Can Yaman International Presents: Kill the Lights -- A One-Shot

Prologue

Ezgi sat at the vanity in the dressing room at the back of the church waiting patiently. Her hair was meticulously styled and swept away from her face. She calmly removed the mascara from her lashes with a tissue and wiped away the tears that stained her cheeks. The lights mounted all around the vanity mirror illuminated her professionally made-up face. But as she looked at herself in the mirror, she began to cry even harder.

Gobsmacked with grief, she let out a soft whimper and pulled off her veil, casting it aside. Officially over it! She was simply done with all of the treachery and deception.

The wedding was supposed to start an hour ago and now the guests were growing impatient. She had already banned her mother from the room, wanting to be left alone with her thoughts. She needed to grieve and accept the inevitable truth. She could see tall and earthy purple irises as she peered through a slanted window as she watched and waited for Ozgur to arrive. She knew hoping now was probably pointless. Something deep inside her spirit told her her efforts would be wasted.

The sound of a knock at the door pulled Ezgi from her thoughts. She knew she had to face everyone eventually. So, she looked in the mirror, blotted her face with a tissue and gathered herself as best she could. She called out, "Just a moment."

Lifting her lithe frame out of the chair with the extravagant train of her dress trailing behind her, she walked over and opened the door. Cansu was standing there and gave her a sad and pitiful look. In the distance, Ezgi could hear the harpist playing songs, none of which she recognized from the playlist she had provided. This was likely the musician making an effort to keep the guests entertained in the absence of the bride and groom.

"What a joke this is," she uttered under her breath as she stepped aside to let Cansu into the room.

"Eze? Are you alright?"

"As well as can be expected I guess," she said, motioning for Cansu to follow her inside.

Cansu sighed. "I take it you haven't heard from Ozgur then?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"I can't believe that he would leave you hanging this way. Well, I can. After all, we're talking about Ozgur. But I didn't expect this on your special day. He's coming; for sure he's coming. I refuse to accept that he won't come!"

Ezgi sat back down on her seat while her cousin carried on. If nothing else, she knew Ozgur and there was a reason. Not that she would forgive him. She just wished he had clued her in. Now she just looked like a clown. What hurt the most was that he hadn't bothered to say goodbye.

Gathering her dress at her feet, Ezgi got up again and moved towards the door.

"This obviously isn't happening. Please make excuses for me. Apologize to everyone on my behalf. Have a feast for all I care," she said. Taking off her heels, she tossed them into the trash. Quietly, she pulled on one sneaker and then the other as Cansu stood there looking shocked.

Ezgi was relieved when she saw the white Rolls Royce they had rented sitting on the street in front of the church. She walked down the sidewalk and glanced back at the church. Taking a deep breath, she got into the back seat of the Rolls and in a feeble voice, said to the driver. "I'm not sure where I want to go. Could you just take me away from here?" She settled into the seat and winced at the sudden pain of the giant knot that had formed in her stomach.

As they drove along the coast of Anatolia, Ezgi could feel the driver's pitying eyes on her in the rearview mirror as she looked out at the horizon. She didn't care. Let him look. Her heart weighed heavy in her chest as she tried to piece together what had gone wrong. Thinking about it, she decided it had actually gone wrong on the day they met. The first time they met.