Comeback

46 - Aziz

Aziz

That woman was my damnation, how could I have allowed her to come into my life, and yet she had succeeded and been the ruin of it.

She had created so many and such misunderstandings with Mihriban that in the end I had lost her forever, she had finally managed to convince her that she was inadequate for me and because of her she had left me, this I understood many years later.

The fault had been mine, I let my wounded pride prevail for being left and didn't chase her to the ends of the earth, that was my biggest regret all these years, I made huge mistakes and the biggest was allowing her to corner me until I was forced to marry her.

She was always a manipulative end, she orchestrated and schemed until she got what she wanted, and what she wanted at that moment was me. I understood it over the years, at the beginning I lived everything in an inconceivable unconsciousness, the pain of losing Mihriban had taken away my light of reason, I was out of my mind and I made rash moves that I paid for all my life, or rather that I still find myself paying for in reality.

I sighed and got up from my desk to go meet the client with whom I had an appointment, she was an unscrupulous entrepreneur in the sportswear industry. I knew her father well, I held him in high esteem but his daughter doesn't seem to be of the same kind.

The meeting is quite brief, she asks as the only condition that all the photos of the campaign must be taken by Can, she knows him well and appreciates his work. I accept willingly, Can has asked exactly this, to dedicate himself to the photographic part of the campaign so there should be no problems.

I say goodbye to her and leave the agency shortly after her, heading to the address Can gave me to finally meet my daughter-in-law.
I vaguely remember the girl I met at the agency's 40th anniversary, I was intrigued by her freshness and prodigious memory.
Can told me so much about her, she must be a wonderful person and I'm happy that my son has found his lost love.

Once I arrive at the main gate of the estate I call Can on my cell phone so he can meet me and guide me to their cottage. I park and get out looking around while waiting for him, I hear people talking over a hedge, I vaguely record their words while I am enraptured by the beauty of the place where my son lives, until a crystal clear laugh makes my old heart skip a beat.
I shake my head thinking that all my reflections of the last days on my lost love must have influenced me, it can only be a coincidence.
I stretch out a hand to move some branches of the hedge to peek over to the other side, now my heart has definitely decided to stop as well as the breath in my throat.

I'm breathless and speechless.

It's her, after all these years it's her.

She's talking to a guy who is unloading crates of vegetables from a van to store them in a nearby warehouse.

I have yet to recover from my surprise that I hear Can's footsteps coming, I hurry to leave the branches and try to compose myself.

-Babam, daddy come, this way.

- Can what a beautiful place this is, it belongs to that woman you told me about, the clinic volunteer, I don't recall you ever telling me what her name is.... -

- Yes dad, it belongs to Mrs. Mihriban, a lovely woman, she was our guardian angel , if it wasn't for her.... I don't even want to think about it - He shakes his head sighing.

- It seems to be a huge property, how does she manage to keep it so tidy? -

- She is a woman of many resources, she has several boys from the village who work for her, they sell the harvest of the gardens at the market, they produce honey, they sell the fruit of the many trees, they produce jams, they rent the different huts scattered in the woods...-.

At these words, I stopped him.

- He rents the huts? Interesting, you know I was looking for just such a thing.
Doctors have advised me to live near the sea to ensure the health of my lungs, this estate overlooks the sea right? I could rent one of the cabins, enjoy the sea air and the peace of these woods.
What do you think? Would that be okay with you?

- Of course, you need to ask? I'd love to have you near me in my free time, we'll be working together in the agency but I'd like to be with you beyond work commitments, I've missed you so much these last two years.

I nod in satisfaction at the unexpected turn of events, I can't believe that the person who has helped my son so much to find the woman of his life is, coincidentally, the woman of MY life.

The woman I loved all this time, the only one who entered my heart and never left.