[•Ferit's POV•]
(Nuri has just gone missing)
×××
I figured that, because of flying for a long time, there was a short circuit somewhere, also, the light stopped working, and I somehow fixed that. I then contacted the tower through the headphones, they said that as soon as the storm passes, they will come to us but we might have to wait till morning.
Almost an hour had passed and I got out of the pit created by the helicopter and looked for Nuri to tell her the bad news, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was already pretty dark and the beach was clearly visible because of the bright headlights of the helicopter, but where was she? I asked her not to wander far.
"Nuri?" I called softly first, no reply. I gradually became louder, the moon would soon come up and I still didn't know where she was. Guessing her character, her disobedient self might be in some trouble by now or she must have gotten lost. I searched the beach and near the rocks, the last place I have to search is the forest, "She couldn't have gone that far right?" I asked myself, but that was my last shot.
"Nuri!" I called at the top of my voice, I was starting to get really worried. I kept calling her again and again and went deeper into the forest, "Nuri! Answer me!" I finally called but all in vain... Suddenly I heard a familiar cry, it came charging right at me. "Aah! A bear!... This day keeps getting worse! Aah!" "Nuri! Calm down will you!" I said, holding her shoulder firmly.
"Ferit bey?" She asked and paused, then she suddenly hugged me, and broke it at the same time. I tried to digest what just happened, but ignoring it, I asked "Are you fine?"
"Not one bit, I was so scared... I wanted to explore the forest... And then I got this scent and then... And then... I chased it... But then there were so many bats... and then-" "Nuri, I can barely see you in the darkness, let alone hear you. Can we continue this conversation back at the beach?" I asked a bit irritated.
"If you want, you can hold my hand" I said, wondering if that was a bit cocky, but the girl bravely ignored my proposal and walked ahead of me in silence, I smiled to myself, of course she would reject me! I knew it well that she was afraid but not desperate, that made her stand out from the rest and I followed her back to the beach.
She was smart enough to follow the clear beam of light and we finally reached the beach. "There's a short circuit so the helicopter won't fly" I said, "What? Why didn't you check it before?" She asked, frowning. "You think I didn't?" "Hmmm... Leave that, tell me, what will happen now?" "They know where we are and they will come to get us in the morning" I said and picked up my coat from the ground.
"So will we stay here till morning?" "Yes, It's going to rain soon, see the clouds? The helicopter won't be able to fly" I said. "I wish I never came on this trip! Whenever I am with you I attract trouble better. You are like a fuel which makes it burn worse" She said, rubbing her hands together as it was getting really cold.
"As if it didn't burn already! Moreover, are you blaming me for it?" I asked, "I never said that! But come to think of it, Ferit bey, You are the one who got us into this mess" she said, "Are you really gonna argue with me now? What did I do!" I yelled back, "Didn't you see the clouds before taking the helicopter?"
"They wouldn't have mattered, the problem was caused due to the short circuit" "Of course... Blame it all on the wires..." She mumbled, making me even angrier. "Then what was I to do? The winds got stronger so I headed East. There was a short circuit so I landed and can't fly. I reported to the tower and they will come when these clouds have disappeared. Girl, I did everything correctly" I ended. "Okay fine, stop. Let's not argue... We both are just really confused about all that happened" she said. I took in a deep breath and went to the helicopter to keep back my coat.
I came back on the beach and went towards her, "While you were out exploring, did you find something to eat?" I asked becoming really hungry. She shrugged her shoulder and sighed, but then paused and ran back to the helicopter and slid down into the pit and took her purse from inside it. "I have peanuts!" She said waving her bag at me, her face lighting up.
"Can you get the matchbox in under the seat too?" I asked back, she leaned back into the helicopter, found the matchbox, put it in her purse, threw the bag out of the depression and got out herself. "There's a few sticks on the shore, I will get them, you can go and sit near on the log" I said and pointed to a fallen one near the helicopter.
