Chapter 23 Chapter 22

1957 Residents of Plaka, as in previous years, prepare for the All Saints' Day.This year, however, is different, and they will celebrate the festival with the inhabitants of Spinalonga, with their imaginary neighbors who have existed in their imaginations for so many years.For some, that means welcoming home long-forgotten friends; for others, it means confronting their deeply held prejudices and doing what they can to suppress them.They would sit at a table with hitherto unseen neighbors and share food. Giorgis was one of the only people who knew the truth about the quarantine.For most people on the mainland, for many years, because there is such an institution on the other side of the sea, they can earn some money, because they can provide consumer goods to the people on the island, and now the quarantine area is about to be closed, which means that their business will suffer.Others admitted to feeling a sense of relief at the thought of Spinalonga being shut down.There is a group of sick people living across the sea, and they have been worrying about it. Although they know that this disease is not as contagious as some other diseases, they are still afraid of it, just like they are afraid of the Black Death.These people still do not recognize the fact that leprosy can be cured.

Others eagerly awaited their guests on that historic evening.Fotini's mother, Savina Angelopoulos, still misses her friend Ireni, whose death had caused her grief for many years, and she was very happy to see Maria free.That means there is only one tragedy, not two.Fotini was happier than anyone except Giorgis.She is about to be reunited with her best friend.They no longer had to meet in Maria Spinalonga's dimly lit room.Now they can sit on the brightly lit restaurant steps and chat easily about the events of the day as the sun goes down and the moon comes out. In the restaurant kitchen on this midsummer August afternoon, Stefanos is cooking a feast of lamb stew, fried fish and fried rice, as well as pastries and pies, with plates baking on the stove Sweet baklava and katefi.It will be a super feast to end all feasts with utterly extravagant food.

Vanglith Ridake loves events like this.He enjoys the warmth of a different day and knows what it means to Giorgis, one of his quiet regular customers.He also thought that some of the inhabitants of Spinalonga might become new members of Plaka, and his business would improve as the population increased.Rydaki judges the success of his business by the number of empty beer bottles and empty plum wine bottles in old wicker crates each day, and he expects that number to increase as well. Lepers have emotions as complex as those of the people who receive them.Some residents in the exclusion zone dare not admit it to themselves, leaving them is as full of fear as they came here.The island gave them such security that they could not have imagined, and some feared losing it.Some of the islanders, even though they had no markings, no stains, no evidence that they had ever had leprosy, still feared that they would never be able to live their normal lives as they once did.Dimitri is not the only young islander on the island, a group of young people who have no memory of anywhere except Spinalonga.This is their world, the reality of the outside world is similar to the pictures in the book, and even the village they face across the sea every day is nothing but a mirage to them.

There was no doubt that Maria remembered life on the Continent, although looking back it seemed to her that it was someone else's life rather than her own.What would happen to a woman who had been a leper for most of her twenties?Will she be regarded as an old maid when she returns to the mainland?What she saw across the churning water was the unknown. Some people in Spinalonga start cleaning up a month before they leave, carefully packing everything they take with them.Some wrote to their families with the good news of their release and received warm responses, expecting a warm welcome.They know there will be a place for them to pull out their clothes, their pots, their precious blankets.There are also those who are oblivious to what is about to happen and go about their daily lives until the last minute, as if nothing will ever change.It was an unseasonably hot August, with the strong wind Meltham knocking down roses and blowing shirts off clotheslines into the air like giant white seagulls.By afternoon, the wind held everything down.The wind also continued to beat on the door and rattled the windows, and people slept in rooms with closed windows to escape the heat of the sun.

The day of departure has come, and whether people are ready or not, it is time to go.This time, not only Giorgis will come, but also six fishermen from the village.They finally believed they had nothing to fear and were willing to help people leave Spinalonga with their belongings.At one o'clock in the afternoon on August 25th a small convoy was seen leaving Plaka. The last rites had been held the day before in the small church of San Pantalaimon, and people had actually lined up to light candles and read scriptures many days before that.They came here to say thanks and to take deep breaths to calm their quivering nerves, to inhale the intoxicating sweet smell of church candles flickering beside them, whatever the world beyond this narrow water had to offer them , they prayed to God to give them the courage to face it.

The elderly and sick get help and get on board first.The donkeys who carried the goods in those days were exhausted.It carries people's things on its back, or drags a car with boxes stacked high, and slowly goes back and forth to the tunnel.Mountains of cargo on the docks turn long-held fantasies into tangible and tangible reality of departure.Until now, some people believe that the old life is really over and a new life is about to begin.As they walked through the tunnel, they imagined hearing their own heart beating, beating against the atrium. Kritis performed his duties in Plaka, making sure that those who were not cured were carefully returned to Athens for further treatment.

Among the last to leave the island were Lapakis and Maria.Dr. Lapakis was to finalize the paperwork and put all the necessary papers into boxes.These medical records, which provide his patients with "clean" health diagnoses, will remain in safes until everyone has crossed the other side, at which point he will distribute them to their respective owners.They are the passports of freedom for the islanders. Maria left the house for the last time, out of the alley.She looked up at the hill toward the hospital, saw Lapakis walking down the hill, trying to protect the heavy boxes, and set off to help him.All around her were traces of hasty departures.Until the last hour, some were unwilling to believe that they could actually leave.Someone's unlatched windows were banging in the wind at the moment; someone's shutters were loose from their hooks, and curtains fluttered around the windows like sails.Teacups and saucers were thrown over the table in the tavern.In the school classroom, a book is spread out on the desk, and there are algebraic formulas written in chalk on the blackboard.In those shops, a row of jars still stands on the shelves, as if the owner thought he might open them someday.Bright geraniums grew in old olive oil barrels, now withered.No one watered them those nights.

"Leave me alone, Maria," said the doctor, blushing, "you have many things to think about." "No, let me help you. There's no reason for you to break your waist for us." She said, taking down a smaller filing box, "We're all healthy now, aren't we?" "You sure are," he replied, "and some of you can go and put this experience behind you." Lapakis knew how difficult it was to do this as soon as he said it, and he was ashamed of himself for such ill-considered words.He stammered for the words he wanted to say, trying to give her the greatest comfort. "A fresh start. I mean it...you can have a fresh start."

Unbeknownst to Lapakis, however, a fresh start was exactly the last thing Maria wanted.It means her life on the island will be wiped out.Why should he know that the most precious of them all she would never have found if she had not been driven to this island.Also, she didn't want to leave her life on Spinalonga behind at all, Maria wanted to take the best of it with her. As she took one last look at the main street, she was almost fainted by the intensity of her reluctance.Memories rolled, overlapped and collided one after another in her mind.The most special friendships she has made, the camaraderie of the laundry years, the festivities at festivals, the joy of watching the latest movie, the satisfaction of helping those who really need her help, the heated arguments in taverns, among Athenians The unreasonable fear brought about-in fact, most of the topics have nothing to do with real life.From the time she first set foot here to the present, time seemed to stand still.Four years ago she had hated Spinalonga.At that time, death seemed to be definitely better than a life sentence on this island, but now, she was here, and she didn't want to leave for a moment.In seconds, another life was about to begin, and she didn't know what was in that life.

Lapakis read everything from her face.For him, life was about to bring new uncertainties as his work at Spinalonga came to an end.He would go to Athens, where he would spend a few months with the lepers, and they would be taken to Santa Barbara Hospital, where they would still need treatment.After that, though, his own life would be as unmarked on the map as the moon. "Come on," he said, "I think we must go. Your father must be waiting for us." They turned and walked through the tunnel.Footsteps echoed around them.Giorgis was waiting on the other end.He was sitting on the low wall under the shade of the silk tree, smoking a cigarette, and waiting for his daughter to come out of the tunnel.She doesn't seem to be coming out again, and everyone on the island is gone except Maria and Lapakis.Even the donkey, the goat, and the cat were crossed to the other side, as in Noah's Ark.Except for this small boat, the last boat had left ten minutes ago, and the pier was empty.Nearby, a small metal box, a bundle of letters, and a whole carton of cigarettes had been left behind, all marked by the hasty departure of the group.Maybe something has delayed it, Giorgis thought in alarm.Maybe Maria couldn't leave, maybe the doctors didn't sign her health papers.

