Narrated by Edizcan GÖNÜL

              March 1, 2005

      It was an ordinary day in Dokuzdeğirmen village,                   Cumayeri district, Düzce. Mehmet Demir, who earned his living through farming and livestock, was busy with gardening tasks again. He lived in a two-story house along with his wife Hatice and their 5-year-old daughter 

Meryem. At that time, Hatice was pregnant 

with their second child, and the time

 for delivery was approaching.

Around noon, while Mehmet was working in the garden near their house, he was startled by a scream coming from inside the house.

- "Mehmet! Hurry!"

It was his wife’s voice, and considering that the

delivery was close, it was clearly an

 emergency. Mehmet dropped

 everything and ran inside the house. 

He saw that his wife had started having labor pains. He quickly put Hatice and Meryem in the car, and before leaving the village, he dropped his daughter at his parents’ house, Hasan Demir and Emine Demir.

He drove quickly, trying to calm his wife while speeding on the road. They barely made it to the nearest hospital, where Hatice was immediately taken to the delivery room. 

In the rush, Mehmet wasn’t allowed into the delivery room, and the anxious waiting began. He paced back and forth in the hospital corridor, consumed with thoughts like "What if something happened to my child?" and "What if I was too late?"

After a while, the doctor came out of

the delivery room.

- "Congratulations, Mr. Mehmet, you have a son. You can see him after your wife leaves the delivery room."

- "Thank you so much, doctor! May God bless you a thousand times!"

Mehmet was overjoyed, feeling as if he could hardly contain his excitement. He already 

imagined what life would be like with

his son.

"I’ve got a strong son! He’ll help me with the garden work, we’ll do everything together. Or no, I’ll give him everything I have to send him to school, he’s going to be successful!" Soon after, Hatice and their newborn son were moved to a room. Both Hatice and Mehmet 

were in tears of joy. Mehmet first kissed 

and hugged his wife, then took his son

 in his arms.

He was filled with indescribable happiness, smelling his son and gazing into his eyes, holding him gently and tenderly. After the news was spread, his parents, his daughter, and his brother Cengiz Demir, his wife Sena Demir, and their 3-month-old son Hasan Emre Demir arrived. After congratulations and much love, the topic of names came up.Mehmet took 

his son in his arms again, looked into his

eyes for a long time, and said,

- "Eren, Eren DEMİR. My son’s name will be Eren."

Summer Day, 2009:

- "Mehmet, this kid keeps driving me crazy with his toys! Go to the center and buy him something he likes."

- "Okay, woman, stop nagging me."Eren was 4 years

 old, very energetic and cheerful, but also a bit

 naughty. He was a master at driving his

mother crazy. Whether he was 

covered in mud while playing soccer 

or always making a mess while

eating, he had a knack for 

turning everything

into a game.

But the worst thing was his constant obsession with car noises. Whenever he played with his cars, he made the most ridiculous sounds. His father wasn’t too concerned, thinking it was just what boys do.

But Eren’s love for cars was a bit more intense

than usual. Mehmet, living in the village, 

had a 2000 model Renault, but this 

didn’t bother Eren at all.

Every time they went anywhere, he would watch his father’s movements intently. The day Mehmet let him hold the steering wheel and drive the car on the village road, it felt like the beginning of something big.

Mehmet decided to buy Eren a toy car and a 

red sword, along with a nice doll for his

daughter. they got home and had

dinner, Mehmet called the kids to

the living room. 

He showed them their gifts. Meryem hugged her father and gave him a big kiss. When it was Eren’s turn, Mehmet first gave him the sword, but Eren wasn’t very happy with it. It was clear that this wasn’t the gift he had been hoping for. As soon as Eren turned

 away, Mehmet called him back and

 showed him the car. Eren almost 

screamed with joy, running to his 

father and hugging him tightly.

Mehmet and Hatice exchanged smiles. Later, after the children went to bed, they talked quietly.

- "I hope this car obsession doesn’t get us into trouble."

