Just when I thought my life of captivity was over and I had gained my freedom, when he said he would come for me, I understood that this would never actually happen. I got out of the car, slammed the door in his face, and walked quickly towards my house without looking back. I couldn't believe I was home. I missed my mom and dad so much. With great excitement, I rang the doorbell. A short time later, the door opened. My mom looked at me with her eyes wide open in great surprise, unable to hold back her tears, she hugged me, saying, "My child!" We hugged each other and started crying. She was kissing me all over my face. "My child, you came, my mom, you came," she said. I realized my mom was about to faint; she couldn't stand anymore. At that moment, I heard my dad's voice. "My daughter!" he said, coming to our side. Realizing my mom couldn't stand, I hugged her and said, "Let's go inside." While they were entering the house, I turned back and looked at Sarp; he was watching us. When I turned to him, he started his car and drove away. When I went into the living room, I ran and hugged my dad. He was crying just like me. I had never seen my dad cry before. "My daughter, you're okay, you're okay, right? How did you get here? How did you escape?"
"I don't know how much you know about what happened to me, dad, I'll tell you everything," I said and sat on the sofa next to my mom. My dad sat next to me too. I told them everything that happened to me, just as it was. "Not a single policeman or anyone else came looking for me. Okay, they didn't do anything to harm me, but longing for you tormented me. Why didn't you come for me, dad? Okay, I didn't want you to get into trouble because of me, but I waited, hoping." My dad wiped his tears and said, "My dear daughter, we tried so hard. Your friends searched for you a lot in the forest. A group that looked like the mafia stopped them, forcibly took them back to the lodge they were staying in, threatened them, and told them not to look for you again, otherwise they would kill you. Even though they persistently asked why and where they were holding you, they couldn't get an answer. They said, 'Go quietly to your homes and don't tell anyone,' and left." "So, are they okay? They didn't harm them, right?" I was very afraid that something had happened to them. "Mom, your friends are fine, my daughter. In fact, after the incident, they didn't stay put and came here. But before they came, those men had already come." What I heard sent shivers down my spine. "They came here? Did they touch you?" "No, my daughter. They came in, said you were in their hands, and said if we followed you, we would never see our daughter again. I went up to them and said, 'Are you joking? Who are you? What do you want from my daughter?' Just then, the doorbell rang; it was your friends. They threatened to kill all of us and left. When we left the house to file a complaint, they hadn't left. They aimed a gun at us, and one of them said, 'Don't worry, uncle, your daughter will be our guest for a while.'" "I shouted and went up to him, 'Bring my daughter to me!' And he said, 'If you don't stay quiet, you will never see your daughter again.'" My dear ones... They had been so worried about me. I felt terrible for putting them through this. My dad said that a few times when he tried to leave the house to file a complaint, Sarp's men intercepted and stopped him.
I told my family what I had been through. I told them, they listened, we hugged and made up for lost time. Sarp's last words came to my mind, but I couldn't tell them because I didn't want to upset them. "Go now, reunite with your family. I will come for you again." I took a nice shower; the hot water felt good on my tired body. I got out of the bathroom and put on my pajamas. I combed and dried my hair. I was just about to leave my room when the doorbell rang. I panicked and froze where I was. What if it was Sarp coming to take me? My mom opened the door; it was my friends. They came in and looked at my face. After a brief moment of eye contact, I shook off the panic, smiled, and opened my arms. They ran and hugged me. We were crying and laughing at the same time; I had missed them so much. At the sound of my mom's voice, we sat down at the table she had prepared. We ate our food while I told my friends about what I had been through. Kaya said, "My girl, we were so worried about you, we searched so much for you. So you were in a house nearby? Did they harm you?" "No, everything is as I told you. They didn't harm me." "Well, why did they hold you for all this time?" "They're looking for a girl. According to what they said, she looks a lot like me." Elif said, "And they brought you all the way home?" "The man named Sarp brought me." "Well, is that Sarp guy handsome? How old is he?" Yasemin's question embarrassed me. I gestured towards my dad and quietly said, "Shame on you." Yasemin didn't care at all. After the meal, we made tea in the kitchen with the girls and prepared the cookies and cake my mom had made while we talked. Aslı said, "Ceyda, I'm so curious, how did you endure all that time in thathouse with so many men?" I looked at Aslı's face for a while, unable to answer. "Did they do something to you?" When her voice came out loud, I covered Aslı's mouth. Elif and Yasemin were also widening their eyes and looking at me. "Aslı, it's not what you think. The men didn't approach me at all; they ignored me as if I didn't exist even when they passed by me." All three of them said, "What do you mean?" "Just like that. I didn't talk to anyone except Sarp and his friend Aytaç." Yasemin said, "Tell us a bit about this Sarp. I asked at the table, but you didn't answer." "Oh, Yasemin, what are you curious about?" "My girl, is he handsome? How old is he? I'm curious about that." "I don't know his age. He's a few years older than me." "And? Is he handsome?" While I was thinking about what to say to Yasemin, Kaya came into the kitchen. "Girls, aren't the teas ready? Come to the living room now," she said, hugging me. "Ceyda, I was so scared that something had happened to you. I haven't been able to sleep properly since the day you disappeared." "I'm here now, Kaya. You can sleep soundly now," I said, smiling. Kaya loosened her arms from around my neck and gently patted my shoulder. "Girl, how did you manage to disappear from our side like that?" "I don't know, it just happened," I said, laughing. We took the teas, cookies, and cake and went to the living room to join my mom and dad.
