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I didn’t react.
There was no need.
I was gone.
I was reprogrammed.
Fixed.
Free.
Standing, Cem said, “Tonight, on the phone to Neri, I gave her my absolute word that Aslan Avci was dead. I told her I’d made damn sure of it. Was I right to tell her that?”
Slowly, as if someone else pulled my strings and made me move, I answered, “Aslan Avci is dead.”
“And who are you?” He crossed his arms, his eyes searching mine as if still believing a part of me would fight.
“I am yours.”
He groaned as if I couldn’t have given him a better gift.
“Unstrap him,” he snapped.
The guards shot forward, unbuckling the leather and releasing me.
All it had taken was one last electrocution.
And it was done.
Giving me a smile, Cem headed toward the open exit. Disappearing for a moment, he came back in with a long, polished stick. Holding it horizontally in two hands, he presented it to me like a sword to a knight. “This is for you. Today, you deserve it. I’m so happy to finally have you back, Aslan. After almost three decades of searching and hoping, you are finally back where you belong.”
Using the arm rests of the awful chair, I stood and braced my lean belly to balance on one leg. My black track pants hung off narrow hips, tied in a knot below my left knee. My strength had vanished thanks to the darkness and fevers. I would have to build a better core so I could compensate for the lack of a second foot, but I was steady enough as I reached out and took the cane my father offered.
I didn’t speak as I ran my fingers over the dark polished wood before studying the complex carving of a lion roaring and its flowing mane offering the perfect grip for my palm.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Like you,” Cem whispered. “My beautiful boy.”
Slowly, I pressed the metal end against the stone floor of the cave and braced against it.
I hopped forward, relying on the cane more than I normally would after the months of illness.
The new scar on my arm twinged as I balled my hand. The pulled-together flesh tight where once there was a tattoo.
That ink was gone now.
Just like the man who loved a siren was gone.
I was empty.
Silent.
Nothing.
“Shall we go home?” Cem asked with tears in his eyes.
I nodded. “Thank you for the gift, baba.”
