Scarlet line

This time, doctors took more hours to attend to Sibel's wounds. Only God knows how that piano had fallen, trapping her fingers underneath it.

Sinbad was consumed by a myriad of worries, while at the same time recalling what had happened up until now.

Last night, when she was in his car on their way to her family's place, even in the back seat, he couldn't help but feel a slice of happiness. Sharing the same space and breathing the same air as her.

He remembered feeling the same joy that morning when she didn't yell at him for sleeping closer to her.

Perhaps, the only time he felt happy was when he was completing her curse of that cursed night, when he couldn't fight his demons and let their rage consume her. Defeated, he knelt with his hands outstretched towards the Almighty.

"Allah, take me in her place. She deserves to live a beautiful life. I was wrong. I hurt her beyond repair. I don't even deserve to breathe, so take me. Spare her! The world needs her more than a devil, a rapist, a violent man like me. I beg of you..."

His pleading comes to an end when he notices two pairs of legs coming towards him from the window reflection. Turning around, he saw her doctor.

"How is she?" He rose to his feet, removing the countless tears with the back of his hand.

"May Allah accept your prayer!"

"Amen."

"She is fine... but..."

"What doctor?"

"She can never play the piano as before."

"No. You don't understand, the piano is her gift. Her life! Tell me that there is a way to give her the gift back."

"There is no way for her gift to fully come back, but she can play the piano for five minutes maximum without experiencing immense pain."

This wasn't the news he was waiting to hear because he once cherished her gift, and now it was gone.

"Can I see her?"

"Yes, she is being transferred to her room."

"One more thing, doctors expect her to use her hands normally, at least."

Yes, after a couple of weeks, she can do normal chores and take care of herself, but she isn't allowed to play the piano as it may cause permanent damage.

Sinbad took note of what the doctor said, standing before her door, feeling hopeless as he couldn't dare to go inside. Halide came as soon as she heard, even though she had just left her shift, standing beside him.

"Sir, ma'am woke up," she said, looking at his fallen face, with unstoppable tears that had taken the best of him.

"How is she?" His broken voice reached her ears as she looked at him.

"Fine, as soon as she woke up, she insisted on going home!" She responded without removing her glare from him.

"I will go talk with her doctor. You stay with her."

The doctor was against it, but Sinbad knew his wife's temper by now, so there was nothing more to discuss. They just needed to bring Halide along again.

He went to her room, hesitating a bit before the door, but entered anyway. Halide, who was checking her IV, left them alone after Sinbad's request and Sibel gave approval.

"How are you?"

"Fine!" she said shortly, not even looking at him.

"What happened?"

"Doesn't matter!"

"I am going to bring the best doctor to fix your hands again."

"What is broken can't ever be whole again! What happened, happened. Now I will live with it. After all, I fulfilled my dream at a young age, the other dream you took care to be forever smashed so you have done enough for me." She said, finally giving him a glance that was full of hate.

"Sibel, give us a chance. I gave up my revenge for us, for you. You don't need to accept me soon. Just let me…"

"Call Halide, I want to go back to my torture home,” She cut him off.

"If you want, I can send you to your family."

"No, I don't want to. All I ask is that you repair and send back the piano without saying anything about my incident. Can you do that?!”

"Of course, Sibel."

He did all of that with the most pleasant sensation. She asked something from him that didn't require protecting someone else or requesting her death.

Different from last time when her hand was harmed, this time she was cooler towards him, tolerating his presence. He could feel that something was building between them and he was hoping for the future.

Her vomiting intensified in the morning, but he wasn't the cause. She blamed the pills, so she stopped taking them for the time being as her hands were fast cured.

Halide went back to the hospital after the doctor gave the green light that Sibel was capable of taking care of herself.

Sibel came out of the bathroom. Finally, after more than two weeks, she was able to take a proper bath and really enjoyed it. Having a short towel around her body that only covered her intimate parts stressed her out, as she couldn't put it well over her chest line.

"Sibel," he shouted as he entered without knocking. In shock, she let her towel fall and immediately covered herself, kneeling down to take it. He quickly took the towel.

"Please give me the towel!" she pleaded, hating that she needed to do it. He took a sheet from the wardrobe and covered her whole body.

She rose up to fix the velvet sheet around her.

"Sorry for coming like that but I didn't find you down and …I was just looking for you."

"Why? You found out the truth!" She started looking at his eyes that soon got covered by saltwater but she cared less.

"I am not looking for it nor did I find it. I have told you I gave up my revenge."

"Please find the truth and end my suffering!" She changed her voice in a matter of seconds; a bridge of pain became the distance between them.

"Sibel, let it go! I am not hurting you anymore. Why can't you see me?" He wanted to close the bridge as he took a step ahead.

