“Many Worlds,” by Ayşegül Savaş

Illustration by Kati Szilágyi Save this story Save this story Save this story Save this story Defne and Mete were at the Moda promenade when they saw their old friend. It was so strange to run into him there that they didn’t immediately recognize him. They were with other people, about to find a bar where they could watch the Euro Cup semifinal.

It was their first summer in Istanbul since they’d moved back the previous year. They’d gone to the waterfront in the late afternoon with Defne’s cousin Sinan, who had invited some of his friends, and the friends had brought along others. Soon, the group had taken up most of the grassy stretch behind the walkway, their beer cans, bags of chips, and pouches of tobacco scattered all around. A conservative-looking man had said something disparaging in their direction as he passed. “All right, uncle, you go on home now,” Sinan shouted at his back, much to Defne and Mete’s shock—both of them were still far too polite, as if they were visitors. But, instead of getting into a fight, the man simply continued walking. At one point, after the group had got flatbreads from a nearby bakery and more beer, someone suggested playing a game, and Mete downloaded Taboo on his phone; by the end of all the guessing, they had the feeling of having completely bonded, just as they used to at the parties of their youth.

Read an interview with the author for the story behind the story.