The Call

Chapter - 2

Aydan hung up the phone and turned to take the sobbing Eda into her arms. She didn't think that she had any more tears left but to think that Serkan didn't remember Eda after all the two of them had been through to get to their happily ever after, it was unthinkable. Aydan and Seyfi drew Eda over to the couch and sat her down. Aydan stroked Eda's hair, trying to calm her down.

"Aydan anne, what did we do to deserve this? First they take Serkan on our wedding day and now they bring him back with no memory of me? And now he calls Selin? SELIN?"

"Edacim, we have to prepare ourselves. We have to think positive. For once in her life Selin seems to have done something right, she actually called us, I am surprised that she called us to tell us that Serkan called her. The Selin I knew would have just gone to Serkan and kept him to herself."

At this point Aydan was talking more to herself than Eda, the wheels were turning in her head. Why did Selin call them? The Selin she knew would have gone straight to Serkan and not called anyone. This Selin even apologized and seemed sincere. 

Serkan was alive, he may have lost his memories but Eda wasn't a quitter and Aydan was always a force to be reckoned with. They needed to make plans and pack! If Serkan was just out of a coma and suffering from amnesia then they needed to figure out how to bring back his memories.

"Edacim, Edacim! Hadi! We have some packing to do!"

Aydan wasn't going to let Eda sit and cry any longer. Oh, there were going to be tears later, lots of tears, but not right now.

Aydan took Eda's face in her hands, "I love you like my own daughter. I am saying this to you now. This is going to be hard but you are tough. I will be there every step of the way and we will get through this together. Understand?"

Eda nodded, she wiped her face with her fingers. She remembered the most important part of the conversation. "Serkan is alive, Aydan anne, Serkan is alive. I knew he was alive. His brain may have forgotten me but his heart and soul, those will remember me. Maybe not tomorrow, but they will. I have to believe that they will."

"That is what I believe too Edacim, that is what I believe too. We will be there reminding him. We will bring every photograph and video of the last year that we have."

Aydan started to bustle about, "Seyfi, we have work to do! Edacim, start gathering things of Serkan's that he has gifted you that might trigger memories and gather photographs. Let's get going."

"Aydan hanim, I am way ahead of you! I have already started collecting the videos and have many of them on a thumb drive for you. Eda hanim, we will help Serkan bey remember his life and you, don't you worry." Of course Seyfi was prepared, he seemed to know these things before anyone else half the time.

The trio spent the next couple of hours alternating between packing bags and gathering photos, videos, and trinkets to help with Serkan's memories.

Eda had her treasured guitar pick, something Serkan was sure to remember. She also packed a suitcase for Serkan knowing that he would want his things with him. Eda packed his toiletries, taking a moment to inhale and surround herself with his scent. She made sure to include her fragrance among his things. Just as Eda slept with his pillow when he was gone, Serkan slept with hers when she was not there. Eda intended to make that happen starting tomorrow, she brought both of their pillows along.

They all tried to get a few hours of sleep knowing that it would be a long stressful day ahead of them. As Eda laid her head on Serkan's pillow, wearing his t-shirt, she thought back to Selin's words. Selin had said I am sorry, believe me I am sorry. Aydan anne was surprised that Selin had called them so quickly, Eda was surprised that she had called at all. Had Selin changed? Eda could only hope so because she didn't have time to deal with an obsessed Selin not when Serkan had memories to recover.

In Slovenia Serkan Bolat drifted in and out of consciousness. In his dreams he could smell a light floral fragrance, whenever he smelled this scent he was at peace. He knew that a woman wore it, he didn't know what she looked like but when he had these dreams it caused his heart to beat faster as if he could sense when she was near. His soul yearned for her. He had nightmares too, visions of a plane crash and being lost, a woman calling out to him and crying for him from a distance, he woke up in a sweat from these each time.

When he jolted awake from his most recent nightmare Serkan decided to stay awake, his confusion and pain were overwhelming his body's need for sleep. He remembered that he had called Selin last night and asked her to come. He wondered if he had made the right decision in calling her, maybe he should have called Engin. No, Engin would be needed to run ArtLife if he was out of commission. 

Serkan didn't want to give Selin ideas, they weren't a couple, they had broken up and even when they were a couple they weren't a very good couple. There was no romance between them, at least not on his side, he knew Selin thought she was in love with him. He found that more annoying than anything. He called her because she was convenient, he knew that she would come help him no matter what. His anne couldn't leave the house and his baba would never come, work was always going to be more important. Selin won by default. The nurse said that Selin would be here today, probably this afternoon, even in his battered state, Serkan hated waiting.

His doctor had told him that he was going to start physical therapy today so he knew that he wouldn't be discharged but maybe, just maybe, he could get out of the hospital soon. Serkan didn't understand why he was in the hospital, he knew that there had been some sort of accident. No one wanted to give him straight answers, it felt like they were hiding something from him.

With the breakfast tray the nurse brought in some of Serkan's personal items that he had on him when he was brought in. They gave him his watch, Serkan looked at the Rolex Submariner, it looked familiar, but then he had quite the collection of watches. His cell phone was beyond repair, an orderly offered to purchase a new one for him but Serkan declined, he would wait and ask Selin to manage that for him. Next he pulled out his battered passport, this was nothing new, he was in Slovenia after all. Serkan pulled out the last item in the envelope, a wedding band.

Serkan looked at the wedding band at a loss, this was his?

He asked the nurse, "This is mine?"

"Yes, you were wearing it on your right hand when you were brought in."

So he was engaged not married. Serkan examined the ring. The platinum band looked like something that he would wear. While turning it in the light he noticed that there was an engraving on the inside, he held it closer to read the inscription, 'Eda Yildiz'. When he read that his subconscious caught a whiff of the light floral fragrance from his dreams. He didn't remember a woman named Eda but he remembered the scent.

The nurse left to check on another patient, only the orderly was left, so Serkan asked, "What's the date?"

Not aware that he wasn't supposed to share this information he calmly told Serkan, "March 28, 2021."

It wasn't 2020 like Serkan thought, it was 2021. He had lost a whole year, a year in which he had apparently gotten engaged. Just what else was he missing from that year?

Was the orderly telling him the truth? Serkan grabbed his passport and started scanning all the pages going through the dates. He saw his trip to London, he remembered that. What he didn't remember was anything after that. His passport showed his trip home from London, Serkan didn't remember coming home, nor did he remember the trip to Rome two weeks earlier.

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, what the hell happened to him?