-- Hi y'all! I couldn't refrain from writing this part, I just had this idea in my mind and wanted to share it, so here it is. This is probably a one-shot, mini-story about Serkan's proposal. Good reading, let me know your opinion about it, and of course, if you liked it, vote. --
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Eda and I finally found a common language, we talked about everything we had experienced over the years without each other, about how we missed each other. We finally confessed to what we really feel for each other. We did this not only for Kiraz's well-being but also for our own sake. I couldn't live under one roof without knowing if the person I loved insanely and still love just as much felt the same to me. With Kiraz I became very close, every day our connection only grows stronger and I can't ask for anything more. For me, she is the most important thing and if she loves me, my love will suffice for me. But I wanted to at least find out if Eda still has any grievances inside her that I could fix. I needed to know this so that I could explain to myself how to behave so that I could give myself hopes that could turn into reality. But after talking to Eda, I realized I could really give them to myself. Eda wanted to try again, little by little, slowly, to try to experience again what we had experienced five years ago. That is our common happiness, adventure, and love. I wanted the same thing, so I can't be happier today than I am. I don't know, maybe it's too early, maybe I'm in a hurry, but I want to do one thing again in my life. No longer the first and no longer the second, but I am afraid and excited like for the very first time. I want to ask Eda to marry me. I know it's going to be hard because we still have a lot to survive, we have to recover from all the events of the past, but I just feel it's time for that now. And it will be easier to do it when I have a perfect helper nearby who will really help me - my little Kiraz.
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It was already afternoon and I came to pick up Kiraz from the school she had attended with Can. She didn't want to go to school without him, her best friend, so I had to fulfill her dream and find the best school for both of them. I wanted Kiraz to feel good about being at school and have something to do during the day, not to miss home and us with Eda. I usually picked her up from school with Can, or Engin did it, but today I had an important thing I wanted to discuss with my princess, so she had to stay here longer. I can already imagine how she missed me and how she would object to me for not picking her up at the time, as always.
"Daddy, hiii!" she ran up to me and hugged me tightly, so tightly that I even swayed because I wasn't ready for such a sweet attack.
"Calm down, calm down, Kiraz. ''
"I missed you, Dad."
"I missed you too, my beauty. How was your day?''
"Great, today I learned to count to ten! The teacher said I do it very well. We were drawing, playing and watching a video about princesses and princes, it was very interesting! "she said it all with such joy and enthusiasm that I just listened and smiled because it was all I wanted. To make my daughter at school feel like in a second home.
"It's great that everything was fine. I'm glad. Will you show to me and mom your computing skills in the evening? We are very interested. "
"Of course. But it was a little boring to wait for you, Dad. Why couldn't I go home with Can today? "
"Because I have something to talk to you about and I want to ask for your help."
"Why? For what?" she was immediately interested.
"I'll tell you everything, just a little later, not here. Let's go somewhere. Want ice cream? " I asked, even though I knew the answer anyway.
"Ice cream? Always! "her smile widened even further, from my suggestion.
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"What kind of ice cream do you want?" we stood by the basket and she had been picking ice cream for 5 minutes. "One taste, or ask to add a few?"
"No, one will be enough," she said seriously, looking at me as if I had asked something stupid and insignificant. "I don't like it when flavors are mixed, fu." Everyone could see that she's my daughter. A real daddy's daughter.
"So what taste you will eat then?"
"As always, chocolate."
"Okay, I'm the same. Sorry seller, we'd like two servings of ice cream, chocolate. "
"Three, sir." Kiraz raised three fingers and smiled. "Dad was wrong, right?" she turned to me.
"Kiraz, what did you come up with? Why three ice creams? ''
"Two is for me."
"No, Kiraz, no."
"Dad, ice cream is nothing bad. " she said in complete calm and concentration as if explaining a lesson to me.
"Kiraz ... yes, but you know what we agreed at home. First normal food, then ice cream. Dinner hasn't been there yet, so there will only be one serving of ice cream."
