With Love, Nuri [1] ✅

2. Introductions

[•Nuri's POV•]

Fatoş and I had left her house early morning to meet the landlady. We stopped in front of one of the cutest apartments I'd known. "Come on" Fatoş led me into the multi-storeyed building.

A lady was sitting near the stairs and she got up on seeing us. "Miss Fatoş, I was expecting you" They kissed each other's cheeks. "Nice to meet you. I am Iqbal" She smiled and came forward to kiss my cheeks but I didn't like the idea of it. I didn't want to let a stranger kiss my cheeks. She tried harder till I leaned back and spoke, "Hi... I am Nuri" Fatoş elbowed me for being rude and I shrugged at her.

Miss Iqbal lead us upstairs and knocked on one of the doors. A tall and beautiful blue-eyed girl appeared from the other side.

"Merhaba, miss Iqbal! Are these the new tenants?" She asked, "Good Morning Yeşim. Yes, this is the girl" She introduced me and I smiled at her. "Selam, I am Yeşim, it's very nice to meet you" Even she came forward to kiss my cheeks but then Miss Iqbal nudged her and whispered that I didn't like kisses. What an admirable first impression.

×××

Miss Iqbal bid farewell after leaving us in the care of Yeşim, who seemed like a very lively and friendly girl. She showed us my room which was neat and tidy, it was dusted recently. Miss Iqbal had agreed that I could settle in then itself, so I went downstairs with Fatoş to get my suitcase from her car. She was silent the whole time though, it made me worried.

I took my suitcase to my room and returned downstairs to bid farewell to my dear friend as she had to leave for work already. "Did you like it here?" She asked me as I came down the stairs. "It's very cute, to be honest" I said and she laughed. Suddenly I remembered something. "Fatoş, what about the rent?!" I exclaimed in horror and she burst into laughter. "Wow, Nuri... You are thinking about that now?" I stared at her puzzled. "Don't worry, I have paid the rent for three months, also take this" She handed me an envelope and I opened it to find a handsome sum of money.

I was stunned, "But... But..." I stared at her in disbelief, "No more buts. This is for your additional expenses. Use it wisely. I will miss you, sister" She hugged me tightly, I squeezed her back and mumbled, "Thank you for everything you've done. Thank you so much" I held onto her tightly till we had an emotional parting.

I headed back upstairs and Yeşim greeted me, "I was watching from the balcony, you two seem pretty close... But don't worry, you'll see each other often" I smiled at her hopefully. "Also, I have wanted to ask you for a long time, are you hungry?" I laughed, "Yeah" "Alrighty. I'll bring you my babies" She clapped and went to the kitchen. I sat down at the table and watched her work.

"So tell me, where you from and where you headed?" I chuckled, "Do you always talk like this, so comically?" "Most people have asked me the same, so probably it's a yes" She grinned and placed my breakfast in front of me, "Afiyet olsun" "Thank you" I replied as she sat on my opposite side. Yeşim seemed pretty excited to hear my story, so I told her about my hometown and my dream. She wished me good luck and said that I would surely succeed.

Yeşim's passion was photography and writing. She was interested in literature, so she's currently a scholarship student at her university. In between that, she takes photography classes and also loves to travel. But still, Istanbul is her favorite place on the map.

I also asked her about the other person who would be staying with us, "Ah yes, Deren. I forgot to tell you about her. She isn't much talkative but if you get to know past her hard exterior, you will realize that she is a diamond in the rough" And Yeşim laughed in her iconic manner.

She was beautiful, funny and friendly as well, though she seemed to have her head in the clouds most of the time. "So... When does your course start?" "Next week" I replied and took a sip of her tea. "Have you been around town?" I shook my head, "Nope... but if I'm gonna get such delicious tea every day, then I prefer staying here" She laughed. "I'll show you around the city then, come on... Let's go to Deren's bar. That would be perfect!" "Deren owns a bar?" I was shocked. "Nah... She works there. She's like the bartender and the waitress... She sings sometimes too, her voice is gorgeous"

Yeşim and Deren sounded like such talented artists. I felt like a striving chef between them.

We got ready after breakfast and I wore my regular jeans and top. Yeşim stared at me, "Are you gonna wear that?" "Why? Is it bad" I stared at myself in the mirror. "Don't you have any gowns?" I stared at her blankly. "Let me check your clothes" She shuffled through my luggage in an unruly fashion... "Oh gosh! What is this?" She asked throwing out my stuff one by one, "Where's your makeup? Where are the gowns? and crop tops? There is nothing here but deodorant and pajamas!... No offense but you've never gone shopping eh?" I didn't have much of a reply, "These clothes are way better" She chuckled and dragged me out of our apartment.

Hanging out with Yeşim was a lot of fun. She was hilarious most of the time and didn't have a care of the world or what others thought about her. I loved her open and straightforward attitude. I grew pretty fond of her in a single day.

We went to bakeries, shopping malls, and even had lunch at a fancy restaurant. In the evening, we hung around a thrilling amusement park. I had been to local fairs and all, but this was something else. We finally went back home chewing on cotton candy. I collapsed on the couch as soon as we entered. Even though most of the shopping was done by Yeşim, I was pretty worn out too. My definition of shopping was buying more jeans and tops.

"You had fun didn't ya?" she grinned and collapsed next to me. "All the places were great" I smiled at her. "Duh, you had the best tour guide in the world" she wiggled her brows and we laughed together.

"Ah! Shoot! We forgot about the bar... Deren will be so mad, let's go now" She jumped up startling me. "Now? But-" "Hurry!" she cried pulling me with her. It was too late to turn her down now. Still, the idea of wandering in a bar this late was scary and unfamiliar.

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Last Edited: 12th May 2021