Chapter 3 chapter 2
Alexis slept deeply that night.It was past one in the morning when she and Fotini went to bed.The long trip to Plaka, the afternoon spent in Spinalonga, the satisfying assortment of snacks and the michaeltasser all combined to give her a deep, dreamless slumber.
It was almost ten o'clock when the bright sunlight filtered through the gaps in the heavy burlap curtains and fell on Alexis' pillow.The sunlight woke her up, and she instinctively slid into the sheets, covering her face.In the past two weeks, she has slept in several strange rooms, and every time she wakes up, she always feels confused for a moment. After she adapts to the surrounding environment, she can bring herself back to the present moment.In the cheap bed and breakfasts she and Ed had stayed in, the mattresses were either dented in the middle or the metal springs poked through the covers.It's always easy when you get out of those beds in the morning.But this bed is completely different.In fact, the whole room is different too.Round tables with lace tablecloths, faded wooden stools, a set of framed watercolors on the wall, a handful of scented lavender hanging behind the door, pale blue walls that match the linen sheets: This room is more like home than home.
Alexis opened the curtains, and the dazzling sea and Spinalonga Island rushed in, steaming, and the island seemed far away, much farther than yesterday.
When she had set off from Hariya the day before, she had never expected to stop in Plaka.She thought about meeting briefly with the old lady her mother used to get along with when she was a child, and then returning to Ed after a short tour of the village.So she took nothing with her except a map and a camera - certainly not expecting to need a change of clothes and a toothbrush.Fotini, however, soon came to her rescue and lent her everything she needed—a Stefanos shirt for pajamas, worn but clean towels.In the morning, by her bedside, she found a floral top - not her style at all, but glad to have a change after the heat and dust of the previous day.She couldn't ignore this motherly kindness—even though the light red and light blue of the dress didn't match her khaki shorts, what did it matter?Splashing cold water over her face in the sink in the corner of the room, Alexis studied her tanned face in the mirror.She was very excited, like a child about to hear the most critical chapter of a novel.Today Fotini will be her Scheherazade.
The dry, ironed cotton clothes gave Alexis a sense of novelty, and she descended the dark stairs at the back to find herself in the restaurant kitchen, drawn in by the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee.Fotini sat at a huge knot-ridden table in the middle.Although the table was wiped clean, you could still see the traces of meat being minced and herbs crushed on it.It must have seen tension simmered and boiled thousands of times in the heat of the kitchen.Fotini stood up and greeted her.
"Kalimera, Alexis," she said gently.
She was wearing a blouse similar to the one she had lent to Alexis, but hers was dark red and matched her skirt.The skirt was ankle-length and flowed around her slender waist.There was nothing wrong with the beauty impression Alexis had made in the dimness last night.The statuesque figure and large eyes of the Cretan woman recall the Minoan frescoes in the palace of Knossos, lifelike portraits that have survived thousands of years but with a strange simplicity that makes them more modern.
"Did you sleep well?" Fotini asked.
Alexis yawned subduedly, nodded, and smiled at Fotini, who was busy arranging the coffee pot, several mugs, saucers, and a loaf of freshly baked bread on the tray.
"I'm sorry - it's just warmed up. The only bad thing about Sunday is that - the baker doesn't get up. So there's only dry crust and fresh air to eat," Fotini said, laughing.
“Fresh air would make me happier, as long as I can eat it with fresh coffee,” Alexis replied, following Fotini through the ubiquitous plastic straps and onto the patio.All the tables had been stripped of last night's paper tablecloths, leaving only the red Formica fire panels, which looked a bit odd.
