SOLDIER (Operation Love)

Have you ever felt like you belonged to someone, or to some place?

To be honest, I never had. Not once. But now... maybe not to a place, but to someone. I feel it.

I have always had a deep respect for soldiers. But every time I see one, a chill runs through me. Their haircuts, their rigid posture, even their eyes feel cold. I think it is because my father was a captain who died heroically in action.

Watching my mother’s grief all those years, breathing that pain like it was the very air in our home, it wounded me too. My psyche, as if trying to protect itself, built a shield against that profession, woven from fear and perhaps longing.

But as it turned out, that shield was not enough. Because I tasted the same poison of love my mother did all those years ago... and it was from a soldier.

Behind the bare hills east of Igdir, overlooking the Aras River, a new military base was being born a few kilometres from the Iranian border, carved out of sand and steel.

But at that moment, an explosion tore through the site, drowning out every other sound.

A tall, slender woman ran through the sandy grounds, her red hair whipping in the wind, heading fast towards a shattered hut.

Captain Fatih Uluturk watched through binoculars from behind a concrete block cast in shadow. His brows were knotted, his jaw tight.

“For God’s sake,” he muttered. “How can one woman be this insane?”

He raised his radio. “Secure the perimeter. I am going to get the engineer.”

Warrant Officer Omer replied at once. “Commander, I say leave her to sort herself out. If she is an engineer, then I am an astronaut right now. She is charging into the line of fire like the Terminator.”

Another team member, First Lieutenant Harun, scanned the hut through his binoculars with a frown. There was envy in his voice when he spoke.

“Commander, I am heading down too. I can pull the engineer from the right flank...”

Ali chuckled softly. “Oh ho, the Lieutenant is jumping at the mission too.”

Harun did not pull his eye from the lens. “Shut your mouth, you from Of, or I will sew that yapping mouth of yours shut.”

Captain Fatih was in no state to care about their bickering. Whatever had happened between them, the woman he loved was in the middle of a kill zone. He set down his rifle, secured his sidearm, and moved towards the hut.

His team provided cover. When he finally reached it, he shoved the door open with his shoulder. Inside was thick with dust and smoke, the air heavy with the smell of burnt wiring.

Deniz was crouched on her knees, packing files and a laptop into a bag.

Fatih grabbed her arm the moment he reached her. Fury blazed in his voice. “Look at me. Are you out of your goddamn mind?”

Deniz lifted her head, a stubborn set to her face. “There is so much work put into this, Fatih. Everyone is away from their homes, their families, their loved ones. Was I supposed to let their efforts turn to ash?”

At that moment, a hot ember fell onto her arm. She flinched in pain.

Fatih paused, then yanked off his jacket in frustration and wrapped it around her shoulders.

His voice was laced with resentment and anger. “And what about us? My team has been on duty for years. We are here to protect you. But your stubborn headstrong ways are not helping at all. Even if you do not trust me, set your feelings aside and trust my military experience and my team.”

Then, without a moment of hesitation, he scooped her into his arms.

“What are you doing!” she snapped.

“What does it look like? Shut up and hold on to me. I am not exactly thrilled about carrying you right now.”

Deniz narrowed her eyes. “You were not like this when we met through arranged introductions. Especially when you said you loved me, when you drank and cried for me...” She had started listing things, but she could not finish. Because Fatih’s demonic glare was fixed on her.

His brows drew even tighter. “Back then I thought you were a proper, decent woman. If I had known you were a lunatic, I would have run without looking back.”

The radio crackled to life. Omer’s voice came through. “Commander, movement signs from the east. Be careful.”

Outside, Harun watched through his binoculars, his eyes fixed on Fatih carrying Deniz out. Jealousy burned in his gut.

Another explosion hit. The hut shook.

Fatih moved faster, shielding Deniz as they burst outside. The area was in flames. But his men had taken positions.

“We are pulling back. Protect all civilians, returning to main base.”

When they climbed into the armoured vehicle, Deniz looked at Fatih’s dust-caked face. Their eyes met.

And in her mind, the past replayed itself.

A few months earlier.

Deniz stepped through the glass doors of Eskisehir airport, her hair stirring in the wind. Her natural red caught the light, glowing. Tall, slender, with an unaffected beauty, she drew more than a few glances.

But she was too excited, too thoughtful, too at peace to notice anyone looking. She pulled out her phone and called her mother.

