Mermaids in Turkey

Chapter Eight

The world around her blurred, she could hear the group come up behind them and pause. They murmured something and fled from the area. The hunger in his kiss intensified and she reciprocated. He nudged her lips gently with his tongue begging for them to part for him. She gave in to his request and opened for him and he slipped in, softly massaging her tongue with his. His fingertips massaged the sensitive areas of her scalp that burst with pleasure as a small moan slipped out of her.  An amused chuckle escaped on his breath, snapping her back to reality. 

Ayça ripped herself away and slapped him. "How dare you!" her hand flying up to her swollen lips.

"What was that for?"

"You took advantage of the situation!"

"I just saved your life!" he massaged the area that was changing from a bright pink to rosy red, "A thanks would have been nice."

"I don't need your help!" she hissed as she ran towards the door "And stay away from me!"

He continued to call after her but she didn't stop. 

Ayça was fuming as she walked the entire way back to her hotel. It wasn't so much the kiss that infuriated her because that had honestly saved her from being discovered. No, it was what she had felt that terrified to her core. Even though he was arrogant and the most insufferable man to ever walk the earth he inspired a warmth in her heart that she had not felt in a long time. She hated him for this. She sighed as she stopped to stare out at waves crashing at the shore. No, she had made a promise a long time ago she would never open her heart to anyone and become vulnerable again. She had survived that pain once and she was not sure she would survive it again. 

Seeking refuge she chose to hole up inside her room and avoid her aunt and cousin. She was in no mood to regale the terrifying and confusing events that had transpired that day.  As she lay on her bed debating if she was making the right choice by remaining on the island, sleep eventually captured her. When she awoke the desk lamp was on and her aunt had left her some dinner and iced tea whose ice had melted a long time ago. She picked at the greens at the edge of her plate, she had no appetite. Instead she pulled out her grandfathers journal that she had hidden at the back of her nightstand and began to read.... 

I still can't believe it that we actually found it! All these years we have spent searching for it, we have finally found it. The chest is enormous and the glittering gold coins plentiful enough to fill numerous coffers many times over. 

What? They had actually found the buried treasure, not just the map? Ayça re-read the part to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating. If that was true then why where her relatives living in a decrepit hotel. The next pages were filled with her grandfathers happiness and all of the ways in which he and Ferit were spending the gold. They had started off by donating it but as they continued on less and less was being donated and more was spent on their own wants and needs. 

If we could dislodge the treasure chest from the barnacles we would have already lifted it. But we can only carry as much as our coffers would carry. Even though we take and take, every time we return it is as if we have barely touched it. The greed has begun to change Ferit and I have begun to grow wary of him. I can feel the greed begin to change me also, and I have started to wonder if there is some truth to this gold being cursed.  

Ayça looked at the clock on her nightstand, it was nearly three in the morning. She felt the hairs on her neck rise but she could not put down the journal. 

A darkness has begun to overtake me. Eerie whispers fill the once silent air as we continue to line our pockets with the gold but it is never enough to quench our insatiable hunger. I worry that my fate is now also tied to this cursed gold my soul destined to roam the earth restlessly until the debt be paid. Even as I write this I feel a nameless presence near me and I see shadows dance where there is no man.