"Good morning,"

They both said it at the same time and went back to their work. I didn't have much intimacy, but we got on well. More precisely, they would talk, and I would remain unresponsive. After losing my family, I was very withdrawn. There were two people I spoke to properly. One is Aunt Rumeysa, and the other is my close friend Azra.

I went to the back room and hung my bag on the hanger. I dressed in my work uniform, a blue T-shirt, and left the room. Without wasting time, I identified the missing sections and started to put out new products. The market wasn't very full in the morning, but it was very full in the afternoon. Since it is the biggest market in the neighborhood, most of the residents used to come here.

After completing the deficiencies until noon, I went to the grocery section. I liked helping Serdar Abiye. I think I was comfortable with him. "Easy, Serdar brother," I said, and I grabbed the tomatoes he had placed on the aisle.

"Thanks, Elif girl. Is it done inside?" Then, at the same time, he showed the inside of the market with his head. He was a smiling man. That's one of the reasons why I didn't feel comfortable with him.

"It's over, Serdar, brother. I thought I'd help you." I took the tomatoes from the box and started to arrange them on the aisle.

I looked over my shoulder as I heard footsteps behind me. It was Emre, one of the market employees. Emre would also help me a lot. He was also my friend from high school. He was both studying and working in the market in his spare time. It was impossible not to admire him. It was fulfilling my dream. I also wanted to read a lot. Although my grades were good, I could not take the exam.

"Easy... How are you, Serdar brother?" He looked at Serdar first, then at me with the same smile.

"We're fine, Emre; how are you? Wasn't there school today?"

"It was morning, brother. I went to him, too. How are you, Elif?" Emre has always been a friendly person. He was also funny. He was one of the few people who made me smile. I was biting my cheeks hard not to laugh in front of him. When I laughed, I was afraid, as if people would find me strange. After my family, I almost forbade myself to laugh.

"I'm fine, how are you?" I spoke in a voice that was only a whisper.

"I'm fine too, you know lessons." He complained a lot about the difficulty of his lessons. He was studying law and was in love with his profession. Even though he said it was difficult, I could tell from his eyes how much he loved him.

"Emre, we weren't expecting you today?" With the voice of Brother İhsan, we went back to work with Brother Serdar. He didn't like being talked to during working hours. We knew this very well, so we spoke in silent whispers.

"Ihsan, brother, my lesson finished early. I thought I'd stop by. I'll stay if I have a lot of work."

"Okay, it's a bit busy today. You can go to the butcher's aisle."

When I looked from the side, Emre shook his head and entered. After arranging the tomatoes on the aisle, I stepped aside to avoid being seen.

All kinds of people were coming. I would study people passing by on the street. They came and went with all sorts of facial expressions. I would look a lot to understand what they wanted to say. But I couldn't. I wasn't one of those they call a human being.

I couldn't go to pick up Ahmed at noon. Seeing the intensity, it would be thoughtless to ask for permission. After calculating the time of entry to the house, I called Aunt Rümeysa and found out if she was coming. He forced me to wait at his house while I was away. He was very afraid that something would happen to him because he was young. He was right. I had to work. I had to do this for our future. I threw my own future away. But I wasn't going to throw hers away. Ahmed was going to read for my mother and father.

I changed my clothes and left the shop. It was starting to get dark. It was good to go out again at this hour. Sometimes I was leaving so late that I had to check behind me many times before I got home. A few times I ran until I was out of breath when I heard someone's footsteps behind me without looking back. When I entered the street, I saw Aunt Rümeysa waiting for me, and I took a sigh of relief. He was waiting for me when I was out of work. Sometimes he even came to buy it. I could never repay him. Despite his age, he was protecting and watching over us.

Feeling a chill like I had for the past two months, I looked around. Someone was watching me like they had for the past two months. I felt it, and I knew it. With one last glance behind me, I quickened my steps and turned back to the street where my house was. When I got to the front of the apartment and was about to open the door, I threw my head back and looked behind me, in the direction I came from, and saw a person with a black hat. The gleam in his eyes made me startle, making me shiver with fright. There was a problem with his eyes. And there was a problem that could have been bad! He turned around because he saw me. I looked back, confused as to what to do. I didn't know why I was waiting like an idiot. Once again, I thought about whether I had seen it right. But I saw it, and I was conscious that you were looking at me. With trembling hands, I forcefully pressed the bell. Normally, I would use my key, but with the shock I was experiencing, I couldn't think about the key or something.

I was being watched by someone. Part of me would admit it was true, while part of me would say it was a fabrication. But the person I saw was terrifying. It was terrible! I walked in through the opened door and slammed the door shut. I tucked it in my pocket to hide my trembling hands. I walked by force and went to Aunt Rümeysa, who was looking at me from the door.

He was looking at me with his old wrinkled brown eyes. "Elif... what happened, girl?" I was pretty sure she messed up when she said "she." I didn't even know what to say.

