Chapter 7

Sunday, November 11th, 2018.

10:28 am

Hayat stretched her arms out, sprawling herself all over the bed. She slowly opened her eyes giving her brain time to register where she was. "Wow, but my bed has grown in size? How spacious ... Wait! I don't recognize those books over there..." - when Hayat realized that she wasn't in her small room in her parents' house, she sat up on the bed faster than a lightning, her eyes widening. Trying to adjust her eyes to that strange room, last night emerge in her memories like a fog. "What happened? What did I do? "- she got drunk, but she remembered everything: the dance at the bar, the taxi ride, the walk to the house and everything they did here, in that bed. Hayat smoothed the sheet with both hands. "It was right here. So it really happened ... But wait ... "- Hayat thought - "We didn't go through with it. I fell asleep, but I sat on him and then, he ... Allah! Allah! How could I do that? "- mortified with shame, Hayat covered her face with both hands, took a deep breath and thought, "And where do we stand now? Are we still friends?" - she sighed loudly, not wanting to feel that pain ripping through her chest, not now, "And where is he?" – she wondered.

Rolling out of bed, Hayat noticed that she still wore Aslan's shirt. She looked at herself on the large mirror in his room and gave a little spin. Hayat loved to wear his shirts and she always wanted to put a worn one, still with Aslan's scent on it, but never had the opportunity. Now it was different. "Was it, though?" - the smile left Hayat's face and a curiosity took over her: Aslan's whereabouts. Walking slowly as if not to wake up a nonexistent person, Hayat walked to the door of the room, opened it slowly and voices coming from the living room made her stop. She seemed to be glued there, holding the doorknob.

-... there was no need. - Aslan said.

- Of what? - a female voice answered.

- You, coming to my house on a Sunday.

-But what did you want me to do? You didn't read my e-mail or my messages nor answered the phone. - now that she had spoken more, Hayat seemed to recognize that voice.

- Yes ... I was busy. And to be honest, Ceylan, I still am...

Hayat felt a temporarily blockage in her ears as if she were climbing a mountain, frowning and swallowing the knot that formed in her throat, she tried to sharpen her hearing, aiming to understand what the CEO of Performance was doing in his house on a Sunday morning.

-I came to invite you to a cocktail party tonight, that's what I was trying to tell you, but you've been unreachable all day!

- Party?

-Yes, I know it sounds last minute, but you seem to be a man who wouldn't miss an opportunity like this, so ...

- Today? I don't know if I can ...

- C'mon, Aslan ... You're not going to let me down like this, huh? C'mon ... We had already talked about celebrating the campaign, the date just caught you by surprise, that's all. May I count on you, then?

Hayat felt as if a blade was repeatedly scraping the walls of her chest, she could barely breathe and the knot in her throat would turn into crying in 3, 2, 1 ...

-Ceylan, this was so out of the blue, I was really taken by surprise...

"Please, please, say no, no, no ..." - Hayat wished with all her being, she closed her eyes as if waiting for a sentence in court.

-Well, since you came all this way and it's so important to you, okay, I'll go. - Aslan said.

- Perfect! - she heard Ceylan squealing and clapping her hands.

Hayat staggered down the hallway of his bedroom, not waiting to hear more of the conversation, she rushed to get dressed. Putting on her sandals proved to be a tricky task, as her eyes were blurry, filled with tears. "I've gotta get out of here, I have to leave, I don't want to look at him!" - Hayat felt her chest full of anguish which only worsened when she realized that her purse wasn't in Aslan's room "Oh, no! It's in the kitchen..." - leaning against the wall, she took a deep, long breath, and with the backs of her hands wiped away the tears.

Opening the bedroom door, she gathered the courage to walk past them in the TV room. The plan was to walk as fast as she could, say goodbye, grab her purse and run for the door. But when Hayat stepped out of the room, she noticed that the voices were far away and she saw through the hallway that the front door was open and Aslan was taking Ceylan to the exit. Without a second thought, she ran into the kitchen and picked up her purse. "Well, he's going to see me anyway, but I hope she's already gone!", Hayat went to the front of the house still staggering from the blow that fate had in store for her: she had fallen in love with a womanizer, a guy who had a different woman every night whom he called friends. "Why did he tell me I was unique? The most beautiful ... Does he say it to all of them?". As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Hayat tried to crush it, "Enough!"

Aslan was standing on the sidewalk, Hayat saw his back as she approached the door, and she realized that his huge body partially blocked her way out. Hayat noticed that he was watching Ceylan's car drive away. Gathering strength, Allah knows from where, Hayat shoved him with her shoulder, opening a way out. She started walking. Walking. Walking. And she could hear him behind her: "Hayat, Hayat, wait, where are you going? What happened?". It didn't take long and he caught up with her. Grabbing her by her arm, he turned her to face him.

- Hayat ...

Hayat refused to look at him, he held her with both hands and his face sought her gaze.

-Can you explain to me what's going on? - Aslan seemed desperate and confused, but was it fear what Hayat saw in his eyes when she finally looked at him?

- It's nothing, let go of me... You see, it's already daylight, my shift is over, isn't it? You better get in and get some rest for the other one, tonight!

Aslan's eyes widened and wrinkles formed on his forehead:

- Another one? What are you talking about?

- Miss Ceylan!! I've heard it all, you have a date... - Hayat twitched in his arms and finally yelled:

- Let me go! Now!

Something seemed to have been triggered in Aslan's mind and he took a step back, releasing Hayat and creating some distance between them.

- All right, okay. Calm down, okay? I'm sorry, I was nervous. That conversation is not what you are thinking ... There's no reason for your claims ... Why are you saying these things? - Aslan seemed to walk through an uncharted territory, the uncertainty was clear in his voice – Did you ... you - he was hesitant - regret?

- Yes! I regret it! Not being strong enough! - Aslan looked as if he had been shot by an arrow whose tip broke and was lodged inside his chest.

- What? - His voice came out faintly, almost a whisper.

Hayat turned around, hearing the sound of a car and let out a sigh of relief when she spotted a taxi coming into a residential neighborhood. She hailed for the cab when she felt Aslan grabbing her free hand. She looked at their hands and said:

-Let me go, if you ever cared for me, let me go.

Aslan clenched his jaw to the point that he was going to break it, his gaze was defeated, and powerless, he let go of her hand. Hayat swallowed the lump in her throat and got into the cab. They still stared at each other through the window. Hayat's face was washed with tears, but she could see when Aslan felt despair as the taxi began to move. Aslan started tapping on the window, telling her to stop, to get out, he kept doing it until the frightened driver pulled the car away, taking the right side of the road. Aslan still tried, striding behind the car, all in vain. As she turned, looking through the rear window of the cab, she could see that he stood there on the curb as if he were the guardian of two worlds: her beginning and her ending.