thought...
"For starters, we're too proud to accept charity. And then, let's say we were in a critical situation and we had to ask for the Aydin's help, who would we turn to? We used to have sister Nuray. She would always be here for us. But now, none of the Aydin's women come here. We can't approach Walid now can we? That's just embarrassing....he's a man and he's busy with other things." Mina continued, making my shoulders almost slump.
I felt bad that the voice of the women in this city was not heard. After Nuray's death, whom I assumed was Walid's mother, why did no one come to check on the women?
"You shouldn't see it as charity. There are many other ways people can help each other than giving charity. You should think about it, for your children's sake at least." I managed to give them a reassuring smile. "But, I'll see you both again. Hopefully next time we meet, I have a solution to your problems."
"Who are you? And why are you trying to help us?" Seren asked, both of them looking at me with confusion.
"Because I want you to know that you're not forgotten. Both of you are just as valuable now as you were when your husbands were alive. Your kids are just as special now as they were when they had their father's shadow over them." My words made the two women share a glance with each other before looking back at me.
"You can help us, but what about all the other people who are silently struggling like we are?" Mina raised her eyebrows.
"God is great, inshallah everything turns out fine." I said, giving them one last smile before walking away with Zara beside me.
"Why did you not tell them who you are?" Zara asked.
"They wouldn't tell me everything they told me if they had known who I was." I explained.
"Oh, right." She let out. "But you do know that Mina is right. I live close by and I know all these people. I know a lot of them are struggling, you can't help everyone."
"That's a mistake we as humans do. We live with the thought that we can't help everyone and the same thought restrains us from helping the ones we can. We think that helping one won't change anything, but that's not right. If everyone starts helping that one person, together we start helping a lot of people." I said, looking at the busy street that we arrived in.
Zara stared at me, the adoration in her eyes made me chuckle. Soon enough, we wandered around the market and I felt thankful that no one knew who I was yet.
While we strolled around, we interacted with a lot of people since everyone was so friendly.
We finally stopped by a stall where a woman was selling baklavas and jalebis. Zara insisted on treating me some jalebis because according to her, this woman made the best jalebis in town.
"Are you new here dear?" The elderly woman asked, putting the freshly made jalebis for us on the uncoated paper plates.
"Kinda. I've only been here once before even though I'm born and raised in Rosew." I said, inwardly thinking about how silly it sounded.
No wonder I hadn't seen Walid before...I never wandered around to this part of town.
"Really? Welcome to our neighborhood then!" She beamed.
"Thank you, I feel welcomed." I smiled and took the plate she held out for me.
"Aunty, how's uncle Musa's health now?" Zara asked, taking her own plate from the woman.
"Same as before." The woman smiled sadly. I noticed the stress radiating from her face and once again, I felt my heart aching for someone else.
She seemed to be at least sixty years old, her gray hair was peeking through the scarf around her head. She should've been at home, resting but here she was working and trying to make a living.
After finishing eating, we said our goodbye to the woman and walked away. I couldn't help but ask Zara about the woman's husband.
"He's suffering from dementia. It's so bad he can't even get up from bed. Aunty Nasrin has to work because his pension isn't enough and she also takes care of him herself. They had a son but he got married and moved out of country, taking their money with him and leaving them behind." Zara told me.
The world was indeed unfair...
~
I said goodbye to Zara and took a right to walk into the street where Walid's car was parked. I had spent more than an hour with Zara and she had showed me around.
We had chatted away and time had passed by quickly. I also found out she was best friends with Asiya, which was why she was close with Walid and his family.
As I neared the shop, I saw all the guys standing outside. I couldn't help but notice how powerful they looked. The reason to that was not just their formal clothing or the guns that were peeking through their waistbands. It was just something about the way they were carrying themselves.
My eyes landed on Walid and my cheeks flushed when I noticed he was already staring at me. I quickened my pace but stopped abruptly when Asaf suddenly appeared from the corner. He looked furious and made his way towards Walid.
"What the f*ck am I hearing?" Asaf yelled, grabbing Walid's collar. Walid's eyebrow raised and he looked at the grip on his collar then back at Asaf.
