Early Bird (Erkenci Kus)(Part 3)

53. To my Albatross

"It's just up here."

Can looks out in front of them to where Sanem directs, and sees an elderly man with a bag standing up ahead under an umbrella. Sanem has kept her lips zipped since they left the office despite his questioning and just kept saying it was a surprise. He wasn't used to being surprised although he could get used to the excitement being curious brought. He finally parks and Sanem opens the door before he can get out to open for her. "Sanem - "

"Hello!" she calls to the man, about to get out.

"Wait a minute, Sanem, it's raining," he says when she looks at him. He jumps out and runs around the car with an umbrella but she gets out anyway.

"Mr Isan!" Sanem beams and gets under the umbrella with him. They walk over and Isan lowers his hand, still smiling. "I hope you haven't waited too long?"

"No, I just got here."

"Good," Sanem smiles and then looks at Can. "Mr Isan, meet Can. Can, this is Mr Isan."

"Hello," Can shakes the man's hand who nods at him in greeting.

"Is it ready?" Sanem asks excitedly.

"It is. And it's all here. Just as you asked." She winks at Isan who is pointing down at the bag at his feet.

"What's ready?" Can asks and looks down at Sanem in question. She just grins back at him.

"Son, don't think ask too many questions. It will spoil it."

"Alright," Can sighs.

"I'll be off then," Isan salutes them with his cap and waves at them.

"See you around Mr Isan," Sanem chuckles, waving at him. "Aw, he's always so kind and sweet," she says to Can in a cooing voice before she bends and opens the bag. "Perfect."

Sanem asks Can to get the bag, which he does, and starts walking.

Five minutes later, as they walked down the wooded back path, he could no longer stay quiet. "Sanem, where are you taking me?"

"You're so impatient, Can. You have to work on that. We're almost there."

Just through the trees they come upon the house she had been to earlier that morning and he looks at it in confusion.

Sanem leads him in and he puts the bag down in the doorway to the parlour where she pauses to drop her handbag next to it as he goes in ahead of her, looking around at the windows, and the walls and the floorboards. She follows with her hands in her coat pockets and waits for him to say something.

Can turns halfway into the room and holds out his arms with a confused shrug. "Okay?" he questions.

"I used to wander off when I was little," she starts her story. "Mom, Leyla, Ayhan...it was always so noisy and there were people in the store all the time, I wanted some quiet. To write my stories. I would walk a lot to find somewhere to do that. I used to see the same birds flying in and from the same direction and one day, I followed them. And I found it."

Can points to where they were standing and she nods, smiling.

"Exactly. This house. They had their haven here and after that day, so did I...I wrote a lot of love stories here."

He smiles at her. I bet you did...

"I left something here after high school for when I came back one day." She walks over to the fireplace and he follows.

Taking out the box she hid that morning, she holds it up. Can tilts his head and looks at the small keyhole for a moment before he digs in his pocket and takes out the key she gave him in the car.