Cave of Silence
Page 22
It had recently become known that in a secret, long-forgotten, Nazi warehouse, thousands of film reels shot in Greece had been discovered. Maybe the scenes of Manolis’ death were hiding among them, finally part of the annals of history.
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I stood up and admired the Cave’s interior, the stone figures that seemed to have been born of a talented sculptor’s chisel.
I sensed Anita’s presence before she even walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, her hot breath brushing my neck as she kissed me. I reached back and put my arms on her hips. My fingers got tangled in the net-like fabric of her white dress.
“Careful! You’ll ruin my wedding dress!” she protested with a laugh and helped me untangle them.
I turned to look at her and she started to dust my clothes down, still laughing. “Look at you! You are not fit to appear in front of all these people!”
I held her face and kissed her tenderly. “We’re not even husband and wife and you are telling me off! Don’t you know that I don’t care what people may think? Anyway, you are the one who wanted to get married here, in the middle of nowhere.”
I moved my hands further down and lifted her short dress. I pulled her toward me and pressed her against me. Desire flooded through me and I wanted to relive our first time together in the Cave of Silence, to make her mine. Anita gently pulled away.
“Dimitri, don’t. You’ll have to be patient until our wedding night. Isn’t that what they did in the old days?”
“Not in here they didn’t,” I replied trying to draw her near me again.
She placed her hand on my chest and kept me away, as I looked at her like a man in the desert seeing a glass of water. That’s when I noticed the ring she was wearing. It was Eleni’s engagement ring to Manolis. I kissed it and pulled out the watch with Manolis’ photo to show her. Michaela had given it to me as a gift, saying it was only right that I should have it.
She smoothed her wedding dress and my crumpled suit and pulled me to the mouth of the cave. Just before we walked out, I winked at her. “I suppose the babies are spending the night with their grandmothers?”
She gave me a look full of promise and put her hand on my arm. We stepped outside to meet everyone. They were all there, everyone on the island, along with those who had worked on the film and friends who had traveled from Germany and Athens. Our mothers sat under one of the large umbrellas that had been set up on the beach holding our babies. Kostas sat between them trying to keep everyone cool with a fan.
As soon as they saw us, they broke into applause, not for the first time that day. Every step that day had felt like being on stage, a round of applause for a scene well-acted.
Shortly, the ceremony at the tiny chapel on the beach would begin. After the wedding, we would christen our twins in the sea: Manolis and Eleni, named in honor of the two people who had loved one another for eternity.
We had politely declined all offers to turn their story into a film. We felt that no film could capture the reality of what had happened and wanted to keep the memory of their love rather than their suffering alive.
The film that had brought Anita and me together had hit the screens at the beginning of the year and was doing well all over Europe. Our story and all the rumors circulating had certainly helped.
Anita was being offered more parts than ever but had decided to take a break for a few years and enjoy parenthood. We’d rented a house on the outskirts of Athens by the sea, our other great common love.
The following year, we intended to build our house on the island. Uncle Nikos had bought a plot of land near Mantani in my name, as I had been informed by the notary when I called the number on that card.
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The Abbot of the monastery of Aghios Mámas, the man who had saved my mother and her brother, appeared at the doorway, flanked by two monks who would help him during the ceremony.
In the time we waited for everyone to gather around us and the ceremony to begin, I looked out to the top of the hill. I thought I saw something move there. A black horse stood at the top of the hill and, as if it could tell that I was looking at it, reared on its hind legs just like that day at Mantani. I nudged Anita and pointed to the hilltop with a nod of my head. But there was nothing there. No one else seemed to have noticed anything.
I remembered the legend the old man had told my uncle about the black horse with the heart-shaped white mark on its forehead that forever roamed the island in search of its master. From where I stood, it was impossible to tell whether the horse had a mark like Karme or the horse I had met at the spring.
I held Anita’s hand tightly throughout the ceremony and we kept exchanging glances as if we could not believe it was really happening. Later on, the cries of out twins rang out on the beach as the Abbot christened them in the sea. Their godparents were Thomas, Sofia, and Thekla. Most of the guests had waded into the water to watch him perform the ceremony in his serene, unhurried manner despite the scorching sun.
Everything was now in place and nothing could ever change that.