The sticks were thankfully dry and soon there was a small fire going. I went and sat near her, It was so cold. "Here" she said and handed me the packet of peanuts, "Nuri... I don't like peanuts" "Ferit bey, you will starve to death, so it's better to try having this" she said, "Nuri... I haven't really eaten peanuts, so I am not really familiar" she sighed and took a peanut from the bag and talked to it.
"My dear Peanut, this is Ferit bey. 'Very nice to meet you' he says" she said looking at me, I chuckled. "See? Now you know him and he knows you. He desperately wants you to eat him" she said, I laughed even more. "You did the same with Idris and the custard didn't you?" I asked remembering.
"He told you?" She asked, I nodded. "Well, they don't call it genes for nothing!" I laughed and decided to give it a try. "How's it?" She asked expectantly, "Not bad but a bit cold" I said, "Well you both have something in common" she replied, I glanced at her and continued eating the peanuts.
"See Ferit bey, you should listen to others too sometimes" "Speaking of which, why didn't you listen to me when I asked you not to wander off?" She looked at me and frowned, "Ferit bey, the last time I checked, this was not your house and you are not my boss here, so why should I listen to you?" I was obviously annoyed.
"By the way, I heard you got your revenge" I said remembering Özgür's red nose, "You mean your brother?" I nodded, "Well... he did say that I can hit him so... I didn't want to waste my chance" she said and tried smiling. "Do you behave like this with your parents too? So stubborn and reckless?" "I love my parents" she retorted.
I fell silent. "I love my family so much and I am so glad I have one" "Why do you say it like that?" I asked. She looked at me sincerely, "I was adopted when I was six years old, so I think people with parents are very lucky" she said and smiled, that was totally unexpected, I was taken aback for a few seconds.
"Uh... You were adopted? Weren't you scared to love with people you didn't know" I asked, thinking of it as a nightmare, "I was six, I didn't really know much about fear, moreover, a family is just what you make of it" she said and giggled.
"...But two years later, my sister was born and I was so scared that they might disown me after her birth. But they loved us both like angels" she said, I was listening attentively. "But that was the moment I was most afraid in my life, the fear of losing someone you love, there's nothing scarier than that" she said and sighed.
"I agree, I am scared of losing my father as well" I said, "I couldn't ask you that day, why is he hospitalized?" she asked, "He has blood cancer, it was identified about 4 months back. You remember that day you fell over me?" she nodded, "Uh-huh..." "Yeah, that day, we found out about it. I was destroyed, so I decided to get really drunk and not go home, but if you hadn't fallen over me then I would have surely gotten really drunk. After you left the hospital, I went back home straight. My father was really happy I was by his side then. He suffers so much but still remains so brave at the same time" I said, and looked over at Nuri.
I looked deeply into her eyes and she returned my gaze. We stared at each other for a few seconds till she got up as if waking up from a dream, "Uh... I will... umm... go to the helicopter then... I am really tired... Good night Ferit bey" she said and walked over to the helicopter.
"Good night" I replied and added more sticks to the fire. I then sat down on the sand and leaned back on the log, gazing at the sky. It has been long since I'd done this, but it felt good. I wonder what Idris is doing right now, thankfully he is with Özgür.
Baba must have fallen asleep now, The talk on family also made me think about my mother. Though she was the person I hated the most after Demir. I thought about the day she left us, the day I was depressed the most. I lost a lot that day, and I hope I never relive it. My mother was nothing less than a coward in my eyes. These thoughts made me feel sleepy...
×××
I woke up in the middle of the night when I felt a drop of water sliding down my face, it started to rain and I headed down to the helicopter. I got in from my side, the rain got heavier. I closed the door and looked over at Nuri, she was sleeping like a baby leaning towards the door.
I took my coat and put it over her as the night was really cold, she stirred a bit but was still sleeping soundly, as I gazed at her, I couldn't help smiling at her innocent face. I leaned towards my own door and slept soundly, with the rain as my lullaby.