The Art of Love

Dont Let Go of My Hand

The sounds of the night were terrifying in their near absence. She heard the wind and felt it's bite against parts of her exposed skin. She listened intently, straining for some sound that might pinpoint where danger would come from. She waited endless minutes until deciding that in order to escape her present situation she needed to move. She felt around herself first. What if he was there with her? Finding nothing by her side she struggled to sit up, but something was wrong, different. She felt overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom as she struggled to clear her mind of the numbing fear, but all she could do was blink... and then everything happened so quickly she wasn't sure what was real and what was a dream or perhaps even a nightmare. The last thing she remembered was being pulled out of the car and then nothing. She lifted her head a little but the movement nearly made her scream out and she felt like vomiting at the same time. Her hand went to her forehead and felt something sticky. Instinctively she knew it had to be blood. She felt around her hairline and touched another section of her head further up and once again felt an intense amount of pain but she bit her lip forcing herself to remain quiet. She sensed rather than saw the darkness around her but even that felt surreal. There seemed to be a pulsing, repetitive beating that emanated a glow. Almost as if she were seeing the blinking of Christmas lights. The sensations and thoughts running through her head were muddled. "That's impossible" she thought. One, because it wasn't Christmas time, and two; because she was ......the breath caught in her throat, her brain seemed to ramp up a notch as it caught up with the realization of her present situation. She stilled in the cool night air. Blinking lights! She saw blinking lights! She was seeing blinking lights! Red and yellow. Not grey and filled with streaks. Red and yellow! It wasn't like she remembered though, the colors seemed muted somehow. She closed her eyes and opened them up again, the lights were still there and blinking. It wasn't all clear but there were lights, they were very much yellow and red and they were blinking! Her eyes felt wet and she realized she was weeping. Somehow, someway, her vision had come back. Perhaps it had been the injury to her head which continued to throb. Her eyes felt heavy with every blink. She felt fear at the possibility that this was a fluke, a glitch in the electrical pathways of her brain. A mirage. She remained still, nearly holding her breath as she stared at the lights and then her surroundings. She couldn't see in her periphery much but she wouldn't complain if that's all she lost. She could tell her sight wasn't back fully but although it wasn't perfect it wasn't the grey streaked half light that she had been living in for so long. There was color and although it wasn't absolutely the same as she remembered it wasn't the darkness she had been trapped in. She looked around her and another wave of nausea came over her as she held her head in pain. Her eyes felt heavy and she felt an intense amount of pressure behind them. "Allah please, whatever the reason for it having been taken from me, please don't allow my blindness to return!". She knew her plea was selfish but she fervently asked for the blessing nonetheless. She rolled over onto her stomach and the world seemed to spin on its axis. She clawed at the wet grass below her and held on as bile rose in her throat. She needed to remain still and allow herself a moment to take in what had happened and allow the nausea to pass. Suddenly she heard rather than saw someone approach. Her hearing had become much more acute to sound when she could not depend on her sight. Now though, having the benefit of both, she was alerted to the fast approach of someone on foot. She turned slowly to the left and nearly fainted with relief. The one person she had hoped to be able to see one day, for such a long time, was now bending down toward her.  She could see him. His face, that beard and those eyes but before she could utter a word a shot rang out in the night and she was swallowed up by his large body as it covered her own. "Sanem...it's me". His hand covered her head gently while his body protected hers from whatever might come. She thought it both beautiful and tragic that she had recovered her sight only to loose her life to some murderer in the night. "Can... I... can't breath". He looked down and she saw a portion of his face lit only by the moonlight flitting through the cloudy sky. He eased off her but kept his hands over her head. In barely a whisper he spoke close to her ear, "Sanem- there is a hanger less than a couple hundred feet from here. There's a twin engine plane that landed just before we got here. The pilot didn't care for my explanation so I disabled him temporarily. I don't believe that shot was meant for us. From the direction it's coming it has to be your fathers man giving us some time but we've got to make a run for it. We're in danger out here in the open. Do you think you can manage it? We're only going to get this one reprieve Bebeck. We won't stand a chance when the sun comes up. I Can pick you ..." but she interrupted him before he could finish. "I can do it. Just don't let go of my hand". He watched her face intently but she couldn't tell if he noticed anything different about her. It was too dark and she lay in the shadows of his own form. She thought for a moment to tell him but something made her keep it to herself. For now anyway. "Alright. Let's both get up on our feet but stay low until I say so. Then I want you to hold on tight and bear to your left. That's the direction of the hanger Alright?" When she didn't immediately answer he said "I won't let you go. I promise you". The way he said it, "I promise you" made her heart hurt. She had heard that before and yet she knew she had to decide once and for all to either accept what had happened between them and trust him or keep the wedge between them and when this was all over move on. She knew what she wanted to do but she wasn't sure if it was the right thing for her to do. She had always acted with her heart and she had been hurt so much that way. Perhaps it was time to act with her head instead. She stared at his throat and watched as the pulse in his vein beat wildly. She could feel him staring down at her as the seconds ticked by. "Ok, I m ready". Moments later they were on their feet, crouched over, and when he said go she followed his lead and ran alongside him while her head felt like it might explode. She fisted her free hand and pushed her nails into her palm to deal with the pain in her head. Her eyes watered and her vision became blurry while her heart pounded in her chest. She felt sick and for a moment thought she might let him down by collapsing to the ground. "Almost there" she heard him say and then a spray of gunfire erupted to their right. She felt him pull her forward with a great deal of strength and it was all she could do to stay on her feet. Suddenly the bright lights of the hanger were overhead as they ran toward the entrance at the far left side. She was gasping for breath as he pulled her inside and immediately to the right along the interior wall of the entrance. She bent over, heaving as she fought to catch her breath while he ran toward the plane she had seen as they ran in. In her wildest dreams could she have imagined this life she was living now. Again gun fire was exchanged but it seemed much louder and closer. She looked around to see Can jumping down from the wing and heading towards her. She focused on a spot to his left and kept her eyes fixed there. The feeling swept over her again of not sharing with him that she had regained her sight. She didn't know why but she needed time to figure out what she needed and wanted to do. Her sight played a big role in that. There were some things she needed to understand first and although it seemed unfair she could learn a lot from him if he still believed she was blind. She felt like a hypocrite after having accused him of withholding information but she stamped down her guilt by telling herself that he had started this game and so it was fair by his standards. She didn't believe it herself but it would have to be this way for now. "Let's go Canim. I've got you." She let him lead her to the plane, up the few foot holds long the wing and into the cabin. The plane was small. Very small and she gritted her teeth. It only then just dawned on her than Can would be flying it.! "Can.... You do know how to fly this thing don't you?" She was looking at his chin as she spoke but her field of vision caught his eyes as well as he replied "I've had plenty of hours in planes, enough to be able to pilot one on my own. This one is new to me but they're  all basically the same. I Can do this Sanem.... Believe me". His words were so earnest that she had and she really had little choice but to believe him. In reality neither of them had much of a choice. Allah help them as she prayed while Can turned over the engine.