"I can't guess, but you'll surely hear your neck crack if you don't move your hands from me." Walid replied, sounding bored while Asaf on the other hand was shaking with anger.
"You brought him here, had a tea party with him right under my f*cking nose. How the f*ck dare you?" Asaf spoke lowly, putting force on each sentence to show how serious he was.
"I didn't think you'd get jealous. I'll have a tea party with you right now, let's go." Like always, Walid had to get under his brother's skin and make the situation worse.
I sighed and hastily walked up to them, stopping just beside Alauddin. I had no idea what they were talking about but then again, when did I ever know?
Asaf's eyes suddenly landed on me. After a brief moment of staring at me, he let go of Walid and motioned for him to follow him inside. Both brothers stepped inside and the guys followed quickly.
"Where are you going, Jessy?" Alauddin raised his eyebrow at me as he grabbed my arm. "Stay here." He ordered before following them inside.
Not having any other choice, I crossed my arms and leaned against the window of the shop. I tried to reassure myself by thinking that all the guys were inside and they would surely stop the brothers if they started fighting again like they had done last time...
Suddenly, Russell, the man I had seen earlier who stared at me weirdly rushed towards me. "Are they inside?" He asked and I nodded. He didn't say anything further and opened the door to step inside.
However, when he did open the armored door, loud noises were heard. My eyes widened and I rushed inside. I ran past the man and found my way to the door.
Just when I stepped inside, Asaf had picked up one of the chairs and threw it straight at the door, just a small bit away from where Walid was standing by the door.
I squealed in fear when I saw a chair flying towards me in full speed. Walid stepped in front of me swiftly, making the chair hit his back before falling to the floor with a loud noise.
I looked up at Walid and he was already staring down at me. He didn't even flinch as he held my arms protectively. The whole room had fallen silent and I could see how the rage slowly appeared in Walid's eyes.
"Don't..." I almost whispered, holding his shirt tightly to try and prevent him from turning around and make the situation worse. His chest moved up and down as he tried to breath properly. "He didn't mean to, it was an accident...please." I spoke lowly only for Walid to hear. Just when he was about to turn around and give into his inner demons, my hands tightened around his shirt. "You're coming with me, let's go." I said loudly for everyone to hear.
I started dragging him with me and after some failed attempts, he finally gave in and followed me out of the room. "What are you doing?" Walid asked when I wouldn't let go of his arm and kept pulling him with me.
"I told you, you're going with me." I repeated, stepping outside.
"Where?" He asked when I lead him to his car.
I stopped and let go of him. "You decide." My answer made him gaze at me before he sighed and pulled out his keys. We got in the car and he started driving away.
"If you think this will stop me from smashing his head, think again." He said suddenly, his eyes focused on the road in front of him.
"Will this change anything?" I asked, slowly leaning closer to him. Before he could predict what was happening, I left a kiss on his cheek.
I quickly retreated and pulled my hair behind my ear as I glanced at him. He had stilled with shock and didn't look away from the road.
"Think again." He said suddenly.
Of course...one kiss wasn't enough for him now was it.
I turned to him again but this time I reached for his hand that he had just changed gears with. I held his hand against my cheek and left a kiss on his palm.
"Think again." He repeated when I let go of his hand.
I put my lips into a thin line to stop myself from smiling. I leaned closer to him and left a kiss on his neck. I got back to my seat and sunk down.
"I can't think anymore than that. We'll get into an accident." I decided, looking at the road ahead.
"Don't worry, I'm a skillful driver." He was quick to say.
"No!"
"How about now?" He stopped the car in the middle of the road, making my eyes open wide. "Hurry or I'll go back and smash his head."
"Are you blackmailing me?" My eyes widened even more.
"Nah, I'm just finishing what you started." He shrugged.
"I didn't start anything." I said in a matter of fact tone.
Suddenly, cars started honking behind us and Walid cursed under his breath before starting the car to drive away. I couldn't help but laugh at his frustration.
"That's what you get for being a shameless brat." I told him, making him look at me challengingly.
"Shameless brat I see." He mused, nodding to himself while I couldn't stop smiling.