We chatted and caught up until late at night. My friends had started work; I was going to spend a few days with my family. I don't know how many days it's been since I arrived, but I haven't left the house. I spend all day with my family, watching TV, cooking with my mom, and doing housework. I can't shake the fear that if I leave the house, Sarp will do as he said and come to take me, but I was hoping that if he hasn't come by now, he won't come anymore. I pushed the bad thoughts out of my mind, called my friends from my dad's phone to say I was coming to see them, and left the house. After all, Sarp took my phone and never gave it back. While walking on the road, I joined the kids playing football in the neighborhood. As soon as I kicked the ball, it hit a kid on the head. "Ceyda, big sister, you don't know how to play. Go to the goal." "Son, Anıl, I don't like standing in the goal," I said, but Anıl and Mustafa pulled me by the arms and brought me to the goal. These kids always did this. And at the end of the match, falling and getting up... We lost 18 to 15. We lost, alright, but these kids had worn me out. My clothes were covered in dust. I brushed myself off a bit and walked towards the cafe. Since I left the house, I had noticed a man who seemed to be following me. He was around when I was playing with the kids too. Maybe it was my paranoia; I didn't know. What I had been through had messed with my psychology. I tried not to dwell on it and continued on my way. When I entered the cafe, Kaya hugged me and spun me around. "Beauty, welcome!" "Kaya, that's enough, I'm dizzy, put me down." Kaya had no intention of putting me down. "Look, I'm dizzy, I'll throw up on you now," I said, and she put me down from her lap. She put her arm around my shoulder and hugged me. "Come on, look, we have a surprise for you," she said, and we moved towards the table they had prepared for me.
Aslı said, "Kaya, let the girl go so we can hug her too," pushing Kaya away and hugging me around the neck. "Welcome, my dear, how are you?" "I'm better, my dear," I said. I also hugged Yasemin and Elif. They came to see me every night after work, but I still missed them so much. I turned to the table they had prepared for me. They had prepared a large chocolate cake—my favorite—along with drinks and lots of snacks. My eyes filled with tears. I turned to my dear friends and said, "I love you so much, you are one of a kind, my dears," and hugged them again. "Step aside so I can have Ceyda for a bit too." This was Firuze abla's voice. I turned to her, said, "How are you, abla?" and hugged her around the neck. "I'm fine, but how are you? What happened to you? You scared us so much, my dear," she said. "I'm fine, abla, I'll tell you," I said. Yasemin had lit the candles on the cake. "Come on, Ceyda, blow out the candles. Let's celebrate your birthday that we couldn't celebrate that day." I smiled at her and blew out the candles. They applauded along with Kaya's whistling. The cafe was crowded as usual, but my friends were both attending to the customers and looking after me. Firuze abla was playing fun music, and we were eating our cakes and dancing to the rhythm of the music. The music that was playing now was a halay (traditional Turkish circle dance) tune. Kaya approached me and said, "Come on, Ceyda, link arms with me." "But I don't know how to dance halay."
"I'll teach you," she said, linking arms with me. We started dancing halay with my friends; the customers joined us too. We had gotten so caught up in the rhythm of the music that I had now learned how to dance halay. When I was in the mountain house, I had lost so much hope that I never thought I would reunite with my friends and have fun like this. We were dancing and laughing loudly. "Kaya, how do you know how to dance halay so well?" "I know, my girl. We're from Van; these are our regional dances," she said. I laughed and gestured with my head towards Yasemin, who was dancing halay in front of me. "Look at her, she looks so funny," I said. She was trying to dance halay, but she looked very funny. I was having so much fun, I was so happy. I had gotten so carried away by the lively music that I only just noticed the person sitting at the table opposite me, watching me. How long had he been there? Had he come to take me as he said? No, I didn't want to go with him. I wouldn't go back under his captivity. "Ceyda, what's wrong with you?" I flinched at Kaya's poking and talking. "Ceyda, what happened? Are you okay?" "I-I'm fine," I said, looking towards the opposite side. He was still sitting there, not taking his eyes off me. He lowered his head and gestured to me; it meant 'come here.' I turned to Kaya; she was looking at me uneasily. "Ceyda, if you're not feeling well, let's sit down," she said, taking my hand. I turned forward again and looked at him. He frowned and made the 'come here' gesture again.
