THE STORMS WITHIN

On a mother's sacred love...

There is a special bond like no other on earth. A bond that a mother forms when love for her child sprouts from the very depths of her heart. How it will flourish is up to the mother, but one thing is certain. It will never fade, whether or not that child is her own, or becomes one of her own.

Mevkibe Aydin was a woman who ruled her household. No question about it. But she ruled it with love. And she would not change that for a second. Where others judged moments and others with their mind, she did so with her heart. And, in the vast majority of cases, her heart was right. And the case of Can Divit was a perfect example of that...

Mevkibe smiled as she exited a taxi at the Divit household on Mihriban's land. Making her way up to the house, she looked up to the sky and uttered a quick prayer of gratitude for she had much to be thankful for. In the short span of only two years, she had welcomed two sons and four grandchildren into her family. If someone were to ask her if she considered Can and Emre to be her sons, her full family-vested children, she would agree without hesitation or shred of doubt. That's exactly who they were to her and part of the reason she had come all this way to see Can. Of course, she came to visit her three Divit rays of sunshine and her daughter Sanem. But this time, Can was on her mind when she had made the decision to come for a visit.

She was glad it was Can who opened the door when she knocked. There was something in his smile that immediately calmed her down. He always treated her with respect, and today was no different. As always, his smile reached all the way to his eyes. His new title of "Baba Divit" suited him well and Mevkibe made sure to call him that every chance she got. When she came inside, she was over the moon happy to see her three little grandbabies in their bouncers resting peacefully on the living room floor, and she gushed about how beautiful and precious they looked. She told Can that her mornings were most precious now because little Asli Divit made sure to not only wake up Leyla for her morning feeding but to rouse the whole house as well. Her newest granddaughter had definitely inherited her mother's vocal abilities. Can smiled and nodded in agreement. He was well aware of the strength of Leyla's voice.

Mevkibe cooed again at the babies and said she could not wait for little Asli to join her cousins. She could already imagine them crawling around, each going in their own direction. She looked at Deniz and crouched down before him. In her sweet grandmother voice, she told her grandson that as the lone young man of the bunch, it would be up to him to watch over her three granddaughters and defend them. But he would need to watch out too, because all these girls had inherited the blood of the Aydin women. Hearing this, Can laughed wholeheartedly because he knew exactly what Mevkibe had in mind.

Mevkibe noticed Can was alone and asked if Sanem was in the house. He replied no; she had taken his car and driven to the city. Mevkibe was both impressed and worried. Can saw her reaction and advised her not to worry. Sanem had turned out to be quite a fearless driver, and a very skilled one at that. He did NOT mention the few times he had seen her yell at the traffic. Or the times he had witnessed firsthand Sanem actually argue with her inner voice about it when she was behind the wheel...

Mevkibe went over to sit at the kitchen counter, and watched as Can skillfully washed baby bottles then started to prepare an early lunch. Made by him, the Menemen was sure to taste as good as it smelled. Mevkibe could not wait to try his take on Turkish-style scrambled eggs mixed with tomatoes, peppers, and his own blend of spices. It was not like her to sit in silence but she did just that. Not out of necessity to gather courage, but out of love.

Can Divit had walked into her life and captured her heart before she even saw him. She remembered the moment he first made himself known to her. She was worried because Sanem had not returned home from work. After calling her several times, she felt a great alarm when an unknown man answered her daughter's phone. Her mother's heart threatened to jump out of her chest. But Can quickly introduced himself and apologized for answering Sanem's phone. Mevkibe's shock at hearing a man's voice was immediately replaced by the feeling of peace that Can's voice exuded. She felt it again when Can arrived with Sanem at their house later that night. He had not only brought her safely home but had kept her safe, and this mattered more than anything to Mevkibe.