Izmir, Turkey [2]

Tuk... to...

A bird pecks my bedroom window, waking me up. I reached for my phone on the small table beside the bed. There was a message alert from Deniz that I read so he would't see the blue tick in whatsapp. A little sneaky but it's a safe way, to pretend I'm still sleeping, so that Deniz doesn't force me to immediately reply to his message.

[Morning baby. I hope you slept well last night. If you're up, come on down, I'm waiting downstairs, I'll take you on an adventure today, we'll be back before dinner, so we can discuss our wedding. love U]

ughhhhhh...

I pulled the blanket over my whole body. I'm not ready to face the day. I admit that I like Deniz, I feel safe beside him, and appreciated his help while I've been in Turkey, all these things I can't deny.

But...

Marriage doesn't only need goodness and security, it needs faith. Marriage needs love, it takes strength.

How can I marry the person who comes up with it, and not talked about beforehand?

Someone I've only known for a few weeks.

Will he forever fit with me?

Will I be forever loyal to him?

Everything I know about him isn't enough to say yes to marriage.

Now I'm caught up in something complicated.

I have to quickly find a way to run away from all this drama, to come to terms with this problem it feels too difficult, there will be only broken hearts at the end of it all.

I got out of bed, ready to wake up, and braced myself for the day.

I put on a white shirt with jeans, so that I don't look too gloomy and upset.

I practiced smiling in front of the mirror before stepping out. Don't forget to wear the magic ring that almost made me pass out last night.

Deniz took me to Selcuk, a small town still in the Izmir region where I was able to walk in Efes. An old city of Greece and was once a main city of ancient Rome.

Deniz explained some things about Selcuk to me.

"This city is one of the 12 Ionian cities during the age of Classical Greece. When this city was taken over by the Roman Empire, it was once the second largest city after Rome, even the second largest in the world at that time. It was the center of civilization and a silent witness to history. From St. John spreading Christianity, the visit of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, and the Roman King Mark Anthony, as well as the place where both Mary and St. John spent their last days."

I nodded my head trying to analyze all the information I received from Deniz.

Being in the complex of the old city of Efes, made me feel as if I were back in the fifth century Roman. I tried to imagine its glory in the past.

From the front gate, the immediate sight is the Grand Gladiator Theater called Buyuk Tiyatro.

Somehow the excitement of the Grand Theater atmosphere during the Roman Empire until now, its grandeur is still so visible. Reminiscent of a colossal hollywood film focused on Roman history with gladiator fights and wild beasts typical of the Roman dynasty.

Not far from the Grand Theater stands a building known as the Celcus Library. Which was once used as a library, the third largest of its time.

This building is no longer intact, but the front pillars still stand strong and majestic. Ornaments of god and goddess statues adorn some of the outer walls. This library was dedicated to a Roman senator 'Tiberius Julius Celcus Polemaeanus'.

There is also the church of St. John, to the south the Isa Bey mosque. The oldest Turkish mosque, there is also the Efes Archeology Museum where she was able to see eighty thousand ancient artifacts and relics of Alexander the Great.

I recorded as much information from the museum and the information that Deniz said. I was very interested to know more about the history here.

After being satisfied with the vist to Efes, Deniz took me to Bul bul hill, which was 7km away from Efes.

Yep!

We visited the House of Virgin Mary.

This is where Our Lady died. A small stone house, far from luxurious royals, covered with olive trees, maple trees and other fruit trees to protect the Virgin Mary.

"Why was she in Turkey?" I asked, looking at Deniz with a confused look.

"Jesus told St. John, one of his disciples, to protect his mother, Meryem Anna, before he was crucified. St. John thought that it was not safe to live in Jerusalem. St. John then took Meryem Anna to Efes to a small, shady house on this hill." Deniz said pointing to the small house on the hill. I looked at the small house that was lush and full of trees. It looked very old and simple.

We stepped up to the House of Virgin Marry, this small house has space for mass to the left of the house, according to Deniz's statement.