A while later, we arrived at a path I recognized as the path leading to the gates of the Aydin mansion. "Where are we going?" I asked when he took a right instead of continuing towards the gates.
He glanced at me but didn't reply as he stopped right in front of a big and green lawn with the beautiful green trees surrounding it.
We stepped down from the car and I looked around, recognizing the place. It was the view from the terrace of Walid's room, which meant we were still close to the house.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I fell into steps with Walid and we walked together on the path I assumed lead to the house.
"Why are you doing this?" I finally asked the question I had wanted to ask since the last few hours.
"Doing what?"
"This..." I paused and looked up at him. "After last night, I thought..."
"I would be mad and angry with you?" Walid finished my sentence. My eyes fell to the ground in front of us and I nodded. I heard him sigh and hold my hand. "Come here." He lead me to the only bench just a few feet away from us and made me sit down. He sat down beside me and our eyes locked. "I didn't give you a reason to trust me, I kept you in the dark and I still do. I don't blame you for not having faith in me."
"Still, what I assumed about you was just foolish." I stated.
"That's true. It's good you start recognizing your stupidness." He admitted, making me narrow my eyes at him. My hand raised and I smacked his arm. "Calm down, I was playing." He defended, rubbing his arm.
"You didn't trust me either! If you had trusted me, you wouldn't keep me in the dark." I huffed.
"It's to protect you." He said.
"I don't want protection." I stated.
"Be a good girl...and maybe you'll get it without protection." He smirked slyly, once again not taking me seriously.
"You're a shameless brat for real, you know that right?"
"Yes. I figured since my reputation is already ruined, why put a limit to the shamelessness?" He raised his perfectly shaped eyebrows at me, making me want to slap the sheepish smile of his face.
I glared at him and he just kept staring at me. After long moments, I relaxed and leaned back against the bench. We didn't look away from each other and I almost smiled, looking into those eyes of his. He was so handsome...
His burning gaze on my face made me nervous all of a sudden. I tried to stay sane when his arm rested on the bench behind me and his hand reached for my face. I looked at him silently while he focused on putting my hair behind my ear with his fingers.
"God made you so beautiful." His sudden compliment made my heart beat faster and my face start burning.
He had never openly complimented me like that, which made me feel anxious in a good way. Walid on the other hand seemed to be lost in a trance as he studied my face...
"It's a shame he made you brainless as well." And here I had wondered what had happened to the Walid Aydin I knew.
"You-" I started but cut myself off when I didn't know what to say. "Whatever, I won't waste my precious time on you." I informed and turned around so my back was facing him.
I felt him coming closer and soon enough, his arms sneaked around my waist. My heart almost stopped beating when he pulled me closer, making my back glued to his chest.
"I'm the only one you're gonna waste your time on." He stated.
"I'd rather waste it on someone who knows how to appreciate me." I expressed, trying to stop my smile when his arms tightened around me and he leaned down, trying to look at me.
"Someone?" His eyebrow raised when I looked up at him.
"Yes....someone who's name is not Walid Aydin." I announced, my words made him send me a warning through his eyes, warning me not to go further because the consequences would be severe. But I didn't know why I was enjoying teasing him. "A real gentleman." I continued. His sudden grip on my hair made me wince and he pulled me back, making me look up at him. "Shame on you, you just proved my point."
A faint smirk appeared on his lips and his eyes pierced into mine. "You want a gentleman?" He asked suddenly, his eyebrow raising.
I didn't reply because I knew I wasn't capable of forming any words. The way he was looking at me made me tremble with nervousness.
All of a sudden, his hand raised in front of my face and my eyes caught the single red rose he was holding. It made me wonder how he had managed to pluck the rose from the few roses planted around the bench, without me even noticing...
I watched as he crushed the rose with his fingers before slowly letting go of the petals, one after another. The red rose petals landed on my face like feather, making me close my eyes.
"Is this gentleman enough?" His fingers removed the petals from my eyes and I opened my eyes to look at him. His intense gaze made me shyly look away from him, feeling my face burn even more if possible. "Can someone else make you blush like this?" He asked confidently, his fingers tracing my face.