"Rümeysa... Aunt... Someone," I could only say while showing my back. My trembling body was stuck in the doorway. He grabbed my arms with his soft hands and pulled me inside. "Elif, what's going on? Don't scare me." I didn't want to worry, but I had to get over my fear first.

He took her to the living room and sat her down. I wrapped my arms around my body as he left me. I've never seen anything good in those eyes. For the first time, when I looked at a person's face, I could make sense of it. And that was very bad. It was very, very bad!

Rümeysa's aunt, who came in with a glass cup in her hand, was also scared because of me. I didn't want to let him experience this, but I didn't even know what to do. I took a small sip of water. The glass hit my teeth as my hands were still shaking. "Elif, what happened to my beautiful girl? Did someone do something?" His question made me even more frightened. What if he does something bad to me?

I wiped the tears rolling down my cheeks. "Aunt Rumeysa is someone... Someone is following me!" I said, trying to force my tongue out by erasing the eyes from my memory a little while ago.

"Who? Let's call the police now." I stood up and stopped him. I didn't even know who he was. What would I say to the cops? I couldn't even see his face clearly. "Wait, Aunt Rumeysa... I don't even know who the man is. I couldn't see his face either." I could only see its glow and feel what that glow was saying.

"Let's get Elif... At least they'll look around," he said, and I quickly shook my head and answered with a swallow. "The people in the neighborhood get annoyed. They name me the bad girl." Like every single girl, I didn't want my name to come out. I was a young girl, and there were a lot of empty people. What did they say even when I was working in the market? If they heard this, they would definitely look at it with a bad eye.

"Girl, why are you thinking about the neighborhood? What if he does something to you?" He started to cough. She had a problem with her lungs and coughed often. I grabbed his arm and sat him down. I reached for the glass he had set on the coffee table and brought it to his lips for a drink. He took two sips of water and handed it back.

"You're taking your Aunt Rumeysa's medicine, right?"

He shook his head and laughed. "I'm getting it; don't worry about me." How would I not? She was the only one left with us. While he is the only one who takes care of us...

"Is Ahmed home?" Then I looked at the clock; it was nine o'clock.

"He went home, and I fed him. He's sleepy."

He's been sleeping all the time lately. She devoted herself to sleep. "Okay, I'll go home too. I'll get up early tomorrow."

"Okay, girl. Be careful; lock your doors tight. And if you see him again tomorrow, we'll definitely go to the police. Okay?" He stroked my hair with his right hand. The bond between us was going towards being a mother-daughter relationship. I used to share all my problems with him. She would be there for me in all my troubles. Actually, I wasn't alone, was I?

"Okay, Aunt Rumeysa. Come on, rest up too." I kissed her cheeks and left the house. I knew you were looking at me sadly behind me. I opened the door with the key I took out of my bag. I checked the apartment and went inside. I was more frightened because we were sitting at the entrance. I locked the door twice and left the key on it. I went straight to my room without turning on the house lights. I got rid of my clothes and put on my pajamas. I untied my hair and left the room. When I arrived in front of Ahmed's room, I listened to the inside. Sometimes I would hear her cry, and I wouldn't go in; I couldn't get in. He kicked her out when I entered at first, and after that I would sit at the door and cry with him before I entered. When I realized that there was no sound from inside, I entered slowly. Even though it was hot, I always covered it. The fear of losing him had taken over me. I pulled my hands out of his hair and went back to my room.

As I lay on the bed, I looked at my curtain, which was drawn. The shadow of the branches of the tree in the backyard swaying in the gentle wind was falling. Turning sideways, I took the window behind me. I can't forget the fear I experienced tonight. It was so bad to see it with my own eyes, even though I felt it until now. I closed my eyes tightly. I was afraid. I was alone and scared like crazy. I wanted to banish the thoughts that came to my mind, but I couldn't. What if it's against me? What if it hurts me?

I closed my eyes with the thoughts I couldn't get out of my mind. My only prayer was to wake up tomorrow morning believing it wasn't real.

I jumped up from my seat when I heard the sound of the door. I can't even remember when I dived. Judging by the brightness of the air, it was already morning. It was the doorbell that woke me up from my sleep... I knew that. I heard it even though I was sleeping. I quickly got out of bed, peeling off the blanket I was wearing with my feet. I took the broken lamp on my desk and slowly opened the door. Ahmed's sleep was not very light. He would not wake up easily. I opened the door and poked my head out to check the hall. The person entering the house must have been a thief. I scanned the hall with the lamp in my hand and began to look behind the curtain drawn by the noise coming from outside. Even if I couldn't see anyone, I could attest to the accuracy of the voice I heard. I was pinned in place by the darkness passing by the window. He was a large man, obviously wearing a hat. The hat detail suppressed my urge to worry. I pushed the thoughts that came into my mind to the background. This would not be so.

