Nil: The Lost Brother

Aurora

Several hours had passed without her notice. She felt the urge to constantly check the time, as if looking at the clock would make it pass faster. But it was the opposite, time slowed down as she tried to speed it up, and seconds moved as if carrying a heavy burden, slowly and heavily. Time was relative; the more enjoyment she had, the faster it flew, and the more she felt down, the slower it progressed. She briefly imagined eternal life... She didn't know how long she would live, but she could at least make an estimation of the maximum. What would it be like to go beyond that? I mean, how would it feel to know that you won't die? Then she thought, it wouldn't be much different. After all, no one could imagine death for themselves in their daily lives. It was very difficult to think about death or even to think that one is mortal. Most people lived as if they were an immortal being. It seemed like a code engraved in human genetics. The years of education, the years spent striving for a "comfortable" future, when put together, the remaining time wouldn't be a significant period. That's why humans needed God and the belief in eternal afterlife. She remembered a chapter from a book by philosophy professor Caner Taslaman. It presented this need as evidence for the existence of God. It stated that something that is naturally needed by humans is true, like water or air. Was searching for truth in this much fakery madness? She wondered for a moment if she was going insane. There was still about an hour left until the meeting time, but she felt suffocated and needed to leave the house. She opened her messages on her phone, checked the location of the café they were meeting at, visualized it in her mind, and set off on her way. She thought of going there before Yusuf and having a coffee to pass the time. When she arrived at the location shown on the map, she noticed the small signboard outside the café's garden. She had passed by this road many times, but it was the first time she had noticed that such a place existed here. She parked her car on the street and carefully observed the surroundings before entering the garden. It was actually a complex, where a shop beneath the apartment had been transformed into a café, possibly used as a storage or office space. "Whoever came up with the idea of turning this place into a café," she muttered. The café had wooden tables, wooden chairs, a wooden bar, and a wooden ceiling decoration. Interestingly, the ambiance made her feel warm, even though it was her first time there. Judging by the peaceful expressions on everyone's faces, they must have felt the same way. "Welcome," greeted the young barista behind the counter with a sincere smile. "Hello, thank you," replied Nil, and glanced at the menu on the blackboard hanging from the ceiling for a few seconds. Once she made her decision, she said, "I'll have an americano, please." The barista asked, "What's your name?" Nil was a bit puzzled as to why he was asking for her name when the cup was empty, but she replied, "Nil," hesitantly, and then added, "And what's yours?" The barista realized the confusion and started to smile slightly. "My name is Dodo. I asked for your name to call you when your order is ready and, if you like, to open a tab for you," he explained. Nil blushed, her mind had been so absent-minded that she hadn't grasped the situation, but this dialogue made her feel a bit more comfortable in the café. She laughed to herself and said, "Dodo, interesting name." The barista replied with a smile, "Thank you," and started preparing the coffee. Nil preferred to wait at the bar while her coffee was being prepared. Before taking her coffee to the table, she paid the bill. "I don't want to deal with paying the bill when Yusuf arrives," she said to herself. She went out to the garden, placed her coffee on one of the wooden tables, and hung her bag on the chair. As she sipped her coffee, she observed her surroundings. A large group was sitting at a nearby table, with a tall man in his thirties surrounded by a few young people. The man was excitedly talking about something, and the young people were attentively listening to him. Nil's eyes caught sight of the bandage on the man's arm. She thought he might be telling the story of what happened to him. Her phone vibrated, this time Yusuf hadn't sent a message, he preferred to call. Nil answered the phone and told him she was sitting in the café. Yusuf said he had parked his car and would be with her in two minutes. Shortly after, Yusuf arrived at the table.