She entered the café , sat on their favorite
table by the window and lit a cigarette . The waiter did not bother to ask for
an order , minutes later , her Turkish coffee was on her table .
Even though she was looking at the window ,
she could feel the people looking at her , surprised that a woman is smoking ,not
only that , but she has the courage to smoke in public, it was not an
acceptable scene , but her whole life was not acceptable by the society.
Many people tried to give her advice about
leaving the cigarettes , but she refused , she had always believed that the
cigarette is that friend that will never leave her , the one who is there for
her when she is down , depressed and sad.
Through the smoke of her cigarette she watched
the flower that the waiter placed at her table , and then she remembered what
her friend once told her about smoking "You are like a flower , a flower
that kills herself with the cigarettes , the only thing it gets is few seconds
of smoke left , and then it will die ".
That friend was a guy , another question mark
that the society drew over her face . She could not care less of what the
society thinks of her and her behaviors . She had the belief that she was doing
the right thing ….
Half way through her coffee , he entered . For
her , he was the man that she loved , the one that she decided to be with for
the rest of her life.
They have been in love for four years , four complete
years , it was ok for her , she was planning to wait for him for extra four
years if she needed to. But at that moment , it was very close, they decided to
get married and achieve their dreams together.
For the society, he was the married man that
another woman is trying to steal from his wife. No one encouraged her to be
with him , she had everything , beauty , education and personality , yet she
decided to be with him.
"Why?" her friend once asked her .
"Out of all the people you chose this man to be with . He is no good for
you in any way . "
"He completes me " , she answered .
"Completes you ? huh ! just like the
cigarette , it completes you , it just kills you my friend , and so will he ,
he will kill you and leave you alone to be with his wife."
"He will never do that . He loves me , he
doesn't love his wife at all , he is just with her because he feels sorry for
her, but he cannot live without me "
"And what is he waiting for ? Why doesn't
he leave her and marry you ? or at least marry you ?"
"Because the right time hasn't come
yet"
"Four years and the right time hasn't
come yet ? Look around you , how people look at you …"
She interrupted him " I never care about
what people think of me . If I did , I wouldn't have been friends with you in
the first place"
"This is your problem " , he said
" you got blinded in a way that made right and wrong the same to you
"
She was driven by her thoughts that she did
not notice him sitting opposite to her nor the look on his face …
"Good morning " he said.
"Good morning , my love . How did it go ?
How did your wife react when you told her that you are going to leave her ? I
bet it was a difficult situation . Did you tell her about me ?"
He paused for a moment and said " I did
not tell her anything "
She did not know whether it was the shock ,
surprise or the sense of humiliation that stopped her from saying a word. She
just looked at him .
"She is my wife , I cannot leave her .
"
She took a deep breath and said " Ok , I
guess we will have to wait for another six months or a year then ."
"No ." he answered . " I think
we should stop our relationship.
Shocked , surprised and humiliated … She
remained silent .
"What am I supposed to tell the people
around me ? they all know about us , but
the idea of leaving my wife that I have been with for six years is not
acceptable and….."
"And is the idea of being in love with me
for four complete years acceptable?"
"I never promised you of anything"
"I trusted you , that is why I did not
ask for anything "
During the whole conversation she was looking
to him in the eye , while he was avoiding her by looking at the window , her
cup of coffee or the empty space .
"I loved you " she said.
" Love is not enough"
"I ran in the opposite direction for you
. I faced the whole society for you …"
"Listen " , he said " talking
will not lead to anything . let us forget about the whole thing and complete
our lives in the right way ."
" The whole 'thing' ? our love has became
a 'thing' ?"
He said nothing , stood up and left.
While he was leaving , she understood what her
friend told her , she saw him through the smoke of her cigarette , and then she
knew it . He was no different from the cigarette , he was there , stole her
best years and left , and all she had was …… was the smoke , and not for a long
time !
Humiliated , humiliated and humiliated …. She
finished her cup of coffee and left the
café.
"Excuse me Miss" the waiter said
while following her .
She turned around and answered him "Yes
"
"I am sorry , but you have forgotten your
pack of cigarettes ."
She looked at him and said "No , I did
not . I left it there . I don't smoke anymore !!"
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