I was looking at the door in the confusion brought by fear. At this rate, my end would be either an asylum or death. And if I die, they'll either bury me in the forest or feed me to the wolves and birds. Sarp entered with quick steps, took my hand, and said, "Come with me." He lifted me up and took me out of the room. As we were going down the stairs, the windows of the house were shattering; gunshots were everywhere. In a panic from fear, I screamed and froze. "Get a grip. If you don't want to die, we need to get out of here." He frowned, looked at my face, and tightened his grip on my wrist. I pulled myself together and followed him. As we were exiting through the kitchen door, Sarp shot a man who was aiming his gun at us. So, was killing a man that simple? As we moved forward, I turned back and looked at the lifeless body on the ground. Who knows, maybe he had a wife, children... I felt sorry for him. But if he hadn't died, we would be dead now. We advanced through the forest. He was walking so fast that I couldn't keep up with him. As we moved forward, the gunshots also ceased. It was almost morning. I could no longer bear the pain in my feet; they kept getting caught on things and twisting on the rough path. Finally, I broke my silence.
"Enough already! Let this torture end. Because of you, I've been through everything. Because of you, I could have died, do you hear me?" I was shouting, but he didn't even care. "I have no patience left. You've driven me crazy. End this captivity now! Either kill me or let me go. Heeyy, are you listening to me?" He stopped abruptly and turned towards me, causing me to bump my head into his large body. I grimaced and looked at him. My height only reached his shoulders. His eyebrows were furrowed again. "Shut up and walk," he said. "Look, I really can't take it anymore," I said, lowering my tone when I saw his expression. "My feet hurt too much; I can't walk." With a sudden movement, he bent down and threw me over his shoulder. "Put me down! You've gotten really used to throwing me over your shoulder." I held onto his arm with one hand and his back with the other so I wouldn't fall. I didn't know how I would escape from this man. Without paying any attention to me, he continued walking quickly with long strides. After walking for a while, we came to a cabin. He pushed the cabin door open, and once inside, he put me down from his shoulder. I looked around the small cabin; there was an old carpet, a bed, and a few kitchen items. "We'll stay here for a while. Go to bed and rest," he said. Turning to him, I said, "Why did we come here? I'll feel cramped here. Please, take me home. Look, I won't tell anyone about you, I won't even go to the police, please." He walked towards me. "Forget it. I'm not letting you go anywhere. What I say goes. Don't talk back too much; go sit down." My eyes filled with tears; I couldn't say anything. I sat down on the floor mattress. He sat down opposite me. I couldn't hold back my tears; I was sobbing and crying. I wasn't looking at him. I was in such a dead end that I couldn't escape. I flinched at the sound of his "Don't cry," but I started crying even more.
"I told you not to cry." "You can't tell me not to cry," my voice came out hoarse; my throat was tight. "I miss my mom and dad so much. I've never been apart from them before; I miss them terribly. Who knows what state they're in now? They must be devastated. They have no one else but me. Tomorrow is my birthday; I want to spend it with them. I don't know why you're holding me, and I don't want to know anymore. Please, take me home." I looked into his hazel eyes and waited for his response. "You've talked too much again. We closed this subject," he said. I understood that whatever I said was pointless; he wasn't going to let me go. I decided not to talk to him again. I lay down on the bed, turned my back to him, and cried myself to sleep. I opened my eyes at the sound of Sarp's voice. "What's the situation?" he said. "This attack is Atlas's work. I told you we should finish Kadir's job. But you just shot him in the leg and let him go. He must have seen and recognized the girl that day and sang to Atlas. So they came to take the girl." Who are these people? What business could they have with me? My mind still can't grasp it. Until now, my family and I have always had a quiet life. "What are you thinking of doing now? Look, Sarp, I think you should let the girl go," said Aytaç. "Why should I let her go?" "They know she's with you now. Send the girl away before things get even bigger." "Aytaç, you mind your own business and let me decide what to do. Now go, take charge of the men, deal with whatever the damage is." Sarp came in with the bags Aytaç had brought, paused and looked at me. He handed me the food he took out of the bag. But before I could eat, I needed something else. Hesitantly, I said, "I need to go to the bathroom first." He pointed to the left and said, "Behind the black curtain." "You need to go outside," he said, then put the bags down and went out.
