Moonlit Scars

Demir

Dinner passed in a pensive state. Seray excused herself from joining us and Altan left halfway through the meal. When it ended, I found myself infront of the door leading to his room.

After hesitating for a moment, I knocked twice on the door and walked in.

My brother stood at the window, his back to me, one hand pushed deep into the pocket of his pants. I moved next to him and together, we looked into the garden. Moon was waxing bright, painting everything it touched with a luminous light. Altan's room faced the east end of the garden. Behind it, the woods stretched beyond towards the mountain range, where the quietude of the night was occasionally pierced by the hoot of an owl.

"You couldn't have seen it coming, you know", I broke the silence. "Even I believed that bastard and I'm suspicious of everyone"

Altan turned, giving me a glimpse of what he was holding in his free hand.

The framed photograph was taken on the day Burak was born. I had been the one who took it. It wasn't a good shot by any means- the light was poor and half of their faces were thrown into shadows but few things were highlighted in it. My brother was smiling a genuine smile (I hadn't seen one in a long time) and Bahar's blue eyes were glowing. Burak slept between them, face red, tiny hands curled into fists.

I peered into my brother's eyes. All I could see were broken glass and dark shadows.

"I did this to her child", he said. "To our child. I exposed him to a sadistic psychopath", he took a deep breath. "I tried to talk to Burak today. But he didn't have anything to say to me"

"It could be my fault", I said. I definitely had a hand in this. The girl tried to talk to me but I'd shot her down. Maybe I should have taken her seriously. "Maybe I should have dug into Ihsan's past- put a detective on his tail before we took him into Burak's life"

Altan shook his head with a bitter smile.

"I'm his father, Demir. Bahar entrusted him to me, before she died." He set the photograph back on the table. "He was so... confused. He thought it was normal- what Ihsan was doing to him"

A fresh wave of anger swept through me and I dug my nails into my palms.

"You should have let me have a go at him", I gritted out. "That psychopath got away too easily..."

"He didn't get away", Altan's eyes darkened even more. "I'll make him pay for the rest of his life. But it still won't erase the fact that he abused my son"

It wouldn't. And Seray was right- these types of events left emotional scars. I was probably the person who'd know it the best.

As if he read my line of thoughts, Altan looked at me.

"That girl was here for less than a month and she caught up with what we couldn't see ", he said. "We owe her. I owe her"

The fact left a bitter feeling in the pit of my stomach. I glanced at the bright moon without saying anything.

Altan sighed, running a hand through his already rumpled hair. "I'm going to stay with my son tonight, even though he specifically told me to leave him alone"

"He doesn't mean it", I added after a pause. "Probably"

"He means it, alright", he said. "Parents are supposed to protect their children. Not give them permanent scars that wouldn't leave for the rest of their lives"

I froze as if I were doused with a bucket of ice. The scar on my face started throbbing and my chest felt like someone was piercing it with a hot iron.

Yes, parents were supposed to protect their children...