The Darkness

I was being watched by someone. Part of me would admit it was true, while part of me would say it was a fabrication. But the person I saw was terrifying. It was terrible! I walked in through the opened door and slammed the door shut. I tucked it in my pocket to hide my trembling hands. I walked by force and went to Aunt Rümeysa, who was looking at me from the door.

He was looking at me with his old wrinkled brown eyes. "Elif... what happened, girl?" I was pretty sure she messed up when she said "she." I didn't even know what to say.

"Rümeysa... Aunt... Someone," I could only say while showing my back. My trembling body was stuck in the doorway. He grabbed my arms with his soft hands and pulled me inside. "Elif, what's going on? Don't scare me." I didn't want to worry, but I had to get over my fear first.

He took her to the living room and sat her down. I wrapped my arms around my body as he left me. I've never seen anything good in those eyes. For the first time, when I looked at a person's face, I could make sense of it. And that was very bad. It was very, very bad!

Rümeysa's aunt, who came in with a glass cup in her hand, was also scared because of me. I didn't want to let him experience this, but I didn't even know what to do. I took a small sip of water. The glass hit my teeth as my hands were still shaking. "Elif, what happened to my beautiful girl? Did someone do something?" His question made me even more frightened. What if he does something bad to me?

I wiped the tears rolling down my cheeks. "Aunt Rumeysa is someone... Someone is following me!" I said, trying to force my tongue out by erasing the eyes from my memory a little while ago.

"Who? Let's call the police now." I stood up and stopped him. I didn't even know who he was. What would I say to the cops? I couldn't even see his face clearly. "Wait, Aunt Rumeysa... I don't even know who the man is. I couldn't see his face either." I could only see its glow and feel what that glow was saying.

"Let's get Elif... At least they'll look around," he said, and I quickly shook my head and answered with a swallow. "The people in the neighborhood get annoyed. They name me the bad girl." Like every single girl, I didn't want my name to come out. I was a young girl, and there were a lot of empty people. What did they say even when I was working in the market? If they heard this, they would definitely look at it with a bad eye.

"Girl, why are you thinking about the neighborhood? What if he does something to you?" He started to cough. She had a problem with her lungs and coughed often. I grabbed his arm and sat him down. I reached for the glass he had set on the coffee table and brought it to his lips for a drink. He took two sips of water and handed it back.

"You're taking your Aunt Rumeysa's medicine, right?"

He shook his head and laughed. "I'm getting it; don't worry about me." How would I not? She was the only one left with us. While he is the only one who takes care of us...

"Is Ahmed home?" Then I looked at the clock; it was nine o'clock.

"He went home, and I fed him. He's sleepy."

He's been sleeping all the time lately. She devoted herself to sleep. "Okay, I'll go home too. I'll get up early tomorrow."

"Okay, girl. Be careful; lock your doors tight. And if you see him again tomorrow, we'll definitely go to the police. Okay?" He stroked my hair with his right hand. The bond between us was going towards being a mother-daughter relationship. I used to share all my problems with him. She would be there for me in all my troubles. Actually, I wasn't alone, was I?

"Okay, Aunt Rumeysa. Come on, rest up too." I kissed her cheeks and left the house. I knew you were looking at me sadly behind me. I opened the door with the key I took out of my bag. I checked the apartment and went inside. I was more frightened because we were sitting at the entrance. I locked the door twice and left the key on it. I went straight to my room without turning on the house lights. I got rid of my clothes and put on my pajamas. I untied my hair and left the room. When I arrived in front of Ahmed's room, I listened to the inside. Sometimes I would hear her cry, and I wouldn't go in; I couldn't get in. He kicked her out when I entered at first, and after that I would sit at the door and cry with him before I entered. When I realized that there was no sound from inside, I entered slowly. Even though it was hot, I always covered it. The fear of losing him had taken over me. I pulled my hands out of his hair and went back to my room.

As I lay on the bed, I looked at my curtain, which was drawn. The shadow of the branches of the tree in the backyard swaying in the gentle wind was falling. Turning sideways, I took the window behind me. I can't forget the fear I experienced tonight. It was so bad to see it with my own eyes, even though I felt it until now. I closed my eyes tightly. I was afraid. I was alone and scared like crazy. I wanted to banish the thoughts that came to my mind, but I couldn't. What if it's against me? What if it hurts me?

I closed my eyes with the thoughts I couldn't get out of my mind. My only prayer was to wake up tomorrow morning believing it wasn't real.