The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop

Author:Victoria Hislop [Hislop, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General
ISBN: 9780755377824
Google: AEdzAwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00IF7M7J2
Publisher: Review
Published: 2014-09-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

MEHMET WAS STILL in the same spot a few moments later. Alone and gazing. He had already forgotten the lady with the light blue stones.

He had wandered out for a few moments when everyone else was distracted at home, to see what was happening, and had been mesmerised by the great tide of people and the flow of cars.

Hüseyin had been sent out to find Mehmet and spotted him as he turned into the main road. As he was sprinting towards him he heard the sound of an explosion.

‘Mehmet!’ he screamed. ‘Come here.’

He picked his little brother up and ran to the house.

As soon as they were back, Mehmet received a sharp smack on the leg from his father. It made his eyes smart.

‘Don’t wander out again like that,’ scolded Halit angrily. He and Emine had been frantic.

Emine hugged him, her own eyes wet from crying, and when she mopped his tears with her apron, Mehmet caught the smell of spice. Something very strange was happening, but this at least was familiar.

A while later, Hüseyin went back down the street to check the situation. Five minutes later, he ran in again to tell his parents what he and Mehmet already knew.

‘Everyone’s leaving,’ he shouted. ‘Everyone! We’ve got to get out of here.’

‘No! We can’t go without Ali!’ Emine cried. ‘He won’t know where to find us.’

‘Why would we run away from our own people!’ said Halit.

‘These are not our own people, Father. They’re Turks.’

‘But haven’t they come to keep us safe?’ snapped Halit.

‘They’re hardly going to kill us, are they, Hüseyin?’ said Emine.

‘How do you know that, Mother?’ His voice rose with fear and anger. ‘It’s chaos out there. How will they know who is who? Have you met any Turkish soldiers?’

‘Hüseyin!’ Halit warned.

‘You don’t know them, Father. You don’t know what they are like! You don’t know what they’ll do when they get here!’

Up until now, many people had defended Turkey’s actions. They had believed that it was doing what was within its rights, to try and guarantee the independence of Cyprus. But now it seemed to have transgressed the boundaries. If Emine did not know the reputation of the Turkish soldiers, it was because she did not want to hear. Stories of murder were widespread. Reports of rape were legion.

‘I’m more worried about the women in this city than the men,’ said Hüseyin.

‘Hüseyin! Don’t say that kind of thing to your mother!’

‘I am trying to save us. We need to get out of here.’

‘Maybe he’s right,’ said Halit. ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t risk it.’

‘But Halit!’ pleaded Emine. ‘Ali is just a child! When he comes back, he’ll come back here. We would be abandoning him.’

Halit tried to persuade her, but she refused to even consider it. By now, she was almost hysterical.

‘I won’t go! I won’t!’

She stormed out.

‘We’ll wait a while longer,’ said Halit to Hüseyin. ‘She’ll come round.’

The hours passed, and as night fell, the tension grew.

Hüseyin stirred coffee inside a tiny pan. As the foam rose to the surface, he extinguished the heat beneath it and poured the dark liquid into two tiny cups.

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