Tatlı Aşk (Sweet Love) (Can & Ozge)

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Unfinished Mural

"I didn't know you own a slaughterhouse now."

Devrim said and he and Evren talked with Halil just outside the butchery. Halil changed into a clean shirt and dumped the butcher knife he was holding earlier.

"Yeah. You know when your Aunt left me, Devrim, I didn't really wanna pursue the restaurant business anymore," Halil said. "She was one of the reasons why I loved being a chef. Her support was my foundation. And when she left... well, I just didn't wanna do it anymore."

Devrim and Evren exchanged worried looks.

"That's kind of the reason why we came here, Uncle Halil," Devrim said. "See, I'm building a new hotel and I was hoping you'd be the chef for the restaurant. I promise you'd get a high salary, higher than all the other restaurants you've worked with before."

"Look, Devrim, nephew, you know I love you but... I can't," Halil said, sitting down on the bench. "I just can't anymore."

"Uncle Halil, I know what Aunt Fusun did to you was bad---"

"That's an understatement, Devrim," Halil said. "She destroyed me and everything I dreamed for us. I didn't even know what happened. We were fine. And then one day, she told me she can't be with me anymore."

Evren took a deep breath and cleared her throat. Devrim looked at her.

"Sounds like somebody I know," Devrim said.

Evren slapped him gently, then she stood up.

"Well, tell us whatever we need to do in exchange for you to accept our offer," Evren said. "We can reach an agreement, right?"

"There is one thing you can do," Halil said, then he took his phone out. "See, I'm a plant man myself and I collect different kinds of orchids. There's this orchid named, 'Rothschild's slipper orchid' which is among the rarest orchids in the world. It's even worth thousands of dollars. They said it's only found in Mount Kinabalu in Northern Borneo but the locals here say they saw those orchids by the river, 20 kilometers from here. Bring that orchid back here and I'll accept your offer. Deal?"

"Uncle, isn't the river here by the forest? It's too dangerous---"

"Deal," Evren said. "We'll do it."

Devrim turned to Evren, wide-eyed.

***

Ring. Ring.

Serkan took his phone out from his pocket as he drove, Melisa sitting beside him in the front seat. They were now on their way to Ostia, the countryside's fresh air greeting them.  He glanced at his phone every now and then and saw it was Hande calling. He turned it off and put it on silent, putting it back in his pocket. Melisa noticed his mood change and turned to him.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Oh, just an old friend," Serkan said, his eyes focused on the road.

Melisa chuckled. "An old friend or an ex-lover?"

Serkan turned to her for a second, then back on the road.

"Something like that," he said, resting his arm on the car door and his palm on his face.

"Why is she calling you?"

"Probably asking why I didn't come to work today," Serkan said.

"You guys work together?" Melisa scoffed.

"Unfortunately."

"Someone's kinda bitter," Melisa grinned. "Was she the one who broke things off?"

"I guess you could say that," Serkan said.

"Do you still love her?"

Serkan looked at her for a moment, then back to the road.

"I'm avoiding her from now on," Serkan said. "I've accepted the fact that we can't be together."

"But what if she still loves you?" Melisa asked, softly.

"I doubt it," Serkan grinned. "Anyway, can we stop talking about her? We're going to the dairy farm first and then the strawberry farm. If you want, we could help in picking the strawberries."

"I'd love that," Melisa beamed.

***

7:00 PM

Downtown Rome.

Giancarlo parked his car by the sidewalk, by an unfinished mural painting of a man and a woman laying under the stars. He could still remember how he had it made five years ago. How he asked one of Rome's local artists to paint it so he could show it to Ozge on the night of their wedding day. Instead, he called it off as soon as Ozge ran away. Now the painting was incomplete, and it as almost fading because of everything it went through these last five years. Like their love, it was fading, and incomplete, but it was still there.

Giancarlo put his hands in his pockets and sighed as tears welled up in his eyes. He imagined how it would have been. If their wedding went differently. If Ozge never ran away. He would have took her to the sidewalk and show her the mural, and how it would be one of his favorite nights with Ozge. How he would have given her the world. How...

"This is my favorite mural."

Giancarlo immediately wiped his tears as he turned to see who it was.

"Even if it's unfinished, you could see the beauty of it," Ozge said, as she leaned on Giancarlo's car, next to him. "I feel like whoever had it made was truly in love. I don't know, it's just what I feel when I see this painting. But they didn't finish it. I wonder why."

"Maybe he felt like it didn't need to be finished anymore," Giancarlo said, then he turned to Ozge. "Maybe the reason why he had it made the first place was gone."

"Can we pretend you don't hate me tonight?" Ozge said, taking his hand.

"I don't think I can do that."

"Please, Can," Ozge said, never letting go of his hand. "There's a coffee shop around here where I usually go. We can have coffee there."

Giancarlo let his walls down as he agreed and Ozge beamed.

***

"Mr. Serkan and Miss Melisa, thank you so much for the help you've done today."

One of the workers of Toscani Strawberry Farm said. Serkan and Melisa helped with picking strawberries all day in exchange for 2 baskets of fresh strawberries. They befriended the farmers in the farm, listening to their stories and ate dinner with them.

"No, really, thank you for the free baskets of strawberries, Mrs. Nicolina," Melisa said, eating a strawberry.

"We really had fun today," Serkan grinned.

Serkan reached his hand out to grab a strawberry the same time as Melisa, and their hands both landed on the same twin strawberry. Mrs. Nicolina gasped as she watched Serkan and Melisa break it in half and ate it.

"I'll just go help them load the baskets," Serkan said as he got up, leaving Melisa with Mrs. Nicolina.

"Daughter, you have found the one whom your soul loves," Mrs. Nicolina said, grinning.

"What?" Melisa asked, confused.

"Don't you know the story?" Mrs. Nicolina said. "Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other. It's called the, 'Fragola d'amore,' the Strawberry of Love."

"Melisa, we have to go," Serkan said.

Melisa turned around and stared at Serkan, thinking about what the woman just said.

A/N:

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