"Sinbad, I can't! I want to be able to create memories with you, but only those moments come time after time in my eyes. They are hurting me. Make them stop!" she yelled at the end, as tears took over her eyes once again and fell down on her knees. He collapsed the bridge and grabbed her in his arms, breaking the distance he had put himself to keep whenever he was near her.

"Come out with me tonight!" His proposal caught her by surprise. A myriad of feelings engulfed her heart as she couldn't tear her gaze away from his hazel eyes.

"Why?" she replied with a question, trying to compose herself and put distance between them. Her chin wobbled still from the nerves as he took hold of it firmly between his thumb and index finger, tilting her head up and closing the distance.

"For once, obey me without question!" he demanded in a smooth tone as his thumb made patterns on her jaw. Internally, he was dying to kiss her lips and she to kiss back.

"Yes!"

 A mere word from her lips made his heart jolt like a child before the long-awaited gift.

"I have brought a dress for you to the other room. I will pick it up at six. Give us a chance, please!” He was ecstatic and couldn't control his happiness as his eyes were brighter than the sun outside.

She just nodded as he said those words, staring at him after breaking the hug. He left her alone with her thoughts.

Saying he was ecstatic like a child is an understatement. He was over the moon with the news that he was going to go on an official date with her.

***

She stood before the mirror and saw herself fully clothed after making sure that the door was closed. There was something missing, even though her body was still adorned with Hakan's cut, his vicious bite, and what she had done to herself. As I said, she was still missing something over her skin.

She put on the velvet sheet and went to his room. Finding the red dress spread proudly over his bed, as he had done with her body at one time.

“Wear me.” Was a small note attached to the dress.

It fit like a second skin, hugging her body and showing her perfect curves. The décolleté was delicate, not revealing too much. With short sleeves till the elbow and a classic needlework pattern at the end. She ran in front of the mirror barefoot when she noticed boxes near the bed. Unpacking them, she found heels and a bag.

The lingerie was also carefully chosen by him. She put them on first without giving much thought, although they fit perfectly. ***

6 pm was shown on his clock when he looked at it for the last time before getting out of his SUV to pick her up for the official date.

A bubble of happiness had struck him since she sent him a photo with his chosen dress on.

Sinbad had pictured her in that dress as soon as he saw it on the mannequin. Oh boy, the picture she took was a thousand times better than the image painted in his brain.

He knows that if she just puts down those walls, he can make his way to her heart. Her agreement to his invitation is the first baby step, and he will be patient with each step.

Happiness was what she cursed, and he was feeling that forbidden feeling. As he put his feet on the ground, the sun of July suddenly went missing. The happiness cut his heart and went away as something heavy and evil struck his heart when he opened the door of the house. Cold shivers passed through his vertebrae. His breath stopped. A veil of mist blocked his view. His heart was losing its normal rhythm. You could say that he couldn't hear the beats of his heart anymore or his breath.

Barely reaching the first stair with his feet barely holding him up, snailing on the wall like a snail, he reached the top and then went to her room. The mist in his eyes thickened, making it impossible for him to see clearly. With two of his fingers, he shut down one eyelid and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, the mist was gone but not the feeling of total disaster. She was nowhere to be seen, a trickle of water that, to his ears, sounded like it was coming from far away made him take a huge step toward the bathroom door. He knocked, but no one answered.

Begged, pleaded that his fear of the moment never became true as his hand trembled over the knob.

He pushed the door and his predator eyes scanned the place. Thankfully it was cleaned and she wasn't there.

He turned fast to go. But the water trickling stopped him at the door side.Thinking that he had gone paranoid, she was probably waiting in the other room.  Yet the curiosity took his mind and turned his heels to check the trickle of water. 

The house is old and always needs to be fixed. He thought to himself as was approaching the trickle sound.

Suddenly a scarlet line was coming from the covered tub. 

Than and there his soul left his 

body and was watching how the body was moving toward the curtain and retreating it the sounds of it was the only thing that could hush the trickling water.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" was his uneven breath that let out a horrific yell echoing inside those cold walls.

Her body was lying inside the bathtub with the dress he brought and the adornments she had carved on as additions to her masterpiece.

"SIBEL SIBEL SIBEL, DON'T GO! SIBEEEL!" His voice got out as he took her from the water and quickly tore some robes he found to stop the bleeding that was coming from multiple cuts.

All the strength he had left came after she coughed up water and looked at him with her vague eyes. Not wasting a second more, he sent her to the car. He had no idea how much time she had been in that state, but he drove like a lunatic through Oriental city streets.

This was the third time he was sending her to the hospital in less than a month. Her words from the first journey rang like the bell of hell in his ear as his hand held hers, catching the last warmth her body was emitting.

Is this his punishment?