Images of You

Chapter 8

Eda ran, and ran, and ran...until her thoughts stopped. The only thing that surrounded her were tall trees and thick snow. She hugged herself, feeling the cold breeze—she forgot her jacket. Looking up, the moon was as big as it could be, being the only source of light Eda had. Not far from the moon was the star Sirius, where it pointed north which made Eda decide that maybe it would lead her back to the lodge.

It had been a stupid idea to run out. The snow was getting heavier by the minute and she didn't have her jacket—she was freezing. She held her hands to her mouth and breathed into them, trying to warm herself as she continued finding her way back.

Back in the lodge, everyone was quiet. Festivities had stopped when Eda had walked out—Selin tried to convince them that Eda would be okay and that they could still continue with the party. However, when Melo, Ceren and Deniz came back with worried eyes, it was evident that Eda was nowhere to be found.

"Eda's gone!" Melo exclaimed with worry. Serkan could feel himself becoming anxious.

"We looked everywhere but couldn't find her." Ceren continued.

"I tried going into the forest as far as I could but I didn't find any footprints that may lead to where she could be." Deniz explained.

Suddenly, the wind blew harder and the sound of heavy snow hitting the roof of the lodge could be heard. Melo and Ceren looked at each other and said with immense worry, "Oh Eda..."

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The sound of silence was deafening. It had been an hour since they last tried to look for Eda and the storm was not getting any better. Engin had informed the authorities about the situation but unfortunately, due to the heavy snow, they were not able to dispatch a search team.

Everyone was gathered at the living area, looking a Engin, who was talking with the chief trooper on the phone about any updates. "Tamam...tamam." He nodded. "Teşekkürler." He ended the call and turned to look at anticipating eyes.

"They might not be able to send out a team till morning..." Engin broke the news.

Melo held onto her chest as she closed her eyes, fearing the worst. Ceren and Leyla hugged her reassuringly as Piril reached out for Engin.

Serkan had been staring at the fireplace, hands clasped as his arms lay on his thighs. He took a deep breath, he was becoming really anxious, thinking about Eda. He looked at Selin...she was emotionless. He wanted to say something, but opted not to as he knew it wasn't the right time. He sighed and thought—Please be okay, Eda. He closed his eyes—a memory flashed.

Eda and Serkan were at the hallway of Art Life, arguing about Eda leaving for Italy as she was granted a scholarship to continue her university studies. He had taken offense to this as Eda refused to accept his offer about this matter—a matter that had then become about their current state.

"But it's all over." Eda said firmly.

"You don't have to end it..." Serkan reasoned.

"You want everything to be your way." She frustratedly said. "You wanted Selin, and it worked."

"It happened. You're together. You got it—so leave me already. Leave me alone." She emphasized in anger. "Leave me alone so I can do what I want."

He looked down before lightly nodding. "Tamam...Tamam..." Then he looked back at her and said, "I'll leave you alone."

Eda lightly nodded back in disbelief and looked Serkan straight in the eyes. "If you want someone in your life, you can do more than just offer a job..."