On Divit Island...Love Over Forgiveness

Chapter Twenty Four

      Deniz and Tana were so excited about starting their school in the village. They only had a few more hours to wait. They would only have classes three days a week to begin, but they both hoped it would turn into more.

      Deniz was a little disappointed there wouldn't be an art class, but maybe that would come later. Tana was just excited to be able to make some new friends. There were only two other little girls that lived in Antikythera, one was a year older and the other was three years older than Tana. 

      Sanem was as excited as her children to get started. She knew the school would be very small to start, but she hoped it would grow. There were six students they were making the trip by ferry from Chania to Antikythera to attend the school. Two of them were going to be her students, one boy and one girl. She would teach them the basics of writing and how to express themselves through words. Her excitement was growing for the whole process to begin..

      Can had four students coming for his photography class. There were three boys and one girl enrolled to take the course. This was something that Can had never thought of doing. His love of picture taking had always been a private thing, something that took him away from his thoughts and pain.  Now he would have to teach them how to open up to what they wanted to see in a photo. They were both up for the challenge. 

      " Ok you two, since dinner is over, it's time for a bath and ready for bed." Sanem told as she cleared the table. Deniz wrinkled up his nose, " But it's still early, it's not even dark yet." He whined, reaching for his sketch pad. " I was going to do some drawing before bed. I want to take some of my drawing to school with me,..if that's ok?" 

      Sanem knew the passion her son had for sketching and how much joy it brought him. She looked over at Can, " Well it's up to your father, what do you think. We have an early day tomorrow." She asked, giving their dad a wink. 

      Can was a million miles away at that moment, trying to decide how he would tell Sanem what he had suspected was in fact the truth. " Can are you listening to me." She spoke a little louder to him. He looked around quickly, " Oh, sorry. What was it you said?" He smiled, " I was thinking about tomorrow, and all the fun we are going to have at school." He blurted out. 

      Sanem squinted up her eyes at him, " Deniz wants to do some drawing before bed, what do you think." She replied. After a little debating, they agreed on 30 minutes of drawing before bed, but no more than that.  But Can was really wanting this time alone with Sanem to tell her what was going on. 

      Can looked outside, watching the wind as it whipped the trees about. The weather had been so strange the past couple of days, he thought. First that awful misty fog that covered everything like a blanket and now this horrific wind. He prayed it would calm down before the morning and they had to make their trip into the village.

     He was deep in thought as Sanem came up behind him, sliding her arms around his body. "Ok, I'm all yours." She said. " Both of the kids are in bed." He turned, putting his arms around her, " Good, we need to talk." He remarked. She smiled, " Just talk, I thought you wanted to do more than just "talk" earlier." She muttered, kissing him on the chest. 

      Can breathed in deeply, " I did,..I mean I do,...but I need to talk to you about something else first." He told her, closing his eyes and pulling her closer to him. 

      Sanem immediately knew this was serious, " Ok, what's wrong." She asked, stepping back away from him. He pulled her over to the sofa to sit down. " I need to tell you some things I found out.  And it's not good." He started, trying to find the right words. 

      " Just come out with it Can, tell me. Is it about the boat being damaged." She asked. He nodded, " Yes, but even more than that." He took her hand, " Look, don't get scared, but I asked around in the village earlier about the boat." He said, hesitating for a second as he rubbed her hand gently. " I'm certain that it was Polen." He spoke, as he watched her face.

      Sanem stiffened, " How do you knew for sure. Did someone see her, but they don't know her so how...." Sanem babbled, her voice cracking with emotion. Can shook his head, " Yes, I found the guy that helped her. He described her to a tee...And he brought her here, to the island, while we were gone to Chania." He explained, watching her face closely.

      A strange feeling of intrusion seeped into her, Polen had been inside their home. She looked around nervously as if she could still feel her there, " She came here....she was here, inside our home while we weren't here. How did she even get here or find us anyway." Spoke quietly, her mind abuzz with every possibility.

      Can pulled her closely against his body, " I know, I know what your feeling. I couldn't believe it either, but apparently she paid one of the young men in the village to bring her and leave her here." Can explained. 

      Sanem pushed away from him, " What,..he left her here. She stayed her? For how long." She yelled, waving her arms about. She stood and paced back and forth in front of him. " So the back door being open when we returned from our weekend wasn't just a coincidence. Polen had come in through the door. She came in and rummaged through our home. I can just see it now, she probably touched all of our things Can,..no, just all of YOUR things. She covered her face with her hands, " I can't take it anymore Can, I can't face another battle with her." Sanem mumbled as the tears begin to fall.

      Can stopped her as she started out if the room, " You won't have to, I promise I will take care of this. But she did tell the guy that helped her that she would be back." Can pulled her to him, trying to calm her shivering body. " Sanem I will not let her hurt us, not ever." He whispered softly in her ear.

      He felt her sink into him. " I know you won't, but why is she doing this? I thought she had a life in London again. Then she comes back to Istanbul and ends up here. She's trying to destroy us Can. She wants you." She cried, clinging to him for dear life.

      This was the very thing that Can had feared would happen when he told her. All this hurt and pain and fear of having to deal with Polen again. Her pain was his pain and her fear was his fear, but seeing her hurt this way was the one thing that he couldnt stand.

      The small fishing boat was being tossed around viciously on the water, as Polen fought the waves as they crashed against the hull of the boat and spilled over the side. It was hard for her to see as the wind blew forcefully into her face making her eye's watery, but she continued on, determined to get to the island.

     It seemed like hours had passed when she finally spotted the small dock of Divit Island...she smiled, " There it is, I made it. My new home, my new husband, my new life."...