Comeback

64 -Rough times

Aziz

Everything happened quickly, Emre's voice, Yigit looks towards the cottage, Can rushes at him taking him from behind, the shot....

I heard the shot and closed my eyes, waiting for the pain, waiting for the end.
Could it be that I died without feeling anything?

I open my eyes, I see Can struggling with Yigit, I look down at my feet and I can't believe the scene in front of me. Huma is on the ground, on the white fabric of her dress a red spot is slowly spreading at chest level, her eyes are closed and she seems to be breathing with difficulty.

I kneel at her side - Huma? Huma? Someone call for help soon! Huma answer -

I see the eyelashes flutter and then the eyes open.

- What have you done Huma, why are you standing in front of me? -

Her lips curl into a weak, bitter smile.

- I've never been able to love, the closest I've felt to love in my life was for you, I've already hurt you so much in the past, I couldn't let anything happen to you because of me.
I'm sorry I've complicated things so much until it came to this, I never wanted it to happen -

- It's ok Huma, now don't tire yourself out, help is on the way, everything will be ok.

- I got what I deserved, I hurt everyone too much, I wanted you at all costs and then I made your life and our children's lives hell. I meddled in Can's life and today because of me he even risked losing his wife and unborn child. I couldn't let you pay for my mistakes -

Her breathing becomes heavier and more difficult, she closes her eyes and I feel her trembling, I try to calm her down.

-Nothing matters now, don't think about it, help is on the way and they will know what to do, you'll see.

She nods weakly as if to agree with me, but she is aware that the situation is very serious and there is nothing we can do except wait for the ambulance.
It seems like an eternity since we heard the gunshot that still echoes in the ears of everyone present.
I feel helpless, I want to do something, the moments flow eternal one after the other.

She opens her eyes again, her voice reduced to a labored whisper between one breath and another.

- Forgive me if you can ... forgive me you and our children if you can -

At that instant the paramedics arrive, I move away as if in a trance to allow them to do their job, but I feel it's too late.

I signal Can to take Sanem and Mihriban away, I see him walk away with his arms on the shoulders of the two distraught women.

I move to Yigit's side to keep an eye on him even though Can has taken the gun out of his hand. Emre comes closer in shock, frantically shifting his gaze between me and his mother's body on the ground, unable to understand what has happened.
I instinctively hold him in my arms, of all of us he is the one who has been closest to Huma, it is a terrible moment for him more than for anyone else.

The police also arrive, accompanied by Can who tells me that he has left Sanem and Mihriban with Bulut at the villa.

A paramedic approaches us with a sad look on his face, I already know what he intends to tell us, I knew it the moment he asked for my forgiveness, she was aware of it too.

I put my arm on the shoulders of both my children and take them away from there, I don't want them to see anything else.

They are terrible moments, I hug them and they hug each other. No one wanted such an epilogue, no one could have imagined it happening, no one had caught the signs of imbalance in that man, she for one, otherwise she would not have taken him with her.

We take time alone to metabolize the news before joining the others at the Mihriban villa. It's not easy for anyone, everyone is shocked by what has happened.

I see Can hugging Sanem and taking her away, it's better this way, it's better that they find their own way to metabolize what happened, it's not easy for Can but it's not easy for her either, she has to get over all the hatred that man has harbored for her, she has to get over the terror of having been under the gun and risking death.

Layla holds a broken Emre in her arms, I want to console him but I know that no one can do it better than his wife. I feel heartbroken, I feel defeated, I feel guilty for not being able to do anything to prevent this from happening.

A gentle hand takes mine, I raise my eyes to Mihriban's face and he looks at me with all the love she can muster, she approaches me and pulls me tightly into her arms. It's amazing how that gesture can mean so much, everything in this terrible moment.

She looks into my eyes without speaking, she tells me that she is there, she is there for me, that is all that matters at this moment.