VILLAGE | "Dreadmoore"

4

His kiss was warm and soft. The moment I closed my eyes, I forgot my very existence. His hands gently caressed mine, slowly moving up my arms, when we both suddenly jumped apart at the ringing of the phone.

Knowing very well why it was ringing, I walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver.

"Ms. Nihan, you are expected at the lab cars for a blood test. The last test hour is 8 PM. Your health is the most important thing! Have a good day."

I took a deep breath and put the phone back in its place.

"We need to go," he said, like a soldier going on a mission. As he stood up, the seriousness in my voice stopped him.

"What's behind this blood-giving thing? Why do we have to give blood every day?" I asked.

"Of course, it's for our health. They're checking our blood values, that's all."

"Dorian... All these people... Including us... Giving blood every day would actually harm our health. Today I've realized you're not too stupid to think that."

Dorian was silent for a moment. He first looked down, then back at me with his hazel eyes.

"Don't worry," he said. "They handle it with blood transfusions."

"I haven't had a transfusion yet," I said. Half of my blood must have been taken in the past week. Considering all this, I wasn't showing any signs of anemia. No dizziness, no paleness... My mind was getting tangled with thoughts again, but Dorian grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Thinking I had no other choice, I followed him.

My days with Dorian were quite pleasant and fun. We worked at school until evening, drank something or listened to music during breaks. An old-style MP3 player sat on the counter in the lab. Dorian had claimed it, and it had become ours. Everything in this town was antique. There wasn't even a hint of technology, unfortunately. As for my belongings, I hadn't heard anything for two weeks. Either the police didn't want to bother, or my things had genuinely vanished into thin air.

It was another lab exit. After instructing the undergraduates to wash the dishes, I grabbed my bag and we stepped out of the school together.

"You're really passionate about molecular biology, huh?" he said.

"Yes, I've dedicated years to it and will continue to do so," I replied.

The weather was really nice today, but the humidity was killing me. For a moment, I felt like I was in Muğla. Though, neither during my stay here nor while walking along the highway had I seen a sea or a lake. I couldn't understand the reason for the humidity. When I looked at Dreadmoore on the map before leaving Turkey, I saw it was entirely surrounded by land, with no coastline.

"What's with this humidity?" I asked to get his opinion.

His response seemed ready; "There are a lot of trees and forests, as you can see. Plants transpire too, remember?" he said.

This explanation was more satisfying compared to the other answers I had received to my questions. So, I didn't pursue the topic further.

"I can't say I regret coming here, but there are many things I miss about home..." I said.

"Turkey?" he asked, and I nodded affirmatively.

He stopped walking and stood still. Turning towards me, he leaned in slightly. His face was almost touching mine.

"Like what?" he asked with interest.

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "My family..."

His lips pursed.

"And..." I added, "the cinema."

"The cinema?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "There's nothing technological here. I don't think there's even a cinema."

He thought for a few seconds and then said; "Come with me."

He tightly grabbed my hand, and for the first time, I followed him with the joy of walking hand in hand.

For the first time, I was at Dorian's place. It was identical to mine, which surprised me a lot. All the furniture... The positions of the items... Even the ornaments...

I assumed only the clothes in the wardrobe were different, being men's clothes.

He opened a display case, rummaged through it, and finally found what he was looking for, showing it to me.

"That's a..."

"Yes," he laughed.

The machine he held was a home projector, but it was so old that its size was enormous.

He took the projector and led me to his backyard. While I sat on a chair, he worked hard. First, he took out a white sunshade and tied it between two trees with a rope. Then he set up the projector, adjusted the distance, and inserted the film.

The movie was an old Coppola film. We watched the 1974 film, Apocalypse Now.

"I like your taste in films," I said.

"Thank you, I can find more movies if you want," he said.

"Find more?" He spoke as if he were talking about a drug.

"I mean at home... I can look and find them," he said.

I giggled, but my laughter abruptly stopped when I heard a sound. It was a very faint sound coming from far away.

"That sound..." I whispered. I immediately got up from my chair and walked quickly into the forest. I heard Dorian's voice behind me but ignored it.

"Nihan!"

I felt I was getting closer to the sound because it was getting louder. I could hear it better now. I started to run.

"Where are you going?"

I was about to keep pushing the bushes aside and moving forward when the sight I saw as I parted the leaves made me freeze. I had guessed correctly. The sound was the sound of big waves. Sea waves...

Dorian had caught up behind me, panting.

Without taking my eyes off the vast sea, I whispered;

"This isn't Dreadmoore..."

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End of Chapter