Constantinople's Cherry

IV - 46. Nihayet

It had taken a few days for Serkan and Kiraz Baltayan to reach the little village in Lebanon on the coastline.

From the day Kiraz had announced the news to her father, he was impatient, he drank coffee after coffee, and his steps hurried from ambassies to ticket agencies and banks to get the trip organised as soon as possible.

So much that the man had paradoxically fallen sick during the ship journey, he was down with a fever and high blood pressure. Kiraz had taken care of him and been protective of him.

She observed his anxious eyes watching by the window as she drove the small motor car they rented in Beirut. She had gotten a licence a few years before.

Serkan watched the waves and the azur blue they wrapped in, crashing against the shore. No wonder Eda's soul would settle at peace in a place like this.

He could only recall her endless chattering during their years of togetherness in Constantinople. She loved the sea, she couldn't live anywhere with no link the mediteranean sea.

When they reached the next turn, Kiraz rolled her window down to ask for Eda Yıldız, she received no clear response.

"A middle aged woman, she must be running something like a covent or an orphanage here, from what I understood. Brown eyes. Her." Kiraz pressed, showing a picture of young Eda to the artisan from her leather bag.

The man focussed with a frown. "Sayeda Dada ?" He let out.

Kiraz looked at him with a frown. "She takes care of the children, help the people all around the village and run the school with Armenian children." He added.

Serkan felt his heart hammer and constrict at the same time. Could it really be her ? Had she really dedicated all her life to taking care of Armenian orphans ? Serkan felt his eyes prick.

"I don't know, but we could try, where's that Sayeda's place ?" Kiraz asked.

"See the top of the hill ? Drive up the valley and walk up the rest, right behind those cherry blossoming trees is Sayeda's institute. It used to be a Christian convent." The man pointed and Kiraz turned to look.

Serkan breathed at the sight of the blossoming petals of cherry trees lined up along what seemed to be a walled garden. "That's her garden ?" He asked on a broken voice.

"Yes, she has a very beautiful garden and often sells fruits and vegetables from it in the village, we all love them and she's so kind she change prices seeing our means." The man admitted.

Serkan swallowed, that had to be Eda.  And ofcourse, she had not one, but several cherry trees.

"Thank you." Kiraz pulled off, turning around and driving slowly on the unpaved road.

Serkan wiped his eyes and she looked at him with concern. "Papa, you're crying ?" She asked.

"No, don't worry, I've just gotten some dust in my eyes." Serkan pointed to the dust and sand flying by his open window as Kiraz drove.

She nodded, unconvinced. When Kiraz reached the middle of the hill, she noted a huge set of rocks that had fallen on the unpaved path. She had already come so far with difficulty but there was no way she'd be able to go further in car.

"Papa, you wait here. It's very hot, I'll go and see, and if there's the need, I'll come get you." Kiraz let out with a pointed look.

As much as she wanted to make her parents meet she was very worried about her father's health. It was a heated day and she herself was quite irritated and sweaty.

It would be a little hike up the hill, and from the uncertainity of the town and the people's knowledge, Kiraz wasn't even sure it would lead to something. She had learned to take disappointments and start a new day of search again when looking for her parents' history, she knew better. So if she could spare her father from getting his health ruined for nothing by the effort of the hike, she would.