CHAPTER : 3
He quickly showed the tools he had brought with him, no longer caring about anything else.
Nolin then took a look at the tools.
There was a hoe with a broken handle and a rusted shovel in front of him.
He lifted both of them, one after the other, and examined them carefully.
"It'll take some time. There's too much work to do. How about you come back in a week? I'll fix both of them by then," he said while looking at him.
"Okay, I'll come back then. I'll be going now," he said. He didn't have the strength to say anything more and left, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders.
He went home that day with uncertainty in his heart, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
After seven days, he returned to the shop to pick up his tools and left as soon as he paid, without making any small talk.
As time went on, whenever he was in the village, he found himself looking in the direction of the blacksmith shop.
During random walks, he would realize he was standing in front of it without knowing how he got there.
After some time, he thought, "If it's like this, so be it."
One day, he found a tool that needed repair and went into the shop.
After so long, he saw her again—and at that first glance after such a long time, something shifted.
Every question, every coincidence, every uncertainty vanished.
The only thing left was a cold realization, one he felt for the first time in his life.
After that, he started going to the shop, finding any and all excuses he could.
Nolin saw all of it, but said nothing.
He came to the shop almost every day and talked with her.
He learned many things in the process.
He learned that she was living here at her uncle's place because her parents had died in an accident.
Nolin was her only immediate family left.
As he continued to visit, he talked about himself too, and they would talk for hours.
Sometimes, when it got too late, Nolin would kick him out because he refused to notice all the hints being thrown at him.
One day, he asked her,
"Do you want to see the village? I bet you haven't seen all it has to offer. And you won't find a better guide than me."
She thought for a second and answered,
"But I already know all the places in the village. When I go with uncle, he tells me about everything."
"But I know some places no one else in the village knows about," he said, desperation clear on his face.
"I'm the only one who knows them."
She smiled, something warm appearing in her eyes.
"Okay. How about tomorrow afternoon? I'm free then. What about you?"
"Tomorrow afternoon it is," he said quickly.
"I'll pick you up from here, and we'll see the village together."
He smiled—a smile that didn't suit an adult. It was the smile of a child who had just been given permission to play.
He went home with light legs, as if they wanted to leave the ground and fly into the sky.
That night, neither of them got even a speck of sleep.
When the time for the date arrived, my father was too early. He arrived in the morning instead of the afternoon.
My mother was early too—but not as early as him. She arrived an hour before the time and was surprised to see him already there.
Both of them had dark circles under their eyes, sleep clinging to them like they had stayed up all night and come straight there like zombies.
They looked at each other.
And then they started to giggle—and couldn't stop.
They tried to suppress it, looked away, then looked back—
And burst into laughter again at the ridiculousness of the situation.
They laughed like that, harder than they ever had before.
There was no explanation for it.
By the time they stopped, more than half an hour had passed.
They composed themselves slowly, and my father extended his hand.
"So," he said, "shall we start the date that was left untouched and see the village—and maybe a few secrets?"
She took his hand.
"Okay. I came for this, so it has to be special."
"Of course, my lady," he said, confidence shining in his eyes.
"I won't disappoint you today—or any other day."
They walked through the village, doing all kinds of things in between sightseeing.
They joked with vendors, laughed too loudly in quiet places, and caused harmless trouble wherever they went.
By evening, he took her to a grassy hill near the village, with a tree standing at its base.
They lay there under the shade, staring up at the sky.
They talked until they were tired—
And eventually fell asleep, side by side.