The Midsdial

Prologue

I was sitting quietly in my room, looking for a job online.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Sounded like... Mom.

— “Merve, come downstairs. We need to have a serious talk.”

— “Did something happen?” I asked, surprised by the urgency in her voice.

She said nothing and simply closed the door behind her.

Weird. I have a bad feeling about this. Did Yasemin complain about me again?

I closed my laptop, walked out of the room, and headed down to the living room.

The whole family was already there — Dad, Mom, and of course, Yasemin.

She had that usual smug smile on her face, like she was pleased with herself again.

I sat across from Dad, took a deep breath, and looked at them all, waiting.

— “We have news. It concerns your future,” Dad said bluntly.

— “What is it?” I asked.

— “You're getting married,” Yasemin interrupted.

My eyes widened. What do you mean, married? I didn’t understand.

— “Are you kidding me?” I asked, shocked.

Mom and Dad exchanged glances.

— “Merve, he's a good guy. You'll like him,” Mom said, trying to reassure me.

— “Wait... are you seriously saying you’re marrying me off without even asking me?”

Now I was getting angry.

— “It’s better for all of us,” Dad said firmly.

— “For who exactly?! You mean for you two? Do you even hear yourselves?! Why not Yasemin?!” I shouted.

— “Don’t you dare raise your voice at your parents,” Mom cut in sharply.

— “I’m not marrying anyone!!!” I screamed, then jumped up and ran to my room.

I couldn’t live in this madhouse anymore. They had truly lost their minds.

This is how they decided to get rid of me? How low.

I grabbed my suitcase from the closet and started packing fast.

Yasemin walked in, still wearing that smug grin.

— “Finally. One less mouth to feed,” she said proudly.

— “Maybe you should be getting rid of someone else's baby, not me,” I snapped back.

She looked at me, stunned.

— “Shut up, you psycho!” she yelled.

Just then, our parents entered the room.

— “You know what? Your precious Yasemin isn’t as innocent as you think!” I shouted.

Yasemin rushed at me, trying to cover my mouth.

— “Merve, what are you talking about?” Mom asked, clearly confused.

— “Yasemin is pregnant! And it’s not even from someone she knows!” I yelled.

You should’ve seen their faces.

It was like they got struck by lightning.

I zipped up my suitcase, grabbed it, and walked out of the room.

I headed straight for the front door.

You got what you deserved, idiot. Let’s see how they deal with that now.

The night was warm, so I just threw on my sneakers and left the house — and the yard.

I walked quickly toward the hotel nearby. I’d stay there for a day or two, find a job, and then rent a place.

Anything was better than being forced to marry some random “husband.”

An hour later…

I was already in my hotel room.

Nothing fancy — but it’d do.

Good thing I’d been saving money. Maybe I sensed something like this was coming.

My parents kept calling.

Yasemin probably told them some sweet little lie again.

Eventually the calls stopped. I sighed with relief and started changing into my pajamas.

That’s when an unknown number flashed on my screen.

“Now who’s this?” I thought.

I picked up, assuming it might be Yasemin calling from another number.

But a man’s voice came through. Raspy. Like he’d smoked a whole pack in an hour.

— “Yasemin, I’m sorry… I was wrong…” he said.

What?

— “Sorry, I’m not Yasemin. I’m Merve, her sister,” I replied, staring out the window.

— “Merve? Oh, I must’ve dialed the wrong number…”

He didn’t finish before I hung up and turned off the phone.

Great. Now I’ll have to deal with her boyfriends too.

Wonderful.

End of Episode.

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