Everywhere

Family

Selin POV

The song playing was cheerful, Aslı's voice following the lyrics put a smile on my face as I was combing her hair. We were together in her room, the afternoon light coming from the big window above us was painting everything in warmer colors.

Today was her birthday party invitation, and we were getting her ready for it. I had bought her a beautiful set of clothes previously, she had loved it so much she had wanted to use it today. Now I was doing her hair up in a bun that would look good with her outfit today.

She was very excited as she had not attended many birthday parties before. It's not that she hadn't been invited before, but her withdrawn self had prevented her from enjoying it like any other child should, or that's what Demir had told me. Aslı looked more like a normal child everyday that passed, not that she wasn't special, she was the most beautiful, smart, funny child ever, or maybe that was the way I looked at her, but she was happier now, more cheerful more relaxed, just like a 6 year old should be.

I placed some pins in my mouth, holding them with my teeth as I used both of my hands to twist her hair to make the bun. Demir was downstairs going over some urgent papers with Vedat, once we were ready the three of us would be going to the party. I had told him that if he was too busy I could take Aslı myself, but he had said there was no work, no client that could be more important than us.

A smile formed in my face as the memory of his words came to me. He was the most loving man I had ever known, nobody, not even myself could believe that was the same man I met only a few months ago. How much our lives had changed already, from he asking me to stay away, to him gifting me a Star in the most beautiful date ever.

He kept surprising me, I had never expected him to be so sweet and gentle, but then again I had not even expected myself to be so lost for his sweetness and gentleness. Little by little I had been breaking his shell and so had he done with me. It was as if my soul had been waiting for him my whole life.

Maybe it was destiny, maybe it was luck, but I couldn't be more thankful that he and Asli were in my life now. Before them, I was incomplete, something in my life missed, and then they came, and whatever that had no sense, now had  it.

Yesterday I laid my head in the shoulder of the man who loved me, yesterday I was giving somehow a clean start to love and be loved, to write my own story with the man who had stolen my heart.

My fears and my insecurities had not yet left me, but now I knew without a trace of doubt, he would never be letting go of my hand, that he would be here facing my fears with me, here to help me take down each and every fear remaining in me. I was not alone anymore, I had him, and I had my girl, to fight for our happy ever after.

I took a pin from my teeth and attached a blue flower to her golden bun. She was still singing to the songs coming from my phone while I was finishing her hair.

Aslı was the other part of my story, a love I never expected, a love that I never imagined, a love that I had lost all hopes of having, but now that I had I was never letting go. She made my days brighter, how much could one love a child was amazing for me, I had always read about love in books, I had always seen it in movies, but never had I expected how much could one feel towards her own child. Aslı had not been born from my womb, but my soul seemed to think it made no difference, as it had already taken on her like if she was blood of my blood.

It was.... overwhelming... sometimes it scared me, her happiness and her wellbeing were more important than air to me, and that sometimes terrified me, but then again, she would come to me, her beautiful smile and her big blue eyes making my world better, and just like that, I would know no fear that could prevent the love that vibrated through me.