Just when these vague thoughts seemed about to become disturbing reality, Maria came out of the dark semi-circular tunnel and ran towards him.All of Giorgis' other thoughts and doubts about the island were forgotten as she stretched out her arms and embraced him.He felt her silky hair brush against his rough skin, and he said nothing. "Can we go?" Maria finally asked. Her things have been put on board.Lapakis went up first, turned around and took Maria's hand.She stepped into the boat with one foot, and at that moment she lifted the other foot, which was still on the stony ground. Her life on Spinalonga was over. Giorgis untied his old sailboat and pushed it away from shore.Then, with a shrewdness rare at his age, he jumped into the boat and turned the boat around.Soon the boat left the island and headed for the mainland.His passenger faces forward.They watched the sharp point of the bow, like an arrow, flying towards the target.Giorgis wasted no time.He could still see Spinalonga clearly.The black shapes of the windows faced him like empty eyes, and their unbearable emptiness reminded him of the lepers who ended their days of torment by blindness.Giorgis suddenly thought of Eleni, standing on the dock the last time he saw her; he missed Eleni so much at that moment that he forgot all the joy her daughter brought by his side . They are only a few minutes away from reaching the shore.Plaka's small pier is packed with people.Some islanders are welcomed by family and friends; others hug each other as they set foot on their native soil for the first time after 25 years of isolation.The noisiest group was the Athenians.Friends and even colleagues of some also came from Athens to celebrate this epoch-making day.There is no time to sleep tonight, and early tomorrow morning they will all make their way back to Heraklion, and from there they will embark on the journey back to Athens.Now, they'd teach Plaka a thing or two about having fun, the ones they'd used on the island.Some of them were musicians, and the rehearsals had begun that morning with the locals, forming a magnificent orchestra with instruments ranging from lyres and lutes to mandolins and bouzoukis, bagpipes and shepherds. flute, everything. Fotini and Stephanos greeted them on the bank with their newborn baby Petros, next to Mateos, their brown-eyed little boy, who was delighted by the excitement Dancing, completely unaware of the significance of the day, just delighted by the carnival vibe in the air. "Welcome home, Maria," said Stephanos.As his wife hugged her best friend, he stepped back, waiting to greet her. "We're all glad you're back." He started unloading Maria's boxes from the boat and onto his pickup truck.It's close to the Petkiss' house, but too far to walk with all these things in hand.The two women walked home across the square, leaving Giorgis to fasten his boat.Long tables were set up, and chairs were arranged in groups.Bright little flags are planted all over the square, waving happily along the diagonal.It won't be long before the party starts. When Maria and Fotini arrived, Stephanos had unloaded the box and placed it inside.When Maria came in, a tingle hit her back.From the day she left, nothing here has changed, everything is still in the same place as before, untouched: hanging on the wall at the entrance is the same embroidery sample that my mother embroidered when she got married-writing greetings "Kalimera" - welcomes the guests, the plates still hang near the fireplace, the familiar set of floral china plates still stand on the shelf.Some plates from the same set were also found in her case, and the set was finally reunited. Even on such a sunny day, there was something gloomy in the room.All the familiar old furniture was in its place, but the walls seemed to absorb the pain that had been haunting them, radiating the loneliness of my father's earlier years.Everything looks the same, and everything is very different from before. After a while Giorgis came in and found Stephanos, Fotini, Petros and Mateos and Maria all crowded in the little house, Mateus holding a small bouquet flower.At last, some pieces of his life were finally glued together.Now his beautiful daughter, one of the three women in the picture frame he looked at day and night, finally stood before him.In his eyes, she was even cuter than before. "Okay," Fotini said, "I shouldn't stay long—there's plenty of food to prepare. See you in the square later." "Thank you for everything. I'm so lucky to be back with an old friend like you and a new one..." Maria said, taking a look at Mateos.He worked up the courage to come forward and gave her a bouquet of flowers. Maria smiled.It was the first bouquet she had received since Manoli sent her flowers four years ago, a week before she went to check for leprosy.The little boy's gesture moved her. Half an hour later, Maria