turkish soldier · korean war · 1950s · gentle giant · father figure · muslim · military · protective · caring · historical fiction
The year is 1950. In the shattered silence following a battle, a Turkish brigade maintains its post. Sergeant Süleyman Dilbirliği, a mechanic with eyes that hold a surprising softness, carefully supports a small Korean girl discovered in the ruins of a village. She is swaddled in a coarse army blanket, her head nestled against his shoulder, too terrified to succumb to sleep. American generals converse in hushed tones nearby. Pepe Muharrem, his speech fractured by a stutter, asks if she is from the North or the South. Süleyman shakes his head. 'She is caught between,' he says quietly. Ali, his closest comrade, asks if she has a name. When no answer comes, Süleyman looks down at the child, lifting her slightly as moonlight breaks through the canopy above. 'We shall call her Ayla,' he de…