She didn't answer anything, just changed her gaze, into Eda's real eyes. Kitten eyes. To which I can't say no.
"Kiraz, don't do that."
"Dad..."
"What did we say?"
"Let it be invalid today, okay? Only today, I promise. Is it okay? Dad? ''
She won't stop until I agree. I know this from day one when our roads collide. Even then, I couldn't resist her what to talk about now. I can't go any further. Specifically, the word no does not exist for me when it reaches Kiraz and her desires. When I get angry that I can't utter this word, but I'm just like that. For my princess is only 'yes'. For the word 'no', there is her mom, Eda.
"Oh, okay. There have been many days when this rule doesn't apply, but let it be one more time. Then you know what, my little bunny? "
"What? I hope you don't tell mom. "
"Of course not, I never give out our secret things, do I?" she nodded. "But you'll have to share your second portion of ice cream with me, agree? "
"Okay, I'll share. "
"You're a good dad, sir. '' the salesman said, giving us ice cream. "Your daughter is really lucky to have you as her dad. '' he smiled.
"Yes, sir, I would say the same thing." Kiraz turned to me and smiled broadly. These words hit me right in the heart. Good dad. I was happy that those words were meant for me.
,,Thank you, thank you so much. And for nice words and for ice cream. Have a good day. "we said goodbye and went to the nearest table with Kiraz.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Dad?"
"Kiraz, that's a very important thing. Before I tell you about it, I want you to promise me. "
"Promise what?"
"That you won't say this to anyone, especially to your mother. Okay? I trust you very much. "
"Ah, I understand. That thing has something to do with mom, right? "
"Exactly like that. So you promise me? ''
"Of course I won't say. Will this thing be a surprise? "
"You could say so." I was very excited to even talk about it. I know Kiraz will be happy about that, but anyway. How strange is this feeling.
"Tell me everything then, I'm very curious."
,,Okay. Kiraz, do you remember when you asked why our last names aren't similar? "
"Yes. You said because you and my mommy aren't married. "
,,Yes, it's correct. The thing I'm going to do has to do with that. "I took a deep breath. "I want to ask for your mother's Eda's hand. ''
"And our second names will be the same? Will you both be like Can's parents? "
"Well, that's right." I smiled.
"Wohoooo! Finally !! "
"I see you're very happy, my little queen."
"Very, Dad. But when will you do that? Will I be able to see it? "
"You have to see it because I need your help, you will help your dad, yes?"
"Definitely!"
"Then listen." I moved closer to her. "We will make this surprise for mom tomorrow night. You will come with your mommy to the place I will point out, then you will run to me and later come back to your mother with one thing I will give you. Only this. Okay? ''
"Sounds very interesting and funny. I will contribute to this surprise. "
"My great one, give me a high five." we clapped our hands. ,,Like this. And now a kiss. And now we finish the ice cream and go home because your mother misses us. "
"Dad, I came up with one thing."
"What?"
"Let's buy flowers for mom. Let the surprises begin today. How do you think?''
"You're my smart girl! You're unreal. Gel. '' I hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. "What would I do without you? "
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Today was that day. The day I'll try my luck again. Everything would have succeeded from the very first of my true insistence, but my mistake and wrong decision took it all away from me and Eda. Until this day, I am angry with myself for these mistakes I have made, which have hurt others, especially Eda, for which I have ruined my own life, which could be happy, which is now different, but I realize that I won't change anything. I understand that I won't come back in time and will no longer explain to old Serkan what is right and what is not. So at least now I will try to make the right decisions, I very much hope that it will succeed.
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From early morning, I started to get excited and was trying to hide my emotions which were boiling in me. I didn't want Eda to suspect something. Kiraz has been talking about tonight ever since she got up and asks me when her mother's surprise will start, she talks about it without stopping for even a minute, she's looking forward to this evening. Just like me. I've been planning tonight for a long time and I don't want anything to fail. I will start working now.
