Ava sighed gently, watching as Yusuf shrugged at her comments. He seemed to have accepted the things that had happened to him, despite their terrible nature. She wondered if he had always been that way, and if not how long it had taken him to become so dejected. For Ava the trip downhill had been fast and the climb back up excruciatingly slow. Had she done better or worse than average? “Don’t be sorry,” she replied, her tone earnest. And the words were honest. Ava had never turned away from someone who needed help if she could be of assistance in even the smallest of ways. If she could help poor Yusuf then she would. But for now she interrupted him no more as he explained his problem to her in more detail. Her small, golden ears were pricked forwards attentively atop her head as she listened. With each word that her spoke her heart reached out to him with even more sympathy than before. She couldn’t help but pity him, to empathise with him. His request, however, could not be satisfied by her emotions alone. Ava wanted to tell him that of course he could stay – that Orhan wouldn’t mind – but she couldn’t. Although he had so far been kind to her and he seemed like a good man, she would not lie to herself and presume that she knew him all that well. No, she did not have the authority to offer Yusuf that particular comfort. But she could try. “I know how you feel,” she began softly, remembering the time she had spent clinging to life in the Harbor all those years ago. “But I can’t say whether you can stay or not – though you would be welcome if it were up to me.” She paused a moment, her green gaze settling on Yusuf’s face. “Maybe I could take you to Orhan though?” she asked hopefully, tilting her head. “You could ask the man himself – I’m sure that he would hear you out at least.” |