The Invisible Flatmate — Görünmez Ev Arkadaşı

When Can moved to Manchester to do a master's degree, he rented a room in a small flat near the university. The landlord told him that he would share the flat with a man called Tom. "He's quiet and very clean," the landlord said. "You'll hardly notice him." The landlord was right, but not in the way Can expected.

For the first week Can didn't see Tom at all. Tom's door was always closed, and his shoes were never in the hall. But every morning the kitchen was spotless, and there was a fresh note on the fridge. The first note said: "Welcome! The washing machine is broken if you press the red button. T." Can wrote an answer under it: "Thanks! I'm Can, from Turkey. Nice to meet you, sort of."

Soon the notes became a kind of conversation. Tom explained which bin was used for recycling and when the rubbish was collected. Can asked where he could buy good bread, and Tom drew him a little map. One evening Can made a big pot of lentil soup and left a bowl for Tom with a note: "Try this. My mum's recipe." The next morning the bowl had been washed, and the note said: "Best soup of my life. Can I have the recipe?" Can wrote the recipe in English, which took him almost an hour and two dictionaries.

Months passed, and Can still hadn't met Tom. His friends at the university didn't believe him. "Maybe he's a ghost," said Ana, a student from Portugal. "Or a secret agent," said Kenji, who watched too many films. Can laughed, but sometimes he wondered too. Who washed the dishes at four o'clock in the morning?

In February Can became ill. At first he thought it was just a cold, but one night he woke up with terrible pain in his stomach. He could hardly stand, so he called a taxi and went to the hospital. The waiting room was full, and he was frightened and alone. After two hours a nurse called his name. He was a tall man with red hair and very gentle hands. He looked at Can's form for a long time and then smiled. "Can from Turkey?" he asked. "Lentil soup Can?" Can stared at him. "Tom?"

So that was the secret. Tom was a night nurse who had been working in the emergency department for ten years. He slept during the day and came home just before sunrise, when Can was fast asleep. Tom stayed with him until the doctor came and told him it was nothing serious. "You need rest and simple food," the doctor said. "Don't worry," Tom said. "I know a very good recipe for lentil soup."

When Can got home the next afternoon, the whole flat smelled of cumin. On the cooker there was a pot of soup, and on the fridge there was a new note. "Your mum's recipe. I hope I didn't ruin it. Get well soon! T." The soup was a little too salty, but Can ate every drop of it. Since that night, the two flatmates have had a new rule. Every Sunday, when Tom isn't working, they have breakfast together, and nobody writes notes.