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825 Words
The next morning, Berk woke up with happiness lingering from the previous night and headed to the restaurant to have breakfast with Zoe. When he entered, he noticed that Zoe had gotten up early and already eaten breakfast. Skipping his usual morning coffee and cigarette, Berk decided to join Zoe for one last breakfast, grabbed his food, and joined her at the table.
Berk smiled and asked, "Good morning, Zoe. Mind if I join you?"
Zoe gave him a teasing look. "Good morning, Berk. Did you decide to joke around this morning? Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you always wait for me to have breakfast?"
Berk felt slightly embarrassed by Zoe's words and sat across from her. The two had a pleasant, yet bittersweet breakfast together.
After breakfast, Zoe said, "I guess it’s time to get ready" and got up to head to her room.
As Zoe left, Berk began to feel lonely. The silence of the camp deepened the emptiness inside him. Although the thought of reuniting with Zoe gave him some hope, the feeling of loneliness was still overwhelming.
After a while, Zoe finished her preparations and returned to the camp area with Onur. She first said her goodbyes to the other staff and guests, taking many photos. Finally, she went to say goodbye to Berk at the bar. For a moment, they just looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Zoe took out her phone and suggested taking a photo. After snapping a few pictures, she hugged Berk tightly.
Berk gently whispered into Zoe's ear, "As I promised, I'll be in Karachi in mid-November."
Zoe looked into Berk's eyes and replied, "If you come, I’ll believe everything you said."
Afterward, Berk said goodbye to Onur. Onur said, "Thanks for everything, Berk. It was a short but wonderful vacation. We won’t forget your hospitality. If you ever find yourself in Bodrum, you're always welcome at my hotel. It would be my pleasure to host you."
Berk shook Onur’s hand and said, "Thanks for the offer. I hope we meet again soon."
Then, with Osman and Berk's help, they carried their bags to the vehicle that would take them to the entrance of the valley.
After Zoe's departure, the valley fell into silence. The place that Berk had called home for months suddenly felt different to him. When he first arrived in the valley, he hoped it would be a place where his dreams could come true. He imagined that meeting new people would open new doors in his life. And in the end, that dream had come true. He thought of Zoe as someone who had come into his life to open a new door.
Berk wasn’t in the mood to work for the rest of the day. Fortunately, most of the guests didn’t want to drink after the previous night's raki. With no new customers expected before the holiday, there wasn’t much for Berk to do at the bar or reception. Now, all that was left was to wait for the season to end, so he could embark on a journey he would never forget.
In the evening, he and Osman began their usual bar conversation. Continuing to talk about their travels, Berk asked, "We added Pakistan to the India trip. Did you look into how we’ll get from Iran to Karachi?"
Osman said thoughtfully, "Yeah, I checked. We'll take a train from Iran to the Pakistan border, then transfer to another train to get to Karachi. If we can't find a train, we have the option to take a bus. The trip will take about four days."
Berk smiled. "We were planning an adventurous journey, and now it's getting even more exciting."
Osman looked up from his beer glass. "Exactly. But if Zoe can't come with us to India, don't even think about staying in Karachi for more than three or four days. We can't afford it. You know we'll be in India for five or six months until the season opens. If we want to stay there that long without having to work, we'll need to manage our money carefully."
Berk wanted to spend more time with Zoe, but he knew it wasn't the right time to bring it up with Osman. He wanted to change their plans in India for Zoe, but worried how that decision would affect the rest of their journey. Despite his uncertainty, he suppressed his conflicting feelings. "I know. Don't worry, we'll continue our trip as planned," he said, ending the conversation.
For the past two days, Berk had been staying up late to spend more time with Zoe, and now his eyes were closing. He told Osman he'd close the bar early and sent him to his tent. Berk went to his tent and slowly lay down on his bed. Remembering Zoe's smile brought warmth and peace to his heart. With the sweetness of those memories, he quickly fell asleep.
- Writer
