Chapter Three: The Red Ghost

     Her fingers were tightly knit behind her back. When she broke them apart, they tugged on the ends of her sleeves. Her eyes followed the bald man as he burst drawers and cabinets open. He was searching for something he muttered under his breath. She took a cautious step forward, the floor squeaking beneath her white sneakers. The man looked around until his eyes found hers. The fretful expression he wore earlier was now masked behind a soft and dangerously gentle smile.

''Selin,'' He breathed, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Merhaba. Do you have a minute?'' She asked, shifting in her place.

''I'm busy."

''It's... important,'' She reasoned. Selin let go of her sleeves and walked to her father. They stared back at each other in silence, waiting for the other to speak. They never did.

''Nevermind,'' She sighed, turning around to leave.

''If it's about Ravenna-" He reached out to her but there was very little to hold onto. She looked at him with distrust. It broke his heart. But she didn't mean for it to be that way. This wasn't her fault, she believed. It was all him.

"Don't."

Ironically, she wished her father would talk more. Even if she didn't want to hear what he might want to say, she still needed to hear it. She wished he would just go on and say it. But he did what she told him and sunk back to his chair, a loud sigh escaping his lips. Her heart shook. She was getting angrier. Why didn't he say anything? Why wasn't he doing anything? Did he just not care? She wanted him to get angry at her. She didn't want to be consumed by guilt every time they tried to communicate and she did something out of line. She wanted her anger to be justified.

They stared at each other for a minute, before they gave up and looked away. She walked further into the darkness of the halls as her father watched with a pain in his heart. He failed to connect the thin dots that she drew around her. But he wasn't always this clueless. He remembered a time where they bonded over their loss. That grief would eventually tear them apart. She shunned how fast he was getting over her mother. A year should never be enough.

He wished it could have been different, but he was the one who had sentenced them to this fate. He did what he thought she needed and offered her space. But somehow, that created a bigger drift between them.

He looked down at the last drawer he had opened and stared at the picture of the woman in blue. He tried to smile back at her, but couldn't.

"I'm sorry, " He told her.

* * *

Selin dropped her knife and fork as soon as the woman started talking. Her voice wasn't crude, it was nauseating. Looking her in the eyes was worse. It tied a knot in her stomach that she couldn't untie, even when she focused on her breathing.

But she couldn't get herself to look away.

As much as she didn't want to admit to the resemblance, she couldn't deny it either. Her father certainly had a type. And it was somewhat creepy. Looking at her fathers' lover was like staring at a ghost. Her late mother's ghost.

But unlike her father, she had the eye to differentiate between the two. Ravenna, like her mother, had long black hair that reached long below her shoulders. She had pale skin and honey-colored eyes. But her mother didn't have a mole on her chin. And she wasn't tall and thin. Still, Selin would have easily mistaken it to be her mother from a distance. Only her mother's features were softer, warmer, kinder.

Suddenly, Ravenna's eyes met hers. And intimidated by her gaze, Selin sunk to her seat.

"Cebrail always talks about you," Ravenna started. She looked like she had something else to say, but she paused to study their expressions. Particularly Selin, who threw a doubtful look at her father.

"Really?" Selin asked. He was caught off guard, almost dropping his fork. He smiled shortly after. But when his cheeks began to flame up, Ravenna hummed in response to Selin's question.

"Does he talk about me?'' Ravenna wondered. She looked over to Cebrail who averted her gaze. Then to Selin who stared back at her in silence. Ravenna paused, nodding and humming to herself. She was quick to understand the situation. She took a sip of her wine, watching them from the corners of her eyes. But she didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable.

"He hardly talks at all," Selin replied bitterly.

Ravenna couldn't hold it in any longer. She chuckled and folded her arms under her chest. She leaned back into her chair, loving the tension that was building up in her favor. "Well, your father is a man of many secrets,'' She reasoned.

''I am?'' He laughed nervously, wiping his lips with a handkerchief.

''Of course,'' She looked at him long and hard.

No, Selin thought. This woman was nothing like her mother.

Ravenna looked away. "No worries, I could just tell you myself. My name is Ravenna Guiliani and I like poetry and art and collecting old things. I sell most of the things I find in my antique shop. It's doing quite well these days,"

"That's great," Selin didn't know what to say. She didn't want to hear any of this in the first place.

"It is. I'm impressed, " Her father started, "just keep doing whatever you're doing, and you'll be fine,"

''Should I really?'' Ravenna questioned, leaning in and resting her chin in her palm on the table. She tapped her fingers on her lips.

''Why not? Everything's fine, right?''

''Yeah, it is, " She sighed, sitting back.

By the time they were done, Selin had barely finished half of her plate. She wanted to get home as quickly as possible, but she remembered why they had come here when her father held her hand. He was hoping for some kind of support or encouragement. Selin shook his hand away, her face expressionless. He didn't react. He walked ahead and took a small box out of his pocket. And as soon as he was on his knees, he became the center of attention for everyone in the restaurant.

Cebrail asked her to marry him with the jewelry box open and shaking in his hands. This wasn't the first time he had proposed. He shouldn't have been this anxious.

"Oh," Was all Ravenna said. She looked around the room then back at Cebrail. His hands were beginning to lose balance the longer they hung in the air. Ravenna closed her eyes and thought hard. She asked herself if this was really what she wanted. To live her life as she would soon be able to.

''Ravenna,'' He could see the doubt in her features when she opened her eyes. And for a second, he thought she would refuse.

''I will, " She said, "but I won't be taking your last name,"

"That's fine," Cebrail smiled. He stood up and slipped the ring through her finger.

——-
Marhaba: Hello in Turkish