The House of Marry and the land around it have been sold by the Turkish government to the Vatican. That's why I saw many Vatican guards complete with uniforms around this place.

The atmosphere in the house is more like a Catholic church, when walking downstairs. There is a spring that is considered holy, for the many pilgrims from all over the world to come and wash their face, also to take some of the water back with them.

My eyes caught the prayer message board, which was tucked along the wall on the outside. There were thousands of messages with various kinds of writing and languages ​​from various countries. These are the requests slipped by the visitors who had come here.

Not forgetting, I also added one of my own prayer requests that I stuck to the wall.

Do you want to know what my prayer was?

Hhhh... Stalker.

I sighed in satisfaction. I'm so happy to be able to visit this place, which maybe I would of never knew or heared about, if not invited by Deniz.

As I cheerfully walked down the path to the parking lot, there was something that aroused me more than my curiosity about world history.

My spirit has returned.

I glanced at Deniz who was busy driving next to me...

Deniz who was responsive, took my left hand and asked if I was okay. I just nodded my head weakly. A little tired after exploring all day.

The idea occurred to me to ask more about our relationship which still had left a mystery in my heart.

"May I ask you something ?"

"You can ask anything," said Deniz, rubbing my back. He looked so romantic lately.

I glanced at him once more, making sure his emotions were in a stable state.

"Do you really love me?" I innocently asked without preface to refine the topic of conversation.

---- silence ---

"What should I do to convince you?" He said, looking at me, as the car's speed slowed down, Deniz seemed to be looking for a place to stop.

--- silence again ---

Deniz parked his car, at a nearby place. It seemed like he had a feeling this conversation would be tough.

"What's your plan?" I asked, observing Deniz.

"Marry you, and live together with you." Replied Deniz as he looked at me. His forehead frowned, maybe a little wondering why I asked this detail.

"With a woman you've only known for seventeen days?" There was a tinge of emotion and pressure rising from my voice.

"Baby, I don't need to wait if I'm sure." Deniz stared at me closely as he grabbed my hands, Deniz kissed my hands, his head looked down parallel to mine. I was touched to see it.

"What if later I will only disappoint you?" I began to get carried away with emotion.

"I'm ready for that risk." A firm, deep yet gentle voice filled my ears.

Deniz's answer choked me up, and I could hardly say another word. I can only bow in silence, wondering what steps I can take next.

Deniz raised my bowed face with his hands, brought his face close to mine, looked into my eyes, and said he would never disappoint me.

My face heated up when Deniz's face got closer to mine. I closed my eyes, my body stiffened, it seemed I could already guess what was going to happen next.

Yes!

Deniz kissed me on my lips....

Whoaaaa...

Our first kiss.... It lasted for about two seconds, which was greeted stiffly by his co-star.

Maybe Deniz was just thinking about kissing an icecream cone, stiff, cold, emotionless. I didn't react to Deniz's kiss, although I slightly opened my lips to allow him to kiss tenderly.

I'm expressionless.

I chuckled to myself.

The thundering drum in my heart was like a crowd of people demonstrating. noisily.

Well that's because this drama is still continuing...

The dinner this time went smoothly, there was no tension like before. They talked about the wedding which will be held in the middle of the year. I let Deniz arrange it all for me provided I could return to Indonesia to arrange the required documents before the wedding was held.

Emotionally I can calm down a little and tried to enjoy the atmosphere while in Izmir. Deniz's cute father is able to make us laugh loudly at the dinner table.

Deniz and I agreed to continue our journey to Pamukalle and Cappadocia before heading back to Istanbul.

It feels like Deniz wants to spoil me more than before. He doesn't even want to sit far away from my chair, all his attention is for me, he also makes sure I am really sleepy before I go up to the room.

He seems worried that I will change my decision on the wedding. Deniz brought me a blanket, change of pajamas, warm water, and made sure I would sleep comfortably.

He looks like a slave to love, in my opinion. Why is this so difficult?

👫👫👫