the number one to arbury

flare

Someone's calling my name from the end of the hallway. I walk there, only to find that the end leads to a long drop.

I wake up from a falling dream. And the voice is still there, now accompanied by a knock.

I unlock the door and open it.

'What is it?'

'This is late, really, but I have to tell you something,' Mara says.

'What do you have to tell me, then?'

'Before I went to sleep, someone was on the door. When I asked her why she had gone here, she said she was looking for you.'

'What's she gonna do if she finds me? Any mention of my brother?'

'I don't remember her even mentioning him, but I've been asleep, maybe I've forgotten something already.'

'Which means I shouldn't stay here again?'

'I don't know if you can leave soon. I mean, it's one a.m. now. And I don't think you should drive when you're still sleepy. But if you can, you really should.'

'I've slept from eight to one, which is, let me count... Five hours. And a good one. I'm good to go, alright, just need a little freshening up.'

I turn on the light and start packing up. When I put the last thing in my bag, ready to zip it close, she says, 'One more thing.'

'What is it?'

'Do your brother and his friends already know which one your car is?'

'I don't know.'

'That might be a problem. They might have been following where your car's parked. You might want to think about leaving the car for a while. Travel around some other way, maybe by bus.'

'I don't know what might happen to the car while I'm away. And the car is actually my uncle's, not mine, so if something happens...'

'Don't worry, you're leaving that thing in good hands. Tell me when you want to see the car again and where you are at the time, then my friend and I will drive to you, but I'll keep a two-mile distance or so to make it seem less suspicious.'

'Thank you so much for being so willing to do all that....'

'It's nothing, really. Anything for my friend's sister.'

She takes me to the front door and opens it. After a goodbye moment, I leave the place and walk to the nearest bus stop, leaving the car parked three houses after hers.

I should have thought twice about leaving this early. The next one, if I look at the timetable, is in fifteen minutes. The bus stop is a sheltered one, but even inside I can feel the night chill. Fifteen minutes like this feel like an hour.

There's a light coming this way. I get up and stand outside the stop, waiting for the bus to stop here. When it does, I hop on, buy a weekly pass and find a seat, a front one on the second level. I have a view of what's ahead. And so does the young woman sitting next to the other window. Something's familiar about her, but I can't put my finger on it.

I tap my fingers on the empty seat next to me, singing something. When I finish, she moves to the aisle seat and says, 'You've got a lovely voice.'

'Thanks. By the way, why do I feel like I've seen you before...'

---

That was one of the most intense nights. And that was not my first night, I can tell you that, not even my first one with another woman.

After we had breakfast, Arabella went back to her home, leaving me alone again. I go to my desk to find a stack of exercises, all of them already marked. This is an off day. A rare one. So rare that I've never taken the time to think about what I should do should I encounter this kind of situation.

First off, the weekly shopping. I fill up half a small trolley with items from my shopping list – a bit more than usual. When I get to the cashier, there's a short queue for every one of them. Seeing the third one moving rather quick, I queue there.

When I exit the shop, a police officer warns me, 'You should stay away from here, there's a fight going on.'

Behind him are three people fighting, one against two. The solo fighter is equipped with a large backpack but then drops it after one of the duo points out that the backpack gives her an unfair advantage. A lot of hits and scratches and kicks are involved after that.

Three police officers are right in the scene, trying to interfere and break the brawl by pulling both sides away from each other. Even when pushed away they still attempt to hurt one another in every way they can.

When it's done, the officer lets me walk farther down the street. The girl from the fight seems to walk the same direction as I do. She's following me. And I think I know her face.

She follows me all the way to the bus stop. When the number one bus arrives, she queues behind me and gets on the same bus. Both of us go upstairs to the second level since the seats downstairs are already full. There are two empty seats at the front row, separated by the aisle, so we sit there.

At my stop she follows me out of the bus, to my flat. I turn around as I open the door to my flat, wondering who has been following me all this time.

'Esra, is that you?'

'Sorry I didn't tell you sooner...'

'Why are you back here?'

'I just happen to follow you after a fight.'

'Are they still following you?'

'Well, the cops have got them back there. Hope not.'

'You know, you're putting me in danger.' I close the door on her.

'But they're not after you.'

'Really now? You're not gonna drag me into your fights?'

'If you tell them I'm not here they wouldn't come and check your rooms. They're not Turkish soldiers.'

They're not Turkish soldiers.

'You may come in.' I open the door for her.