Two women sat looking out to sea as the waves crashed against the rocks below.Fotini poured the coffee, the thick black liquid gushed out, and a black trickle rushed into the white porcelain cup.Alexis had drunk countless cups of Nescafé before, and the instant coffee when it was served looked like a delicacy, but it was disappointing after tasting.Alexis felt that there was no coffee as rich and delicious as this cup.No one seemed to bother to tell the Greeks that Nescafé was nothing new—that the old-fashioned, rich, sweet liquid was what everyone, including herself, needed.The sunshine in September is clear and bright, mild and pleasant. After the hot August, September has become the most popular season in Crete.Midsummer's furnace-like temperature has dropped, and the angry hot wind has gone.The two women sat facing each other in the shade of an awning, and Fotini placed her dark, veined hand on Alexis's.
"I'm glad you're here," she said. "You can't imagine how happy I am. I was sad when your mother stopped writing letters. I can totally understand her, but it cuts such an important connection with the past."
"I had no idea she wrote to you in the past," said Alexis, as if she should apologize for her mother's behaviour.
"Her early life was difficult," Fotini continued, "but we all tried, we really tried, to try to make her happy, to help her as much as we could."
Seeing Alexis' slightly puzzled expression, Fotini realized she had to slow down.She poured them another cup of coffee, giving herself a moment to think about where to start.It seemed like she'd have to start earlier, earlier than she'd thought.
"I have to say, 'I'm going to start at the very beginning,' but there's no real beginning," she said. "Your mother's story is your grandma's story, your great-grandmother's story, your great-aunt's story. their lives intertwined, that's what we Greeks mean when we speak of destiny. Fate is determined primarily by our ancestors, not by the stars. When we speak of ancient history, we often speak of destiny— But we don't mean uncontrollable events. Of course events can suddenly change the trajectory of our lives, but what really determines what happens to us is the behavior of those around us, and those who lived before us. Behavior."
Alexis was excited.The impenetrable safe that contained the mother's past, the safe that had resolutely locked her entire life inside was about to be opened.All the secrets are going to be poured out, and she finds herself wondering: do you really want to?As she gazed at the gray silhouette of Spinalonga across the sea, she remembered that lonely afternoon, which she already missed a little.Pandora regretted opening her box.Will she too?
Fotini noticed the direction Alexis had been staring at.
"Your grandmother lived on that island," she said. "She was a leper." She hadn't expected her words to sound so blunt, so ruthless, and she could tell at a glance that they had made Alexis flinch. .
"Leper?!" Alexis stuttered in surprise.It made her unhappy, and although she knew the reaction might be a little irrational, she couldn't hide her feelings.She already knew that the old fisherman had had leprosy, and she had seen him herself, but she hadn't seen any deformities in him.Still, she was shocked to hear that someone close to her had had leprosy.It was a completely different feeling, and she felt strangely sick.
For Fotini, who grew up in the shadow of segregation, leprosy has always been a harsh reality of life.She had seen countless lepers come to Plaka and cross the sea to Spinalonga.She has also seen lepers with different appearances: some are deformed and distorted, some are severely disabled, and some have no obvious change in appearance.In fact, their last appearance makes people dare not touch or touch them.But she understood how Alexis felt.Those people's knowledge of leprosy comes only from stories in the "Bible and Old Testament" and pictures of victims who rang bells and cried "Unclean! Unclean!" For them, this is the most natural reaction.
"Let me explain," she said, "I know what leprosy is like in your imagination, but you'd better know the truth, or you'll never know the real Spinalonga. Spinalonga Home to many good people."
Alexis continued to gaze at the small island beyond the shimmering sea.Her visit there yesterday seemed to be filled with so many conflicting images: the remains of elegant Italianate villas, gardens and tidy shops, all overshadowed by the haunting fear of disease, which she had in the epic film I have seen lepers portrayed as living dead.She took a long gulp of espresso.
"I know not everyone who gets leprosy dies," she said, almost defensively, "but it's always going to be ugly, isn't it?"