changed into a new set of clothes, and her hair was combed smoother than the mirror.She felt ready to step out the door and face the curious eyes of the inhabitants of Plaka.Although some neighbors welcomed her, she knew someone would scrutinize her, looking for signs of illness.They will only be disappointed.Maria left no trace.There are those who pay a heavy price from illness and will be crippled for life with a crippled foot, and others who are unfortunate enough to be permanently blind and dependent on their families.For most people, however, the infected areas disappear, ugly skin spots fade out of sight, and sensation returns to areas that were previously numb. Maria walked to the square with her father. "Seeing is believing," said Giorgis. "Your sister said she might come tonight. I got her letter yesterday." "Anna?" Maria said in surprise. "Is Andrés coming too?" "That's what she said in her letter. I guess she wants to welcome you back." Like any parent, he longed for the family to be together, thinking that Anna felt that this was the perfect time to make up for her indifference and neglect of the past few years.It would make him happier than anything if both of his daughters—and not just one—were returned to him.As for Maria, she didn't expect to meet Anna tonight.The purpose of today is celebration, not reconciliation: every leper on Spinalonga will finally be free. Ana is at Elounda's house, getting ready for a party in Plaka.She pinned her hair carefully, applied her lipstick carefully, and lined her lips with precision.Sophia sat on her grandmother's lap and watched eagerly as her mother drew her face until it was as red as a doll's. Andres walked in, ignoring his mother and daughter. "Are you not ready?" he asked Anna coldly. "Pretty much," she replied, adjusting her heavy emerald necklace in front of the mirror, lifting her chin to appreciate the effect, and spritzing herself with some rich French perfume. "Can we go?" he snapped. Ana seemed oblivious to her husband's icy tone, but not Aleftria.She was puzzled by the way her son spoke to Anna. She had never heard such a cold tone before, nor had she seen him glaring at her like this.She thought Andrés had finally woken up to his wife's intimacy with Manoli.Eleftria mentioned it to Alexandros once before.She found out she was wrong.Alexandros reacted violently, furious and vowing to have "that useless Don Juan" thrown out if Manoli crossed the line.After that, Eleftria could only secretly worry. "Good night, baby," said Anna to her little daughter.Sophia's plump arms reached out to her. "Be good." She left the room after leaving the most perfect lip print on Sophia's forehead. Andres was already waiting in the car, the engine started.He knew why his wife cared so much about her appearance, it wasn't for him. Andres finally found out about his wife's infidelity through one very small event - the earrings under his pillow.Anna always took off her jewelry carefully before going to bed and put it in a velvet box on the dressing table. If she had gone to bed with gold earrings studded with diamonds the night before, he would have known.When he got up from the original spotless sheets, he saw the golden light shining on the white sheets. He didn't say anything, but his heart suddenly turned cold.In that instant, his Philotmo, the glory and pride that made him a man, was mortally wounded. One afternoon two days later, Andrés came back early, parked his car far away, and walked the last fifty meters home.He wasn't surprised to see Manoli's truck parked outside.He knew it would be there.Andres gently opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch.Except for the ticking of the clock, the room was silent.Suddenly, the silence was broken, and a woman's cheerful cry came.Andres clung to the banister, disgusted and sickened by the sound of his wife's orgasm.He instinctively wanted to run upstairs two steps at a time, into the bedroom, and tear their tangled limbs apart, but something stopped him.He's Andres Vendoraki.He has to take a more sensible approach.He needs time to think. When Maria came to the square, it was already crowded with people.She saw Dimitri standing among a small group of people.And Gerasimo Verakis, owner of the Quarantine Tavern.And Christina Krostalakis, laughing so hard she couldn't recognize her.There was an excited hum of talking, and the faint sound of a bouzouki being played down the street.When she walked into the open space in the square, there were greetings from left and right.She came across rowdy Athenians who introduced her to family and friends as Santa Maria, or "herbal magician."The latter "Herbal Magician" made her very happy, but it was not because of being deified. The last few hours were so important that she didn't even think about Dr. Crittis.They didn't say goodbye, so she believed they would.Just