Leila could not pull herself together. Her big brown eyes were fixed on the only dark object in her bright and floral room. The black balaclava in her line of sight began to transform into a snake. It kept hissing the word 'bad' over and over. As it kept coiling around her body, it grew bigger and bigger until it became so enormous that it swallowed Leila whole. She shook her head and the vicious hissing vanished.

'I'm just screwing with myself. It's not a big deal.'

The sounds of a Turkish soap opera were emanating from the kitchen. Leila could see through the wall her biggest fear and love, sitting in front of the TV. That woman's black hair was cut short a few months ago, making her look even more austere with her unwavering facial expression, which conveyed that she would not tolerate disobedience. Her mother would be furious if she found out that Leila's plan for the night was not to pray and sleep. Her mother was not aware of a great deal of things her daughter did, such as looking for places to hide her seven diaries the moment they moved into their new home two days ago, or when Leila said she was hanging out with girls, there were boys present as well. You see, Leila was not a "bad girl" like some girls with strict mothers; in fact, she was the perfect daughter, the most ideal one you would have ever seen.

Growing up, she was always under the guidance of her mother, who she saw as a reliable source of wisdom and information. They lived in a small mountain village, so she was not very social or outgoing. However, when she turned fifteen, she stumbled upon the internet and began questioning her mother's teachings. She realized that the rest of the world had a completely different way of life, and she became curious. She wanted to experience it for herself.

Laughs from the open window reminded Leila of her intentions. Her brows furrowed. She realized that the teens were free to have fun, as they should be. Meanwhile, she was locked in a cage of innocence and sanctity that her mom built to ruin her life or keep her from all the world's evil. Feeling resentful, she gained the confidence to put on a balaclava. After checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, she opened the window, allowing the ghostly October night air to enter the otherwise angelic room. She wondered if her mother could smell it. Leila tied the rope to a radiator and turned off the light.

'Make no mistake, Leila,' she pleaded herself.

She looked down to ensure that it was safe to descend. Holding the rope tightly, she carefully moved her feet, praying no one would notice her. She had just a few more steps when she suddenly felt the rope weaken. Quickly, she placed her feet on the thick upper part of the ground floor window and shifted her arms from the rope to the outside window sill of her room. She stretched out, hanging in the air like a cat caught in a mosquito net between the two windows.

Aurelian emerged from the basement and stood by the door, admiring his red and black biker attire and holding the black helmet in his left hand. Through the holes of his black balaclava, his green indifferently gazed at the Halloween-themed house on the other side of the street. He wondered about the new tenants on the first floor. There was the short woman with an unapproachable face and the quiet girl who had gone upstairs earlier. "Mysterious," he thought to himself.

'Our new neighbors, I guess,' Aurelian said out loud.

'Oh, hi!' Leila said to the stranger, extremely embarrassed. She realized she had to make him aware of her presence somehow because it would become more awkward with every second. But her fear of him faded as soon as she heard his young, gentle voice.

'Whoa!' the boy shouted and stepped back as he saw a person dressed in a white nightgown with a black balaclava clinging to the wall like Spider-Man to his right.

'Sorry I frightened you. I'm stuck here. Could you help me please?' she was ashamed of how she took him by surprise.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a girl's voice.

"I thought you were a robber," he said with a laugh as he approached. "Here, hold this rope."

He pulled the rope down, and it fell to the ground.

'See,' she said. 'Please hurry, my hands are slipping off.'

'Do you want to go down or up?' he asked.

'Down'

'Okay.. hold on a sec'.

Aurelian quickly ran to the garage and came back with a ladder.

It was positioned against the wall, with Aurelian holding the ladder as Leila descended with her eyes closed as if trying to avoid embarrassment. The image of the tough-looking biker standing there made her feel agitated. She knew she had to face him and explain the situation.

'Oh no, my boots! I forgot them!' she said and stayed on the ladder.

'Do you want to go back?'

'I can't; if I go to the hall, my mom will see me,' she explained. This was her first escape, and she failed it. She scolded herself for not securing the rope and forgetting to wear her boots. She was disappointed in herself and thought of herself as a loser. She sat on the ladder.

'Probably, some explanation is needed. I'm not allowed to celebrate Halloween, and I wanted to see how they do it here. My mom calls it Satan's holiday.'

'A pious Christian, huh?'

‘No, we’re Muslims. So, my mom is very strict,’ she went on. ‘I’m prudent (you’d be too with such a mother), though I wasn’t prudent enough tonight. By the way, if she saw us right now, she’d kick me out on the streets, calling me a-- never mind, and you would have problems as well. Especially since you're a biker,’ returned she glancing at him.

