The rain in Istanbul didn’t wash things away; it just made them heavier. For Sıla, the weight had become unbearable. She sat in a small, dimly lit café in Kadıköy, her fingers tracing the rim of a cold tea glass. The phrase yoruldum —I am tired—wasn’t just a thought; it was a pulse under her skin.
She looked at her phone. Three missed calls from her mother, likely about her brother’s debt. A dozen notifications from a group chat she no longer felt a part of. She realized she had spent her whole life answering everyone else's questions before she even knew what her own were. SД±la Yoruldum
As she watched the waves, she didn't feel like jumping; she felt like shedding. She took off her heavy wool coat—a gift from an aunt she felt she owed—and draped it over a bench. She unpinned her hair, letting the wind finally take the strands that had been tucked away so neatly. The rain in Istanbul didn’t wash things away;