Love Me, Istanbul

#2: The Lonely Star

An hour after closing the restaurant for the day, Selin Sever collapsed onto the king-sized bed of her luxurious penthouse apartment. The exhaustion is gradually taking its toll on her body, but her mind was all over the place. She had left the sliding door of her balcony open - some fresh air will do her good after a long day. Closing her eyes, Selin could hear the faint hum of the city below her. It was a relaxing sound - her therapist Azmiye had suggested this as a way to help her sleep better. She would take sleeping pills before going to bed - and then wake up feeling even more exhausted than before. But deep inside, Selin knew it wasn't helpful...unless she addresses the real problem.

"Is there something else I don't know?" Azmiye would ask. "Are you sure you've told me everything?"

"That's all I've got, Azmiyecim," Selin would say, although it was a total lie. It would have been stupid to tell her therapist about those recurring nightmares and Selin would never want to make a fool of herself.

These nightmares haunted her ever since she was a child and she had no idea where they'd come from. She would wake up in the middle of the night crying - after being visited by disturbing, blurry scenes of a man physically abusing a woman, the woman screaming for him to stop. As Selin falls asleep again, she often finds herself in the attic of a house she'd never lived in her entire life. It was a lovely attic, with its soft blue walls and a magnificent skylight. She would be holding a fishbowl in her hands, watching a goldfish swimming around. Yet being in the attic felt like a burden on her chest - almost too heavy for her to breathe. She had never gotten a full view of the house - she would only make it as far as the entrance to the attic and that was when she wakes up. Even if she had told Azmiye about those nightmares - Azmiye would have probably passed them off as a result of stress and exhaustion, just like the other therapists she'd visited previously.

"Well, if you say so," Azmiye said, eyeing Selin carefully. "But when the time comes, you will tell me everything - even the slightest thing that bothers you, tamam mi?"

Selin could only shrug her shoulders and smile. Being the owner of a restaurant chain and the heir to a mega-conglomerate like Sever Group, Selin Sever can be seen mingling among some of Istanbul's elite - celebrities, business tycoons, the likes. She had also graced the covers of many upscale magazines, including Vogue Turkiye and Episode Dergi. Despite having earned the fame and attention, Selin felt lonely and empty inside - more often than anyone could ever imagine. Nevertheless, she hid her loneliness by attending all sorts of event invitations and parties. It was in one of those parties that she met Burak Altinkaya - the only son of a high-ranking police officer and an ambitious entrepreneur, a man very much like herself. Attractive, caring and considerate, Burak was the perfect boyfriend that Selin could have ever asked for. However, their budding romance did not last very long. After dating for six months, Selin and Burak decided to remain as friends once they realised both of them had different views on the things in life. Selin was grateful that Burak respected her decision and didn't act out to spoil whatever remained from their friendship.

It was also during that period of time when she bought over Artemis - a humble restaurant located across the street of an elite shopping centre right in the heart of the Şisli district. However, the restaurant wasn't doing well as it was transferred over several different owners due to an accumulating debt in sustaining its operations. When Selin first stepped into Artemis as its new boss three years ago, the executive chef - Muharrem Güneş, wasn't happy with the constant change of ownership and wanted to quit his job. When Muharrem first saw Selin, he almost laughed out loud. Clad a graphic tee and jeans with her dark brown curls in a messy bun, Selin looked more like a freshman in college rather than someone who could run a restaurant. He couldn't fathom why the sole heir to a multi-million corporation like Sever Group would want to buy a crumbling business like Artemis. But Selin quickly proved her talent as a restaurateur. She wasn't just capable of running a restaurant, she even expanded her empire by buying other properties. Three years later, Selin Sever became the proud owner of several other Artemis branches located throughout Istanbul and other big cities in Turkey. As for the original Artemis, it was no longer a humble shop across the street - it has relocated onto the rooftop of the shopping centre with three Michelin stars. Although Muharrem had always prided himself as the most experienced staff member of the restaurant, Selin's abilities had certainly impressed him.

It wasn't until that one evening where Muharrem had never felt more ashamed of himself. Standing at the counter with a huge gambling debt on his shoulders, Muharrem couldn't bring himself to face his young boss. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Bora - his younger colleague, locking the glass doors and flipping the 'Open' sign over. The message was crystal clear: no one is allowed to leave the restaurant without Selin Sever's blessing. Ayda and Merve, the two waitresses, gave Muharrem a sympathetic look before glancing across the restaurant. Selin sat at one of the tables - looking eerily calm with a smile on her face as she poured herself another glass of wine. Straightening himself, Muharrem made his way towards Selin's table.

"Selin, I..." he paused as Selin made a gesture towards the chair across the table.

"Muharrem Usta," she said, the smile never leaving her face. "Buyrun, lütfen."

Muharrem settled down at the table, feeling even more uneasy with every passing second. Eyeing his uneasiness, Selin knew exactly what he wanted to tell her. In the restaurant, there was an unwritten rule of transparency. Nobody is allowed to hide or lie about anything if there ever is a problem. "Your problems are my problems," Selin once said. "Say it and we'll solve it together."

"Ayda," Selin said, gesturing the waitress over. "Kuzum, would you bring us two cups of kahve and keep it black?"

"Tabi ki canım," Ayda said before hurrying to the coffee bar. There was an awkward silence between them before Muharrem spoke. Minutes later, Ayda returned to the table with two cups of coffee and a small complimentary serving of Turkish Delight. Placing a bundle of money on the table, Muharrem lowered his head in shame. He had been gambling with the money taken from the cashier machine, only to return the money back each time he lost the bet.

"Selin," the older man grimaced. "I'm sorry. Özür dilerim."

Selin smiled. "Usta," she said. "You don't have to apologize. Gerçekten. I solved it."

Muharrem's face lit up, wondering if he had heard it right. "Ne demek bu?" he said. "What do you mean 'I solved it'?"

"Evet," Selin said. "Your debts have been cancelled. You won't have to worry about it anymore."

He frowned. "Nasıl yani?"

Selin sipped at the froth of the coffee. "Don't you trust me?"

"Güveniyorum, ama..."

Selin smiled. "Merak etme. My uncle doesn't know about this."

Muharrem did a double-take. Selin's uncle Levent Sever, the director of the Sever Group - a business tycoon with multiple trades on his belt and powerful connections. Rarely seen, but eternally feared. Muharrem had only seen him a few times in the past three years when Levent turned up at the restaurant for a business meeting or a casual check-in on Selin's progress. As far as Muharrem knows, the director has been training Selin ever since she was a little girl - in order to make her the heir to their family business empire since her father's unfortunate death.

"I..." the chef paused. "I couldn't thank you enough, Selin. Teşekkür ederim."

Rising from her seat, Selin gave Muharrem a friendly hug. "Rica ederim, ne demek," she said. "Don't do it again, tamam mi?"

Muharrem nodded. "What if your uncle knows about it?"

"Olmaz," Selin said. "If he had known about this, you won't be talking to me here."

True, he thought. Although Muharrem had hardly seen Levent around, there were several times that the director's subordinates would 'borrow' their kitchen as an interrogation room for difficult customers. He had yet to see one person who could walk out of the kitchen without any broken bones after an interrogation session.

*********************************************************************

After much tossing and turning in the dark, Selin finally decided that she will have to take sleeping pills yet again. Pouring herself a glass of water, she downed two tablets and paced onto the balcony. The night sky was filled with stars. She wondered when was the last time she put everything aside just to gaze at the stars. Her mind was a mixture of thoughts. Out of the blue, a seemingly random thought caught her attention.

Did the house in my dreams really exist?

Reaching for a pen and paper, she made a note.