The Velvet touch

Close to her heart

'Hilal this is not a game. Life is not a game. You can't just do anything with your life for God's sake!' Ezgi was too excited and angry when she was speaking. She was one of the closest friends of Hilal who knew about her love for Leon. 'Listen to me carefully please. Do not spoil your life by marrying Mehmet. You deserve to live with the person you love', she pleaded. 'Ezgi i do not have any other option. Abla needs to be recovered. She will die if she doesn't undergo that surgery within a week. I cannot trade her life for my happiness,' Hilal's eyes were soaked in tears. 'And Leon does not love me back. I cannot rely on a one-sided love'. 'Did Leon tell you that? How do you know that he doesn't love you?' asked Ezgi. 'He also hasn't told me he loves me, has he?' Hilal asked back. Ezgi was silent. Leon has still not proposed Hilal or confessed his love for her. 'But it looks like he feels for you,' Ezgi tried to defend. 'That does not make it certain, Ez', Hilal clarified. 'Plus even if something like that happens, I'll still not be able to lose this chance of curing Yildiz.' Her heart was breaking, her nerves seemed torn to pieces but yet she could not scream aloud. Her tears were uncontrollable but she somehow wiped them and turned to Ezgi. 'Dear Ez, please promise me that you will not tell anyone about all these. My parents thought i wished to marry Mehmet for love because that is what i said to them. If they know something otherwise, they'll not allow me to take this step. We will not get the money that we now mostly need to save our Yildiz. Baba would be forced to sell this house and we'll have no certain shelter. I can't put my family in to this distress just because i love a man who doesn't even know about my feelings,' Hilal's words were strong. 'Then let him know you love him, let him know about your feelings,'Ezgi was slightly screaming in desperation. 'No, that will not change anything', Hilal told her and deep inside, her heart shook. Ezgi felt extremely sad. She gave Hilal a hug and felt lucky that she had Hilal as her best friend. She was pure gem with a beautiful heart and anyone would be lucky enough to have her. As soon as Ezgi left the room, Azize came inside. Hilal wiped her tears and tried to act normal. 

'Hilal', Azize's voice felt suspicious to Hilal. 'Yes Anne?', Hilal replied quickly. Azize came near her and turned her face towards her grasping her shoulders. 'Are you really happy about this wedding?' she asked straightly looking at Hilal's eyes. 'Ye..es Anne why...do you ask?', Hilal got nervous and was stammering. 'Are you sure?' Azize was suspicious. 'Anne, I know Mehmet from a very long time. I don't have any problem....marrying him,'Hilal looked aside trying to hide her wet eyes from her mother. She smiled big which was the greatest lie on this entire earth. Azize was tensed about Yildiz and she believed her other daughter's fake smile. If she knew what Hilal was sacrificing, she would never have allowed her to do so even if it meant losing a big chance of saving Yildiz. She and Cevdet did not like the fact of taking money from Mehmet's family but Hilal convinced them for the sake of their dying daughter. She hugged and kissed Hilal trying to smile but tensed inside. Mother's heart thought something was not right but it didn't know something was really not right. As she left the room, Hilal burst into tears. Her family meant everything to her and she could do anything to keep them happy. She searched for her and Leon's photo from her bag and stared at the man sitting beside her in the bright image. Few drops of tears fell on the photo soaking Leon's hair. She wiped the photo, kissed it softly and put it inside her closet. This was the only thing that existed of her love that she could keep close to her heart always.