Love Me, Istanbul

#13: Life's Never Fair

Early that morning, Selin awoke slowly to a familiar throbbing pain in her head. Demir was still sleeping soundly, his ripped back facing her. Pulling the duvet close around her bare body, she turned towards him. There was a tattoo on his right shoulder blade - a goldfish. She remembered the vague image in her dreams - a fishbowl in her hands, a tiny orange goldfish swimming in it. She remembered the things he'd told her in the night before. Who she really is. A deep sadness formed in her chest as she finds herself at a total loss - unable to recall her own past. Their past.

"Özür dilerim, Demir," she whispered. She reached out to touch him but pulled back almost immediately. Slowly, she crawled out under the covers, changed into her clothes and made her way towards the attic room. The ornate snowglobe stood by the windowsill, the miniature Eiffel tower gleaming in the morning sun. Smiling, Selin placed it into her tote bag and made her way downstairs towards the living room.

After leaving a handwritten note on the kitchen counter, Selin reached for her phone and dialled Azmiye's number. The therapist had called multiple times and texted her a reminder about her hospital admission procedure in the night before and she had obviously missed the message. After several rings, the line connected.

"Azmiye? You called me last night?"

"Nerdesin kiz? I've been trying to reach you for a million times, Selin Hanımefendi."

"Yaa," Selin huffed guiltily. If Azmiye addressed her using the suffix 'hanımefendi' - that means she's more than furious. "Kusura bakma ya, my phone was on silent mode and I missed your calls."

"Do you know how worried I was?" Azmiye almost shouted. "I thought you might have fainted somewhere and god knows what happened to you!"

"Özür dilerim," Selin apologized with a sheepish smile. "Bak, iyiyim ben. I'm at Demir's house and on my way to the hospital now, merak etme."

"Bir dakika," Azmiye's voice dropped to a low whisper. "Demir kim? Is he the başkomiser that you have been seeing lately-"

"I'll you everything later today," Selin said, cursing silently at her slip of tongue. "I've got to go, görüşürüz!"

Hanging up the call, Selin stuffed her phone back into her tote bag. Unlocking the main yellow door as quietly as she could, she stepped out into the cool morning air. In the split of a second, Selin found herself trapped between a pair of strong, burly arms as she tried to kick herself free. Her bag dropped to the floor with an audible crash. A man wearing a black mask and hoodie covered her mouth with a wet handkerchief. It smelled of cologne - a familiar scent. Within seconds, she lost consciousness.

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

"Selin?"

There was no reply. Rubbing his eyes, Demir went down towards the living room. No sign of her. He paced out onto the veranda and was greeted by an eerie silence. Reaching for his mobile, he dialled her number as he made his way towards the front door. It rang a few times, and the call diverted into voicemail automatically. Neredesin Selin? He thought. Unlocking the door, Demir pulled it open. The road in front of the house was too, strangely quiet. He almost jumped in shock as his gaze fell to the floor.

It was Selin's bag, her belongings scattered across the floor. Her phone, her iPad, and the scarf he gave her. Lying in the middle of the mess was a snowglobe from Paris - completely shattered, with white polystyrene snowflakes all over the threshold.

Instantly, Demir knew. Selin was kidnapped.

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