Chapter 7

" Ezgi."

He let go of my arm, pushing me lightly. I was starting to feel guilty as if I had made a mistake. I immediately got defensive, "The pain in my arm became more and more unbearable and I couldn't hide it from Ezgi."

His eyebrows were furrowed, "What a pain?" said. I shivered as he ran his fingers over my wound.

"It's no big deal," I said. He didn't need to know some details.

He took his fingers from my wound and brought them to his neck. He was creating the image of going crazy when he thought about it, in the dark of the night. "Full moon nights?"

"Do you know why?" I asked immediately. If he knew that I suffer more on full moon nights, he might have an idea as to why.

He shook his head vaguely.

"Why?" I asked.

The silence between us began to howl in the darkness of the night. "I'll drive you home," he said. We both shared our secret, but it wasn't fair for Cesur to know all the details about it.

It was clear that he was not going to answer my question. I said, "I came by myself, I will go myself". I haven't taken a few steps yet, my foot got caught in one of the thick roots of the tree and I found myself stuck in the moistened soil.

"It's unlikely you'll leave without seeing your way," said Brave as he held out his hand for me to get up. The mischievous smile on his face was driving me crazy. I got up from the ground with my own means and shook the dust off me.

"I don't know if you realize it, but it's pitch black. It's not possible for me to see!"

"But I can see it," he said sarcastically. "I can take you."

"You've become a liar as you grow," I said. "I can't see it, but you can see it." Dirty liar.

It has been almost a week since we spoke with Cesur. I did not go to the forest to see him again, and Cesur had not come either. Ezgi and I were always at the door without letting each other know, in case Tolga would come, but no one came.

When we got bored of sitting at home idly, I enrolled in Ezgi's art course, and I found a job in a small cafe in the city centre.

After a lazy weekend, Ezgi and I woke up to a stressful Monday morning. While I was contemplating the last sips of my coffee, Ezgi was busy looking at herself in the mirror for the thousandth time.

"I don't want to be late on the first day, Ezgi, hurry up." I threw myself on the porch. It was cooler than usual today I guess. Exaggerating the zipper of my jacket, I pulled it all the way up.

Ezgi was trying to lock the door while saying "I came, I came".

It took us half an hour to get to the city center. After saying goodbye to the tune, I walked for ten minutes until I saw the Red Seal sign.

I looked around a few times to see someone working outside of customers. I saw the boy pouring beer into the huge glass behind the counter and walked towards him.

"Hello" I said, putting my hands on the counter. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and went back to his work.

"You want a menu?" ' he asked in an indifferent voice. What kind of boss would hire such a sullen man? He must not be very fond of his customers.

"Actually, I applied for a job," I said.

"I don't remember posting jobs. We're not looking for someone new." He was now completely focused on me. She had hair that turned slightly orange. Her eyes flickered between yellow or red, as if trying to match her hair.

"I talked to Mr. Erhan." Apparently no one knew that I was hired but me. I took a deep breath when I saw Erhan Bey, whom I had talked to before, through the back door of the counter, while I was going to mutter a few prayers in order not to go wrong. It was a small place and finding a job could be difficult at times. And I really needed this job.

Erhan Bey smiled kindly when he saw me. "Welcome Asli"

"Hello, Mr. Erhan, I thought I was hired, but.." I interrupted to see if something was wrong, but the orange-haired boy said, "Are you going to hire a foreigner?" he asked Erhan Bey. The man's anger made me nervous as well.

"Actually, I'm not a foreigner. I've lived here before," I said. My childhood was spent in this town, what is this boy going through?

"Is that so, I haven't seen you in the herd before," he snapped. Erhan Bey said in a warning voice, "Fire.." It didn't surprise me at all that the orange-haired man's name was Ateş.

"Actually, I don't like group mates, if you're talking about the flocks of howling birds at our famous high school, I'd rather be alone." I said, explaining to myself. I thought of the group friendships that the only high school in this neighborhood was hanging out with. I have to admit that they are quite fake and insincere.

The fire shook its head in disapproval, making a sound between laughter and growl.

Erhan Bey came out from behind the counter and came to me. "Don't mind him, he's always nervous like that," she said, lowering her voice. He took a red apron from one of the shelves and handed it to me. "I wish you success on your first day. You and Buse will take care of the customers as we speak." He gestured to the girl at the other end of the cafe taking orders from the customers at the table. I silently shook my head.

My first day was pretty quiet. I haven't spoken to Ateş all day. He didn't talk to anyone though. Contrary to Buse Ateş, she was a very warm-blooded girl. She was trying to help me get used to it and she was talking all the time for my amusement.

There was no one coming and going, and after Buse made coffee for both of us, we took a five-minute rest break.

It was past five in the evening. I still had hours to get off work. "Don't look so calm now," muttered Buse as she looked around. "Everybody will be here in half an hour," she said.

"I think the young people here are late," I said while sipping my coffee with milk.

Bush nodded silently. After glancing at Ateş out of the corner of his eye, he said, "They are a bit wild too."

"A little bit?" I groaned. Pointing to Ates out of the corner of his eye, "Are there worse?"

"Here they are coming," said Buse with the doorbell ringing. "Let's get to work"

Buse became interested in dirty cups. I waited for the arrivals to settle in their tables. The fact that I haven't been here for years was astounding to me by what I saw.

I guess after graduating from high school, teenagers must have entered a tight camp. It was strange that they had grown so large. Considering that they played basketball for years, they were still tall.

Taking a few menus and order slips in my hand, I walked towards the table. After putting the menus on the table, "Can I take your order?" I said.

As I spoke, the six people sitting at the table simultaneously turned their heads towards me. Some of them squinted their eyes, some of them started to look at me strangely with raised eyebrows. I wondered if I said something wrong. Strangely enough, the fact that they were all focused on me made my palms sweat.

I looked around to see what was happening. Buse stopped caring about the cups and looked at me with worried eyes. I must have caught the attention of Ateş, as he looked first at Buse and then at me.

When one of the children sitting at the table stood up with a loud noise, I involuntarily threw myself backwards in a hurry.

"I'll take care of it, Asli, you help Buse." When I felt Ateş's hand on my shoulder, I nodded my head with a slight relief. I was grateful to him for rescuing me from this strange and frightening situation.

I silently walked towards Buse. I was walking so slowly that I felt like if a faint sound came from my footsteps, they would all get up and jump on me. The cold chill running down my back made me even more anxious.

I walked behind the counter and untied the apron around my waist. Ateş was telling something by putting his hand on the shoulder of the boy who had just risen. I left the apron on the counter and dived in through the door that opened to the back.

I could see from my reflection in the mirror that my face was chalky. I was standing frozen in front of the mirror. I was so tight that I felt my whole body slowly starting to ache. It was a very strange and frightening situation. The people of this town, of course, weren't friendly, but I didn't think they were that scary either.

When I saw Ateş's reflection in the mirror, I got out of my shock and turned around. "You can leave now, Asli," he said. "I have two more hours," I said, looking at the watch on his wrist.

"Buse will take care of it," said Ateş and went back to the counter. I was not in the mood to object any further. I took my bag and coat from the closet. I went out through the door to the great hall.

I think Buse was busy preparing the orders. "I'm going out, see you," I said.

I replied with a smile. I was careful not to look at the table earlier, but I could feel their gazes on my back. I hurriedly got out and started walking briskly. I needed to get rid of this feeling as soon as possible.

"See you later," he said, even his smile stretched. "Be careful."