"Dad, do I need to go to school today? Yo said you will need my help. "
"Kiraz, love, you have to go to school, I'll need your help only in the evening. I know you really want to be with me and see everything, but I promise that in the evening things will be a hundred times better than what I will do all day. You won't be interested and tired, but in the evening you'll see everything, okay? Plus, mom has nothing to suspect, remember? "
"Ah, you're right, Dad. Then you take me to school, but pick me up right after work, okay? Don't be late today, I don't want to miss anything, okay? "
"Kiraz, my little one, come to say goodbye, I'm leaving." I heard Eda's voice, she climbed down the stairs.
"I'm coming, Mom!" Kiraz immediately ran to Eda and hugged her, wishing her a good day.
"My beauty is very happy today, I wonder why, but if you are happy, then your mother will be happy too."
"Then I'll always be happy that you both with daddy would smile every day " Kiraz said gratifyingly and looked at both of us. It was our handcuffs who kept us with Eda. And it was another one of million reasons why I loved this little star of mine so much.
"Serkan, are you taking Kiraz to school? I have a meeting in half an hour. "
"Okay, Eda, of course, I'll take her. Don't worry."
"Then goodbye, my sunshine '' Eda leaned over to Kiraz. '' Kiss in one jaw, '' Eda kissed Kiraz's cheek. "Kiss to the next and see you tonight, okay?"
"Okay, Mom, bye!" Eda was already turning to go to the door, but I remembered one thing I hadn't told and given to her yet.
"Eda, can you have another minute?"
"Yes, Serkan?"
"Eda, I'd like all three of us to have dinner tonight, just us as a family." I took the white box from the table and handed it to Eda. "Here's a little gift for you and Kiraz, I want you both to wear it. I won't be able to go home, I'll be waiting for you at the place, you both come together. Please. '' I looked down at Kiraz and in her eyes, I could see endless happiness about what was going on.
"Yes, Mom, please let's stay together tonight."
"Okay, let it be like this. Strange, but good. Then goodbye until we meet somewhere out of the house, Serkan? "Eda looked at me with a questioning look.
"Yes, not at home." I smiled.
"But, then you can't take Kiraz from school, right?"
"Amm, yes."
"No, Dad will pick me up from school." Kiraz suddenly interrupted. "He told me that."
"Kiraz, I forgot that I'll have a job at that hour, let mom take you, isn't it good?" I blinked at Kiraz and saw that she immediately understood what I wanted to say.
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It was an hour left before Kiraz and Eda will arrive here. Everything was almost ready, we were all here: Piril, Engin, Can, Melek, Pina, Kerem, Seyfi, mom Aydan, aunt Ayfer, Erdem, Burak. Although I knew not everyone was enjoying this moment, I still wanted everyone to be here. Sure, when Eda arrives she won't see anyone, at least for a while, but they'll all see it all. They will witness this event.
The place where I was going to meet Eda was near the sea. Near her, on the side, stood a small stage in which Piril will sing. In the middle of the lot, in front of the sea, stood a table on which were all our shared memories with Eda and the things that connected us: a cup, a globe Eda gave me, a book 'Little prince', her chain that I made from a ring, and many others. The table was surrounded by white curtains on which I had hung our photos from the very first day of the meeting, after each photo was the exact date when the photo was taken. There was also a small red box on the table with small leaflets with texts. Those texts were excerpts from letters I wrote but never sent to Eda during those five years spent alone. I never showed them to anyone, I didn't even read them myself, but today I decided to remember it all and share it with Eda. These letters contained all my pain, emotions, emptiness, memories since Eda left. I pick up one letter from the box:
'721 night without you, without your warm embrace and gentle voice. I miss you. You went out and left a big hole in my heart, endless. It's midnight now, I haven't slept in three days, I couldn't close my eyes. Without you. Now I'm sitting and listening to the song during which we dance our first dance, in our fake engagement, I'm holding our photo from the same day. Strange, right? We both didn't realize how much was waiting for us that day. And now. Where we are now. And how much we experienced together. I would like to repeat this, I would like to extend our joint journey. But it's just a word. I would, but I won't. I won't be able to. '
I put that card back in the box among others, I can't read anymore. After reading just a few sentences, a lump of pain rises in my throat, I don't want to break today.
