Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“You will have to come back to Istanbul,” Mehmet explained. “But then you will go to
India.”
I couldn't thank Mehmet enough, but I still had a decision to make.
Thankfully, Talat and Menekse had the Internet. And Lina and I had Skype. In most
of the places I had stayed, I didn't have good enough service to actually see her, but now
across the miles, her warm face came into grainy view.
“Good morning, Penelope,” I said, though she had no idea what I was talking about.
I explained my situation.
She sighed. It was the kind of sigh that said,
Really, Leon, is this even a question?
“I mean, we kind of knew this was going to be an issue,” she reminded me.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But I
hoped
it wouldn't be an issue.”
“You hope too much,” she replied, her voice tired.
“I miss you, Lina,” I said, hoping those words might encapsulate everything I felt in that
moment—my fears, my excitement, and the distance that even Skype was unable to bridge.
“I miss you, too,” the video began to break up, but I still heard Lina's words. “You don't
need to come home now, Leon, but you need to come home safe.”
I could barely see her face anymore, as the image froze and rearranged itself.
I nodded, not knowing if she could still hear me.
“I'll be home soon,” were my last words before the connection was lost altogether.
Talat and Menekse showed me to my own bed. After spending the previous night listen-
ing to the heavy snores of a Bulgarian truck driver, I finally got to do something I had been
dreaming about all day: sleep.
When I woke up in the morning, my decision had been made. I knew that dreams could
be fickle—sometimes they had to change in order to be achieved. Perhaps Mihali's sugges-
ted detour had done more than introduce me to Ephesus—it might have just saved my life.
I said my good-byes to Talat and Menekse, and thanked them for their gentle nudging.
I am sure that Lina would have thanked them as well. Menekse looked at me and smiled.
I could see relief on her face, but also surprise. I don't even think she could quite believe
what had just happened.
And here again, goodness and darkness found themselves overlapping. The generosity
of my friends in Turkey standing in contrast to the war that was exploding all around them.
And those friends who had suddenly popped up across the landscape all echoed my greatest
friend back home—make it home safe.