"W-Walid...let me go someone will see." I managed to say, trying to get out of his grip. The emotions I was feeling were scaring me and I figured it was best to just get away from him.
"No one will see. And what happened, I thought you enjoyed playing around?" I could hear the satisfaction in his voice without even having to look at him.
He had once again turned everything around. I didn't know when I would learn not to play with him because he always had the upper hand and he would always succeed with leaving me like the hot mess that I was...
I stayed silent and watched him pull my head back even more, exposing my neck to him. He leaned down but his eyes never left mine.
My heart made a faint jump when his lips connected with my chin. What made me loose my sanity more was the way he was looking at me while leaving small kisses on my jawline up to my lips.
His lips pressed against mine so lightly until he placed his teeth over my lower lip. He nibbled on it gently as he pulled back.
"Is this gentleman enough?" The act and his question made the fluttery feeling in my stomach reappear as I looked away from him and up at the blue sky.
I felt his grip on my hair loosen and he pulled me up, making me face him. He let go of my hair and the tresses fell down on my sides. He patted my hair in place, the way he always did after spending moments tormenting it.
"Maybe." I finally said, my words causing a glint appear in his eyes.
My hand reached out and my fingers traced his short beard as I rested my face against his neck. I didn't know why I had gotten the sudden urge to hold him close to me. I just couldn't stop admiring him today. I wanted to cling to him and never let him go.
I suspected the reason to that was because my respect for him grew when he didn't stop caring for me after I had done nothing but hurt him.
I had disappointed him so much but he hadn't uttered a word to complain about it. He had silently taken my wrath since the past few days...
"It's looking good." I announced, my fingers trailing around the stitches between his neck and shoulder.
The memory of that day he had been shot appeared in my mind but I quickly shook it away. The less I remembered from that day...the better.
"Hmm." He let out, busy intertwining our fingers together.
Moments passed as we sat in silence. The afternoon weather made the atmosphere even more peaceful for us. "Listen." I started.
"I'm listening."
"Earlier at the bazaar, I met some people, women to be specific. They were in need of help and I may have promised to help them." I announced.
"That's good. Why are you worried?" He asked, making me pull away and look at him.
"How am I supposed to help them? We're talking about children who doesn't go to school because they don't have the money for it."
"Why didn't they come to me?" He frowned at the thought of them not coming to ask for help.
"They don't feel comfortable. They mentioned how everything was good when your mother...was there for them before. But now, they don't have anyone to turn to." I informed.
I watched as he got lost in thoughts before he came back to his sense and nodded. "That's true, my mother used to be at the bazaar all the time and try and help everyone in need. I should've known that the women were left behind after her death..." He trailed off, guilt taking over him.
"How was you supposed to know you already have so much more to think about. Besides, it's not too late now. But the problem is, whom can I guide them to?" I asked.
Walid suddenly stared at me, a small smile forming on his lips. "Yourself?"
"Myself? What can I do?" Panic was already taking over me at the thought.
I had thought I could help them and recommend them a shelter or any place like that. I didn't think so far to help them myself because I seriously didn't know how I would succeed in doing that.
"I don't know. That's for you to find out. And don't worry about money, we have the money." He informed.
Sighing, I nodded and decided to find a solution later. "Walid." I called out seriously. "What happened to your sister?"
Upon hearing my question, he looked away and gazed at the view of the trees in front of him. He was silent for a moment before finally speaking up. "She was abducted during the attack fourteen years ago. You've probably heard about that day."
I had indeed heard about it. I was only six at that time but as I grew up, I heard terrible stories. Many lives were lost, especially of women and kids.
"Who was behind that attack?" I asked. Even though I had heard about it, I never knew why it had happened.
"Demir, he was in charge of Alav. He double crossed my father and wanted power over Rosew." Upon hearing him name the city Alav, the color drained from my face.
"Alav? Isn't that the city Mikael is the head of?" He nodded at my question and my shoulders slumped.
"The bastard, Mikael became the head only a few years ago after his father's death. And you can predict why we don't get along." Walid leaned down and rested his elbows on his knees. I could sense the tension.
"He wants to take over Rosew..." I trailed off, my blood pumping. Just when I had thought Mikael couldn't fall any lower. He wanted to repeat whatever Demir had done. The Demir that had killed children. "What are we going to do?"
