By the Bosphorus

Marianne, a 52 years old newly divorcée mathematician has always been obsessed with numbers analyzing each day with the uttermost precision. Since coming to Turkey, she has figured out that the whole ritual of coming and leaving Turkish cafe, takes her on average nine minutes. That includes entering the venue , making an eye contact with Maitre , being escorted to a table, asking the host to change the seat twice until she became fully satisfied with the view of Bosphorus river. She loved Turkey with all her heart but the only thing she couldn't stand was Cumulonimbus cloud of cigarettes traveling above her food. Oddly enough, after coffee and cats a smog was the next thing she missed about the city. Truth to be told, she wasn't coming to this cafe to eat. Ordinary day in Bebek, looks like a Fashion week in New York City. During her ten day visit in Istanbul, she was coming to the trendy cafe once or sometimes twice a day. The interior was how you describe these days "instagram friendly". It bored her to tears. Perhaps, that’s why her attention quickly shifted to an elegant woman who sat down across the room. Apparently , there are only five people in the world that resemble ourselves. Probability of running into one is like hitting a lottery jackpot. Marianne was unsure if she could put herself into the same category as a mystery woman. They both had a long hair, prominent cheek bones and when she stood up to take a coat off, she noticed that they must be the same height . Marianne was very tempted to approach her look-alike but she seemed to be deeply absorbed in a phone conversation. She saw her unwrapping a brand new black notebook , in order to jot down a note. Then she put 10 liras on the table and stormed off the cafe.

Marianne looked towards an empty seat without giving much of a thought where her doppelgänger might have gone until she spotted that a black notebook was still on the table.. Instead of giving the find, back to the manager , Marianne quickly gather her belongings and ran after her. By the time she left the coffee shop, a mystery customer melted into the pot of Eurasian crowd.

Marianne went back to the cafe to sit down and gather her thoughts. She knew that finding someone in a fifteen million metropolis was like searching for a needle in a haystack. However, the idea of not being able to see her again, left Marianne a little bit disappointed. Especially now, when her trip was coming an end. She was still holing a black notebook, playfully flipping over dozen of pages. Her thumb stopped on the page with a note which said : "Pera 16:00” and right below “The Pill 18:00" She had no idea what neither of these names mean. Marianne paid the check and while approaching the exit, she noticed a heavy glass cabinet advertising art, dance shows and theatre events. She gazed at the poster of Osman Hamidi Bey exhibition at Pera Museum. She couldn't believe her luck finding out so quickly what a first piece of note meant. It was only 3 pm . A waiter said that it should not take her longer than 30 min to get there by taxi. Marianne took a pleasant walk along Bosphorus towards Besiktas and caught a cab from there.

By the time she arrived at the museum , it was already 3.45 She went through security, stood in the line to purchase a ticket and decided to explore the venue.

All the exhibitions were upstairs but she immediately felt seduced by the sound of classical music coming from the museum cafe. She realized how much she misses going to the concerts. She walked into the fancy cafe, and stood next the piano player. "Miss Feray" ,said tall gentleman gently tapping her shoulder from behind. Still being mesmerized by the music ,it took her couple of seconds to turn around.

“ I have been trying to call you several times but each time it went to the voicemail. My apologies for changing a place at the last minute but I am glad we found each other."

Marianne looked confused but didn't want to disabuse him of that notion that she is not the person he is looking for.

‘It ’s a pleasure making business with you’ said a stranger and passed her a large thick envelope.

Marianne was doing her best to hide perplexed look on her face.

"Excuse me , do you know what The Pill is ? "she asked

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she realized how silly it must have sounded.

"I don’t understand’ he answered, ‘You mean where the Pill is ? Sorry , my English is not very fluent, "

"Your English is excellent. Yes, that’s what I meant, " she answered

‘The gallery is in Caddesi, a taxi driver will take you there.’

She checked the time, thanked him and rushed off the museum to find a ride. Marianne’s gut feeling was that her chances of finding Feray were higher at another gallery rather than here. Now, not only was she having her black notebook but also an envelope. The drive was 40 minutes long. She was not paying much attention to what was happening around her. She was too exited to find out what is inside the the envelope. Her heart was pounding with excitement while opening it. Inside, she found around twenty thousands US dollars . She was quite wealthy so that amount wouldn't significantly change her life. Yet, the idea of carrying such a large amount of cash, gave her a thrill that she hasn't felt since her fist paycheck . She didn't even notice that they reached their destination. She had some doubts if the taxi driver took her to the right place. From the outside, the building looked like a warehouse but she quickly found a little signboard with the name of the gallery.