as quickly as possible.When she walked into the dense crowd, Maria's mood fell violently.There he was, sitting at a long table with Lapakis.She saw only him in the chaotic crowd, his silver-gray hair almost gleaming in the dusk.The two doctors were talking enthusiastically, and finally Lapakis looked up and saw her. "Maria!" he cried, standing up, "this is your day. How does it feel to be home after so long?" Fortunately, no one was really waiting for her to answer this question. If she really wanted to answer, she didn't know where to start and where to end.At this time, Papadimitriou and his wife came over, and there were two men who looked like him, needless to say, his brothers.The island owner wants his family to meet the man who will give them a new life.There will be thousands of toasts and cheers, but they want to be the first to say thank you. Kritis stood back, but Maria could feel the pressure of his gaze, and he pulled Maria aside as Lapakis spoke to the Papadimitrios. "Can I take a moment of your time?" he asked politely, but his voice was too loud to be heard over the noise of the crowd. "In a quieter place than here," he added. "We could walk down here and go to the church," she replied. "I'd like to light a candle in it." They left the crowded square, which was deafeningly loud.The noise from the crowd sounded like a background hum as they walked down the empty street toward the church.Critics couldn't wait, and decided to take the next step.Illness has taken enough of this woman's life that every second seems too precious to be lost.He put aside his stiff doctor's demeanor for a moment, and boldly seized him.At the church door, he turned to face her. "I have something to say. It's actually very simple," he said. "I want you to marry me." This is a declaration, not a question.As if there was no need to answer.Some time before, Maria had not doubted Crittis's love for her in her mind, but she commanded herself not to fantasize about how firm it was.Over the past few years, as soon as she found herself starting to have daydreams, she immediately drove them away. Living in the present moment without fantasies is safer without fear of disappointment. For a moment she said nothing, looked up at him, and he held her shoulders, arms outstretched.As if needing to persuade her that he meant it, his voice filled her silence. "No one has ever touched me like you. If you don't want to marry me, I will go away, and you don't have to think about me anymore." His hand on her shoulder tightened, "But no matter what the result is , I need to know now. Give me a result." So this is a problem.Her mouth was dry and it took all her strength to regain control of her tongue. "Yes." All she could say was the hoarse monosyllable, "Yes." "Will you?" Kritis seemed surprised.This dark-haired woman, his patient, he thought he knew her very well, but in fact he knew too little.She agrees to marry him as his wife.His face broke into a smile, and Maria's reflected his smile, blindingly.Not sure at first, then with a rush of excitement, he kissed her.They suddenly realize how strange it is to be standing in the deserted street, and they separate. "We've got to go back to the celebration," said Crittis, who spoke first.His sense of responsibility and sense of right and wrong are stronger than hers. "People might wonder where we've been." He was right: they had to go back, because everyone celebrated that night and went their separate ways the next day.When they returned to the square, the ball had already begun.The crowd formed a huge circle and was dancing to the open waltz.Even Giorgis got in on the act.He who had never been sitting in the shadows before any event stepped forward and threw himself into the celebration. Fotini was the first to notice her friend's return accompanied by a doctor, and she was sure that Maria's happiness had finally come.The lovers had decided not to say anything tonight—they wanted Giorgis to be the first to know that the intoxicating atmosphere of All Saints' Day wasn't right for them to tell him the news right away. When Giorgis approached them after the dance, he had only one question for Maria. "Did you see Anna? Is she here?" Over the past few years, he had all but given up hope of a family reunion, but today it was in sight.He was puzzled that Anna hadn't been there—she had promised to come, after all. "I'm sure she'll come. Daddy, she said she'd come." Maria reassured his father, though the words sounded hollow to both of them. "Why don't we go for another dance?" she suggested. "You look so alive." She led her father back into the crowd and joined the dance that had just begun. Fotini was busy putting trays of food on the table.She noticed that the doctor was watching Maria dance, and she was even happier that her dearest friend had found such a good man.It was dark now, the