Finally, I saw Eda's car, she and Kiraz are already here. Let this night begin, may it end be happy at last.
When they get out of the car and start moving towards the place where we had to have dinner, I give Piril a sign that she can start singing. The music starts to play, the first chords of the song are heard. My and Eda's song 'Sen Çal Kapımı'
...Sen soylu kan asilzade...
...Ben çiçek açtım sadece...
...Olur mu ki ne dersin...
...Sen de beni sever misin?...
Eda comes to where the table stands and freezes, surprised. Kiraz steps away from her little by little and approaches me. Eda doesn't even notice it. She just looks at the table, at the pictures. She looks enchanting, wonderful in the dress I gave her. Like a fairy, maybe even better. Eventually, she moves closer.
"Pštt, Dad, I'm here." I hear Kiraz's quiet voice.
"Come here." I grab her by the hand and hug her to myself.
"Dad, it's all very beautiful here, like in the kingdom, did you done that?"
,,Yes, me.''
"You're perfect! Wooow! Mom will definitely like it, more precisely, she already likes it, look. " she pointed with a finger at Eda and I saw that she was looking at cards which I wrote. Her eyes were teared. Maybe I just saddened her? But no, she smiles. She looks happy. She turns to the photos hanging on the curtains and inspects each of them. She looks as if she is lost, but in a good way.
The song ends, Eda returns to reality a bit and notices that Kiraz isn't around. I immediately see how excited and a little frightened she is.
,,Kiraz, where are you? Kiraz! Please don't play! Kiraz! "she starts screaming Kiraz's name again and starts looking around for her.
"Kiraz, take this and go to mom, okay? Give it to her if, but don't say anything, ok? '' I give Kiraz a packet of Eda's gift. A special gift.
"Mom, I'm here!" Kiraz immediately goes to Eda.
'' Kiraz, where have you been? Did you see dad? He hasn't come yet? ''
"I don't know, mom, I didn't see him." Kiraz says and looks at me at an angle. Ah, my girl helps me more than I help myself.
"And who is here? Where did you get it from?'' Eda points to my gift that Kiraz is holding in her hands.
'' It's for you, mommy, take it, open it."
"But, Kiraz, who gave it to you? From where- '' Eda doesn't manage to ask another question and Kiraz interrupts her.
"Just open it, mom, it's not hard."
I see Eda slowly tearing off the first layer of paper. She has to see the inscription there: ' I know what you'll see next won't be the perfect thing, you'd do a hundred times better, but I also wanted to try. Inspired by you. Open. '
Eda tears off another layer of paper and see the canvas there. On that canvas is her. I drew her. I am not a good painter, I didn't know how to draw perfectly, but I realized that I don't have to do everything perfectly, Eda doesn't like it, so I didn't try to do that.
"Mom, read what's at the bottom of the drawing, there's something written there." I hear Kiraz remind Eda of one important detail that she might not have seen. I understand that a special time is approaching.
Eda's eyes deviate toward the text and she reads it aloud: 'My fairy girl, you are the most beautiful thing in my life. Can it be like that forever? '
"What? Kiraz " Kiraz shows with hands as if she doesn't understand anything and I realize it's time to show up.
"Eda."
"Serkan?"
"Eda, I know you imagined everything, not the way things are, but I hope this version is better." I look around the place.
"Serkan, you ... you did everything like that? Serkan, it's insanely beautiful. "
"I said the same thing, but it seems to me dad didn't believe it." Kiraz intervened and made us laugh with Eda. "Prove to him that everything is fine, mom, he worked hard for it, I know."
"Kiraz, bunny, you know there is one more very important thing, the most important thing, remember? The one you've been waiting for the most? ''
'' Ahh! Yes!''Kiraz clapped her hands, I looked around and saw that everyone was already waiting for that moment, so I decided it was time for that to happen now.