'But do you know, why I'm here? Cause I want to know what you all do. You don't live in seclusion like I do, you're free to explore the world. Not only am I not allowed to do what all teens are doing, but I have no answers to my questions. Do you think I'd be here, sneaking out of my room in the middle of the night in a strange town, had I been satisfied with the answers Mom gives me? Whenever I talk about boy-girl relationships, or these holidays, or my body and feelings, or anything from the Internet she doesn't like, Mom shifts her eyebrows to the bridge of her nose, bulge her eyes, and look through me like an X-ray. What am I supposed to do but learn everything from books and use deception? So I sink lower and lower in my delusion and meanness.'

She unexpectedly confessed her inferiority and inadequacy. It was a cry of the soul, but she was too desperate to hold it. He couldn't see her face anyway.

'And what questions do you have?' asked he.

She looked up at him, but the balaclava was hiding his face.

'What do you usually do on Halloween night? What's it like riding a motorcycle? How much fun are parties?' started she.

For a couple of seconds his hazel eyes just stared at her out of the balaclava, as if thinking, and then he said-

'I was just gonna go for a ride, but if you want, we can go to the party. You better judge for yourself.'

'But I'm in a nightgown, and there's nothing on my feet but tights.'

'Don't mind the clothes, people today dress like that on purpose, and the shoes... I'll get you some shoes,' he said and went inside.

'What's your name?' Leila asked him when he came back with a pair of black boots.

'Auri,' he replied. 'And you?'

'Leila.'

'These are my sister's, must be your size.'

She tried on the boots.

'They fit. But did you ask her permission?'

'She's not home, but she wouldn't mind. Don't worry about that. Ready to go?'

'I'm counting on you to get me back safely before dawn,' Leila warned him.

She noticed the smile under his balaclava.

'I bet you'll come back much sooner,' muttered Auri on his way to the garage, putting on his black helmet.

He wheeled out a heavy black and red motorcycle and gave Leila a helmet.

She tried to put it on, but it got stuck and did not go further, no matter how hard she tried. She has never put this thing on before.

Auri laughed and helped her.

'Haven't you ridden a motorcycle before?' he asked. 'Chin up.'

'Not that I've seen them much'

His eyes widened for a moment, and he fastened the strap under her chin.

Leila climbed on the bike, lifting her vintage nightgown.

'You should hug me. Otherwise, you fall. Don't worry, Mom's not here," he said, reading her mind. Leila wrapped her arms around him, and suddenly, the bike started moving. She held onto him tightly out of surprise. The motorcycle sped down the smooth road, and the lights passed in a blur. Leila felt like the main character in a movie. Warm light shone from the windows of the large houses on both sides of the street, and orange pumpkins seemed to stare at her menacingly.

They turned left at the exit of the town and disappeared into the night. He picked up speed, and the motorcycle roared. Leila trusted Auri, even though she knew nothing about him except his name. There was a certain confidence and calm about him. She felt safe, as if he were her brother.

The cold wind surrounded the speeding motorcycle, causing Leila's adrenaline to pump. She felt slightly scared as the motorcycle was unstable, with only two wheels. But despite her fear, she was enjoying the incredible feeling of freedom she had never experienced before. Was this what other teens felt all the time? She wondered why her mom forbade her from even thinking about it. What was wrong with hugging a boy? These questions swirled around in her head, but she decided not to let it spoil her mood and to give herself to this new sensation. She trusted the driver and relaxed, even though she knew nothing about Auri except his name. There was a certain confidence and calm about him. She felt safe, as if he were her brother.

Soon, they pulled up to a large house with loud music blaring. A group of guys at the entrance looked at them interestingly. Leila got off the bike and took the helmet off. Her legs were vibrating as if she was still on the bike.

'Wow,' she said.

He grinned.

'How would you rate your first experience with a motorcycle from one to five?'

'Five!'

'I was expecting a ten at least,' Auri replied, a little disappointed.

'I'm sorry,' she said with a smile, glad he had lightened the mood with his joke. 'Maybe it'd be a hundred if I had a jacket and gloves like you.'

'Well, sorry, but I'm not the one who stepped out in a nightie in October,' he responded.

'Shouldn't you have given me your jacket, "gentleman"?'

'You could have asked for it, "lady".'

'Lady doesn't ask for it,' she replied. 'So, the party's here, huh? Are we going inside?'

'Not me.'

'Why?' she stared at him in shock.

'You think I'm the badass biker,' he said, laughing. 'I don't like these stupid parties. I'd rather ride or read something.'

She hadn't expected this turn, but she couldn't pass up the chance to experience a real party.