Walid straightened and looked at me. "We?" He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You don't have to do anything other than try and be careful. The coming months won't be easy on us. Mikael has gained a lot of power and I'm telling you this because I want you to know that it's not a child's game. But I also want you to know that your life has been entrusted to Allah first and then to me. I'll shield you from harm until the very end."
The way he made me feel so protected made me emotional. My arms wrapped around him and I rested my head against his chest. His arms wrapping around me made me feel even more safe and secure.
"And your life is entrusted to Allah first and then to you. I'll be waiting for you to come home everyday. You have to make sure to come home...safely." Only the thought of something happening to him made my heart almost burst.
"God knows if I'm safe at home with all the ceramics laying around." He almost mused, making my eyebrows furrow with confusion.
"What?" I pulled away to look at him.
"Nothing, nothing." He quickly shook his head.
"Hmm." I let out, looking at him suspiciously. "Anyways, tell me something." I said, pulling up my legs and wrapping my arms around them as I stared at him.
"Tell you what?" He leaned back, watching me carefully.
"Anything." I shrugged. My response made his eyes drop to the black linen slide sandals I was wearing.
"I like your feet."
"You're disgusting. Stop looking at my feet." I warned, making him look up at me sheepishly.
"You wanted me to tell you something." He shrugged innocently.
"I meant something as in...anything but your obsession with my feet." I stopped myself from glaring at him. Couldn't he just for once start talking about himself and not me?
"Fine. I like your hair." His lips formed into a thin line and he seemed to have a hard time to stop himself from smiling when he saw my expression. "And I like when your face turns red. Just like it's turning right now."
My teeth clenched together and I tried to stay calm. "When I tell you to tell me something, kindly leave me or my body parts out of it." I sincerely asked.
"No can do. The only thing my eyes see is your body parts. What else am I supposed to look at?" I glared at him before I put my feet down and faced the front instead of looking at him. "You're gonna break your teeth." The fact that he was amused made me clench my teeth even harder and the frustration I was feeling made me want to strangle him but I kept calm and crossed my arms. "You're really mad over me complimenting you?"
"First of all, it's not complimenting if you do it only to annoy me. And second, I'm not mad because of that. You never tell me anything about yourself." I complained, still not looking at him.
"Okay, I'll tell you something about myself." He said, sounding honest. "I had a crush on my teacher-"
Before he could finish the sentence, I lunged at him. Unfortunately for me, he grabbed my wrists to stop me. "You're so annoying! How can someone be so annoying! Don't you have anything else to do than annoy me!" I let out, trying to get his hands away from me so I could proceed with showing him not to mess with me again.
"You wanted to know something about me." He reminded, turning me around and holding my arms tightly in front of me. I tried to wriggle free from him but he pressed his chest against me, holding me tightly.
"I am going to kill you." I warned. "Let go of me." In response, he snuggled his face into my neck, the tingles it caused interrupted my irritation.
"What do you want to know?" He asked suddenly, rocking us back and forth as he tried to calm me down.
"I don't want to know anything now. Let go of me." I said. He listened for once, which surprised me. His arms loosened and I pushed him away.
Turning around, I glared at him. I noticed his lip twitching, as if he was trying hard not to smile. I would never understand why he loved making me angry...
"Stop looking at me and go to that teacher of yours." I stated, looking away from him with a huff.
"Jealousy ruins relationships." He informed, still sounding amused.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll keep it in mind for my future relationships." I shoot back.
"I'll let that one slide." He said, not sounding so amused anymore.
I glanced at him and saw him lean against the bench and look ahead of him, a small frown formed on his face. I looked back and faced the front as well, crossing my arms.
We sat in silence and a few minutes passed. I felt him glancing at me, making me glance at him too. We repeated that a few times and we would look away every time we caught each other's eyes. That was until our eyes locked a few seconds longer. Both of us tried to stop our smiles but failed.
I chuckled and shook my head, forgetting how annoyed I was with him minutes ago. His arms reached out and he picked me up abruptly, making me sit between his legs on the bench. I stretched out my legs on the bench and leaned against him as he wrapped his arms around me.