“Mother, I have landed. I am at the airport, heading home. I just called so you would not worry.”

Her mother’s warm voice on the other end made her happy. All those years, all those countries, projects, successes, and longing... but her mother’s voice made it all complete.

She flagged down a taxi at the curb.

As she looked out the window, her childhood in this city passed before her eyes.

She had been just a child when her father died heroically. Deniz grew up without a father all those years. Her mother, even now retired, still worked. She had been both mother and father, raising two daughters upright.

Her older sister Derya, with her meek and introverted nature, had always been the family’s anchor. She had studied sociology, working as a social analysis specialist at a private firm.

Deniz, on the other hand, had been seen as a prodigy since childhood, selected for national programmes, winning prizes in mathematics Olympiads. She had started university in civil engineering and completed a double major in mechanical engineering. In her early twenties, her thesis on underground structures won an international award, and she was called to a major European project on radar information technologies and underground metro systems.

But that project was over now. She was home.

The taxi stopped in front of the apartment building. Grey-painted, old but clean. Fourth floor, that window adorned with flower pots. All of it was Deniz’s childhood.

Her mother flung the door open, eyes welling up. Her lips trembled, but she smiled, looking at Deniz with yearning. “Welcome home, my Deniz...”

Deniz did not waste a moment, smiling and hugging her. “Good to be home, Mother,” she murmured. She breathed in her scent. She was home now.

Then Derya appeared in the doorway, with her classic, teasing manner.

“Girl, is that really you?” she said.

“Don’t you like it? Should I have brought permission papers?” Deniz shot back. But she could not keep up the act. They both burst out laughing and embraced.

Soon they moved to the living room. The house was warm, decorated in cosy colours, with a traditional warmth. As they sipped coffee from small cups, her sister spoke in a reproachful tone.

“So, my dear, what is next? You built a bridge in Japan, a hospital in Iraq. What now? Take water to Africa this time, I say. Wherever there is action, there you are. Are you ever going to get married?”

Her mother laughed.

“Do not tease Deniz, Derya. She is two years younger than you, but your time is passing. Deniz at least made a career. You are becoming an old maid.”

Derya groaned. “Mother, come on!” Her face fell. “You do not love me, I swear. Favouritism.”

Deniz took a sip of her coffee and watched them with a smile. The usual chaos. Just like every time she came home.

Just then her phone rang. A name appeared on the screen: Professor Feridun Tanyel.

She smiled and answered at once. “Professor?”

A familiar, paternal voice came through. “Deniz, my dear. Welcome home. How are you, my beautiful girl?”

“I am fine, Professor. How are you? I just landed. Forgive me, I will come to see you as soon as possible.”

“Well, actually, we may be seeing much more of each other from now on,” he said.

Deniz rose from the table and moved to her room to hear him better.

“What do you mean, Professor?”

Feridun hesitated, drawing a breath. “I heard your project ended. And actually... I received an offer that I can only handle with you.”

Deniz straightened. “What kind of project, Professor?”

“Listen. A new base is going to be built on the Igdir border line, facing Iran. But this is no ordinary base. It is a system with a command centre, a power plant, and underground shelters. It is critical for this country’s future. They want to work only with the most reliable people. I said it could only be you. No one has your competence. You are right for this. What do you say?”

The professor paused. “But... I know. Your father’s loss, and border duty on top of that. I do not want to open old wounds or push you. And your mother...”

Deniz cut him off with a firm tone. “I am in, Professor. I want this personally.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. This project is as comprehensive as you say. And it is my field of expertise. I will do it for my country, with pride.”

“Thank you, my girl. I trust you. I will handle all the procedures and email you the project to look over. We will probably set out in two weeks,” he said.

Deniz exhaled. “Alright, Professor. I will wait for your news.”

As the call ended, her mother stood by the kitchen door, watching her with a glistening in her eyes.

Seeing her mother’s tearful gaze, her heart ached. But this work was important for her country. “Mother, are you angry?” Deniz asked softly.

Her mother came closer, crossing her arms over her chest, her face fallen. “Even if I tell you not to go, you will go. I see your father in you. He was the same. When it came to the homeland, he would never listen to me.”

She wiped her eyes abruptly and pulled herself together. “Come on, let us sit down to eat. Let me spend the time we have left fully with you.”

Deniz stepped closer quickly, cupped her mother’s face in her hands and stroked it. She kissed her and embraced her. Goodbye was hard, but she wanted this...