Fabri listened in on the call to Emre as his man gave them updated information.  Someone they had managed to get over the border in a stolen plane and were now headed into France.  He had to give Can Divit a great deal of credit. He was resourceful. He may be many things but he wasn't quitter. He was as hardheaded as he had been in his youth, and he was in love. In a way he reminded him of his younger self in a time before this business swallowed up his entire life. He didn't want that for his daughter and would have kept her hidden had it been his choice but thanks to Yigit that option had been eliminated. Just thinking about him made his blood boil with the need for revenge but right now he needed to evacuate them as quickly as possible and get them somewhere where he had leverage. He relayed what he could to Emre and ended the call. The younger Divit was equally passionate about the safety of his brother and sister-in-law and had not let up on wanting to be kept Informed. He owed him respect for being willing to share details when he had realized what was unfolding. Now he needed to get a hold of a certain friend high up in the French ministry. He paid people a lot of money to keep them beholding to him. Today it would pay off many fold.

Can watched as Sanem finally dozed off to sleep as the plane continued it's course. Once the plane was in the air he contacted Fabri's man by sat phone and soon he had an air traffic controller guiding him where he needed to go. The plane had enough fuel for several hours but he needed to land much sooner than that. Sanem needed medical attention. As they continued their course he requested an alternate route to get them to a hospital as quickly as possible. He was afraid of Sanems head injury. The man on the other end of the line gave him new coordinates and he plugged them into the planes computer as set a new course. He was sure the man was on Fabri's payroll and would report it to him but he had little choice. He needed his help and he wouldn't risk Sanems health just to break free of the mobster. He looked back at the woman seated next to him and reached for her hand. She was cold to the touch and his worry grew. They were at least an hour out so he focused on their course. They had so much to talk through, he had so much to explain and so much to ask forgiveness for. He had been the reason she was hit by the car. He had been the reason she ran from him, he had been the reason for her loss of sight. Could she ever forgive him? He didn't know but he wouldn't give up. They had a future together he felt it deep in his heart and he would fight for it, alone if need be until she gave into their love. He would try everything in his power to win her back but the threat of the men who had kidnapped them still loomed over them and that needed to be resolved and fast. He wouldn't allow Fabri to take her away from him again, of that he was certain. What he was not so confidant in was that Sanem wouldn't walk away from him on her own terms. That frightened him as much as the men who were after them. He had nearly lost her once and it had been hell since. He couldn't begin to imagine a life without her in it. He needed to come clean of everything and in order to do that he needed her to himself. To once again find themselves. He decided right there and then that he would get her to a hospital and then they would leave, on their own, wether she was willing or not. He had friends too and plenty of money to go underground if need be. Her heath came first and then their safety. He wasn't going to leave her and he wouldn't let her leave him again either. Sanem was his wife, still; and until she declared that she wanted a divorce he wouldn't see it any other way.