TE16 Turkish Delight

Altay Öktem But whywas this happening? The lobby, the tea. The thin-waisted glass I stirred, the rhythm of the spoon. The boy at the reception. The man who translated the news story. They must have mixed something in my tea. It had to be those two. There was no other way. But why? Maria? My stomach cramped when I thought of her. If they did this to me, God knows what they could’ve done to her… Were they going to drug her too? Take off all of her clothes and lock her in a cold cellar? I started sweating. My vision got blurred. Not her… Please, please not her… I wondered how she felt. Desperate? Or hopeful that I was about to return any moment now? I hoped for her to not drink the tea. Not drink anything in fact. How long was she going to wait? She would flip out when I didn’t show up. Surely, she would contact the police. Or the consulate. I hoped she’d go to the Swedish consulate. The consulate of Spain might not be on her side, or might not even take her seriously. Oh Thomas, why would posing for you cost so much? Okay, okay. But why us? What do they want from us? Money? They read the newspaper; they must know I’m just an academic. Not a millionaire. They must know… Wait a minute. They did read it! They must be thinking I’m after those hidden pictures of Seniha! Do they also think those pictures would worth so much money? Is that why they kidnapped me?

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