'Oh, please, just one party! I can't go in there alone!'

Her brown eyes looked pleadingly at his green ones through the holes in her balaclava.

Auri looked seriously at the bunch of guys at the entrance and sighed.

'I'm only going so you'll calm down with your questions.'

She jumped excitedly, then froze and frowned.

'Wait, you read? What do you read?'

'Jane Austen,' he replied with smiling eyes and winked, but it turned out not to be as cool as he planned.

‘IT WAS THE WORST WINK I’VE EVER SEEN!’ she burst out laughing.

‘Stop it!’ he whispered, glancing at the boys.

She attempted to mimic his dazzling wink, convulsed with laughter. He playfully nudged her shoulder. She responded with a forceful shove, causing him to tumble off his motorcycle. She rushed to his aid, but they both ended up on the ground with the bike.

'Sorry!'

She chuckled, not knowing what his reaction would be. Then she shut up, because Auri was silent. When he turned to her, she was surprised to see tears in his eyes. He was shaking with laughter.

'Are you okay?'

He nodded, still shaking.

'Breathe!'

She thought he did not have enough air, so she took the balaclava off his head.

He had light, curly hair and a charming face. He was laughing uncontrollably, and she joined in.

He removed her balaclava as well.

'You're quite a Jasmine,' he remarked.

'Is that Prince Charming talking to me?'

Despite seeing each other's faces, nothing changed between them. They put their balaclavas back on, as if nothing has happened, and headed towards the house.

They walked precisely to the table with drinks. There were bottles of beer, crisps, and candies. She walked beside Auri, fearfully dodging the uncontrollable impulses of the teenagers and looking around in surprise and curiosity. At last they reached the drinks table. Three seventh graders with full face makeup were slyly looking at Auri and giggling. Auri did not dignify them with a glance, but turned back to the epicenter of the party.

Beats of music were tearing up the luxurious two-story house from the inside out. Drunken boys roared and rumbled in one corner, girls screamed and argued in the other, and half-naked teenagers huddled or danced in the heat and sweat in the center. Occasionally, drunken eyes would glance mockingly at Leila, and she would squeeze her head into her shoulders and look back at Auri, while he would sizzle the curious ones with his indifferent eyes.

'It's fun, isn't it? Go dance while I talk to the groupies and get drunk,' he said.

'This is not how a party's supposed to be! Where are the Halloween costumes and the decorations and the mystery? And this music is terrible!' cried Leila.

'I don't know, I've never seen it. In the movies?'

'Let's get out of here,' Leila nodded disappointedly.

Auri chuckled and moved toward the exit through the smelly crowd with Leila.

'You're disappointed. Well, the truth is bitter, but necessary. Otherwise, you'd be living under the illusion that parties are cool.'

'It's not what I expected, but I'm still glad I found out what it's like.'

They walked to the motorcycle.

'Wanna go for a ride?' Auri offered.

'But it's cold.'

Auri looked around and stopped his gaze at the tree by the yellow windows of the house. Suddenly he rushed over there and came back with someone's black jacket.

She was about to get indignant, but he beat her to it.

'It's my classmate's, I'll give it back. Put on your helmet and let's go.'

She obeyed. They jumped on the bike and rode off into the night, cutting through the October air under the lonely lights of the highway. The motorcycle flew for kilometers under them, and they seemed to float in the air. Leila enjoyed the moment, and there were no thoughts of the party, the house, or her mother in her mind.

Auri was not used to riding with a passenger behind him, it made it hard for him to speed up. But he was very happy about this unexpected acquaintance. He was not much of a talker, but he hoped that in the future he would talk to Leila and they would get to know each other better. He would tell her about his literary, cinematographic and musical preferences, teach her how to ride a motorcycle and show her the town...

Leila started feeling drowsy during the ride, so Auri decided to go home. Upon arriving at their destination, Auri placed a ladder against Leila's window. She then proceeded to take off the boots and jacket.

He took them and instructed her to climb the ladder. She ascended the ladder and entered an empty, chilly room. He followed her.

'Cozy in here. Good night, Leila, ' he whispered, taking off his balaclava.

'Good night, Auri, ' she replied, doing the same. 'Don't greet me when you see me. The Mom will kill us both. But we'll see each other someday.'

'Some night, more likely,' he corrected her. 'Close the window.'

After he went down, she closed the window and hid her balaclava under the pillow. Leila then fell onto her bed and covered herself with a blanket, feeling happy but still wanting to sleep. She hoped she would remember to hide the balaclava in another place tomorrow.

'Mom, you could've just told me that parties are no fun,' she said, barely opening her mouth.

And Leila fell asleep.