Page 20 of The Book of Heartbreak

‘This Grey,’ I fumble, ‘is he an angel?’

Leon nods, as if this revelation is nothing. ‘Yes. And he’s informed me that there’s some sort of discrepancy going on with records – your flamboyant friend may be a victim of trafficking.’

‘Trafficking?’ I roll my eyes. ‘Why would angels traffic dead people?’

He leans closer. Again, too close.

‘The ways of the Hidden may seem complex from afar,’ he whispers.

‘But they are surprisingly mundane. They’re like a big corporation, overseeing our world.

They may be holding your friend captive, without granting her admission into the Heavens or Hell, and utilising her for the dirty work they’re unwilling to perform themselves.

Running errands. Rectifying errors. Handling perilous and labour-intensive endeavours. Stuff like that.’

Silently, I tally all the times Munu has grumbled about being forced into unwanted duties. I recall her anxiety about her boss and the potential and very dire consequences should she ever attempt defiance. And the pervasive secrecy of it all. Could Leon be telling the truth?

After all, he’s divulged secrets Munu kept from me. Munu, who always accuses Leon of lying.

‘Even if any of this is true,’ I say eventually, remembering the real reason that I came to the island this morning – no matter what Munu’s kept from me, she’s mine and I need to protect her. ‘Why does it matter to you? Leave Munu alone, okay? She’s got nothing to do with your book.’

‘I mean no harm to her,’ Leon reassures me. The honey-coloured streaks in his dark brown eyes flash like distant nebulae. ‘As long as I get to keep the book, I’m good.’

‘Fine,’ I mutter through clenched teeth.

‘But if she’s a victim,’ Leon insists, ‘she needs to be rescued. And—’ He stalls as he looks at me, reading the disbelief on my face, but then rallies. ‘The book chose you for a reason, Silverbirch. Do not ignore it. Do not be afraid to face who you really are.’

‘I have to go.’ I rise from the bench, cradling my bag to my chest, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and determined to catch the next boat before it leaves for the mainland.

Angels. Curses. It’s hard to wrap my head around it – how Munu could be tied to something so far beyond my wildest guess.

I won’t know for sure until I speak to her.

‘I know you’re withholding something.’ Leon’s words are edged with a raw intensity that sounds quite unlike him. ‘There’s something going on with you. Normal people’s faces don’t grace artifacts like The Book of Heartbreak .’

‘It’s a coincidence.’ I shake my head, thinking of his far-fetched theory about the maiden and me. It’s too much; it’s all too much. ‘It’s not even a photograph, just some stupid doodle.’

‘Stop being so stubborn and admit that I can help.’

I back away. ‘I don’t need help.’ I never needed it. Never expected it.

He can’t help me, I tell myself as I trace my steps back to the dock. No one can.

The sun lies low on the horizon when I finally reach home. The memories of Sufi Chelebi’s journal and The Book of Heartbreak are distant and dreamlike as I kick off my shoes inside the cool house.

Just because some old Ottoman – one who ended up in the jaws of madness – sketched a girl who likely resembles countless other girls, including myself, doesn’t mean I’m her reincarnation.

Surely I’d remember being born in another life?

I comfort myself with these thoughts as I climb the stairs, but as I push open my bedroom door, Bocek streaks past me like a dart, startling me into a jump.

The little intruder stares back with unblinking eyes before vanishing into the shadows of the hallway.

I swear this cat hates me. Heart racing, I shut the door behind me, dismissing Leon’s theory with it.

But what remains, like the sting of a wasp on my skin, is the identity of Munu’s boss, and all the information she withheld from me.

Why didn’t she tell me? Did she think I’d hire a billboard and tell the world that angels are real if she shared her secret with me?

Why didn’t she trust me? Who would I even spill my guts to about my spirit guide working for angels?

Munu must have an explanation, I repeat to myself.

I need to give her a chance to explain. With a pang of nervousness, I grip my necklace and summon her.

I don’t have much hope considering how busy she’s been the last week but, surprisingly, only minutes later, I hear the crack and pop of her arrival.

‘Canim,’ she says, chest heaving. ‘Is everything okay? Did that devil harm you?’

I gaze at her, relieved but wondering. Does she know I was with Leon?

I try to maintain my composure. ‘Why wouldn’t I be okay?’

Munu simply shrugs, drifting around me, as if she’s examining I’m all in one piece. Silence is never a good sign with her.

‘Are things okay at your end?’ I ask, Leon’s words still ringing in my ears. ‘With your boss ?’

