Chapter 4 Chapter 3

1939 Crete in early May has the most beautiful, god-sent days.On days like these, when the trees were full of flowers and the last snow on the mountains melted into clear streams, Eleni was leaving for Spinalonga.Against this darkest and cruelest truth, there is a cloudless, blue sky.Crowds gather to look at each other, shed tears, and wave a final goodbye.Although the school did not announce that it would be closed today, out of respect for the departed teacher, the classroom was empty.Neither the students nor the teachers went to class.Nobody wants to miss this opportunity to say goodbye to their favorite "Mrs. Petkiss".

Eleni Petkis was beloved in Plaka and the small surrounding villages.She has a certain magnetism that draws children and adults alike to her and is admired and respected by them.In fact, the reason is very simple.For Elaine, teaching is like her vocation, and her enthusiasm moves the students like a torch. "If they love it, they'll learn about it." This is her mandala.Although these are not her own words, they were said by an aspiring teacher twenty years ago before she stepped into the palace of knowledge. The night before she was to leave home for good, Eleni filled a vase with spring flowers.She placed the vase in the center of the table, and the tiny pale flowers on the sprigs magically transformed the room.She knows the effect of simplicity, the power of details.For example, she knows that remembering each student's birthday or their favorite color is the key to winning their hearts, and even their souls.Children learn knowledge in class mainly to please her and make her happy, not because they are forced to learn. She writes theories and numbers on cards and hangs them from the ceiling with ropes, looking like a group of small children flying in. The approach of the bird hovering perpetually overhead is also great for the learning process.

However, in addition to their beloved teacher crossing the sea to Spinalonga that day, they had to say goodbye to a friend, nine-year-old Dimitri, whose parents had gone to great lengths to conceal his leprosy for more than a year .Every month they have to find new ways to hide his symptoms - instead of knee-length shorts, he wears long trousers, sandals are replaced by boots, and he is forbidden to swim in the sea with the children in summer, so as not to cause the spots on his back. Find. "Just say you're afraid of the waves!" his mother begged him to say, which was of course ridiculous.These children grew up enjoying the exhilarating power of the sea together, in fact looking forward to the Meltham wind turning the calm Mediterranean into a wild sea.Only a coward would be afraid of the waves.The child has been living in fear of being discovered for many months, but he always knows in his heart that this is only temporary and will be discovered sooner or later.

Anyone who didn't know, on such a summer morning and in such unusual circumstances, would think that this group of people was attending a funeral.Almost a hundred people, mostly women and children, were all sadly silent.They stood in the village square, a large group of people, waiting silently, even breathing in the same rhythm.Near the square, in the adjacent alley, Eleni Petkis opened the front door. There was a large group of people standing in the usual open space. Seeing so many people gathered together unusually, Eleni instinctively He wanted to go back, but he had no choice.Giorgis was waiting for her on the jetty, his boat loaded with some of her belongings.She didn't bring much, because Giorgis could bring her some more in the next few weeks, and she didn't want to take anything from the house unless it was necessary.Anna and Maria are still hiding behind the door.The last few minutes with them were the most painful of Eleni's life.She wanted so much to hold them in her arms, to hold them tight, to feel their hot tears dripping on her skin, to soothe their trembling bodies.But she can't do anything, and doing so is still risky.Their faces were distorted with sadness, their eyes were swollen from crying, and they could not speak, as if they had lost consciousness.Mother is leaving.She would not come back that evening, she would not put down her heavy books, she would not be happy, though sallow with exhaustion, to be home with them.Never again.

The girls behaved as Eleni had expected.Anna, the older one, is always moody and can tell at a glance.Maria, on the contrary, was very quiet, a reserved child who seldom lost her temper.In those days when her mother was about to leave, Anna was more mournful than her sister. She had never been so unable to control her emotions as she is today.She begged her mother not to go, begged her to stay, yelled, growled, and tore her hair.In contrast, Maria was crying quietly at first, then sobbing, and then sobbing so loudly that it was carried into the street.In the end, though, they were both the same: they were submissive, exhausted and weary.

Eleni was determined to keep her grief from being swallowed up by it, let alone erupt like a volcano.Once she's out of Plaka, she'll probably blow it all off.But everyone's only hope at this moment is that she remains calm.If she breaks down, it's all over for them.Girls will stay home.They will not see the fading figure of their mother, or the image may be seared into their memories for a lifetime. It was the hardest time of Eleni's life, and there was no privacy.A line of sad eyes stared at her.She knew they were here to say goodbye to her, but she had never wanted to be alone more than she was now.She is so familiar with every face in the crowd, and she loves everyone. "Goodbye," she said softly, "goodbye." She kept her distance.Her former instinct to embrace died suddenly ten days ago.That ominous morning, she noticed strange spots on the back of her legs.There's no way to get it wrong, especially after she compares it to the pictures in the brochures, and she barely needs to see an expert to know the horrific truth.Leaflets are being handed out everywhere warning people of the symptoms.She knew that somehow she had contracted the most dreadful disease. A line from the Book of Leviticus, which the local pastor recited so often, though quite unnecessary, now rings in her ears repeatedly:

Many people still believe that the cruel instructions in the Old Testament for the treatment of lepers should be followed.This passage has been heard in churches for hundreds of years.The impression that lepers, whether men, women, or even children, should be isolated from society had long been ingrained. She made her way through the crowd towards Giorgis.Giorgis could make out Eleni from the top of her head, and he knew the moment he'd been dreading had arrived.He had been to Spinalonga a thousand times over the years, delivering supplies to the leprosy colony and earning some money to supplement his meager income as a fisherman, but he never expected such a trip.The boat was ready, and he stood watching her come, arms folded, head bowed.He thought that by standing thus, tense and rigid, he would be able to overcome the agitation from letting them burst forth involuntarily like roars of pain.His wife's self-control is his example, and his inner ability to hide his emotions is strengthened.In reality, though, he was overcome with grief.I've got to do this, he told himself, treating this like another normal shipping day.He had crossed the Channel a hundred times, and now he was just one more, and there would be a thousand more.

