Cengiz began to recount his story:
“I’ve already told you how it all started. I ran away from home because my family constantly beat me, and they didn’t even bother to look for me. That was fine by me. I wasn’t sad at all. I was glad they didn’t search for me.”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t find Ahmet and Kerem right away after I left home.”
“For a while, I wandered through the backstreets. I was always on edge, suspecting someone might be out looking for me. I was terrified that someone might catch me and take me back home while I tried to sleep on a park bench or the cold concrete at night.”
“One night, I was rummaging through the trash because I was starving. You wouldn’t believe the things people throw away. One person’s trash can truly be another’s treasure.”
As he recounted this, he smiled, but it wasn’t a normal smile. It was filled with pain and sorrow.
Taşkın listened intently to Cengiz. Cengiz continued his story, staring at the grains of sand on the ground.
“While I was digging through the trash, I saw a kid about my age doing the same. He hadn’t noticed me yet. I called out to him.”
“Hey... Hello.”
“He started to flee when I called out, but when he saw me, he stopped. I guess he thought I was someone older, but from my voice and appearance, he realized I was just a kid like him.”
“He looked at me for a moment, then spoke.”
“H-hello...”
“I figured he was hungry too. Why else would he be rummaging through the trash, I thought to myself.”
“I decided to ask him.”
“You’re hungry too, aren’t you?”
“N-no, I collect cardboard and then sell it. I make a little money that way.”
“I s-see... (coughs violently) I understand. I was digging through the trash because I was hungry. But there doesn’t seem to be much here. I’ll rummage a bit more, and if I don’t find anything, I’ll move to other streets.”
“While I was bent over, digging through the trash, he suddenly said ‘here’ and handed me a chocolate bar.”
“And it didn’t look like it was from the trash. It looked like it was bought from a store.”
As Cengiz recounted this, his smile turned softer. The bitter, pained smile from before had disappeared. It seemed he had fond memories of this boy.
Thinking about this made me even more curious, and I continued to listen to Cengiz with full attention.
“I looked at him in surprise and asked, ‘Are you really giving this to me?’”
“He nodded his head.”
“I took the chocolate, opened it, and started eating. It was caramel and nut-flavored.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the taste.”
“I still remember how people passing by looked at us with disgust and covered their noses.”
“They were probably wondering how I could eat chocolate with that smell around, but I didn’t notice any smell at that moment. I was just trying to fill my stomach.”
“During my second bite, I noticed the boy was looking at me. Actually, he was looking at the chocolate.”
“I took the chocolate out of the package and broke it in half. I offered one piece to him.”
“At first, he shook his head as if to say he didn’t want it, but when I continued to offer it, he took it.”
“We squatted down and sat on the sidewalk, eating our chocolates.”
“Anyone else might have finished the chocolate quickly, but we were eating as slowly as a turtle walks.”
“I wanted to talk to him. What had happened to him? Had he run away from home like I did? I was curious about all of this.”
“I wanted to talk, but did he want to talk to me?”
“While thinking about this, I kept taking small bites of my chocolate.”
“The cold wind was blowing across my face.”
“Finally, the boy broke the silence.”
“When you’re hungry, check the trash bins in neighborhoods with restaurants or food stalls.”
“It’s normal that you didn’t find anything here because there are no places nearby that sell food.”
“You need to know where to look. Otherwise, you’ll rummage through trash bins all day and still not find what you’re looking for.”
“If you’re lucky, maybe someone will take pity on you and buy you food.”
“I understand...” I said.
“It was clear he had been on the streets longer than I had.”
“Thinking about this, I decided to ask him for help. He had already helped me by giving me chocolate and advice, but I wanted to try my luck.”
“I-I have something to ask you...”
“He turned his head to me and started listening attentively.”
“Um... I’m looking for a place to sleep. I mean... I sleep here and there at night, and I’m scared someone will do something to me.”
“Can you help me with that?”
“Why should I help you?”
“Haven’t I helped you enough already?”
“He was right, no matter what I said, it would be the height of shamelessness.”
“I just looked at his face for a few seconds and then turned away and started to leave.”
“He called after me.”
“Wait a moment. Look at me.”
“I turned around, eagerly waiting to hear what he would say.”
“I don’t want to wander around alone either. It’s always better to have someone with you.”
“Hearing this made me so happy. But how could I have known he would betray me?”
Cengiz’s words came out with difficulty, as if an unseen force was trying to prevent him from speaking. His eyes were filling with tears. It seemed he had trusted this boy far too much.
He was silent for a while before continuing.
“Anyway, as I said, I was very happy. I looked at him with excited eyes and asked, ‘Really?’”
“Yes, really. I was just heading home. Let’s go together.”
“By the way, don't mind me calling it home. It looks more like anything than a house. It's more like an unfinished building. In the past, people who used drugs, cannabis, cocaine, all kinds of substances you can think of, used to hang out in that building. But after a while, the residents of the neighbourhood were naturally disturbed by them and called the police. The police raided that building many times. Most of the people who hung out there had a very long criminal record. They had done all sorts of rubbish such as assault and robbery. After these incidents, nobody came there. I took advantage of this situation and made it my home. Since I did not harm anyone, the neighbourhood residents did not complain about me. Forget complaining, they even bring me food from time to time.”
“So I can say that you will be safe wherever you go. Because people who use substances do not approach there for the reasons I just explained.”
“As I heard these stories, my happiness increased exponentially. He said that the neighbourhood residents were bringing food. Maybe he would give me some of the food brought. I kept thinking about these things.”
“We were walking and chatting at the same time. We were stopping by the rubbish bins on the streets we passed and putting the cartons in the boy's car.”
“It came to my mind while we were walking. We had been talking for how many minutes, but I hadn't asked him or he hadn't asked me my name.”
“I turned to him and said, ‘What's your name?”
“He said, ‘My name is Ali.”
“I replied, ‘Cengiz.”
“Okay, Cengiz. Let's not talk any more and walk fast. I would have arrived by now, but I was keeping up with you because you were walking slowly.”
“OK,’ I said, and quickened my pace.”
“After a few minutes we arrived at a place called a house. I say a place called a house because it was not a house as Ali said. It was an unfinished building.”
“Of course I didn't say anything, after all, it was better than lying on the stone floor anywhere.”
“Ali left his car outside and we entered the building. I think they were going to make the building two storeys, but almost every part of the second floor was open. So it could be said that it was finished before it started. On the lower floor, some walls were missing. Honestly, I was scared. I mean, it gave me the feeling that the building would collapse in an instant.”
“Anyway, we entered the building through open places. Ali had equipped the inside as much as he could. So don't imagine too much when I say furnishing. A few blankets, pillows, a gas lamp for lighting at night, pots and pans and a tube for heating food.”
“Ali switched on the kerosene lamp as soon as we came in. It was dimly lit inside. By the way, the room we entered was completely enclosed. Most of the other rooms had no walls or they were unfinished. Only one room was closed, and Ali had already made that room his home.”
“I sat on one of the blankets on the floor and started to watch Ali. I had eaten some chocolate but I was still hungry.”
“Ali sat on the blanket in front of the wall opposite me and started talking.”
“Tell me Cengiz. Why are you on the streets?”
“I told him I ran away from home because of the constant violence from my family.”
“Ali turned his head to the gas lamp and said, ‘Sons of bitches.”
“Honestly, I wasn't angry. I didn't care what he said about my family. I wouldn't have batted an eyelid if I'd heard the news of their deaths.”
“Ali turned his head to me and said, ‘You're not mad that I swore at your family, are you? He said.”
“I said, ‘No, no, I'm not mad at all.”
“I was wondering about his story, what he went through. So I decided to ask.”
“What did you-”
Cengiz's stomach growled with hunger.
“So I was interrupted and couldn't continue, I was looking at Ali and Ali was looking at me.”
“I guess you're still not full yet, haha.”
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“I was embarrassed, so I forced a laugh to keep Ali company.”
“Ali stood up and headed towards the bags hanging on the worn wall.”
“Don't worry, there's some more food here. I'll feed you well. haha.”
“N-no, there's really no need, I'm full. Before I met you, I found something to eat in the other rubbish I looked in.”
“Ali looked at me suggestively and said, ‘Do you realise you're really bad at lying?”
“I said nothing more and waited.”
“He rummaged through the bags and threw something in front of me.”
“Here, eat this, it'll keep you going for a while.”
“Then he went back to his old place.”
“I picked up the packet in front of me and it was a packet of biscuits.”
“As I opened the parcel, Ali started talking about the biscuits.”
“I think these biscuits are more filling, they contain protein or something. When I went into the supermarket to fill my stomach, I came across a few people.They were older than me, 23-24 years old, I think. They were tall and well built.One of them said that these biscuits have strong protein and keep you full for a long time, let's buy them, and they all bought four or five packets and left the market.The price was more expensive than other biscuits, but it was worth it.Once you eat them, you don't feel hungry for a long time.”
“By the way, don't eat it all at once. Try to manage with it for a week.”
“When Ali said that, I had just put the first biscuit in my mouth and when I heard you say to manage for a week, the cookie fell out and rolled around on the dirty floor for a while and then fell out.”
“How was I supposed to manage with only biscuits for a week?”
“Ali picked up the fallen biscuit and blew it clean, then came over and handed it to me.”
“On the way back to your place, when I say you can manage for a week, I mean you can manage for a week in the most difficult times, otherwise we will find something to eat during the day, you have already found food from the garbage many times before. I don't know why you were so surprised. haha.”
“Yes, it was an unnecessary rush. But it brought Ali and me closer to each other, at least I thought so.”
“So I laughed and said I understood.”
“I put the biscuit Ali gave me in my mouth and it tasted very good. Then I took another one and put the packet of biscuits next to me. I thought that was enough for today.”
“Yes, I think that's enough. After all, you'll be living on those biscuits for a week,” Ali said and then laughed.
“Ali and I were talking and laughing in the dim room illuminated by the gas lamp. Maybe I was laughing for the first time. I was glad I had met Ali.”
“After talking for a while, I decided to ask Ali about his story.”
“He stood up and turned off the gas lamp.”
“My story is more or less like yours, it's not even worth telling and I'm sleepy, let's go to sleep. I'll tell you my story some day later. But as I said, my story is not very different from yours.”
“It was obvious he didn't want to tell it. He cut off my question. But if he didn't want to tell it, there was no need to force it.”
“I said okay and we crawled under the blankets we were sitting on and fell asleep.”
“Ali was already asleep, but I kept tossing and turning, I couldn't fall asleep. I slept better even when I was sleeping on the streets. For some reason, there was a constant restlessness inside me here.”
“I was close to sleep when I started to hear voices. Ali got up and walked towards the entrance of the room. It was so dark inside that he didn't realize I was awake.”
“I found him collecting cardboard tonight. He's an idiot and I immediately gained his trust.”
“I knew he was talking about me. Something was going on.”
“For a moment, the voice of the person Ali was talking to got louder. I could tell he wasn't a kid like us. He had a thick voice.”
“Quiet! He'll wake up now, Ali said.”
“Then I couldn't hear anything. I could only hear whispers.”
“Minutes later Ali came back and went to bed.
“I knew something would happen to me if I stayed here too long.”
“I had to get out of here as soon as possible.
“I couldn't sleep anyway and now I couldn't sleep at all. I had all kinds of thoughts in my head.”
“I closed my eyes and waited to fall asleep.”
“It was morning. I didn't know what time it was, but I guessed it was quite early.”
“Ali, get up, come on,” he called to me.
“I got up from where I was lying, I felt weak. I had already slept late and my head ached from waking up so early. I was looking at the floor with meaningless eyes, trying to shake off the morning hangover.”
“It was obvious that Ali woke up before me. He was very energetic. He kept telling me to wake up.”
“I got up and shook myself, picked up the packet of biscuits Ali had given me last night for breakfast and popped one in my mouth.”
“I turned to Ali. He was already waiting for me to get up. I asked him what we were going to do now.”
“I've already told you, I'm collecting cardboard, now we'll collect it together. We'll split the money we earn between us.”
“That's all well and good, but what happened last night haunts me.”
“I couldn't go and ask why you talked about me like that, or who you were talking about.”
“I nodded and said okay, but my main goal was to get away from this guy as soon as possible.”
“Then we left the house without saying any more and started collecting cardboard. That was the whole day.”
“I felt safer with someone by my side.”
“At night we went home again. Now you know what I mean by home. I'm talking about the unfinished construction.”
Taşkın was listening to Cengiz with curious eyes. Although they had just had a fight, he was surprised that Cengiz had told him about his private life.
At the same time, he wrapped his left hand around his right hand. Even though he tried not to show it to Cengiz, his right hand still hurt. He was worried that it might be broken or fractured.
As Cengiz was about to continue telling his story, Taşkın asked him a question.
“Cengiz, uh, sorry to interrupt, but if you're hurting we can go home, I mean, I hit you a little hard in the face, we'll bandage it up or something.”
“Haha. No, it doesn't hurt much. How's your hand? You hit me hard like you said. Your hand must hurt.”
“It doesn't hurt much either, but I'm afraid it might be broken or fractured.”
Cengiz looked at Taşkın's hand.
“If that is the case, I hope it is broken. Because a crack causes a much more painful process.”
“It's okay, ... I'm used to pain... the pain of my hand is nothing.”
“I hope you will tell me your story one day, Taskin. It's obvious that you have a painful story too.”
Yes, I have a story, but I'll never be able to tell it to you. There's no way you'll believe me. You will only think I am crazy.
Don't say that, Taşkın. Tell them, maybe they'll believe you. Haha.
...
Of course I didn't tell Cengiz these thoughts, I just looked him in the eye and smiled.
“Isn't it strange, Cengiz? Kids our age are running around in the parks and we're talking about nothing.”
“Don't say that Taşkın, look, we are in the park too. We are sitting on the swings. Haha. But of course, as you say, what we talk about... not very nice things.”
Cengiz had started the sentence with a smiling face, but by the end the smile had disappeared. He was trying to smile, but it was difficult to force a smile, contrary to popular belief.
He paused for a few seconds and then decided to continue telling his story.
“Anyway, let me continue telling my story, there is not much left to tell anyway. I don't want to drag it out and bore you. But on the other hand, I want to branch out the story and go home as late as possible. Because as you said, Ahmet and Kerem will bombard us with questions when we get home. Haha.”
“Haha. You are right. I also want to go home as late as possible.”
“Oh, where was I... oh yeah. Like I said, we got home and we started talking. Ali was telling me that I was glad we met and that we got along so well and I was confirming her.”
“We also sold the cardboard we had collected that day, Ali had collected a lot of cardboard herself before. I mean, I hadn't actually collected much compared to him, but after Ali sold the cartons, he didn't take a bigger share, he gave me half of the money as he told me.”
“We didn't say anything more, I put two more biscuits from the biscuit packet in my mouth and we went to bed. That night I waited for someone to come but no one came.”
“Our friendship lasted about a month. We were collecting cardboard every day. We became more and more intimate. I was supposed to leave Alini, but I got attached to him somehow, hanging out with him, and I probably misheard what he said about me, so I cut it off. However, I was very wrong. I learned this very well that day, but it was too late.
After Cengiz said this, he took a deep breath and continued.
“One night we went home again and I was getting ready to go to sleep, but Ali caught my attention. He was watching me the whole time, looking very tense. I got curious and asked her what happened.”
“Ali, what happened? Are you okay? You look strange.”
“At that moment I heard footsteps. Someone was coming fast to where we were. Ali said, “I'm sorry, Genghis.”
“W-What apology?” I was about to say when a man came in. “So this is the boy you told me about,” he said, looking at Ali.
“This was the man Ali had spoken to secretly at night. I recognized his voice.”
“W-What's going on Ali! I said, looking at Ali with alarmed eyes.”
“Ali was silent and the man who entered the room was looking at me with a dirty grin.”
“He started walking towards me. “If it wasn't for you, I don't know how I would find a new child,” he said to Ali.
“So Ali and this man were working together,” I said inwardly. Tears were falling from my eyes like rain in a storm on the floor of the small room illuminated by the dim light of the gas lamp. I had made a mistake, a very big mistake. After hearing what Ali said about me that night on the very first day, I should have gotten the hell out of his side.”
Cengiz started to cry as he told this. Taşkın went to Cengiz and said, “OK, calm down Cengiz, you can take a break for a while.
He wiped his tears and nodded his head up and down. Taşkın sat back down on the swing and waited for Cengiz to continue his story.
“Then I tried to run away but in vain. The man grabbed me easily and threw me hard against the wall. Ali was watching all this without reacting.”
“He was kicking me on the ground, I was trying to defend myself somehow with my arms but it was no use. He was hitting me with all his might.”
“Ali said, “Enough is enough, Adnan, won't he work for you after all? How can he work if you beat him so much? He said.”
“I was writhing on the floor in pain, he looked at the man and turned to Ali.”
“Your tongue has gotten too long these days, Ali. I'd cut out your tongue and shove it up your ass, but since you've found new kids to work for me, I'll overlook your insolence earlier.”
“I looked at Ali. I could tell he was scared. He could only say, “OK, brother.”
“He turned back to me and grabbed me and pulled me to my feet, but I couldn't get up, I was in too much pain.”
“Get the fuck off the fucking floor, motherfucker,” he yelled.
“I could barely stand. He said, “Follow me, I'll break your legs if you try to run,” but I didn't have the strength to take a step, I couldn't even imagine running away.”
“I started to follow him. As I left the room, I looked at Ali. We locked eyes for a moment and then he looked down. I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I still don't know if I should be angry with him or forgive him.”
“In the dark of the night, Adnan was driving in front and I was driving behind. Adnan said, “Shall I tell you what Ali really did?”
“I didn't say anything, but he kept talking.”
“What he really does is befriend kids like you on the street and gain their trust. Then he gets them to join him and pick up cardboard and stuff like that. Of course, this is to gain more trust and to strengthen the false bond between you. At the end of the day, all the kids Ali befriends work for me. That's the real work Ali does. To deceive people.”
“I wasn't surprised by what I heard. I was more angry with myself than Ali. Why hadn't I run away? How had I fallen for that false friendship? I kept blaming myself, but there was nothing I could do now.”
“After walking a bit we came to a large place, an old disused factory I think. It was very big inside and there were a lot of kids my age or a little younger or older than me.”
“He grabbed me by the arm and threw me in between them and said, 'I'll be back tomorrow morning. If any of you are missing, I'll cut off the fingers of anyone here.
"He yelled, 'Come here!' at two people. These two were older than us; I had heard the conversation. He said, 'As always, check on those kids. Make sure they don't escape.'
They responded with 'Okay' and then Adnan left.
"As I said, the place was very large, with many potential escape routes, but whatever fear they instilled in the kids, none of them moved from their spots.
"I stayed in the old factory for a few months. They forced us to beg. They also took the money we earned. We couldn't save any money for ourselves.
"One day... I can never forget that pain. Adnan was cooking something in a pan with a tube in the factory. As I walked past him, my foot accidentally got caught on something on the floor, and I fell onto Adnan.
"He immediately threw me off him and kicked me on the ground for a while.
'This is still too little for you, dog,' he said, and poured the hot oil from the pan over me. The pain... the burning sensation... I can't find words to describe it. I was writhing in agony on the ground, screaming. He shouted at me, 'Shut up, you bastard child.' Then he said, 'So you're still going to scream? I'll discipline you now.'
"He told the two older kids standing next to him to undress me and hold me tightly. No matter how much I pleaded, they ignored me and forcibly removed all my clothes. The other kids around me watched in horror.
"Adnan had taken a plastic bag and was coming towards me. He pulled out a lighter from his pants and set the bag on fire. He began moving the melting bag over me. The melted plastic fell on my body like raindrops. With every drop that fell, I screamed in pain. While scratching the ground, all my nails were broken, and the flesh at the tips of my fingers was torn.
"He continued moving the bag over me until it was completely melted, then threw me into a corner and threw the clothes he had forcibly removed back onto me.
"I had no strength left to dress myself. The other kids there somehow helped me get dressed. After that day, I submitted to him, or rather, I wanted him to think I did. Because even if I knew I was going to die, I was determined to escape. I had made up my mind.
"For a while, I followed the orders precisely and earned their trust. One night again, we were talking among ourselves inside the factory with the other kids. The two kids with Adnan were constantly roaming around. Adnan had left earlier this time. That was good for me.
"I was waiting for an opportunity; if I found an opening, I would escape and go as far as I could. One of the two kids left the factory. I didn't know where he went, and honestly, I didn't care. I found a gap and escaped from the back of the factory. I didn't even look back; I just ran with all my might.
"I don't know how long I ran, but my legs had no strength left. I was exhausted. I leaned against a wall in one of the side streets and collapsed on the ground. I was breathing rapidly.
'Are you okay?' someone asked. I turned my head towards the voice. It was Ahmet.
"I first met Ahmet there. Then he took me to his home and introduced me to Kerem. Since that day, I have been living with them.
"So that's my story, Taşkın. I wanted to pour out my heart. I feel a bit relieved after telling it. And I'm happy to have shared it with you.
"Thank you for sharing your story and personal experiences with me, Cengiz. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"Haha. I trust you."
..
"What is this state of yours!?"
We looked to see who was shouting with Cengiz. It was Ahmet. Kerem was with him. I guess we had stayed in the park a bit too long. They must have come after me thinking we might fight, but they were a bit late.
They rushed over to us and asked what happened. We explained what had occurred.
Ahmet said, 'I told you, but no one listens. Didn’t we tell you not to go, Taşkın? What happened now?'
'It's okay, Ahmet. What's done is done. At least it's good that Cengiz and I fought. We're actually on very good terms now,' I said.
"Cengiz smiled next to me, 'Haha. Taşkın is right. We're actually on very good terms now.'
Ahmet and Kerem looked at us with astonished expressions. They probably thought our relationship had worsened, but it wasn't as they thought.
"Anyway, let’s go home and treat your wounds," said Kerem."
"Ahmet took my arm, and Kerem took Cengiz’s arm, and we started walking towards home together."
I was happy, truly happy. At first, I thought coming here was a big mistake, but then I thought it was good that I came.
Maybe now that things are better with Cengiz, he might come to the amusement park with us. My mind was still on the amusement park. I wondered what experiences awaited me there...