ORHAN
I can help search for them, Orhan.
“No,” he blurted out immediately, a sudden look of panic in his eyes. “A’idah, I could not lose you too, not when you have just come back to me.” He fell quiet for a moment and simply gazed at her, his expression softening. How sweet she was to offer, in any case. Her selflessness made his heart ache.
“I couldn’t tell you where they went. Any signs they left behind are long gone. Carisa, Koray’s mother, disappeared some time last year, along with Koray’s younger sister, Feray. At first I was petrified for Carisa’s wellbeing, for she’s deaf - but I did my best to stay calm and wait for her return. I know she would be safe with Feray at her side, and she has travelled before with nothing befalling her.
“But then, more recently… Arcana disappeared, along with our daughter Indira, Evren’s older sister. She was heavily pregnant at the time. As with Carisa’s disappearance, I tried to trust in the fact that she was not alone, and that she would return when she was ready, but… still, I worry. With her being pregnant, and us-... I cannot think why she would leave. It is her I have been searching for these past months. So, you asked what happened to me, A’idah - now you know. Apart from this,” he lifted his lame front leg and set it back down carefully in the wet sand, “which I owe to an intruding stallion from a few years ago.”
He let out a heavy sigh and tried to smile despite the sadness in his tired face. “It’s been a long few years since we last saw each other. There’s still so much more to tell you.” He stepped forward suddenly to close the distance between them and touch her at last. He leaned into her warmth for a few moments, enraptured by the closeness, and when he pulled away there was adoration shining in his eyes.
“I think I’ve talked enough for now, though. Please - it’s your turn. I want to hear about what you’ve been up to since we last saw each other.”
ARABIAN/AKHAL-TEKE/MUSTANG; 15’1HH; BUCKSKIN; 12 |