Page 25 (1/2)
“Afif, e: my father He is from Of, a ‘wise o; enuine Istanbulite As their son, I am a true Turk! My father was a marine major in Istanbul From time to time our relatives would co those nights, in the large room of our home in Kasimpasa, I listened to their witch stories These stories that ing storms, and everyone would tremble with fear But do not think that I believed in the people who loved science and physics These people were sent to Tripoli en e of my country’s history and her sciences related to e, unexplained phenomena led me into a particular research adventure The fact that this belief exists with the same intensity and form in the eastern cities of Turkey, Caucasia, and particularly the Slavic regions suggests either sonificant For in all of those countries, the saainst vaet to the point: I am a modern doctor now and I shall use this same solution I will sever Sadan’s head froarlic flowers, drive a stake through her heart, and bury the body”
These words were said about the woman I loved, the delicate and fair body of the woman for whoainst this thought Doctor Resuhî Bey continued speaking as though he had forgotten all this:
“Afif,blindly in science is disrespectful to science itself Science has not been fully explored There are s we do not yet know, but which we can see with our own eyes and discuss afterward Now let us leave here at once”
We put everything back as it was, and the doctor and I sealed the grave carefully Some time later ere on the road to the Eyüp pier I was confused, exhausted, and did not knohat to think or say The doctor stopped suddenly and said:
“Afif, I will not be returning with you I rave and take care of a few things before sunset Oh, do not panic I will not do what I have spoken of I will do that in front of not only you, but also Turan Bey and Özdemir Bey, to show all of you the terrible truth I aious man, Afif; like many people, I believe that those who have been bitten by vahouls themselves will suffer eternally in desperation and tu about an endless catastrophe for both themselves and humanity However, as I have said before, if the necessary action is taken against ghouls, these unfortunate but incredible things become ordinary corpses And their souls will earn the eternal rest they deserve I knew, Afif, that you are a little open-ressive, and that ry; and they did Unfortunately, they are the truth And I will prove this to all three of you What I shall do tonight is nothing but a special experiel, but the ‘thing’ that has had its blood drained and beco her coffin”
29 Septe in , and painful council of ith Doctor Resuhî Bey, Turan, Özdemir, and myself Doctor Resuhî Bey proceeded to discuss the situation I forgot an to worry about Turan’s condition and his wrath; I was alh he wished to silence the doctor by strangling him Özdemir and I also rose However, the doctor was so sorrowfully, painfully, and terribly convincing that Turan sat down in surprise every tie Finally Özdemir Bey rose, his face completely white, and said to Turan: “I myself have no doubts about the doctor’s words I am moved by the respect and astonishment I feel toward this kind-hearted scholar” Then he shook the professor’s large, brown hands Finally, Turan also admitted defeat He put his head between his hands “Very well, Doctor,” he said, “let us go and see, for I ao mad!”
CHAPTER XI
FROM DOCTOR AFIF BEY’S DIARY—continued
At fifteen ht, the four of us, led by Doctor Resuhî Bey, leapt over the low, dilapidated wall of the Eyüp ceht was very dark But the moon occasionally produced areas of illuh scattered clouds, only to disappear again We stood in front of the mausoleum door; the doctor opened it and looked back When he saw all three of us hesitating to enter for various reasons, he entered the darkness alone and pulled us in The three of us looked at each other as alked, and my attention was on Turan The doctor shut the door, lit a lantern, turned it toward the sarcophagus, and said:
“Afif, ere here yesterdayTell our friends: was Sadan Hanim’s body in the coffin?”
“Yes,” I said
“So look at it now!”
Doctor Resuhî opened the lid of the sarcophagus with the help of a lever and the herculean strength of Özderief, he said to Turan:
?
?Look!”