‘Barely.’ Munu fidgets as she settles upon the chaise longue.

‘Have you heard of someone called Sufi Chelebi?’ I sink onto the bed opposite her. ‘I searched online, but couldn’t find anything about him.’

‘Where did you hear that name?’ Munu straightens, her expression wary.

‘I was with Leon today.’ I decide to be honest. I need to set an example, if I’m expecting the same from her. ‘I went to the tower and—’

‘Sare Sila Silverbirch!’ Munu flits up from her seat, closing the distance between us in a flash. ‘You met with that devil on that forsaken island? How did he manage to lure you there? I told you to stay away from him!’

‘It was my decision to go,’ I emphasise each word. ‘I wanted to warn him not to meddle with us.’

‘You shouldn’t be risking yourself with his company, when you’re on the verge of finally being free of the curse. You’re so close to freedom, Sare. Don’t blow it now.’

Freedom. I wish I could share Munu’s enthusiasm for losing the ability to love.

Despite the allure of a life without heartbreaks, the knowledge that I’ll soon be heartless fills me with sorrow.

Would I even be the same person? Perhaps I’ll become a cruel, cold version of myself, like Muzaffer, who seems to have forbidden smiling and compassion in his life.

‘Why exactly am I cursed?’ I enquire, hiding my face behind the canopy.

I feel foolish for not questioning the origin of the curse properly before.

I was too young when I exhausted all my curiosity with Munu, and while her answers were never satisfying, they became the foundation of our bond – a shield to protect me from the worst. ‘The less you know, the safer you are,’ she would say, and I believed her.

At least until I read the words: A Guide to Breaking the Most Enigmatic Curses .

How can I remain in the dark when there’s even the tiniest speck of hope of breaking this curse?

‘Where’s all this coming from?’ Munu snaps. ‘Why are you suddenly bombarding me with questions?’

‘What’s wrong with wanting to know?’ I challenge her. ‘It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone. I don’t even have a friend to talk to.’

‘Something’s happened.’ Munu’s voice trembles as she lands on a book stack on the bedside table. ‘It bothers you. Tell me, what misfortune has befallen us this time? What ill wishes has that devil whispered to you?’

‘I—’ I hesitate. ‘I happened to find the journals of a seer called Sufi Chelebi. It’s an ancient, magical book, and looks like Leon was after it.

But what’s more important is that I— There was a girl on one page .

. .’ My voice wavers, disbelief threading through my words.

‘It had this whole section about the Maiden’s Tower – The Book of Heartbreak .

Heartbreak, of all names! And the maiden, Theodora, she looked like me.

She even wore the same pendant—’ I grasp at the evil eye that sits on my chest.

‘Theodora?’ Munu stops me abruptly.

‘Do you know her?’ My question comes out like a plea.

Munu shakes her head as she begins to shrink.

In the dimly lit bedroom, the fading light of the sunset casts long shadows across the pink canopy. I would be a fool to believe Munu any more.

‘Theodora of House Doukas.’ I repeat the maiden’s name. ‘Sufi Chelebi fell in love with her . . . spirit.’

‘Nonsense!’ Munu shrieks as she keeps getting smaller.

‘It’s a ploy to mess with you, and you walked straight into the seer’s trap.

I told you: you shouldn’t have gone to that wicked tower.

You shouldn’t have come to Istanbul. This place is teeming with his kind and their malevolent devices.

Rats running rampage. Seeding ideas into your head.

Where is this treacherous book? Give it to me! ’

‘I left it in the tower,’ I say defiantly. ‘With Leon.’

‘You’re friends with him now?’ Munu pouts. ‘Let me remind you once again: seers cannot be trusted. Love moves in silence, canim. A boy like him can slip into your heart as fast as a dagger. It won’t bleed at first. Not until he pulls it away—’

‘I told you, he won’t break my heart,’ I snap. ‘Besides, what do you know about love?’

‘I know enough,’ Munu whispers. ‘Love makes you rot. Breaks you into a million pieces. You can assemble yourself again, but you’ll never be the same.’

The urge to know more about Munu’s mortal life rages on, making me forget my own troubles. ‘So you fell in love, then?’

‘Once,’ she whispers. ‘And it brought me nothing but sorrow.’

‘ You loved someone?’ I’m taken aback by Munu’s confession. ‘Who?’

‘It’s been so long.’ Munu smiles. ‘His name needs to remain forgotten. But the heartbreak is here with me. Anyway –’ she shakes her head – ‘I’m not here to tell my life story. It’s you we should be talking about. You’re the one who matters. Not me.’

‘But—’