"It's not at all what you think," Fotini replied. "It doesn't spread as quickly as the plague. Sometimes it takes a long time to get sick—the people you see with terrible disabilities suffer from it." Years of disease, perhaps decades. There are two types of leprosy, one of which progresses more slowly. But both are curable now. Unfortunately for your great-grandmother, she had the very fast-onset leprosy That, time and luck were not on her side."
Alexis was a little embarrassed by her earlier reaction, ashamed of her ignorance, but the fact that someone in the family had been leprosy struck her like a bolt from the blue.
"Your great-grandmother got it, but your great-grandfather, Giorgis, was also deeply hurt. Even before your great-grandmother was deported to Spinalonga, he used his fishing boat for This small island delivered supplies, and after your grandma went there, he continued to deliver. That is to say, he almost watched her condition worsen day by day. When Eleni first went to Spinalonga, the sanitary conditions were still very good Poor, although she improved a lot when she was on the island, some irreparable damage was done when she was young. I can't tell you the details. Giorgis didn't tell Anna and Maria in detail. But you did You know what leprosy is, don't you? Leprosy affects the nerve endings, and even if you burn or cut yourself, you don't feel it. That's why people with leprosy are so vulnerable that they suffer permanent damage. damage, and the consequences are catastrophic."
Fotini stopped.She was worried and didn't want to irritate the young woman's sensitive nerves, but she also realized that some elements of this story would inevitably shock people, and she had to go carefully step by step.
"I don't want you to think your mother's whole family has leprosy. It's not like that," she added hastily. "Look, I have some pictures of them here."
Next to the coffee pot was a wooden tray with a battered manila envelope on it.Fotini opened the envelope, and all the photos inside slid onto the table.Some were the size of a train ticket, others the size of a postcard, some were glossy with a white border, others were matte.All photos are in black and white, some colors are faded and can't be seen clearly.Many were taken in photo studios in a pre-snapshot era, with people in stiff poses that make them look as distant as King Minos.
The first photo Alexis noticed was someone she knew.It showed the mother with the lady in lace, and a man with silver-gray hair standing by the bed.She picked up the photo.
"That's your great-aunt Maria and great-uncle Nicholas," Fotini said, with a hint of pride evident in her tone. "This one," she said, pulling out a dilapidated photo from under the pile of photos, "is the last photo of your great-grandmother and their two daughters together."
She handed the photo to Alexis.In the photo, a man and a woman are the same height, but the shoulders of the men are wider.He has black smooth and shiny hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a long and straight nose. Although he made a very serious expression for the sake of taking pictures, his eyes are still full of smiles.Compared with his body, his hands seemed much bigger.The woman beside her was very slender, with a long neck, and she was extremely beautiful; her hair was braided and coiled on her head, and she smiled so brightly and naturally.Sitting in front of them were two girls in cotton skirts.One was wiry, with thick hair falling to his shoulders, and a sideways cat-like eye.Mischievous eyes, full lips, no smile.The other girl has neatly braided hair and more refined features, her nose wrinkled slightly as she smiles at the camera.She was almost as thin as a bamboo pole, and she looked more like the mother of the two sisters.The girl has a demure posture with her hands gently on her lap, while her sister, with her arms folded, stares at the photographer as if defying him.
"That's Maria." Fotini said, pointing at the smiling girl. "This is Ana, your grandmother," she said, pointing to the other two. "These are their parents, Eleni and Giorgis."
She spread the photos on the table, and occasionally the wind blows, gently blowing the photos, as if bringing them to life.Alexis looked at pictures of the two sisters, from babies in their arms, to schoolchildren, to young girls—when only their father was with them.There is also a photo of Anna arm in arm with a man in full traditional Cretan attire.It's a wedding photo.
"This must be my grandfather," Alexis said. "Anna looks really beautiful," she said enviously, "really happy."
"Hmm... exudes youthful love," Fotini said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice that surprised Alexis.She was about to continue the questioning when another photo popped up and attracted her attention.
"That looks like my mother!" she exclaimed.The little girl in the photo has a distinctive hooked nose and a sweet and shy smile.