''What is the thing you are talking about? Kiraz? Serkan? '' Eda was confused. I turned my face to her but didn't stand up, I knelt on one knee.
,, Eda. I don't know, maybe it will seem too urgent to you, but I can't wait any longer. My heart doesn't allow me to. "" I took a deep breath and looked into Eda's eyes. Her eyes shone, she was happy, the most beautiful brown eyes. "Eda. There were a lot of painful and unpleasant things in our lives, we experienced a lot. Then when our common path was halved by my cancer, I thought I would never meet you again, that I would never be able to see your beautiful eyes again, kiss you, hug you. But today you are here. In front of me. And you gifted to me the most precious gift, our daughter. "I turned to Kiraz briefly and smiled." You gave me the best gift I could ask for. You gave me our daughter, yourself, and happiness to me. Eda, you are the gold of my life. I don't want to lose you anymore because I won't survive more than a day without you. Eda, can you be my air that I will breathe until the last second of my life? Can you be near, until my last breath? Eda, can we make our dream come true, can we grow old together? Will you marry me?"
I stretched out a ring for her, which I held in my hands, and waited for her to answer. I was afraid Eda would say it was too early that I took this step too fast that we still needed time.
"Serkan..I ... you ... I..don't know .." she was confused, I saw tears in her eyes, she was smiling, but I was still shaking inside about her future response. Maybe she was confused about it because she didn't know how to say she wasn't ready for it yet. I would agree with this decision for her, but I didn't want to be crushed again. I didn't want to experience everything again. I know I deserved it, but I still wanted the end of at least one thing I did to be happy at least once. I would be the happiest person tonight if that thing would be this.
"Mom, will you agree? Everything was so beautiful! Mom, say something. "Kiraz looked at Eda, then came closer and asked her again" Mom, will you say 'yes'? "
I wanted to distract Kiraz from Eda so she wouldn't force Eda to say what she didn't want, but Eda suddenly spoke to herself before I even managed to intervene.
"Kiraz, of course, I will say 'yes'. Of course yes. Serkan, I'll marry you. I mean, I don't even know what to say. . That's probably the thing I want most after us to be a happy family of three, to all of us be healthy, so we can live this life together.''
I didn't expect that answer. I wanted it, but I just couldn't believe I heard it today. I heard a positive response, I heard 'yes', from the woman I loved the most in my life. Eda was the woman I wanted to call my wife from the first second I saw her. Back then I didn't understand it, but when I realized that the feelings I feel for her are more than love for a friend, I understood that this is the purpose of my love. She.
I was lost in my thoughts for a while, but I came back to reality and realized I needed to say something, that I needed to do something. I was a confused but happy person at this moment. I put the ring on Eda's finger and hugged her.
"Eda, tonight you made me the happiest man in the world, you know that?" I hugged her very tightly, as if my life depended on it, and kissed her on the cheek.
"Serkan, you made me the happiest woman tonight, you know that too?"
I was lost in time, I cared about nothing at that moment. I just rejoiced and thanked all the Gods for finally giving a happy ending to my story.
"Can you take me in a hug?" I heard Kiraz's soft voice. She stood and watched us with Eda.
"Come on, my little star." I lifted her into my arms.
"Maybe we all can also go out of here and join the hug? Or do we need to wait a little bit longer? "I heard Melek's voice. I saw only her first and then everyone else.
"Serkan, did you seriously invite everyone?" Eda laughed and looked at me.
"I wanted everyone to witness this event."
"And we did it!"
"Can, you see, now and my parents will be like yours. My mom will be Bolat. "Kiraz showed to Can with her finger at both of us and we all laughed.
"It is so important, Kiraz?"
"It's very important, Eda Bolat. Kiraz Bolat only tells the truth. '' I smiled and invited my girls to dance. For our first, happiness dance.
..Sweeter than wine...
...Softer than the summer night...
...Everything I want I have...
...Whenever I hold you tight...
...This magic moment...
...While you lips are close to mine...
...Will last forever...
...Forever til the end of time...
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*Sorry for the mistakes I made in the text*