Sometimes, Being Alone Is the Greatest Form of Healing

Hayat : A Life Where Even Loneliness Feels Peaceful

There was a place where only one girl lived. There was no one else there, yet there was immense peace. Her parents had taken her there. That place was an island in the middle of the sea. She lived there alone—no people, no noise, no need for showing off, no spectacle—just peace and calm. She was so tired of the world and people that she was only searching for that kind of life. She did not want anyone to be around her.

Every morning she would wake up and spend her day in her small but peaceful home. Her house had three rooms—one where she slept, one for books and study, and the kitchen was also very beautiful. In the hall, she would lie on the sofa and keep writing or reading something till late at night, and she would increase her knowledge.

After waking up in the morning, she would first get ready, then go to her courtyard, where she had planted fifteen types of fruit trees. She would pluck some fruits from them, put them in her bag, and sit in her big four-wheel vehicle and leave towards the mountains. There were her fields, where some people were already present. All of them were very simple and lively in nature. As soon as they saw her, they would call out—“Hayat!” (a Turkish word, which means ‘life’). Hayat would smile, talk to them, and everyone would start working together with effort.

That vast fruit garden belonged to Hayat, and those people worked there. Hayat had built another house in her field, where those people lived. As soon as she reached, everyone set up a dining table outside and made her sit. Everyone had breakfast together. The fruits that Hayat brought from her home, she distributed among everyone, especially to the children, who liked them very much.

Slowly the day would pass and evening would come. All the fruits would be packed in boxes and sent to be sold, and Hayat would return to her home. She lived alone, but she was not sad. After reaching home, she would rest a little, then after bathing she would go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. She would be hungry, so she would cut vegetables and make salad and some nutritious dish and eat.

After the meal, she would go and sit in her balcony. Just as no one lived with her, in the same way there was no one around her either. All that land belonged to Hayat—peaceful, vast, and full of calm. From outside her house, both mountains and the sea could be seen. It felt as if she was growing in the lap of nature, and nature itself was her friend, companion, and parents.

There was no boy in Hayat’s life, and her parents also did not live with her because of work. She was alone, but not sad. Whatever she did, she did with her whole heart.

One day she saw that a person came by boat through the sea and fell unconscious, as if he had been lost in the sea. Hayat immediately ran down from the balcony and saved him. Looking at his condition, it seemed that he had been wandering in the sea without eating or drinking for one or two days and was struggling for life.

Hayat wanted to take him to her house, but she could not lift him. Then she brought a blanket, clothes, and some food items from the house. She poured water on him to bring him to consciousness, covered him with a blanket, and gave him food. He was so hungry that even after eating all the food, his hunger was not completely satisfied.

Hayat decided to help him and said, “My house is right here, you come with me. You can eat food there and also take rest.” That young man was half-conscious, but he agreed to her words and went with her to the house.

After reaching home, Hayat said, “First you take a bath with warm water and change your clothes. I have some clothes, they might fit you. Till then I will prepare more food for you.” She gave him clothes and showing the third room said, “This room is empty, you stay here tonight.”

After this, she started making special noodles with interest, because she liked both making and eating them. Taking care of health, she did not make them daily, but sometimes she would. When that young man came after bathing, by then the noodles were ready. Hayat gave him food and kept watching him eat with affection.

Then both sat in the balcony and Hayat asked, “How did you get stuck in the sea? What had happened?”

He said, “I was on a big ship and was going somewhere for work. Suddenly I came to know that someone was following me and my life was in danger. So I made a plan with my companions that I would go to the next island. But that island turned out to be someone’s private property. I had to reach ‘Hayata’, but I got lost and came here. By the way, which island is this?”

Hayat smiled and said, “This is ‘Hayata’ itself.”

He got a little shocked and started thinking how he came here without permission. He tried to call his manager and started looking for his identity card. Then Hayat calmed him and said, “You don’t worry. I know the owner of this island. You are safe here. If your life is in danger, then you can stay here as long as you want.”

He said, “I need some time to think. I will tell by morning. Right now I am very tired, can I go to the room and rest?”

Hayat said, “Yes, of course. Good night.” Both said good night to each other and went to their respective rooms.

When Hayat woke up in the morning, he was still sleeping due to tiredness. Hayat had not even asked his name, yet she let him stay in her house. She started thinking whether he was a wrong person, but seeing him he seemed good, so she let him stay. Not finding it right to wake him up, she made breakfast for him and went to her work.

When she came back, she saw that he had eaten the food and was sleeping again. He had also made food for Hayat and kept it. Hayat had come late, so due to weakness and tiredness he again slept on the sofa. Hayat ate the food made by him—it was simple, but tasty. She covered him with a blanket and went to her room.

The same routine continued the next day as well. Both were living together without knowing each other’s names—neither friends nor strangers. Their relationship had no name.

One morning, when Hayat woke up late, she saw that he was not on the sofa. She thought that maybe he had left, but when she went outside, she saw that he was cleaning. Hayat said, “You have just recovered, don’t do all this, I will do it. But first tell me your name.”

He smiled and said, “My name is Atlas.”

Hayat asked, “What does this name mean?”

He said, “My father likes the Atlantic Ocean very much, based on that this name was kept. And your name?”

Hayat smiled and said, “I am Hayat.”

Atlas said, “So are you the owner of this island?”

Hayat answered, “No, the owner of this island is my father. He is not here right now, so for the last five years I have been handling everything.”

Atlas said, “How I know you, you are asking… I have never seen you, but I have heard your name a lot. Since you have handled this place, you have done very good work. That is why I wanted to come here—to meet you. Actually, I want to give you a proposal. Would you like to work with my company? I really like your way of working.”

Hayat said in a calm voice, “I am very happy here. I don’t want to go anywhere. Thank you for your proposal.”

Atlas smiled and said, “If you had said this earlier, I would have considered it your ego. But now I can understand why you want to live here. Still, if in the future you ever want to go somewhere, then come to me first. Maybe that place will not be the best, but for you a second best place will definitely be ready—which you will come and make number one.”

Hayat smiled and said, “Alright.”

Both clean together, then sit on the seashore and talk. Atlas tells that there is a lot of disturbance going on in his company. He wanted to reach those people by disguising himself as a normal employee, who had committed fraud in the company. But somehow they came to know and they planned to kill him, because he had come to know their names.

Hayat said, “I am going to take a two-month break now. I do not want to join your company, but I will definitely help you. If you fix everything in two months, then I will not stay there longer than that. But I will have one condition.”

Atlas said, “If you help me, then I can fix everything in two months. What is your condition?”

Hayat said, “I want that ‘second best’ place, which I can make number one in my own way.”

Atlas smiled and said, “This is a little difficult… but I am Atlas, nothing is impossible for me.”

Both laugh and shake hands. Hayat says that she needs two weeks to manage the work here. Atlas also needed time to fulfill her condition. Both make a plan.

After some time, Atlas’s private boat comes there and takes him away. Both separate from each other—but an unspoken relationship remains between them.

“Sometimes, Being Alone Is the Greatest Form of Healing”