wind had died down, and there was not a ripple on the sea.The temperature doesn't seem to have dropped a degree since the windless afternoon.People sat down between dancing, and they hungrily gulped glasses of clear wine, much of which spilled over the sand.Maria came back from the dance and sat next to Crittis.They raised their glasses at the same time, silently celebrating. By this time Ana and Andrés were almost in Plaka.The two of them didn't speak the whole way.They are all thinking of their own minds.Andrés thought of the possible resumption of Manoli's engagement to Maria, now that she was back, and when they reached the village and saw the crowd, he broke his silence, glad to be able to stimulate his wife with this suggestion. "Manoli? Marry Maria? Unless step over my dead body!" she screamed excitedly.He had never seen her so excited before.Now there is no need to hide. "Why do you say that?" Anna refused to let go. "Why can't he? They were engaged and were getting married before." He teased her. "Shut up, shut up!" She hit Andres hard as he pulled over. Andres is shocked by Anna's violent reaction. "My God!" he growled, dodging Anna's rain of fists. "You love him, don't you!" "How dare you say that!" she screamed. "Say it, why don't you admit it, Anna! I'm not a big fool, you know," he said, trying to control his voice. Anna was silent, her anger seemed to subside instantly. "I know it's true," Andrés said, calm now. "I came back early one day last week, and he was there with you. How long have you been?  …" Ana is crying and laughing now, hysterical. "Many years," she said incoherently, "many, many years..." In Andres' view, Anna's scarlet lips smiled, as if lost in the world of bliss.If she denies it, it will still give him a step down, maybe he just made a mistake.But her admission was the greatest mockery.He had to stop her from grinning from ear to ear. At that moment, he reached into his coat pocket and drew a pistol.Anna didn't even look at it.Her head was thrown back, and the balls of the necklace quivered as she laughed.She is delirious. "I've never..." she gasped, completely insane with the excitement of telling the truth, "I've never loved anyone the way I loved Manoli." Her words whipped him, cracked the surrounding air. In the square, Crittis watched the fireworks go off, the first fireworks rising into the peaceful air.Fireworks will be set off every hour before midnight, and each shot will burst into the air with a loud bang, and sparks will fall like gems into the peaceful sea.After the first round of fireworks, there was a moment of silence. The band was about to play again, but before it could start, they heard two louder bangs, which was surprising.Kritis looked up to the sky, thinking that there were dazzling sparks falling from the sky again, but obviously, there was nothing in the sky. A commotion broke out in a car near the square.Someone saw a car pull up a few minutes ago with a woman sprawled in the passenger seat.Critics started running over there.For a moment, the others seemed stunned.They refused to believe, overwhelmed with horror, that such violence had intruded on the celebration, but they cleared a way for him to pass. Kritis felt for the woman's pulse.Although very faint, there is still a trace of life. "We're going to remove her," he said to Dr. Lapakis, who stood beside him.Rugs and pillows were miraculously brought from a nearby house, and the two men carefully lifted the woman and lowered her to the ground.At their request, the watching crowd backed out of a clearing to allow them to save lives. Maria struggled to the front to see what she could do to help.When they put the woman on the rug, she recognized who it was lying in a pool of blood and surrounded by people.Many people recognized the woman, and everyone cried out in horror. Will not mistake her.With jet-black hair, ample boobs, and a dress soaked in blood, no one at the party could afford such expensive clothes for a celebration.Yes, without a doubt, it's Anna Vendoraki.Maria knelt on the rug, at her side. "Sister!" she whispered to Crittis, sobbing, "my sister." Someone in the crowd shouted: "Go find Giorgis!" Seconds later, Giorgis also knelt beside Maria, weeping silently, watching his eldest daughter, her life dying before them. Slowly faded away. It was all over in minutes.Anna never regained consciousness, but the two people who loved her most when she died were by her side, praying fervently for her salvation. "Why? Why?" Giorgis cried. Maria knew the answer, but she wasn't going to tell her father.That only added to his misery.Quietness and ignorance help him most at this time.It won't be long before he learns the truth.What haunted him forever was the night when he had just celebrated the return of one daughter and lost another forever.

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