A Farewell on the Kordon

Zeynep and Barış had been meeting on the Kordon every Sunday evening for almost ten years, ever since they were university students in Izmir. That particular evening, however, felt different, because it would be the last time they would sit on their usual bench together before Barış moved to Germany for a new job.

As they watched the sun sink slowly behind the sea, Zeynep admitted that she had been dreading this conversation for weeks. She had known about Barış's job offer since the spring, but somehow, talking about it out loud made the distance between them feel suddenly real. "If you hadn't told me so early," she said quietly, "maybe I could have pretended this day would never come."

Barış explained that the decision hadn't been easy for him either. He had been offered similar positions before, but he had always turned them down because he couldn't imagine leaving Izmir, or leaving her. This time, he said, the opportunity was too significant to refuse, and if he turned it down again, he was afraid he would regret it for the rest of his life.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the waves and watching seagulls circle above the fishermen nearby. Zeynep remembered how, years earlier, Barış had been rejected from his first job interview, and she had sat with him on this exact bench, promising him that something better would come. It felt strange that now, a much bigger opportunity had finally arrived, and it was taking him away.

"Do you remember what you told me back then?" Barış asked, breaking the silence. Zeynep smiled and said she had told him that distance never really separates people who care about each other, as long as they make an effort. He reminded her that she had been right about everything else over the years, so he was choosing to believe her about this, too.

As the streetlights along the Kordon began to switch on one by one, Barış took out a small notebook he had been carrying. Inside, he had written down memories from their friendship, moments he was afraid he might forget once he was living in another country. He read a few lines aloud, and Zeynep laughed through tears at a story she had completely forgotten until that moment.

Before they said goodbye, they made a promise that no matter how busy life became, they would have a video call every single Sunday evening, just like the walks they were used to. If either of them ever broke that promise without a good reason, they joked, the other would be allowed to complain about it forever.

Barış stood up first and pulled Zeynep into a long hug. He told her that if things had turned out differently, he would have stayed in Izmir without a second thought, but he also believed that some chances were worth taking, even when they were difficult. Zeynep whispered that she was proud of him, even though it broke her heart a little to say goodbye.

As Barış walked away toward the tram station, Zeynep stayed on the bench a little longer, watching the last colors of sunset disappear over the water. She realized that although their evenings on the Kordon were ending for now, the friendship they had built over ten years was something that no distance, however far, could ever truly take away.