He looked into her eyes and saw a depth that frightened and exhilarated him. In them, he saw his past, his present, and every possible future he ever wanted to live. He realized then that love wasn't about finding someone to share the world with. It was about finding someone who became your world, rendering everything else invisible.
Elias sat by the window, his fingers tracing the condensation on the glass. He was staring out at the blurred figures rushing past, their heads bowed against the wind. But he wasn't really seeing them. His mind was elsewhere, or rather, with someone else.
He remembered the first time he had heard Kıraç’s voice. It had been playing on the radio of a beat-up old taxi they’d taken during a sudden summer downpour. The powerful, gravelly vocals had filled the cramped space, and when the chorus of "Senden Başka" played, Elias had looked at Lila and realized that the lyrics weren't just words; they were his reality.
Lila looked up then, sensing his gaze. She smiled, a slow, gentle curve of her lips that reached her eyes, crinkling the corners. "What?" she asked, her voice a soft melody that easily cut through the ambient chatter of the cafe.