A light knock on the door heralded the return of Volkan’s secretary. He introduced Yasmin to Janie and had the woman show her around the offices while Volkan settled into work.

Yasmin was curious about Volkan’s place of work. It was a modern building with lots of glass and white painted walls, but it was surrounded by the dockyard, which was dirty and noisy. Yasmin asked if they could go out into the dockyard and Janie hesitated. “Maybe we should ask Mr. Kartel.”

A swirl of nerves at the thought of seeing Volkan again so soon after their intense encounter prompted Yasmin to say, “Never mind. I’ll get him to show me another day.”

Janie looked relieved and said, “Would you like me to show you to your office now?”

Surprised, Yasmin asked, “What office?”

Janie smiled and showed her to the room next door to Volkan’s office. She opened the door and ushered Yasmin inside. It was a lovely space with white walls and a glass-topped desk with rose-coloured columns underneath. On the wall, there was a picture of the Istanbul cityscape, throwing in a splash of colour in with all the white.

Yasmin ran her fingers over the desk, stopping to touch an item before picking it up. It was heavy and made of a hard rubber. Baffled, she looked at it closely before she recognized what it was. “A Mayan pitz ball.” She said the words out loud, though surprise tinged the tone. She looked at Janie. “These are quite rare. Where did you find one?”

The ball was used in a game the ancient Mayans used to play. The game was like the Mayan version of an organized sport, like volleyball.

Janie cleared her throat and nodded toward the wall where Volkan’s office was on the other side. “He found it and had it shipped to the offices, instructing me to leave it on your desk. I thought it was a strange gift but judging from your excitement I’d say he nailed it.”

“I’d say so,” Yasmin breathed, unable to believe she was actually holding such a treasure. Touching such a rare item felt both thrilling and forbidden. Where had it come from and why wasn’t it in a Mexican museum somewhere? She should tell Volkan to donate it, but she couldn’t bring herself to let go of such a precious gift.

Gently, she set it on the desk and turned to Janie. “What am I supposed to do here?” She waved a hand around the office. “I don’t have a job.”

Janie smiled indulgently. “You can do whatever you want with it. This space is yours. You can use it as a base for home renovations, or you can do your archaeology research here. Further education. Whatever you want it for. Consider it your private sanctuary.”

“Thanks,” Yasmin said faintly.