THE STORMS WITHIN

A new path...

Just as storms have a way of coming to life unexpectedly, one can bet on the fact that the storm will calm down. The serenity of life that resumes after the storm carries within it a new sense of energy. The end of the storm can also bring forth new lands and new horizons, non-existent and invisible before the storm. Just the same, a change in the flow and pace of life, although abrupt and sudden, may yield new paths meant to be taken and meant to be chosen...

In the gleam of the setting sun above Istanbul, the evening held a golden shining glow. Can could not help but feel a growing pride in his heart... all of his heart. He wondered how it was even possible that his heart could feel so whole since it had been multiplied by four. In herself and his three new bundles of joy – Deniz, Yildiz and Ateş... Sea, Star and Fire – Sanem had given him the most soul-filling gifts of life he could have ever hoped or wished for. He was a father for less than a day, and yet he could hardly think of what life was like before his son and two daughters had come into it.

The dream that had come to him so many moons ago when his heart yearned for Sanem to accept him back into her life had miraculously come true. Looking at Sanem sleeping so sweetly after a day-long labor of love delivering their babies, Can thanked the stars of Orion, the Amber Princess, the Ministry of Wishes of Fishes, and all the fates of all eternities that his dream had come true. His heart was whole. His soul was at peace. He finally understood that the dream he had was a guiding light to his path... his new path. It was as much a gift to him as it was a sign of hope that true love could win against all odds... and now it had.

Can kissed Sanem tenderly, caressing her with the utmost care, then walked into the room where their babies lay sleeping. He had spared no expense to ensure that Sanem and these three treasures received the best care the hospital could provide. The little Divits were small and precious but as strong as their father and as stubborn as their mother. They would pull through and make it. Can was sure of that. His son, Deniz, was born first. And although the two of them would be outnumbered by three females in their household, Can was confident his son would be the best big brother in the world to his little sisters.

Thinking these words caused Can to consider his own position. After all, he himself was a big brother, to Emre. And now, based on what his father told him, saying that he had never betrayed Huma, it would only mean one thing. That he was no longer a big brother, because Bulut was actually born first. But Can wanted to find out if this was really true. He would have to solve this puzzle but his father Aziz was in no shape for those kinds of questions at the moment. So he would have to find Bulut and wondered where he might be at the moment. Where was he? How did he feel? What really puzzled Can was how long Bulut had known who he was. And how he must have felt when he found out he had a family but had been forced to live apart from them for so many years.

Can considered the similarities between him and Bulut. He had not known Bulut for long but felt his heart was in the right place. They worked well together clearing Sanem's name and saving her creams. From that experience, Can realized that Bulut was a loyal friend. He also liked the outdoors and working with his hands. He was a lawyer as well, though for unknown reasons Bulut had chosen to cut all ties with that profession and live a quiet life instead. Yet he had wasted no time stepping back into those lawyer shoes when it was needed to save his friends.

Bulut was a man who liked his privacy and kept his private life his own, much like Can himself. The more he thought of Bulut, the more Can realized how many similarities there were between them. It made him happy. The only problem being that Can was not the only person who would need to come to terms with their new family, which had grown by four hearts. Aziz and Mihriban would have to accept this too.

On the other side of the city, the Bosphorus shone with the reflection of a million stars, casting a shadow on the man sitting quietly at its shoreline. Though he sat in silence, his heart was anything but silent. His thoughts were as loud as the city surrounding him. He let his gaze wonder around him. Istanbul was truly a breathtaking city, a stunning city, an eternal city. The spirit of this city held a person's soul and heart with the emotions it evoked. Bulut felt many emotions running through his heart. Istanbul was a city with a magnificent past and it held his past. He had no idea of this until very recently. How strange, he thought, that even though he grew up far from Istanbul, he had always felt an odd pull towards this city, an odd sense of yearning for it. How was he supposed to know that it was in this city that he was born? He looked down at his hands. More precisely, he looked down at what he held in them.