Moonlit Scars

Seray

There was something wrong with that child's- Burak's behavior.

I put the baking sheet over the tray and glanced out of the window. The weather was heavy and cloudy so I had to come back early from work. Lalam had been ecstatic. She'd cajoled me into baking butter cookies but halfway through the process she'd run out to play in the garden. I decided to use this opportunity to know a little about Burak.

"So they met abroad?", I asked, flattening the cookie dough on the tray. Kira- a beautiful, dark eyed girl with a prominent birth mark on her lower lip, passed me a container of cinnamon sugar with a smile.

"They met in London...", Mrs Rani said. She was a plump, caramel skinned woman with laughing dark eyes and the warmest smile I'd ever seen. The kitchen staff had been telling me about the people in the mansion for a change, during the many hours I'd spent in the kitchen with Lalam.

"...When Mr Altan went on a business trip to the city, Mrs Bahar was also there. I don't know anything about their courtship but when they came back to Istanbul, they were already engaged"

"How romantic, isn't it?" Kira sighed.

I smiled. "Was she very beautiful? Mrs Bahar?"

"Oh, very, very beautiful", Mrs Rani put a hand over her chest. "She looked like a picture. Bluest eyes you would ever see. You see, little mister inherited her eyes. Her hair was like polished copper! You should have seen her on their wedding day. Nobody could take their eyes off her beauty!"

"Certainly not Mr Altan", Kira said with a wink. "I don't think he was aware that there were other people present at the wedding"

What a story. I paused my work, feeling something akin to pity for Altan. His life style seemed too methodical, like he was mimicking actions off a handbook. He seemed almost... lifeless.

I resumed arranging the cookie dough.

"If you don't mind me asking..." I regarded Mrs Rani. "What happened? What happened to Mrs Bahar?"

Mrs Rani's sigh sounded like it was pulled deep from her soul. "It was God's will, Miss Seray. She suddenly fell sick. Doctors couldn't find any cause for the illness. She got bedridden... She faded away", she dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her apron. "And she used to be so lovely too..."

There was a moment of silence.

What pain was hidden in the hearth of these people... The saying that "money couldn't buy happiness" seemed to be perfectly fitting for the people in this family.

"It was five years ago", Kira said. "Mr Altan and little mister have been like this ever since"

I looked out of the window. Lalam was out in the open, digging through the flowerbeds, enthusiastically speaking with one of the gardeners. Burak stood in the shade of the summer hut, hands tucked into the pockets of his oversized hoodie, staring into the space. There was something melancholy about the picture- one child enjoying the weather with a smile on her lips while the other seemed to find it dark and foreboding.

After the cookies were done I piled some onto a small plate and walked outside. Lalam ran past me to wash her face and hands. I inched closer to Burak, holding the plate as a peace offering.

"Hello", I said softly. He started, his eyes flashing up to me with surprise. They were startlingly blue, wide and framed with thick lashes which all the Kartals seemed to inherit.

"I didn't mean to scare you, sorry", I said, smiling. "These are fresh out of the oven. Would you like some?"

He hesitated. Then after a beat, he reached for a cookie, a tentative smile pulling at one side of his mouth. With a jolt, I realized that I'd never seen the child actually smile before.