The ceremony over and everyone back on the shore, Thomas put his fingers in his mouth and gave out a loud whistle. Music came from the footpath that went up the mountain, getting louder as the musicians approached the beach. Anita and I looked at one another, both of us instantly recognizing the tune. It was the familiar island song. One by one, the musicians who had performed on the night of the festival appeared and our guests started to join hands and fall into step in a large circle, a circle that became a giant hug enclosing us in the middle as the lyrics rang out.
My beautiful island girl
Leaving these shores behind
Leaving me alone to wander
On a lonely isle
The waves have come between us
Keeping our lips apart
I pray that you will keep
A place for me in your heart
My beautiful island girl
Leaving these shores behind
Remember I will love you
Until the end of time
And if you leave one evening
I will bear your absence
Alone with my memories
In a cave of silence
Note from the author
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The story of Manolis is based on the real-life story of Dimitris Pipiliagkas and the events that took place in Vlasti, a village close to Kozani in Northern Greece, just before the end of WWII. The story was passed on to me by Dimitri Lymberopoulos, the grandson of Yiannis Pipiliagkas, (Dimitris/Manolis’ brother), who appears in the book as Yianni Reniotis.
Now in his nineties, Kostas Pipiliagkas is the man depicted on the front cover. He is the son of Dimitris Pipiliagkas and does not appear in the book. He is the only member of the family to have witnessed the events described here and I was honored that he chose to share his father’s tragic last moments with me.
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The island is a fictional place, an imaginary landscape based on the Greek islands of Andros, Leros, and Halki.
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I have never visited Vlasti.
K.K.
About the author
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When Kostas Krommydas decided to write his first novel, he took the publishing world of his native Greece by storm. A few years later, he is an award winning author of five bestselling novels, acclaimed actor, teacher and passionate storyteller. His novels have been among the top 10 at the prestigious Public Book Awards (Greece) and his novel “Ouranoessa” has won first place (2017). He has also received the coveted WISH writer’s award in 2013 as an emerging author. When not working on his next novel at the family beach house in Athens, you will find him acting on theatre, film, and TV; teaching public speaking; interacting with his numerous fans; and writing guest articles for popular Greek newspapers, magazines, and websites. If you want to find out more about Costas, visit his website, http://kostaskrommydas.gr/ or ch
eck out his books on Amazon: Author.to/KostasKrommydas
More Books
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Athora
A Mystery Romance set on the Greek Islands.
A tourist is found dead in Istanbul, the victim of what appears to be a ritual killing. An elderly man is murdered in the same manner, in his house by Lake Como. The third murder is the most perplexing of all: the priest of a small, isolated Greek island lies dead in the sanctuary, his body ritualistically mutilated. Fotini Meliou is visiting her family on the island of Athora for a few days, before starting a new life in the US. She is looking forward to a brief respite and, perhaps, becoming better acquainted with the seductive Gabriel, whom she has just met. It is not the summer vacation she expects it to be. A massive weather bomb is gathering over the Aegean, threatening to unleash the most violent weather the area has ever seen. When the storm breaks out, the struggle begins. A race against the elements and a race against time: the killer is still on the island, claiming yet another victim. Locals, a boatload of newly arrived refugees, foreign residents, and stranded tourists are now trapped on an island that has lost contact with the outside world. As the storm wreaks havoc on the island, how will they manage to survive?
More Books
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Dominion of the Moon
Award Winner, Public Readers’ Choice Awards 2017
In the final stages of WWII, archaeologist Andreas Stais follows the signs that could lead him to unearth the face of the goddess who has been haunting his dreams for years, all the while searching for the woman who, over a brief encounter, has come to dominate his waking hours. In present day Greece, another Andreas, an Interpol officer, leaves New York and returns to his grandparents’ island to bid farewell to his beloved grandmother.
Once there, he will come face to face with long-buried family secrets and the enigmatic Iro. When gods and demons pull the threads, no one can escape their fate. Pagan rituals under the glare of the full moon and vows of silence tied to a sacred ring, join men and gods in a common path.
Very soon more novels from Kostas Krommydas will be available on Kindle. Sign up to receive our newsletter or follow Kostas on facebook, and we will let you know as soon as they are uploaded!
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Copyright © 2017 Kostas Krommydas, except where otherwise specified.
All rights reserved.
Translation: Maria Christou
Editing: Nicholas Rossis
Cover art by Dioptra Publishing.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-154-981-444-0
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