let go of Kaya's hands. "I'm fine, you enjoy yourself," I said and walked towards the opposite table, towards Sarp. "Why did you come?" I said. "Sit down." "I'm not sitting down. I asked you why you came." "I told you I would come for you." "I'm not coming with you. I don't want to see you," I said. "First, lower your voice, and then sit down here," he said, pulling me by the hand and making me sit next to him. At that moment, Kaya and the girls came to our side. "What's going on here? Ceyda, who is this man?" Before I could answer Kaya's question, Sarp answered. "It's none of your business. Now back off and leave. Ceyda and I have things to talk about," Sarp said. Kaya shouted, "What are you saying? Who are you?" "Watch your tone and get lost before I start." "What are you going to do, you coward?" At Kaya's words, Sarp took out his gun and aimed it at him. I stepped in front of Kaya and looked at Sarp. "Please, put the gun down. They're just worried about me," I said. I turned to my friends. "We're just going to talk. Go on," I said.
Kaya said loudly, "Is this the guy who held you against your will?" The girls, just like Kaya, looked like they were about to jump on Sarp at any moment. "Yes, it's him. We're just going to talk. Go on," I said. "We're just a few steps away. If he does anything, call out." After they moved away, I went to the table. Sarp had put his gun away. "Whatever you want to say, say it quickly and leave," I said, looking into his eyes. "I came to see you." What he said surprised me. Why had he come to see me? "Are you joking? Why did you come to see me?" "Can't I be curious about you?" "No, you can't. You are nothing to me." "Yes, I'm not, but that doesn't mean I won't become something. Maybe I'll become everything to you all at once." What nonsense was he talking? For some reason, I felt excited by his words; my heart was pounding as if it was in my mouth! Pulling myself together, I said, "What nonsense are you talking? As if your torment wasn't enough, have you come to mock me now?" He put his hands on the table and leaned towards me, narrowing his beautiful hazel eyes and grabbing my hands. I tried to pull my hands away, but he wouldn't let go. He just looked into my eyes. I didn't want to be affected by him. He was a handsome man, but he was a mafia wannabe of unknown background who had held me against my will for over a week.
"You look good, I see. Your spirits seem to have returned after seeing your friends. But there's one problem. Why is this fool so interested in you? You will stay away from him," he said. "Who are you to question me? Let go of my hand. Leave me alone. Get out of here." "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Does one talk to their future husband like this?" "Get out! What husband are you talking about? Don't bother me again. I don't want you, you animal!" "Very soon, I'll make you eat those words. I'm leaving now. The next time I come, whether you want it or not, you will be my wife." He let go of my hands, pinched my left cheek, winked, got up, and left the cafe. "Ceyda, why are you crying, my dear? What did he say to you?" At the sound of Elif's voice, I pulled myself together; I hadn't even realized I was crying. I wiped my eyes and looked at my friends who had gathered around me. Smiling, I said, "It's not important. Forget it." Kaya said, "What do you mean, forget it? What did he say to you? Why did he come? What does he want from you? You don't become a man by pulling a gun; if he's a man, he should come without a weapon." "Okay, Kaya, please let's not drag this out. He's gone now. Let's just drop this subject." Kaya had taken me home. I was going to start work the next day. After dinner, I retired to my room early. I thought about what Sarp had said. I don't think he's in love with me, so why would someone want to marry a person they're not in love with? When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't in the mood at all. Despite my mom's insistence, I left the house without having breakfast. I spent the whole day with my friends and working at the cafe to distract myself from my thoughts.
Until the call from my mom came. She told me to come home immediately. Her voice was panicked. No matter how much I insisted, she said, "We're fine, you just need to come home." Now I'm walking home quickly. Did something happen to my dad? Why was my mom's voice panicked? Oh God, I'm going crazy. When I got home, there were two black cars and men in suits at the garden gate. "Who are you?" I asked, but they didn't answer. Apprehensively, I walked towards the house door. The door was open; I went inside. The scene I saw horrified me. Two armed men were holding guns to the heads of my mom and dad, looking at me. "What's going on here? Who are you?" I shouted. "Let them go! Are you bandits?" My mom and dad were looking at me with sad faces. "Dad, say something! What do they want from you?" "My daughter." I turned at the sound of the voice. A man in his fifties was sitting on the armchair. "I've come to take you, my daughter. I am your father, Aziz Doğanlar."