The lonely man roamed in a vast field. Some young wheat had been burnt by the harsh sun... much like he felt. It was as if he was burning from within, leaving traces of his soul in his wake.
He raised his head to the sky, eyes shut, yearning for rain, but even the sky turned away from him. Just a single drop of water could soothe his wounds or at least make the pain a bit bearable.
Once, small gentle hands had managed to heal him and relieve his suffering. He hoped for the same now. But no magic occurred.
When he opened his eyes, neither the rain nor the beloved hands were there. Only the sun, rivaling the fire burning in his chest.
***
2024, May
Silence filled the huge apartment in the center of Istanbul. The floor-to-ceiling windows did nothing to erase the darkness inside. Thick black curtains blocked any ray of sunlight from entering the room. What was even their need? They wouldn't lighten the darkness in the heart of the owner anyway.
Suddenly, the loud sound of breaking glass echoed through the room. A young man, barely able to walk in a straight line, entered with a half-empty bottle of alcohol in his hand. His head was throbbing, whether from the alcohol or lack of sleep, he didn't know. As if he cared.
Being the heir of a famous and honorable family made him consider his every step since almost kindergarten. Spending his youth studying business management, his focus was on becoming a good professional and continuing the family business. This had been his primary life goal, decided by eleven-year-old Alaz, who sat in a room full of expensive toys, listening to the screams of his grandfather and the cries of his mother. And then there were those brown, scared eyes that looked up to him, trying to find answers to their own questions. Onun tatlı fıstığı..
Nothing could make him forget that day.
And once again, like every other trouble that befell the Soysalans, this one was caused by Serhan Soysalan.
The person who was his anchor, who protected him, who bandaged his wounds when he fell from his bicycle, who took him to football games and shouted the name of his favorite club with him...
His father...
The person who loved him. He couldn't bear to think otherwise. Parents are supposed to love their children, right?
Then why was his loving father causing him so much pain? Whenever the small boy was upset with his parents and didn't speak to them, his mother always came to hug him, caressed his hair, and told him that he misunderstood them—that people never cause pain to their loved ones.
Didn't his father love him at all?
Or was his mother wrong?
People can cause pain even while loving...
This idea was imprinted in the mind of eleven-year-old Alaz. Along with this realization, he found his life's goal that day: to never become like his father.
Determined to avoid his father's mistakes and to make his mother and grandfather proud, Alaz carried a deep-seated fear in his heart. What if he didn't succeed? What if he destroyed the woman he loved, just like his father had? What if his own child hated him the way he hated his father?
This fear, perhaps on a subconscious level, didn't let him love.
In high school and university, when guys his age were falling in love with almost every girl they met, he never felt even a hint of romantic interest. Was it his family background, his handsome appearance, or his sharp mind and unique sense of sarcasm? He didn't know, but girls were always around him, trying to catch his attention.
ŞİMDİ OKUDUĞUN
With the First Drop of Rain | Aslaz
RomanceA long time ago, two people crossed paths on a gloomy, rainy day. When she reached out and touched his hand with her own, roughened from labor, she felt a shiver that shook her to the core. Somehow, they both knew the icy rain wasn't the cause. Two...