The story was special. The legend was powerful.
There were moments or story lines I desperately wished for, and moments that at times seemed small but were so important to discover and delve into. This is a book of these moments that I wanted to ex...
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"You can do this, "Ayhan said while holding both of Sanem's hands.
Sanem wasn't sure.
Ayhan opened Sanem's empty suitcase and began to sort through her wardrobe.
"You will go: meet that new writer, take some pictures, and enjoy a new city and come back being the rock star that you are."
Ayhan said this with so much conviction that Sanem almost believed her... almost.
While Ayhan was putting the last pieces of Sanem's clothing in her suitcase, Sanem just stood there in the middle of the room listless.
There were no thoughts in her mind except for one -
He is leaving.
She replayed it in her mind like the cruelest melody of a song she wished she could forget.
He is leaving
He is leaving
He is leaving
Sanem was only brought back to reality by Ayhan throwing a jacket at her.
"Here", Ayhan said, getting Sanem's attention back, "It will be cold, you'll need this."
Sanem just nodded her head staring at the jacket. She held it close to her chest, trying to get comfort from its warmth. It was no use though, nothing seemed to comfort her.
Sanem gripped her jacket tighter as she looked at her Albatross poster wishing things were different.
Can and the agency team were in a frenzy putting together a last minute photo shoot for Polen's cookbook. Can usually wouldn't rush a shoot. He would take his time. Allow his instincts to take over and explore. This time, Can just wanted it to be done. He couldn't take the schemes, the drama and the pressure this cookbook brought into his life.
When Can wanted to stay friends with Polen he honestly had good intentions. She was an important part of his life after all. However, since his mother's return, Can saw how Polen and his mother behaved together and he wished he saw her true self sooner.
Can looked down exacerbated by the plates of food staring up at him. He felt they were mocking him and his camera. Can berated himself wondering how he went from taking photographs that brought social awareness to taking photographs of pasta and eggplant. It seemed a bit surreal. If Can was honest with himself, he would admit that part of the reason he agreed to taking this project was to make Sanem jealous. If he was even more honest, he would admit that it also gave him a reason to see Sanem every day. But Can wasn't in the mood for self-reflection. He needed to keep his eye on the prize and finish this photoshoot so he could get out of there and be free of everything.
That's all Can ever truly wanted - freedom and space.
Space – to process, to accept, to move forward from the lies and heartbreak that Sanem caused him. But Sanem gave him more than just space; she gave him goodbye. A real goodbye. Can couldn't shake the echo of her words that filled his mind or the way she looked as she said them. Can tried to lower the volume of her voice in his head and focused on the set up. He needed everything to be perfect. Even for a pasta dish, Can wanted it to be beautiful. He wanted to make the audience hungry and ready to make it for themselves. Can didn't know much about love, family, a home, or people in general but one thing he always understood was photography. So he continued to take notes, test lighting, and adjust the shots to perfection. He did everything and anything to drown out Sanem's voice in his head, even the things he would normally have an assistant do, he did.
"Going back to basics", Can said out loud to himself.