"It was your mother indeed. She must have been five years old then."
Just like any family photo album, take a photo at random and tell only bits and pieces.The real story is told only by those missing photographs, and perhaps there are no photographs at all, the stories of life are never told by those carefully framed, or neatly kept in envelopes.Alexis understood this, but at least she saw these family members, the family members her mother had kept secret for so long.
"The story starts at Plaka," Fotini said, "right behind us, over there. That's where the Petkiss live."
She pointed to a small house in the far corner, a stone's throw from where they sat and sipped their coffee.It was a dilapidated house, painted with whitewash.The house was as dilapidated as any other in the overall crumbling but charming village.The paint on the walls was peeling, as were the shutters.Ever since Alexis's great-grandparents lived there, it had been repainted every now and then, a bright pale green, and the skin had peeled and cracked in the heat.The balcony was built just above the doorway, and on the balcony stood several large urns filled with flaming red geraniums, which cascaded down as if trying to escape through the carved railings.The weight of the urn made the balcony sag.This is a typical Cretan dwelling, which has been built and rebuilt over the past few hundred years.Like those villages that are lucky enough not to be overrun by hordes of tourists, Plaka is timeless.
"Your grandmother and her sister grew up there. Maria was my best friend, and she was only a year younger than Ana. Their father, Giorgis, was a fisherman, like many locals. And his wife Eleni, is a teacher. Actually she is so much more than a teacher - she also manages the local primary school. The school is on the way to Elounda, that town you must have passed to come here She loves children, not just her own daughter, she loves all the children in her class. I guess Anna must have found it hard to accept. She is a very possessive child and hates sharing with others, especially Her mother's love. But Eleni was generous and selfless, and devoted enough time to her own flesh and blood and to her students.
"I used to pretend to be another daughter of Giorgis and Eleni. I always lived with them; I have two older brothers, so you can imagine how different my family was from theirs. My mother, Savina, I don't mind it. She and Eleni have been friends since they were little, and everything has been shared by the two since they were very young, so I don't think she's afraid or anxious about losing me. Actually, I I believe she always fantasizes, hoping that Anna or Maria will marry one of my brothers in the end.
"When I was young, I probably spent more time at Petrakis's than at my own. But then things changed, and before long Maria and Anna were often staying with us.
"At that time, our playground was the beach. We spent time on the beach when we were young. The beach is a place with endless changes, and we never feel bored. From May to early October, we would go swimming every day and at night Sleeping with sand leaking between our toes into the sheets made me restless. At night we fished black stick perch, a small fish. Early in the morning we went to see what the fishermen had caught. In winter the tide was high It's high, and there's always something washed up on the beach for us to check and pick up: jellyfish, eels, octopus, and a few times a turtle lying motionless on the shore. No matter what the season, when it's getting dark, we go to Back to Anna and Maria’s house. As soon as I entered the door, the smell of hot cakes hit my face—Eleni had already made fresh cheese cakes for us. When I went to bed, I often ate the cheese cakes slowly While climbing the mountain and walking back to my home—”
“This upbringing sounds idyllic,” Alexis interjects, reveling in Fotini’s description of a wonderful, fairy-like childhood.But she really wanted to know how it all ended. "How did Eleni get leprosy?" She asked abruptly, "Can I leave this island if I have leprosy?"
"No, of course they can't leave. That's what makes the island so horrible. At the beginning of the last century, the government announced that all lepers in Crete were quarantined in Spinalonga. Once the doctor diagnosed them with leprosy , they would have to leave their homes forever and go to the island. There is no better description than 'Land of the Living Dead'.
"Back then, people tried everything to hide their symptoms, mainly because the consequences of a diagnosis were so dire. Eleni was easily contagious and contracted leprosy. But she had no risk of passing leprosy from her students. Care - She can't do it if she doesn't sit with the students and teach them. If a child falls on a dusty playground, she is always the first to pick him up. It turns out that one of her The student has leprosy..." Fotini stopped.
