D is for Dead
Short Stories from Türkiye 🇹🇷 — Story #1
In the early 2000s, a happily married couple lived in a cozy apartment in Istanbul, Türkiye. The 27-year-old mother was an ambitious, hardworking woman working from home as a copywriter.
Her husband, a businessman, traveled the country for meetings every Friday and Saturday. He took care of their rent, food, and basic needs while his wife saved for herself and the kid for rainy days.
They had a 3-year-old son who was interested in drawing and coloring, filling their walls with his vibrant creations.
Their mornings were usually greeted by the friendly neighborhood doorman.
In Türkiye, doormen are not only securities of the building but also leave a fresh newspaper and a loaf of bread at people’s doorsteps every morning.
Preparing breakfast together and eating eggs and feta cheese with a loaf of bread was a daily ritual for this family.
They cherished it until one morning when something seemed off.
It was a Saturday morning when the husband was traveling for another business meeting. He left for the airport that Friday morning.
His wife was alone at home, probably focused on her work all day.
But the bread and newspaper were left untouched all Friday, hanging in a supermarket bag on the doorknob.
The doorman’s customary knocks went unanswered when he started to worry.
He tried again and again all Saturday and grew more anxious with each attempt.
When the knocks had no response, the doorman contacted the building owner for assistance.
The building owner had spare keys for each apartment.
“I hope she’s alright,” he uttered. They prayed together as they rushed to the woman’s apartment.
They grew worried as they heard the faint cry of the 2-year-old boy coming from inside the apartment.
Together with the doorman, they entered the apartment.
Their hearts were pounding as the faint cry of the 2-year-old boy got closer and closer with each step.
Frantically searching every room, what they saw in the home office left them speechless.
The young mother was lying lifeless, her head resting on her keyboard on the desk.
The screen was filled with repeated “d” characters. The beginning was interrupted by the letters “s,” “a,” and “e,” but “d” was the final stop.
It was as though the keyboard was spelling out a cryptic message, witnessing the wife’s sudden silence.
“dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd…”
The owner took the 2-year-old boy who was crying.
Next to him on the wall was an amateur drawing of a computer screen with the repeating letters “ddddddddddddddddd,” just as her laptop screen showed.
“D is for dead,” the doorman whispered in shock.
Her passing left a mark on the doorman and the owner of the building.
It was also a mystery that left everyone in disbelief. She was in her late 20s, after all.
The autopsy later revealed the cause of this sudden death. It was a fatal heart attack.
But what remained hidden from those who mourned her was the email she had seen right before her untimely death.
It was an email from a previous contractor, coldly refusing payment and any future recommendations.
She wrote a reply to stand up for herself and fight for her worth but clicking “send” was nerve-wracking.
She thought her career was completely over… She felt worthless and talentless. The imposter-syndrome kicked in, aching deep within her chest.
In the end, it was a heartbreak for the entire family.
The husband was left alone to not only care for their kid but also to bear the emotional burden of grief and pain alone.
Her story is a tragic reminder of the weight words can carry and the unforeseen toll they can have on people — even the youth, who are often perceived as healthier with a lower risk of heart attack.
The short stories in this series are a blend of possible truth and fiction, inspired by things I’ve heard from friends and family in Türkiye 🇹🇷. While the core narrative may have some real roots, the characters, locations, and all the details have been fictionalized due to the impossibility of fact-checking and asking for permission.
Please remember that the country, formerly known as Turkey, changed its official name to Türkiye in June 2022.
Thank you for reading this story. Stay tuned for the next short story in this series and be sure to subscribe to get notified!