BLACK ROSE

15 -

Saturday, 5:15 PM...

I was about to leave home to go to my classmate Derin's birthday party. I had put on the black, strappy evening dress that Fatih and I had picked out yesterday. It was a glittery, knee-length, midi dress. The neckline wasn't very deep, but the slit on the side of the skirt was quite daring.

"Aunt Esma, isn't this much makeup enough?" I grumbled. "I'm just going to my friend Derin's birthday party. You're not giving me away as a bride, so why did you have to put half a kilo of makeup on my face, dear aunt?"

"A party is a party. In any case, Fatih will come to pick you up soon, and you'll be going out with him," said my aunt. "Wouldn't it be nice to look even more beautiful for him?"

We were in the bathroom, and since my aunt knew I had no interest in makeup, she was doing it herself. She had put on bright red lipstick and eye makeup that made my green eyes stand out more. And let's not even mention how she had dragged me to the hairdresser to get my hair blow-dried and styled into a waterfall braid. On top of that, she had made me wear a bra that accentuated my breasts and had even insisted on a thong.

Normally, I wouldn't allow any of this and would prefer to go to the party in a modest dress and with my headscarf, but there was a promise from my aunt and uncle to re-enroll me in my old school as a reward. So, I would endure it.

Endure... I suppose I would have to endure not only emotionally but also phsically. I could almost hear my breasts and buttocks cry because the underwear she had made me wear was very uncomfortable. I had just learned what kind of torture normal girls went through to look beautiful for boys.

"Auntie, didn't you always say I was naturally beautiful? Why did you suddenly feel the need to put me through a full-service beauty treatment?"

"Ece, yes, you're beautiful, but there's a difference between being 'Hmm...' beautiful that raises one eyebrow and being 'Wow!' beautiful that leaves jaws dropping. Our goal is the second kind."

"Invisibility isn't an option, I guess?"

"No, Ece," my aunt said as she skillfully applied my nail polish. "And... You know that empty apartment we haven't found a tenant for yet, the one three streets away?"

"I know. So what?"

"I might accidentally leave the key to it on the kitchen table soon," she said. "I'm very forgetful these days. If someone took that key and went to that empty apartment, spent the night there, and didn't spend it alone, say, with someone whose name starts with F, I wouldn't notice. I'm very forgetful and careless, you know."

I rolled my eyes at her matchmaking attempt. "Auntie, you should take B12 vitamins and iron supplements. They're good for forgetfulness." My only reason for going to that empty apartment would be to get away from my crazy aunt and uncle to have some peace and quiet.

"Our beautiful family doctor speaks," my aunt said with a suggestive tone. She pressed her lips to my hair and left a kiss. "It's just a suggestion, no insistence," she added about the apartment.

When my aunt finished painting my nails, I looked at my fingers. "From donkey hooves to Barbie doll fingers... It's alive! Aunt Sema, you work miracles with your hands."

"Oh, Ece, you just keep frowning at me. You don't know how lucky you are to have an amazing aunt like me."

In fact, I did love them. My little dumplings! Okay, we had different views on some things, but after my parents' death, they had taken care of me as best as they could, according to their traditions and beliefs.

Besides, our Prophet (PBUH) had maintained his respect even to his oppressive uncle Abu Lahab until the end, so I couldn't disrespect my uncle and aunt for the school issues, which were insignificant compared to that oppression.

"I love you, auntie!" I said emotionally, kissing her on the cheek.

"I love you too, Ece," she smiled.

When the doorbell rang, "It's probably him," Aunt Esma said. "Go on, answer the door. If he has a heart attack from seeing your beauty, you can perform CPR, future doctor."

I giggled. "I'll see about that. If Fatih doesn't look very handsome tonight, I might skip the CPR and recite the Fatiha for him instead."

"God forbid, girl. Don't say such things. Go on, answer the door, don't keep him waiting!"

Aunt Esma gave me a light slap on the butt to shoo me away, and I followed the hallway out of the bathroom. When I reached the door, I paused and pressed the buzzer to open the building's main entrance and waited a bit.

A minute later, Fatih emerged from the elevator. His sharp, all-black suit suited him well. With his triangular physique, his hair falling over his eyebrows, and his intense gaze, he wasn't bad at all as a fake boyfriend. If he had a heart attack, I wouldn't recite the Fatiha; I would perform CPR. After all, I owed him a massage after the cramp massage he had given me.

At that moment, Aunt Esma also came to the door to see us off.

As I prepared to leave, I picked up my bag and phone from the shoe cabinet by the door. Meanwhile, I greeted Fatih, "Welcome, Fatih! How are you?" He didn't respond. Since he had gotten out of the elevator, he had been silently standing at the door. To break the silence, I spoke:

"Aren't you going to say anything, Fatih?" Then, leaning closer to his ear, I added, "You better say something, Fatih, because my aunt put a lot of effort into dressing me up like this."

Fatih broke his silence: "Oh, coal-eyed beauty that shames the night. My silence is out of fear of tarnishing your delicate petals with my words. If I praised you until dawn, the night would end, but my words wouldn't, my Ece."

W-what! I was stunned by Fatih's breathtaking words. Aunt Esma was wrong. If anyone was going to have a heart attack from excitement, it was me. Not used to such romantic atmospheres, I made a joke of it:

"Since I'm a black rose because of my black dress... I guess you'll trim me nicely, handsome gardener."

Where had trimming come from! I was babbling out of excitement.

We said our goodbyes to Aunt Esma. Just as I was about to leave the house with Fatih, I remembered something and said, "Wait a second, Fatih," before returning to my room. I grabbed a few pieces of my childhood clothes and stuffed them into my bag. If Fatih lost control outside and turned into Ceren again, I needed to be prepared. I left my room and returned to the door. As I put on my black, jeweled, high-heeled shoes, my uncle called out to us from the living room:

"Be back before 11, kids!"

God is great! Was my uncle actually getting a spiritual awakening? Did he really want me to come back early?

"11?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Yes. Tomorrow morning at 11... Or noon at the latest. You have homework, Ece, remember. You need to set aside time for it on Sunday."

I pouted. So, no spiritual awakening for my uncle. Oh well. "Okay, uncle. See you."

When Fatih took my hand gently at the door, I was momentarily surprised. But I quickly adapted and held his hand too. After all, it worked in my favor to appear like a couple in front of my aunt.

We took the elevator down to the ground floor. After exiting the apartment building, we walked towards the black Range Rover parked in front of the garden. Fatih continued to hold my hand. When we reached the SUV, Fatih stood by the passenger door and opened it chivalrously for me. Before getting in, I looked up at the apartment. Aunt Esma was looking at me from the window. When I waved to her, she waved back similarly. I got into the car. Fatih walked around the front of the vehicle and got into the driver's seat, and we drove off.