Baran still had questions he wanted to ask.
"This meter or the inscription, whatever. The flaming one. It shows when my crack will open. If I want to, I can go into a crack today?"
Old Ismail sighed. He was wondering whether what he had told so far was in vain. He spoke wearily.
"Yes, but The Oder will not allow it. Are you listening to what I say? I warn you, young man. Do not go into one of the cracks except Friday, okay? Our man for Friday does not cross the fingers of my both hands and we have no intention of losing you or someone else immediately when a new Friday explorer has joined us."
"I got it. I got it. Calm down. I just asked out of curiosity. Look, I asked the guys from yesterday, but I did not get a clear answer. Maybe you will answer me. I went to hell to look for my brother but they told me that he may be in heaven as well. Are the cracks of heaven also emerging like hell?"
"I am not authorized to talk about it. I can only tell you this. If you encounter a heavenly crack, you have to run away from it. There is no day condition to enter it, but the danger of death is at an extreme level. No one has yet gone to heaven and returned. That's enough for now. Get ready on Friday. Keep your phone on. We must stay in touch."
They gave each other their phone numbers. He wanted to get his sleep halfway after he left. He put his head on the pillow but could not sleep. He didn't want to do anything on a single day that he wasn't working. He slumbered in bed until the evening after hours of empty returns he got up, staring blankly at the TV. While looking at the TV, he had a strange brief dream of finding his brother in Hell.
His phone vibrated and woke him up from his sleep. It was more like a nightmarish slurry than a dream. He looked at the phone. He was looking for a friend. Answered the phone.
"Yes?"
"Were you sleeping? At this hour?"
It was eight pm.
"Some of us have a day off."
"He's sleeping on his only day off. Great!"
It's not just about work.
"What did you call for? If not important, I'll keep sleeping."
"Wait, wait! It's been a while since we haven't eaten together. Let's eat something."
Baran remembered that there was no food at home. He slept all day. Although he was a little lazy to leave the house, the rumbling of his stomach prevailed.
"You choose the venue, you text me. I'll take a shower."
"All right."
He looked at the message and took a shower.
"I don't like to talk about money issues. That's why I'm sending it as a message. The Oder will pay a thousand liras* every time you go to hell. That's the money except what you find there."
Earning four thousand lira by working just four days a month sounded nice. Except for the fear, the stress, and the final dying sensation, it was fine money. If he continued to progress in this business in the future, he could quit his job as a uber driver and live comfortably.
He smiled properly for the first time in the last two weeks. There was death at the end, of course, he respawned at home, but that pain when he died was terrible. He took a shower.
He quickly dried his hair and reached the place where they would meet with his car. It was a remote part of the city that Baran had never come to before. Ten minutes he searched the side streets for parking. He found a nice place but had to walk along the street. On the one hand, his eye was following his destination in the map application on the phone.
He entered a street food cafe. The tables were half full. There was someone at the back table waving towards him. This was it. Aykut. He would never have thought that seeing someone familiar lately would be so good for him.
He sat down at the table. He felt like his life had not changed. For a moment.
"How's it going? Have you gotten used to your new job?" asked his friend Aykut.
New business? Did Aykut know the whole event? Hell too? What about The Order? Baran was stunned. Seeing that he did not answer, Aykut continued.
"You don't get used to it? You said it wouldn't be hard to drive all day."
Baran took a deep breath. Of course, he didn't know. How would he know? Aykut told him about the Uber job. Although he had complaints at first, he got used to it. The less he stayed at home after his brother died, the better he felt. He avoided feeling trapped.
"While I focus on the roads, I get away from thinking about what happened. Uber job put me at ease."
Aykut smiled.
"I'm glad."
"How's your business going? Are you still selling people things they don't need?"
"Of course! This month I was the first in sales. The boss even made a raise in my salary."
"It's nice to hear that."
At least some of them can live their lives normally.