I looked around again and pricked my ear to see if anyone was in the house. When there was no sound, I went into his room to look at Ahmed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw you sleeping on the bed. I checked the door lock. The lock was in place and locked.

I walked into my room and left the door open. I was scared, and I was sure I heard a voice. I suppressed my inner voice that said the person passing through the window was the person I saw yesterday. I sat on my bed, trying not to think. I jumped from the click of the window. It was the same darkness!

I just hid behind the bed. When I looked at the window, something was writing on the glass. I wrapped my arms around my trembling body and closed my eyes. I started to pray inside. I don't know how long I just stood there. Fear took over my whole body.

I started to cry silently like a madman. I lifted my head, resting on my knee, at the sound of my alarm. The sun-drenched room seemed unfamiliar to me. It was the first time I was afraid of this room. I got up and moved a little closer to the window. Our backyard was wooded and a quiet place. It was calming to me. Until this morning… When I pulled the curtain aside, there was a blood-red heart covering the glass. As soon as I saw the heart, I took a step back. This must have been a joke. Someone must be messing with me and playing a bad joke. I closed the curtain well.

I was faced with the worst shock of this morning with the note written on the mirror as I turned my back. This could not be. He couldn't have come this close. The blood-stained writing on the mirror, as I could tell by the sickening smell that came to my nose, indicated that I was finished. I had wrapped myself around someone I didn't know. What did I do when I wrapped it?

"It's too bad you noticed me so early, little one. Remember, I'm just a breath away!"

Remember, I'm as close as a breath!"

"It's too bad you noticed me so early, little one. Remember, I'm just a breath away!"

I opened and closed my eyes an immeasurable number of times to verify the accuracy of what I saw. Each time, the truth was hitting my face more and more with the blood flowing from the mirror, hurting me more. Each time my heart was pounding with more fear, I could hear my heart pounding with my ears.

This fear was indescribable!

This horror was indescribable!

I was done with one word. How would I deal with it? How was I going to deal with a scourge like this when I didn't even know what it was, who it was, or how dangerous it was, when I was alone and couldn't take responsibility for the nine-year-old? Without thinking, I reached out to wipe the mirror. I tried to delete the mirror until the writing was completely gone. Even though it looks worse now, it was better to look like a murder than to see that article.

It was actually murder. It was the blood of my soul. My soul was murdered by a maniac I did not know, with knife blows. He was in my house!

The metallic smell of blood was starting to make my head spin. The smell of blood coming to my nose was enough to make me nauseous. I rushed to the bathroom to wash my trembling hands. When I opened the fountain, the blood on my hand started to flow in the white sink. A stranger's blood was on my hands. Just like my soul got into his hands... There was only one difference. I was innocent; he was not. It wasn't, because he approached me knowing it would tear me apart. He was going to pull me into the dark on purpose! I thoroughly rubbed the soap on my hands. My trembling hands were freezing in the summer heat. I walked out of the bathroom, washing my hands thoroughly.

What I saw was real. Someone broke into my house. That man broke into my house! As I thought about it, I went to the outer door with the words that leaked into my mind. When I turned the lock in fear, the key had turned. This meant that that man also had the key to my house. Not knowing what to do, I threw myself on the sofa in the living room. I put my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands. This man I didn't know must have broken into my house countless times. He saw me, Ahmed, while I was sleeping! I wanted to go crazy when I thought of God. What if he did something to us while we were sleeping? What would I do now? I run my trembling hands through my hair and lean back, tugging.

The house I've lived in for years felt spooky. Who knows how many times he had entered? How many times had he set foot in my house where I lived? Who was the worst man? And what did he want from me? If I hadn't looked yesterday, if I had taken care of my stupid eyes! Maybe I wouldn't have brought the trouble on me. What would I do now? WHAT WOULD I DO NOW?

Without thinking, I got up from the chair. First, I had to send Ahmed to school. He had to leave the house so as not to frighten her further. He was lying face down when I opened the door to his room. He was unbuttoned and sleeping like an angel. She was an angel, a pure angel, unaware of anything. An unlucky angel who lost his parents.

"Ahmed...Ahmed Get up, my sister." With the slightest shake of his arm, he opened his eyes. She was looking at me with her honey eyes swollen from sleeping too much. I forced my lips to curl despite my fear. "Get up; you're going to be late for school."

"Okay, I'm going to change and come," was his way of kicking me out of the room. He was young, but he was a mature boy, Ahmed.

“Okay,” I told him and went back to my room, where the smell of blood was dominant. The image in the mirror was goosebumps. Since I forgot the possibility of Ahmed seeing it, I couldn't think of deleting it. It would be foolish to leave my job to chance, even if he didn't get into my room much. Going back to the bathroom, I wet the duster and go back to my room. Even though I thoroughly cleaned all the blood on the mirror, there was an odor. I put the cloth in a bag and threw it in the trash. I couldn't wash it. I could never touch that blood again.