Stay with me

Chapter 3 - Bring back life

An inhuman cry broke the morning silence of a sleepy, family-run mini-hotel nestled in the seaside part of Marseille. Residents looked out of the windows, overlooked the courtyard and looked around in fear in search of the source of the sound. The cry came from a corner room on the first floor. Wiping her apron with wet hands, the hostess of the hotel was already running there.

She opened the front door and like an arrow flew into the room. A tenant, a beautiful Turk, always cold and detached, who lived apart and did not communicate with anyone, lay crooked on the floor and shouted in a terrible, uterine voice.

The woman ran up and crouched beside him. Carefully touching his shoulder, she asked:

- Monsieur! Monsieur, what's up with you?

He did not answer. He moaned through clenched teeth and squeezed his head with twisted fingers in a death grip. On the forehead veins rose, the tightly stretched skin of the cheekbones on the eyes turned into earthy gray parchment. Next to the man was a telephone on the floor. The screen glowed and a voice was heard from the speakers. The woman picked it up and held it to her ear.

"Hello, I'm the owner of the hotel," she said.

- Madame! Madame! Help him! - shouted in English unfamiliar male voice.

"Explain what happened, and I will try to help," trying to stop the panic, she sternly told.

The man spoke. Confusing English and French words he told her about the tragedy. She listened, set the phone aside and leaned over the tenant again. He no longer shouted, only groaned and repeated, like a prayer, the female name:

- Defne ... Defne ... Defne.

The woman already knew - that is the name of his wife.

"Monsieur," she squeezed his shoulder, "look at me."

The tenant obediently opened his eyes. There was so much pain and hopeless despair in them that her heart ached. She helped him up and sat on the bed. She poured a glass of water from the carafe and gave it to him. He shook his head, and she put the glass on the table. Then she sat down beside him and spoke:

- Monsieur Omer, your wife is alive and will live. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. Sometimes people are in a coma for weeks and months, and then come to their senses and return to normal life. So it was with my son ... Just do not give up and with all your heart believe in her recovery. And yet ... doctors do not have the right to turn off the life support apparatus without the consent of close relatives.

Her words penetrated the brain and sobered him. The chaos of thoughts calmed down and Omer felt that he could control them again. The last words of the woman made him grab onto his feet, find the phone and call Sinan. He answered after the first beep.

- Sinan! - shouted in the mobile Omer. - Who permitted to turn off the machine?

"Grandma Türkan," he answered.

- Why? !!!

"The doctors said that Defne doesn't have a chance to live, and she has to pay a lot of money to continue her life support system. Topalov doesn't have them.

- I have!!! - face, just a minute ago, sallow and pale, turned red. Eyes burned dark fire. Omer rushed around the room and threw evil phrases into the phone. - I am the husband of Defne !!! She's been in a coma for five days, but I don't know anything! Why?!

"Defne's relatives decided that you were indifferent to her fate and they forbade me to report the incident," Sinan honestly answered. - But I thought - you should say goodbye. I will not forgive myself if ...