The Assault

"Erhan…."Both of the girls mentioned his name; Esma's head twisted to Yara and their eyes met, questioning one another through their locked gaze.

"Esma…." Yara looked up with disappointment at Erhan, the one she referred to as a hero for his hand grabbed Esma's instead of hers, assisting her to stand to her feet.

"Thank you, Erhan." Flicking her coat, Esma tried to dry it but it was useless; the water had saturated some parts of it.

"You can have it clean in the restroom."

Yara's envious stare pierced Esma who could earn Erhan's attention while she got nothing but his nonchalance. Forcing her body up, she rose to a standing position with the sulk of inconvenience on her countenance.

As she found Yara struggling to get up while avoiding the puddles on the floor, Esma took the initiative to assist her. Her hand stretched out to her.

"Are you fine, Miss? I'm sorry." That girl pretended not to see Esma's extended hand, aiming to help her.

"Thanks, but I can do it myself." Her resentful response sounded uncomfortable in Esma's ears yet she understood why she acted so; she must be in so much pain after colliding with her.

While tottering, Yara ignored the couple and chose to focus on picking up the mopping tool and the pail. However, her ears did not miss each of the words Esma and Erhan said in their conversation.

"Esma….you need to get your coat cleaned. Let's go from here."

Without taking a glance at Yara, that man strode away with both of his hands hidden beneath his cloak's pockets; Esma walked his side. The wrathful and jealous evil eyes of Yara's shot at their backs.

***

After An accident flooding the floor with the dirty water she used to mop, Yara faced Mrs. Guneshi's fury; her supervisor punished her with more tasks to be accomplished. Her eyes bulged in shock at the punishment that the big woman announced.

"I do apologize for my fault but cleaning the toilet is not listed as one of my duties and responsibilities." Her brain urged her mouth to produce that protest, but in fact, the sentences she had composed clogged her throat. In fact, she blabbered the opposite, showing her obedience. "Yes, Ma'am."

Even the mopping tool weighed her exhausted body not to mention the water in the pail her hand struggled to carry. Her mouth whizzed at the burden she held, Yara possessed no option but to scrub the loo and mop the toilet floor.

Her nose often cringed at the bad odor left by the toilet users. Sometimes grumbles erupted out of her mouth, criticizing those who threw the trash in the sink.

"Do they think that it is their house so that they can do anything they want?"

To vent all her stresses, she shoved the mopping tool on the floor carelessly and it touched one of the closed doors. The person inside complained about what she did.

"I'm still using the toilet. Can you wait a few more minutes?"

Yara stopped her hand from cleaning the floor; her brain tried to recall whose name that was. After a minute of pause, she finally realized that it was that girl's voice.

That door creaked open, and she guessed it right. Esma elegantly walked out of the toilet. Instead of her blushed face of anger for being treated impolitely, Yara saw her smile.

"I'm sorry for causing the mess," she asked for her apology which left Yara with guilty feelings which she denied.

Yara secretly trailed behind that girl, stepping out of the restroom and peeking at her figure who greeted the man outside. Her vision caught Erhan smiling at Esma before holding her hand away.

Yara's hands clenched, trying to crush her annoyance which had brushed her countenance with red. A part of her heart rejected her envy toward Esma's fortune for having a man like Erhan who loved her unconditionally.

On the other hand, her fate only let her encounter obnoxious people in her life; even her mother left scars on her heart. Her father had abandoned them since she was a child.

Yara's clutch on the door handle tightened; her eyes merely focused on the two figures who slowly faded out of her sight. Sorrow stayed inside her.

"Can you move aside, Miss?" Yara's eyes flicked at two women who had waited to get inside the toilet; she spontaneously stepped away from the mouth of the door.

Finishing her work, Yara rushed out of the room, taking a break from her duties for an hour to have lunch. The rumbles of hunger had knocked into her stomach.

As soon as done with the hygiene activities of washing her hands, she headed to the canteen where she usually had lunch. Her feet quit even a few meters from the table she usually sat on.

The radiant face of a girl and a man whose backs on Yara ruined the view in front of her. Allergic to the romantic picture of Esma and Erhan, Yara chose to leave the room but it was bad that her body collided with the man with a tray of meals in his hand, his food tossed to the ground and spread anywhere.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized with deep regret. Her teeth dug into her lips and her eyes shut, hoping that none of Esma and Erhan spotted her here, squatting and picking up the bread and vegetables on the tiles.

"It's fine, Miss. You don't have to do that. Let the janitor clean the floor." The man's hand wielded Yara's wrist to avoid her collecting the food.

The incident attracted many people to set their eyes on her. Getting suspicious of what was going on, Esma initiated to approve the girl; she rose to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Erhan snatched Yara's hand, disallowing her to go anywhere.

"I need to check on what's happening.".

"Can't you just stay here? Don't meddle with other people's business." Obidie to him, Esma got back to her seat.

Peeping over her shoulder, Yara could notice what Esma was trying to do but Erhan prevented her from even moving from her seat.

"Miss, you don't have to do this, cleaning the leftovers. Let the jani…."

"I am one of the janitors here."

***

Esma drove her car through the road under the street light toward her family's mansion. The hectic work occupied her so she spent more time in the office; she went home late.

The red light caught her in the quiet intersection; it was the shortest cut toward her house she took to arrive home sooner. While waiting for the green light to be on, Esma played the music; her fingers tapped on the steering wheel. Her mouth mumbled, singing the song randomly.

Her eyes rolled here and there to kill the boredom of being alone inside the car. The corner of her eyes captured a girl she was familiar with being dragged and pushed inside the car. As soon as the light allowed her to move, she drove away, following the car that carried the car.

It glided through the narrow street, turning toward the dark tunnel until it reached the desolate area on the outskirts. Two stoic men pulled the girl out of the car, ignoring her wriggle imploring them to let her go.

Her intuition forced Esma to silently slide out of her car. She had to save that girl; mustering her courage, Esma did something she had never done before.

"Let go of her."