I had stayed inside the cabin all day; Sarp was outside. It had gotten dark. Another day of my life had passed in captivity. I was suffocating from boredom and went outside. He was sitting by the cabin, smoking. I sat down next to him and stretched my legs out like him. "Can you give me a cigarette too?" He turned and looked into my eyes for a while; I looked back at him. Without breaking eye contact, he held out the cigarette pack. I took one and brought it to my lips. He held out the lighter and lit my cigarette, then placed the pack between us. Turning forward, he said, "Did you smoke?" "I used to smoke occasionally with my friends, for fun." "So your mood is good." "What can I say, I'm going crazy from happiness," I said. He smiled, inhaling his cigarette. I also smoked my cigarette and looked around. We were in a deserted place in the middle of the forest. There was a black car next to the cabin; Aytaç must have brought it during the day. "When are you thinking of letting me go?" "Never." "Well, what are you going to do with me?" "What do you want me to do?" "Of course, I want you to take me home." "Forget that." You animal! For a moment, I thought he was returning to normal. "I hate you." "They say the greatest loves start with hate," he said, looking into my eyes. "I'd rather stay home alone forever than fall in love with you." "Don't talk big." He was looking into my eyes so deeply that anyone seeing it would think he was in love with me. I turned forward; I couldn't look at him anymore. I didn't want to be affected by him. We sat side by side like that all night. I was getting sleepy, so I left him outside and lay down on the floor mattress in the cabin. When I opened my eyes, it was morning. I was alone in the cabin. I sat up in bed. I wondered whose bed this was; it wasn't very clean. I hoped I wouldn't have to sleep here again.
I straightened my messy hair a bit, put it in a ponytail, and went out of the cabin. Sarp was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if he was sleeping in the car and headed in that direction. The car was empty. At that moment, an idea came to me, and I scanned the area. I called out "Sarp!" a few times, but there was no answer from Sarp. I ran without looking back; the time had come for me to go home. I had just started to run when my escape attempt ended as someone jumped on me. Where did he come from now? If only I could succeed just once! My whole body ached from the impact of falling and the weight on top of me. "Get off me!" I shouted. He turned me towards him. "I see you're in form again today," Sarp said. "Are you planning to get off me? You broke all my bones." "The ground is very comfortable; why should I get up?" "You animal, get off me!" I said, trying to push him. "Does such language suit a girl like you?" he said, pinning my hands to the ground. He was looking at me in a way that his gaze was disturbing me. Before I knew how it happened, he suddenly pressed his lips to mine. My heart was pounding wildly. It was the first time I was getting close to a man. He shouldn't have done this to me. I was supposed to have my first kiss with the man I would marry. Had I stayed away from men all this time for nothing? He pulled back and looked at me, while I, blushing from embarrassment, turned my face away and couldn't say a single word. He took my hand and helped me up. Without letting go of my hand, he continued walking. He seated me in the passenger seat of the car, then got into the driver's seat and started the car. We were moving, but I didn't know where. Maybe we were returning to the mountain house where we were staying, or somewhere else. I couldn't open my mouth to ask. I hadn't gotten over the effect of him kissing me. Normally, I should have been shouting and screaming, but I was just silently looking ahead. We had advanced quite a bit; we were almost out of the forest, so it seemed we weren't going back to the mountain house. Was he going to keep me in a house in the city this time? I looked out the window the whole way, didn't speak; I could feel his gaze on me.
We left the forested area, entered the city, and merged into traffic. A wave of excitement came over me; I never thought I would miss the crowds of this big city. He parked the car in front of a restaurant. I was surprised. I turned and looked at Sarp. He smiled slightly and said, "Come on, let's have a nice breakfast." We got out of the car and entered the restaurant; it was quiet inside. We sat at a table. While Sarp was giving the orders to the waiter who came to our table, I was looking around. "Don't bother looking around; you can't escape from me even here." "What if I scream, 'This man is holding me against my will, save me!'?" "Trust me, it won't do any good. No one will want to get into trouble because of you." "Has humanity died? Of course, someone will help me." "Maybe they will, but you wouldn't want anyone to die because of you, right?" He was literally threatening me. I frowned and looked at his face. Our breakfasts arrived. As Sarp started eating, he said, "Start your breakfast now. You're frowning too much with those beautiful eyebrows; they'll wrinkle quickly." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After we finished our breakfast, we left the restaurant and got into the car. I was wondering where he would take me now. "Where are you taking me?" "Surprise." "You and surprising me? This time, you'll probably lock me in another house." "Actually, that's not a bad idea at all." "What kind of man are you? Don't you have a job or something?" "You are my job," he said. No, I couldn't deal with this man; it was best to stay silent.
As the car moved forward, the streets looked familiar. I couldn't believe it; we had come to my neighborhood. With great excitement, I turned to Sarp, smiling. He was looking at me too. "You brought me home," I said. My heart was pounding with excitement; I couldn't believe it. When we reached my door, he stopped the car. As I reached out to open the door, he grabbed my hand and stopped me. I turned to him; he moved so close that there was no distance between us. He looked first into my eyes, then at my lips. Realizing he was going to kiss me again, I tried to pull back. "Go now. Reunite with your family. I will come for you again," he said.