"What did you do when your sister was abducted? What happened that day?" I asked abruptly.
"I was only thirteen, couldn't do much. But I tried to stop them from taking her, which resulted in them taking me as well." He replied, his fingers tracing my hair.
"And then?"
"And then my family thought we had died in the chaos, they mourned us instead of looking for us. Demir's men took us with them. I was being rebellious and showed a lot of attitude, which resulted in them taking it out on my sister. She was only five and they...cut this small finger of hers...right in front of my eyes." He held my ring finger, tracing it. My heart dropped and I gulped.
"Days later, I couldn't see them hurt her anymore and managed to take her with me and run. I put her in a random house and ran far away from the house. I got caught by Demir's men and I was out for days. When I woke up, I met Zaid for the first time in the cell they had put me in. I didn't know where I was, it wasn't the same place they had me at with my sister. With time, when the bastard Demir noticed how both me and Zaid would give his men a hard time and fight them fearlessly, he decided to train us. He wanted to make us his dogs. Too bad for him, he wasted two years to train us and in return we...killed him. Not only him, but all of them....and then we walked out freely. I told Zaid I couldn't go home without my sister. We looked for her, but only then did I notice that we weren't even in Alav. We were in a complete different city. Demir's plan of taking over Rosew obviously failed, which resulted in him hiding from my father. He had trained me to use me as a weapon to save himself. He had wanted to use me as a shield." He paused, letting out a sigh.
"Me and Zaid looked everywhere for my sister, but we couldn't find her. I didn't even know which city we had been in when I had put her in that house...I had killed all of Demir's men, not knowing I would need them to tell me what city I had been in with my sister. I never found her. I returned to Rosew and brought Zaid with me. I left with a sister, but came back with a brother."
I stopped bitting my lower lip, knowing it would start bleeding any second if I continued. I felt my face soaked wet and I didn't even notice when the tears had left my eyes.
Walid had told me a small part of his story. And for a moment, I wished he hadn't. I didn't know it was possible to feel someone's pain so harshly in the heart until now.
I felt Walid's pain, I imagined it. I could see his small thirteen year old self being tortured by Demir's men. I could see him witness his sister getting tortured. I could see the animals cut the five year olds finger, the tiny finger falling to the floor. I could see the little girl crying hysterically and the boy screaming for them to stop. I could see him abandon the injured five year old in a random house to keep her safe. I could see his fifteen year old self have no other choice but kill everyone around him to survive.
I could see it, and I could feel it. Which made me wonder, if I felt so strongly just hearing about it, how must've Walid felt?
"Why did you stop looking for her?" I finally asked after wiping the tears that wouldn't stop leaving my eyes.
"I had to. After returning to Rosew, I spent years trying to find her. I could see the pain in my mother's eyes, which kept me going. I was constantly dreaming of the day I entered through the doors of our house with my sister. I used to make up scenes in my mind of how my mother would react that day...but none of it mattered when my mother passed away without getting to hold her daughter one last time. And then, I gave up. In order to stay sane....I gave up." He finished, sounding distant from the world.
My arms tightened around him, my heart breaking even more. "We are helpless in front of God's plans Walid. We can do nothing else than have patience. And as for your mother, she will reunite with her daughter again in paradise, inshallah. She will hold her daughter again, and that too in a much better place. In a place where there is no evil, only peace. No one would want to separate them in a place as pure as jannah."
"She will hold her again...won't she?" He wanted confirmation, making my heart shatter.
"Inshallah." I said, my hand cupping his face. His eyes met mine and he stared deeply into my soul. "You told me once that people don't hurt us as much as our minds do by overthinking. You should remember these words of yours. None of it is your fault. You didn't lose your sister, in fact...you saved her." I leaned down and kissed his forehead before looking back at him. "What was her name?"
A small smile formed on his lips. "Nora....my father decided it to match my mother's name." He told me.
"Both of their names are connected to brightness. Nora means light and Nuray radiant moon." I stated, making him look at me shocked.
"How do you know so much? Even I didn't know that!" He let out, making me hold back a laugh.
