Hello Ester (Noon, Day 6)

I fell asleep, right there on the bergère. I was knocked out, probably because of the pill I took, and was only eventually awoken by the ringing of the phone. I had no idea what time it was when I woke up. Was it past three? I hurriedly picked up the receiver. It was Ömer from reception.

‘Hello sir. Reşit Bey wanted me to remind you that you were going to meet him at three in the lobby.’

‘What time is it now?’ I asked anxiously.

‘It's still eleven, sir’.

It was a relief to hear it. I let out a deep breath, thanked him and put the receiver back down. I'd only slept for half an hour but after the fitful sleep I'd had last night, which was probably the cause of my earlier headache, I finally felt a little refreshed and revived. I went to the bathroom and washed my face, and then took out the clothes I'd be wearing for the meeting and lay them out on the bed. I was dying for a cup of coffee but did not want to trudge all the way downstairs to get one so I called to have one sent up. I then went out onto the balcony.

The rain hadn't started but there was a stiff breeze in the air whisking away the black clouds that had been hovering overhead earlier this morning. The morning sun, late to rise, was now shimmering pleasantly over the city's rooftops. Whether it was this glorious sunlight or my excitement at the prospect of seeing Cezmi again or the fact that my headache had disappeared I can't say but there was no trace of the morning's gloom and despair. I looked out in the direction of some noises in the distance; renovations were being carried out on the Tepebaşı Theatre. Seeing the theatre like that took me back… To 1906, the year I graduated from the Imperial High School and the year you came to Istanbul. I picked you up from Sirkeci Station that day, or rather, that evening and we went to the theatre, to a visiting French theatre company's production of Cyrano de Bergerac.