- "What obsession, let the kid play, let him love it, what’s the harm?"

- "I don’t know Mehmet, it just feels like

 it’s too much."

- "Oh, just let it go, it’s not that big of

 a deal."

- "If you say so, then let it be."

Thursday, November 17, 2016

- "First of all, thank you for coming, Mr. Mehmet. I’ll get straight to the point. Eren is a good child, but he’s not paying enough attention to his lessons. He hardly listens to any lessons or takes notes. He’s either thinking about something else or 

scribbling cars in his notebook. 

Having a hobby is nice, but it seems 

to be interfering with his 

studies.

His exam scores are low for a middle school student. He passes, but only with 50-60 points. Other teachers have the same complaints. It would be best to talk to him in a way he understands."

- "I understand, thank you, teacher."

After the brief talk with the teacher,

 Mehmet left the school and drove 

home, already expecting to find

 Eren arguing with his mother 

again.

- "Eren, stop with those cars and help with something!"

- "What should I help with? Tell my sister."

- "Stop arguing with me, get moving!"

When Mehmet arrived home, he saw that his wife and son were in the middle of another argument. 

After the lecture from the teacher, 

he was about to lose his temper.

- "Didn’t I tell you to stop opposing 

your mother?"

Mehmet’s deep, firm voice echoed through the house. Eren froze, shocked by his father’s anger. Mehmet closed the door and walked into the room.

- "What happened, dear? Why are you so angry?"

- "What happened? We’re trying to make him 

study, to become someone, and he’s 

messing around at school!"

- "What is your father saying, Eren?"

All eyes were on Eren. He was so 

scared that he couldn’t even 

speak.

Seeing Eren’s silence, Mehmet stormed into his room. He found Eren’s notebook, full of drawings of cars, and came back out. Eren didn’t understand at first, but then...

-"Here’s your car!"

Mehmet tore the notebook in half and 

threw it on the floor. Before Eren could 

react, he kicked the torn notebook 

into the corner of the room.

 When Eren’s eyes filled with tears, Mehmet realized he had gone too far, but it was too late. Eren ran to his room crying. Hatice, disapproving, muttered,

-"Was it worth it to upset him like this?"

Mehmet felt a lump in his throat. He hated himself

 for treating his son this way. Hatice went 

to the kitchen, leaving him alone in the

room.

After a moment of hesitation, Mehmet stood up and went to Eren’s room. He picked up the torn pages of the notebook, curious about what Eren had written. Under a heading called “Village Road,” there was a 

drawing of a road with signs, numbers,

and notes. It was the entrance road to

the village.

Friday, June 21, 2019

When summer vacation started, Eren went to visit his cousin Hasan Emre in Istanbul for 3 weeks.

-"So, cousin, how did you like Istanbul?"

- "Well, I don’t know, it feels so big for now."

- "Don’t worry, we’ll explore more, cousin."

They laughed and continued talking.

 Both Emre and Eren were interested

 in cars, but Emre wasn’t as 

obsessed as Eren

Cengiz, their uncle, drove them to his house.

- "You guys go inside, I’ve got some errands in the market."

- "Okay, dad!"

- "Okay, uncle!"

When they arrived, Eren’s aunt Sena greeted

 them warmly.

-"Welcome, kids! Come on in."

They sat in the living room.

- "So, Eren, how was your trip?"

- "It was good, aunt, more fun 

with Emre."

Interrupting, Emre said,

-"Okay, mom, enough, we’ll talk later. Come on, cousin, let’s go to my room."

In the room, they started playing games on the computer. Emre couldn’t finish the race in 

DIRT Rally, so Eren asked for a turn. On 

his second try, Eren beat Emre’s time 

by 0.16.265 seconds.

Emre saw this as a challenge and planned for the next day: Go-Kart…

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Emre and Eren quickly got ready and convinced Cengiz to take them to the Go-Kart track. They put on their helmets and got into the karts, excited for the 

race. Cengiz watched them from the

sidelines. The lights went out, and 

the race began.