A LEAP OF THE EARLY BIRD

A humble heart...

What could be said about a heart that is humble? A humble heart sees the other person not for the mistakes they make, but for the virtue they bring to their life. A humble heart sees the value in forgiveness as well as in apologizing for hurting one's feelings. A humble heart also sees that through balance and harmony life has a way of working things out.

Can was raised by Aziz to know his self worth, but to keep in mind that all people should be treated the same, regardless of who they were. To live in a way that people would respect him, but also to show respect himself. To be self-assured yet humble. He grew up to become that kind of a person. And he based his judgement of others on being able to read people and their intentions. But when he met Sanem, he eventually gave up on trying to figure her out. Sanem never played by the rules, never fit into a box, and never seemed to be bothered by it either. She acted upon her feelings. She also acted first and thought of consequences afterwards. Can was used to being in charge. In command. With every step mapped out and every direction predicted and explored beforehand. But she made him realize how little in command he was when it came to her.

The fact was that he did not really know how to handle Sanem. More often than not, he did not know how to argue with her to end up winning an argument. Seeing Sanem's engagement ring fall out of Aylin's purse cut his air supply. To his dismay, not only did Sanem not offer him an explanation for what just happened, it was actually Aylin who offered one. As much as he wanted to believe it, something seemed off in the way Sanem reacted. He wanted to believe Sanem, but he needed a more solid proof than Aylin's words. He received that proof when Emre verified Aylin's words. They were engaged. His brother was engaged to the one person Aziz loathed the most, and Can could barely stand her.

As much as he was shaken by the news of Emre's engagement, he was not done with Sanem. But she left. He did his best to remain calm. He called her, but she chose not to accept his call. Emre tried to reason with him. He said it was not Sanem's fault she did not tell him. She was not to blame. Whether it was or not, that was beside the point. What mattered to him was that she did not tell him about the ring. About selling it. And to whom. He was beginning to get the feeling that Ayling was getting closer to Sanem. Too close for his comfort. He needed to speak with Sanem. And she needed to stop being so stubborn. Even more so, he did not need to be reminded by Emre that she was just as stubborn as he was. But, Emre's words made him think, and made him contemplate his actions going forward.

He knew he needed to talk to Sanem. Reason with her. Calm her down. And get some answers. He drove by her neighborhood. He expected her to go back home after she left his house. What he did not expect was for more than half of her community to be gathered in what appeared to be a celebratory welcoming party for Muzaffer. Can wondered why, and where was Muzaffer coming back from? Hearing Sanem explain that her barely tolerable and not-so-secret admirer returned from army after only a three days' absence did not surprise him as much as the fact that he wrote a message to Sanem that was 67 pages long. He knew Muzaffer was infatuated with Sanem, but he did not know he was infatuated with her to such an extent. And he did not blame him one bit. Can was more than infatuated with her - he was in love.

Can asked Sanem if they could talk. She agreed, and they drove by the shoreline of Bosphorus. As they walked by the shore, Can apologized for reacting the way he did when he saw Sanem's ring fall out of Aylin's purse. He was a man of choice words and words that he meant and stood by. Admitting misjudgement was not only something that did not come easy to him, is did not come often. But he felt in his heart that he needed to apologize for his behavior and his assumption of the worst. Sanem in turn apologized for not telling him about it. It eased his mind, and calmed his heart. For now.

He told Sanem there was something bothering her. He could feel it, as clear as day. He told her they could face whatever bothered her together. She replied there was something, and that she would speak with him about it when the time was right. But not right now. He nodded, and told her that seeing her bothered by something bothered him as well. They were close, and her sorrows got to him too. He did not want her to be sad. He wanted her to be happy, because he was happy when he was with her. Simply being with her made him very happy. In fact, being with her made him so happy that he wanted the world to know about it, about them. Moreover, he wanted her family to be aware of them and their love. Hearing his words, Sanem froze. She was not ready for that. Not that she did not love him, but she knew he did not understamd their traditional order of life. A man did not come around the house and profess his love unless he was committing his life and his love to a woman. And committing in the form if marriage. And for that she knew she was not ready for, and neither was Can.

She told Can it would be impossible for him to go to her parents and profess his love. He just smiled and nodded in a way that told her he was not kidding. Because he was not. She realized just how serious he was when he drove to her house. He rang the doorbell and was in the happiest of moods when he entered the house. And then, realizing on whose ground he was, whose house he stepped in, his humble heart felt all of the courage evaporate into thin air. He felt he was doing the right thing, but could not find the right words to do so. He found himself stuck between truth and the fear of it. So he began in the easiest way about it. He brought up the matter of the kiss Mevkibe found on his cheek. And in all seriousness admitted that it wasn't any unknown and unimportant model that kissed him. He never was that kind of a man, and wanted Mevkibe and Nihat to be aware of that. And it mattered to him that they knew that. And that they knew who hissed him. It was Sanem who kissed him.

He felt so relieved to make them aware of who kissed his cheek. And so happy to have finally tell them the truth. Seeing the faces of those around him, he did not know who was more affected more. Sanem, Mevkibe, or Nihat himself. Sanem definitely resembed her parents, he realized that much. He was  building up courage to reveal to them all how much he loved Sanem. That she changed his world, that she completed it. But, Sanem being Sanem, she twisted and turned his intent upside down. So he was still her boss. And only that. He hoped to change their minds about it, if only one step at a time. And was thankful, in his humble heart, that her parents gave him an opportunity to do just that when they invited him for dinner that same very evening...