Blood Ties

Chapter 2

Serkan watched the sun rise on Istanbul, he still woke at 5 am but instead of immersing himself on his computer and tiring his eyes, he wore specs now, he took walks with Sirius. His only loyal and old companion.

He learnt to appreciate the little things of life better after his cancer. Even if, without Eda, they always held melancoly for him. Like sunrises. His sun was unfortunately no more, it used to be Eda's smile. Watching a glimmer of it in pictures balmed his aching heart.

Serkan sketched, sitting on his rock with the view on Istanbul, he often sketched Eda. She was the only thing he drew aside from blueprints. He could draw her from memory alone. How ironic that he had once lost his memory, he remembered each detail of her face. The little tiniest mole on her left cheek, right between her lips and nose, her dimples, her large and always emotive chocolate eyes.

Serkan allowed himself a little smile as he liked how his sketched turned to be, the crease of her dimples gracing a wide grin he drew on her face. He looked up as sunshine hit his eyes and watched the Temmuz bridge be illuminated by orange glows. Something seemed different today. A gut feeling gripping him, but in a good way, like a drop of water in drought.

But he shook off the feeling, it was normal for him to feel this way. He had met his doctor recently, who announced to him that the 5 years mark was over and he would most likely live a healthy life, aside from his ability to procreate. What was the need of a healthy life without Eda ? And what was the point of keeping Eda prisonner in his life if he couldn't give her happiness ?

It didn't matter anyway, she probably already was with someone else and already had one or several children. He hoped that for her, happiness for her, it was his only wish from life.

He shouldn't contact her even if he thought more and more about doing it since the previous week. Google researches gave nothing on her. She probably had settled down in Italy. There was no use for him to weight the what ifs. He had destiny made his choices for him. All Serkan knew was that she would always be the only love of his life.

"Sirius, oğlum, gel." He called out, shutting his sketch book, he'd get coffee from his and Eda's coffee shop and head to the office.

.....

"You're back here with that burden ?" Ayfer accused. 

"My daughter is not a burden." Eda firmly stated. 

"Not a burden, more than half of your expenses are about her. How many times did you pretext any of her needs to cut on mine ??" Ayfer demanded.

"I am her mother and she is my responsability, not my burden." Eda shot back. "And I haven't given her half of what she deserves." She added on a lower tone, self hate filling her on that.

"I told you to get rid of it while it was time!" Ayfer snapped.

"Her name is Kiraz. It's been years, have the decency to take her name properly at least." Eda demanded, Kiraz was owed respect. It was no fault of her that her father didn’t want her, or that her mother couldn't help her.

"I've never understood why you kept her. You could have focussed on your career, found someone high status that would go mad after you in Italy and married him. You wasted yourself away for that burden." Ayfer shook her head looking at her up and down. "Look at yourself, what man would even turn back to take a look at you." She pointed at her with her hands.

"You can never understand what Kiraz means to me. I can do much more for her, I just hate it that I am so powerless, I would move the world for her, you won't understand, you're not a mother." Eda pointed rage filling her too.

"How dare you say that ? I raised your brat self since you were even smaller than your kid right now. Struggled financially, gave up on all my dreams! But now it's over, I've done my job, I live my life the way I want and I won't ruin it for that sick waste child of yours." Ayfer sighed and Eda's eyes filled with anger.