A Union of Ice
That night, after coffee with Kerem—pleasant, easy, normal—Selin returned to find her apartment freezing. Not just cool, but arctic. Her breath misted in the air. “Murat?” she called out. He appeared in the living room, and he was different. More solid than she’d seen him in weeks, but somehow more distant too. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “About us. About what this is.” “Okay…” “I’m holding you back. Every day you stay with me is a day you’re not living. And I can’t… I can’t be the thing that kills you. Not twice.” “You’re not—” “I am. Selin, look at yourself. You’re having coffee with a man who’s alive, who could give you everything I can’t, and you feel guilty about it. That’s not fair to you. It’s not fair to him. It’s not even fair to me.” “What are you saying?” “I’m saying
- Writer
