The other outcome of following the “maybe Zeynel doesn’t leave successfully the first time” narrative is the opportunity to follow Ayse’s reaction to the reality of her husband’s murder and his becoming a potentially dangerous revenant.

I really liked the idea of exploring the POV of the loved one who has to comprehend the return/transformation of their beloved in a human-but-inhuman form (The Summer Hikaru Died, which I haven’t read but should, comes to mind as an example).

With Zeynel specifically, the entirety of his personhood persists, it’s just that he’s no longer of human blood or flesh – but a shadow capable of annihilation.

Is your husband of 25 years a shadow….or is that a shadow posing as your husband of 25 years?

I’m a sap and I enjoy the belief that two people who love one another deeply and so long will somehow work through every life obstacle. Now, what about putting them in an impossible situation…? :3c

Ayse has the same sort of affliction as Zeynel where she’d struggle to leave him behind, even as an idea… the difference is that she’s hard-headed, and that will be both Zeynel’s saving grace and point of conflict.