The crowd remained silent as Eleni approached the jetty.A child cried out and was coaxed by his mother.Even an inappropriate emotional change can cause these mourners to lose their composure.Temperance and etiquette will be thrown aside, and the dignity of seeing off will no longer be.Although the few hundred meters seemed endless, Eleni's trip to the jetty ended, and she turned to face the crowd one last time.Her home was out of sight, but she knew the shutters were closed and her daughters were crying in the dark. Suddenly, there was crying.The sound was so loud, it was the sobbing sound of a grown woman who was heartbreaking.Her grief is unfathomable, it hits people's hearts directly, and she also firmly suppresses her endless grief in her heart, which is also felt by people.She paused for a moment.The cry was an echo of her own emotions, an expression of her inner feelings, but she knew it was not her own cry.The crowd became excited and looked away from her, following the sound to find a far corner of the square-a mule was tied to a tree there, and a man and a woman stood beside it.The man was still a child, in the arms of the woman, almost invisible, this was the boy.The top of his head was not close to the woman's chest, she bent down and faced him, wrapping her hands around his body, as if she would never let go. "My son!" she cried in despair, "my son, my dear son!" her husband stood beside them. "Catherina," he coaxed patiently, "Dimitri must go. We have no choice. The boat is waiting." He gently pulled the mother's arms away from the boy.She called her son's name faintly one last time: "Dimitri..." But the boy did not look up, his eyes were fixed on the gray road. "Come on, Dimitri," my father said firmly.The child followed him.

His eyes were fixed only on his father's old leather boots.All he could do was dig his feet into the dust of Dad's boot prints.It's mechanical - a game they've played many times.Dimitri jumped up and forward until his legs couldn't stretch any longer and he fell to the ground, laughing loudly, as his father strode forward.However, this time my father walked slowly and crookedly.Dimitri had no trouble keeping up.The father unloaded the sad mule and put the little crate containing all the boy's belongings on his shoulder, which the son had ridden so many times before.Their way through the crowd to the water's edge seemed endless.

The final goodbye between father and son is simple, almost manly.Aware of the embarrassment, Eleni greeted Dimitri.From now on, she will only focus on this boy, and his life will be her greatest responsibility. "Come on," she encouraged him, "let's go and see our new home." She took the boy by the hand and helped him into the boat, as if they were going on an adventure, with picnic food in the box next to them. The crowd watched them go and remained silent.There is no etiquette in this moment.Should they wave their hands?Should they say goodbye?People were pale, their stomachs were churning, their hearts were heavy.Some were ambivalent about the boy, blaming him for Irene and blaming him for worrying about their own children's health.However, at the moment of their departure, the mothers and fathers only feel sad for these two unfortunate people who have left their families forever.Giorgis pushed the boat away from the breakwater, and soon the oars and the current were fighting.It seemed that the sea didn't want them to go either.The crowd waited and watched for a while, and when the figures on the boat were blurred, they dispersed one after another.

The last to turn and leave the square were a woman and a girl about Eleni's age.That woman was Savina Angelopoulos, who grew up with Eleni, and the girl was her daughter Fotini. In the small village, she was the best friend of Eleni's little daughter Maria. friend.Savina wears a turban, which hides her bushy hair and accentuates her large, benevolent eyes; childbirth has disfigured her, and now she is fatter and has thicker legs.Fotini, by comparison, was as slender as an olive sapling, but she had inherited her mother's beautiful eyes.When the boat was barely visible, the two turned and walked quickly across the square towards the faded green door from which Eleni had just come out not so long ago.The windows were all shut, but the front door was unlocked, and the mother and daughter stepped in.Before long, Savina was putting her arms around the girls, giving them hugs that even her own mother couldn't give them, even if she tried her best. As the boat approached the island, Eleni squeezed Dimitri's hand even tighter.She was glad the poor child was being looked after, and at the moment she didn't think much of the ridiculousness of the situation.She would educate him, raise him as her own son, and do her best to ensure that his studies were not delayed by this terrible reversal.Close to shore now, she could see a few people standing outside the fort's walls, and realized they must be waiting for her.Otherwise, what else is there to make them appear there?They couldn't possibly be waiting to leave the island. Giorgis expertly docked the boat and helped his wife and Dimitri ashore.He found himself almost subconsciously avoiding touching the boy's bare skin as he helped him off the boat, and he held the boy's elbow instead of holding his hand.Then he fastened the boat with the greatest concentration, so that the box could be safely unloaded.He tried his best not to think about his wife not being able to leave with him later.The small crate belonged to the boy, the larger one belonged to Eleni, and they were both unloaded ashore shortly afterwards. Now that they were in Spinalonga, Eleni and Dimitri crossed the wide ocean, their old lives seemingly thrown away thousands of miles away. By the time Eleni wanted to look back, Giorgis was gone.They made an agreement last night, without saying goodbye, both of them sincerely followed the agreement.Giorgis had already set sail, and the boat was only a hundred meters away.He pulled his hat down, and all he could see was the black wooden oars of the boat.

---

Notes: