Chapter 9 – The Phone in the Drawer
Friday evening, Matteo called.
Sara’s phone did not ring.
She checked it.
No signal.
Then she noticed the SIM card was missing.
She walked into the kitchen.
“Where is my SIM?”
Her mother stopped chopping vegetables.
“What?”
“My SIM card.”
“I don’t know.”
Sara went to Murat’s room.
The door was open.
“Where is it?”
He looked at her.
“Where is what?”
“My SIM.”
“I don’t know.”
“You took it.”
“No.”
Sara stared.
Murat returned to his laptop.
“Stop creating problems.”
Sara walked into her father’s room.
Her passport was no longer in the drawer where she had put it.
That was when the fear returned completely.
She went to the front door.
Locked.
The key was gone.
“Mama.”
Leyla came from the kitchen.
“Why is the door locked?”
“It always locks.”
“Where is the key?”
“Sara.”
“Where is it?”
Her father appeared in the hallway.
“Calm down.”
“No.”
“Nothing is happening.”
“My passport is gone.”
“It’s safe.”
“You gave it back.”
“And now it’s safe again.”
“You promised.”
“I promised we would talk.”
“You said I could leave.”
“And you can.”
“Open the door.”
Nobody moved.
Sara looked at her mother.
“Open it.”
Leyla started crying.
Not again.
Sara felt something inside her change.
For months, her mother’s tears had controlled the room.
This time they made Sara angry.
“Stop.”
Leyla stared at her.
“Stop crying every time you want me to surrender.”
Her mother’s face collapsed.
“Sara.”
“No.”
Her father said:
“Do not speak to your mother that way.”
“Open the door.”
“No one is hurting you.”
“Open the door.”
“Sara.”
“OPEN THE DOOR.”
Murat came into the hallway.
“Lower your voice.”
Sara looked at him.
“Or what?”
Nobody answered.
She grabbed a ceramic bowl from the entrance table and threw it at the floor.
It shattered.
Her mother screamed.
Her father stepped backwards.
Sara pointed at the pieces.
“The neighbour heard that.”
Murat looked toward the wall.
Sara picked up another bowl.
“Open it.”
Her father said:
“Put it down.”
“Open the door.”
“Sara.”
She raised it.
Her father unlocked the door.
Sara ran.
She wore no coat.
No bag.
No passport.
Only socks and house slippers.
