Duru Ulusoy
Have you ever had a moment in your life when you desperately wanted time to pass faster so you could reach what you were waiting for, yet at the same time feared that what you wanted might turn into something you wouldn't want at all, making you wish those minutes would never pass?
I hadn't.
Not until now…
Demir, Aylin, and I were lined up on the wide three-seater couch of the seating set positioned behind the L-shaped sofa near the entrance of the living room, silently waiting for Kerem—who sat across from us—to finish examining the report in his hands.
Putting my impatient nature aside, the countless unsettling thoughts chasing one another through my head made it increasingly difficult to endure this waiting process calmly.
Considering our situation, there were only two possibilities. Either this file would contain information useful for further investigation and learning something new, or it would contain nothing at all.
The second possibility would be devastating for Kerem and Rüzgar—for obvious reasons—far more than it would be for us. At least, that was what I thought at first, though over the past few minutes I had begun to feel that I might be wrong.
Since the moment he picked up the file, I hadn't taken my eyes off Kerem. Throughout that time, there hadn't been a single sign that he was affected by what he was reading.
None. Zero. How was that even possible?
After all, the papers in his hands contained visual and written details that would cause him to relive—again and again—what happened to his family that night, in far greater detail and, naturally, with much more pain. Yet the man sitting across from me stared at those pages with an expressionless face, as if the documents had nothing to do with him at all. Seeing him like that genuinely worried me.
I mean, could it really be normal for him not to show even a flicker of pain, sadness, tension, or anger—not even for a second? I couldn't speak for others, but for someone as devoted to his parents as he was, this behavior was undeniably strange and unsettling.
I bounced my leg impatiently until the friend beside me placed her hand on it, grounding my foot against the floor. I sent her a shy smile, then turned my attention back to the man who had been the source of the tension gnawing at me for the past twenty-seven minutes.
With the turn of a new page, a brief rustling of paper echoed through the room, followed by that same suffocating silence settling over us again. Frustrated by Kerem's disturbing lack of reaction, I started biting my lip this time, trying not to scream.
Finally, he closed the file and placed it on the coffee table before looking at us. I studied his face carefully, hoping to understand what he was thinking or feeling, but nothing had changed.
Even though I was about to burst with curiosity, I didn't dare blurt anything out. With the last scraps of patience I had left, I waited for him to speak first.
He leaned back and took a deep breath. After closing his eyes for a few seconds, he leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees.
"The information collected by the police and the forensic reports confirm that the incident was an accident. There's no evidence that would lead them to suspect someone else."
As the three of us shifted and murmured in shared disappointment, his next sentence froze us all in place.
"But there was a witness who claimed to have seen a strange man in the garden that night."
"What do you mean? If there was a lead, didn't they investigate further?" Demir asked logically. Kerem's response was a sigh and a slow shake of his head.
"The man was drunk when he gave his statement. Since no one else could confirm seeing anyone in the garden, they had no reason to believe him."
"I think we should find the guy and talk to him ourselves. The chance that he still remembers anything is low, but there's no harm in trying," Demir said.
"I agree with Demir. Even if it's not something big, it's better than nothing," Aylin added.
"Are his details in the file?" I asked. When Kerem nodded, I immediately stood up.
"Where are you going?" Aylin asked as all three of them looked at me curiously. I shifted impatiently.
"Are we not going to talk to the guy?"
When they all started laughing, I frowned. "What are you laughing at? Come on!"
"Where exactly are you going at this hour, Duru? We have class tomorrow."
"We finally have a lead and you're worried about class, bestie?"
"I admire the fiery spirit in this girl," Demir said with a grin, winking at Kerem. I rolled my eyes and sat back down, though I didn't miss the sharp look Kerem shot at Demir.
"Don't sulk, Sunshine. Aylin's right. We can't show up at someone's door in the middle of the night asking questions. And considering the possibility that we're still being watched, we shouldn't rush things and draw attention. Even if it's not guaranteed, I don't want to lose the only potential witness we have."
"Sorry, Hotshot. I forgot that part,"
Aylin said, lightly nudging my arm.
"You'd be the only one who could forget something that happened just two days ago, Duru." As the New Year's incident was brought up, I noticed Kerem tense, and I stood up again.
"Anyone want coffee?"
Before anyone could answer, Demir's phone rang. He checked the caller and answered immediately. Before he even had the chance to bring it properly to his ear, he flinched and pulled it away as a shrill scream burst through the speaker.
"Demir! Where have you been for hours? Why aren't you answering those messages? Huh? Who's with you? Answer me!"