"So you think parents must know that their child is infected with leprosy?" Alexis asked incredulously.
"Almost certainly," Fotini replied, "they know that if anyone finds out, they will never see the child again. When Eleni learned that she was infected with leprosy, there was only one responsible course of action—she This approach was also taken. She asked every child in the school to be tested so that the infected could be identified. Sure enough, a nine-year-old boy named Dimitri was infected. His poor parents had to endure The fear of having your son taken away from you. But not being taken away is even more terrifying. Think of the contact children make when they play! They are not like adults, they can keep a certain distance. They wrestle together, fall on each other, We now know that the disease is usually only spread by sustained close contact, but at the time there was a fear that the Elounda school itself would become a leprosy quarantine if they didn't find the infected pupils soon enough and isolate them District. Soon they found out."
"It must have been difficult for Eleni to do that—especially with her close relationship with the students," Alexis mused.
"Yeah. Bad. Bad for everyone involved," Fotini replied.
Alexis's lips were so dry that she barely spoke in case she opened her mouth and couldn't say anything.To pass the time, she pushed her empty glass towards Fotini, who filled it again and pushed it back.As she carefully poured the sugar into the swirling black liquid, Alexis felt herself drawn into the vortex of Eleni's sorrow and pain.
What was that like?Traveling away from home under the watchful eyes of your family is literally being thrown into prison, stripped of everything that is most precious to you.Not only was she thinking of the woman who was her great-grandmother, but she was also thinking of the boy, who were all the same, convicted for no crime.
Fotini stretched out her hand and placed it on Alexis's.Perhaps she was too eager to tell the story without really getting to know the young woman.This is not a fairy tale. It is impossible for her to choose some chapters and ignore some.If she is too careful, the real story may never be told.She noticed that the clouds drifting across Alexis's face were not like the faint streaks of clouds in the blue sky in the morning, but now they were sombre and looming.Until now, Fotini guessed, the only darkness in Alexis' life was the vague shadow of her mother's hidden past.It was nothing more than a question mark that kept her up at night.She had never seen disease, let alone death.But now, she had to understand both of them immediately.
"Let's go for a walk, Alexis." Fotini stood up. "We'll have Gera Seymour take us out to sea later. Everything will make more sense when we get there."
Alexis just needed a walk.These fragments of her mother's past, combined with the excess caffeine, made her a little dizzy.They came down the wooden steps to the pebble-strewn beach, and Alexis gasped for the salty air.
"Why doesn't Mommy ever tell me about this?" she asked.
"I'm sure she has her reasons," Fotini said, knowing there was too much to say. "Maybe when you get back to England she'll explain to you why it's kept so secret."
They strolled to the end of the shore and started up the gravel path lined with tussava and lavender.The road was far away from the village, and it was windy, so Fotini slowed down.Although she is very healthy, but after all, she is over seventy years old, and it is impossible to always maintain her previous physical strength.As the path began to steepen, she walked more and more cautiously, and staggered more and more.
She stopped now and then, pointing at places on Spinalonga that came into view.At last they came to a huge rock.The rock has been worn smooth by years of exposure to wind, rain, and use as a bench.They sat looking out to sea as the wind rustled the thick wild thyme around them.Fotini sat down and began to tell Sophia's story.
For the next few days, Fotini tried her best to tell Alexis everything she knew about the Alexis family—everything from her childhood to the history of Crete.The two women strolled along the coastal paths together, sat for hours at the lunch table, or took small trips to local towns and villages in Alexis' rented car, Fotini took Petki The past of the Si family unfolded in front of him like a jigsaw puzzle.Alexis felt older and wiser these days, and Fotini felt younger again in retelling so much of her past.The gap that had separated the two women for half a century disappeared, and when they walked arm in arm, some people thought they were sisters.
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