A LEAP OF THE EARLY BIRD

The voice of reason...

Just as life has ups and downs, life has a way of letting one know how reality worked. Life has a balance. And it has conscience. Sometimes that conscience comes in a form of an inner voice, sometimes in the worry of a parent, and sometimes in the concern of a friend...

Sanem was happy. Her heart flew higher than the stars shining above her. Never in her wildest dreams would she have suspected that Can Divit would turn out to be her Albatross. She hoped with her soul of a dreamer, but she knew that would have been an impossible truth. And yet, the reality proved to be so much more beautiful than her innermost hopes. Not only Can was her Albatross, he chose her above Polen, and he seemed to have been as taken with her as she was with him. He said he would take care of her heart. He asked her to stay close to him. He asked her to call him Can. Can. That name swam in her soul and she felt like she floated with feet above the ground. She left the opera. She danced. She sang. She felt like shouting his name and her love for him from the rooftops. She needed to talk to someone because the excitement she felt inside was too much to bare alone. She called Ayhan. No answer. So she called Osman. He knew their story from the beginning. He was like a brother to her. He would at least listen, because there was no way he would be able to understand how she felt...

If on a regular day Sanem Aydin never closed her chattering mouth, then Sanem Aydin fueled by the revelation that Can Divit was her one and only Albatross made her thoughts and words flew way past the speed limit. She could not sit still. She could not hold still. She could not stop smiling. Osman barely kept up with her story. From what he gathared, Can Divit, the famous world-trecking photographer fell for a home bird. He was as struck by Sanem as she was with him. And even if Sanem would not have said a word, all of her feelings were clearly painted in her face. That indescribable kind of glow could only come from falling in love and fonding out that she was not indifferent to her beloved. And Sanem was so in love that Osman just hadn't had the heart to bring her feet back on the ground. But he had to. Somebody had to...

And so he did. He was happy for her, he knew how much Can had come to mean to her. But he also knew that there was another side to their love story. One which Sanem seemed to have forgotten. A dark painful side, in which she was tangled in alongside Emre Bey. Emre Bey, a man Osman despised as the worst of enemies. Osman could not comprehend how a brother could turn against his own brother the way Emre did. How vile and foul he was. He hurn Leyla in his owns selfish ways, and he preyed on Sanem's pure and innocent heart. And because she was so young and inexperinced, he took full advantage of that and forced her to act against his brother...

Osman tried his best to reason with Sanem, but she barely listened. She was too happy to listen. Her love for Can swam in her blood and lit up her soul. Her eyes sparkled. She was glowing, and she knew that she kept asking Osman questions that needed no answer. What kind of a man was Can Divit? Oh, what kind of a man? Would a man not in love kiss her in such a way? Could a man not in love kiss her that way? Was she in love? How could she not? In all of 45 years she would not forget that kind of a kiss. That wonderful, heart stopping, mind fogging, passion evoking kind of a kiss. If that wasn't how love felt, how on earth could it feel? And why did it feel exactly like love...

Osman sat silent. Not because she kept talking. He kept quiet until he was certain of his suspicion. Of his concern. What if Can could have fallen in love? What if he did? What would she do then? And then, it hit her as well. What if Can DID fall in love? What would she do then? What could she do? Osman pointed out that as far as they knew, Polen still lived in his home. How was it possible that she lived there yet he left her, and came to find Sanem at the opera and kissed her? How would she explain that? His words got Sanem thinking. Osman continued his concern about Can. If he truly was her Albatross, why did he not tell her he knew who she was? How long did he know? What made him keep that as secret? Worse yet, if he really did fall in love with her, how would she face him knowing she lied to him? Knowing she made mistakes? Knowing she was the one who jeopardized his photographer's license? Would she have the courage to reveal the truth to him? Would she have the strength to face him without revealing her deeds?

Osman tried to offer his best brotherly advice. Yet it all came down to two options. If Can would tell her he loved her, she would be upset. If he would not tell her he loved her, her heart would break just as well. Her mind was confused. Her soul felt so lost because it did not know which way it should feel. But her heart? Her heart was sure of the strength of its love. It felt Can's heartbeat, and it matched hers to his. It knew what to do. It knew how to feel. And neither Osman's voice of reason nor her own inner voice would be able to convince her to turn away from Can's love....