"It takes a lot to be smart." I shrugged.
Just like that, our conversation about the dreadful memories was over. Sometimes I wished we could end the memories the same ways we could end the conversations...
"Smart, huh?" Walid raised his eyebrows, his hand reaching under my legs and the other one behind my back. He picked me up swiftly and stood up. The sudden action made me squeal in surprise. "Let's see how smart you'll be when I tell you I have to go out of town for a few weeks."
The smile dropped from my face and my fingers clenched around his collar. "You're not going anywhere." I announced, feeling my heart beat faster. He continued walking and glanced down at me.
"I have to, I need to meet up with some people across the country. It's for our sake." He tried to explain but the restless feeling I suddenly felt made me shake my head.
"No, you just came back. You were out of town a few days ago. Don't go." I implored him to change his mind.
"I told you, the coming months won't be easy on us." He reminded.
"No, put me down. Let's talk about this, why do you have to go?" He didn't put me down and he continued carrying me.
I felt my eyes prickle with tears. I didn't know if I was overreacting but after hearing everything about Mikael and him gaining more power, I was scared.
"Do you trust me?" He asked suddenly.
Did I trust him? Maybe I didn't trust him fully before, but now...I could proudly say that I did.
"Yes." I replied. "I trust you."
"Good, now stop frowning and give me a kiss." His words made my eyes widen and I smacked his chest.
"You said a few weeks, how much is a few weeks?" I put aside my selfishness and accepted the fact that he had duties to fulfill.
"A month, or maybe more."
"What? Eid is in a month, are you going to leave me alone for Eid?" I asked in disbelief.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." He sounded like he genuinely forgot about the day of celebration. "I'll do everything I can to come home for Eid."
"You better, it's on 4th October. Don't forget." I said, looking at the house that started coming in view then back at him. "It's our first Eid together, we have to make it special."
"I like the sound of that." He smirked at me. I was tired of trying to smack sense into him which was why I just shook my head at him. "By the way, I have to buy you a gift for Eid."
"Yeah, I guess you have to." I stated in a matter of fact tone.
"In that case, what do you want?" His question made me think until a thought entered my mind.
"You really want to know?" I asked, looking at him shyly, feeling more than shy all of a sudden. His eyebrows furrowed in amusement when he noticed my expression and he nodded for me to go on.
Instead of saying anything, I swiftly held out my hand in front his face. "What? You want me to get you a plastic hand so you can hit me with it? No thank you."
I frowned at his words and waved my hand in front of him, trying to make him notice my fingers but he was as confused as ever.
I sighed audibly and stopped myself from glaring at him. "How can you be so brainless? I shouldn't even have the need to tell you this, you should've gotten it for me long time ago." I scowled at him.
"Ohhh, that." He finally understood what I meant making me smile and nod. "I'll get you anything for Eid but a ring."
"What? Why?" I asked.
"I mean, that's for special occasions...I should gift you something else for Eid." He tried to make me understand something that didn't make sense.
"Eid is a special occasion! What other occasions are there?" I asked, the disapproval clearly showing on my face.
"There are other-" He quickly cut himself off and looked at me. "Stop whining, you're not getting a ring now."
"Now? What do you mean now? When am I supposed to get it then? Or you know what, give to me when I'm resting in my grave. Nothing more romantic than that." I scoffed.
"Are you gonna tell me what you want for Eid or not?" He raised his eyebrow at me.
"I already told you. If you're not going to get me what I want then why are you asking?"
"I did a mistake asking you. Forget it." He let out.
"No, why should I forget it? You asked me what I wanted and I told you. It's not like I asked you to go get me stars from the sky. I want a ring because I want people to see I'm married. And not only because of that. Do you even know what a ring symbolizes? It has deep meanings behind it. I want to look down at my finger and see something that reminds me of you. But whatever, if you don't want me to have a ring then I couldn't care less. It's not like I'm dying for it. Besides, a wedding ring is given during the wedding anyways. And you're probably right, we're already married and there's no need for a ring now. But you do know what a ring symbolizes, don't you?"
And so I went on and on about the ring while he respectfully ignored me and focused on carrying me home.
Men...