When Marianne got off the taxi she turned around to make sure that a car wasn’t being followed and one more time peeked at the envelope content. Apart from cash, there were some documents and a passport.

Marianne entered a gallery building. To her amazement there were sculptures and ceramics of female body parts. Something that she would never expect to see in such a conservative city. She was hoping to meet Feray but the only person at the gallery, was a host.

"May I help you madam?" asked receptionist

"Could you give me a leaflet about the exhibition ?"

Young ,gallery staff member passed it to Marianne.

It only took her ten minutes to see all the pieces at the gallery. She felt a little bit awkward staring with exaggeration at the art without knowing what’s about. She thought that someone may come any second, put her on the spot and ask what she thinks about the sculptures . She wouldn't know what to say. Marianne looked again into mysterious black notebook to make sure what time the meeting is supposed to take place. She still had a little bit of time to explore what else the gallery has to offer.

She followed a little arrow but it only took her to the corridor where few offices and the restroom were. Suddenly , Marianne heard a raised female voice coming from one of the offices :

‘"What do you mean, who did he give it to ? Your look-alike ? "

Although , the person who was on the phone closed the door, she could still hear the conversation.

"Did security camera capture where she headed to ? No, we can’t call the Police"

Marianne started sweating excessively . She didn't know whether to fight, flight or freeze. Initially, she wanted to run away with the money and go back to the hotel. However, her hunger for adventure was stronger than idea of spending the rest of the evening alone in the room. She made a hasty decision to knock on the office door, and meet a person who could possibly help her to resolve the whole mystery. Suddenly, the conversation went silent.

As soon as the woman opened the door and looked at Marianne, she immediately understood what went wrong this afternoon.

"Let me call you back," she said the the person with whom she spoke on the phone.

‘Please, come in, sit down ’ she said to the unexpected visitor

Marianne explained the whole story to a lady who introduced herself as Elif. She also happened to be a gallery owner.

‘Did you see what’s inside?’ asked Elif,

‘Well, I saw a quite substantial amount of money and some documents. I didn't have a chance to look properly.’

Elif wasn't sure whether she could trust Marianne or not.

"Can I offer you a tea or coffee ?"

"No, thank you. I will be going soon."

"Could you pass me the envelope ?" Elif requested

With a little bit of hesitation, Marianne passed the envelope to the gallery owner.

"I will be back in a couple of minutes" said Elif

Marianne wasn't awfully in a rush. She must admit that curiosity took over the common sense. When Elif hasn't been coming back for nearly fifteen minutes, she started feeling a little bit anxious. She decided to walk around the gallery. To her surprise all the lights were switched off. There was no living soul. The host who had been sitting by the entrance disappeared. She exited through the main door and immediately saw a black Mercedes S parked on the driveway. In front of the car there was 6.3 ft tall, bald man .He looked more like a bouncer or semi- retired martial art fighter.

As soon as he saw her, he opened the back door and said "Come with me"

She knew her chances of surviving by accepting his 'invitation' were higher than running away. Marianne sat at the back of the car, while the driver started the engine. She had to admit that today’s events took her mind away from her recent divorce. Marianne didn't even dare to ask where he is taking her. Streets and places have slowly started becoming more familiar. It's widely known that Istanbul and Los Angeles have the worst traffic in the world. Yet, somehow the trip felt much longer than on the way to the gallery. To her relief, he stopped the car in front of her hotel.

Once they parked , a driver turned back to her to hand in exactly the same envelope that a gallery owner took away. It had a yellow ‘post it’ note which said : "Keep what’s inside. Forget about Pera and Pill". It almost sounded as a treat.

Marianne got off the car , walked into the lobby and went straight to her room. She didn't know what was making her more uncomfortable. The idea that they knew where she is staying or the slim possibility that she could have been kidnapped. Once she entered the room, she sat down in the Ottoman chair and opened the envelope again. Passport and documents were gone but the money was still there. To someone, it clearly must have more value than twenty thousand dollars. She was too tired to think about it right now. Marianne undressed, went to hammam which was conveniently situated in her bathroom and immersed herself into a warm steam. Such a rituals have always been helping her to clear her mind. It didn't take her long to decide what to do next. She went to the bedroom, grabbed a cell from the night stand and dialed a number of her trusted driver.

"Good evening Yusuf, it is Marianne. Could you come and pick me up at 7 am tomorrow ?"

"Yes madam but I thought you flight is at 1pm,"

"We aren’t going to the airport. I am staying few more days." and then she hanged up.

For a moment she considered calling reception to ask for a room change but she was too exhausted. Although it was still early evening, she closed the curtains, laid down, switched off the lights and started plotting how to solve a mystery case.