by Nike Azoros
‘Walk through that arch. I am going around to the other entrance. There will be people waiting there to unload the goods.’
‘Thank you boatman, be well and have courage.’
‘Wait!’ He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out her trinkets and the money she had given him and added a thousand drachmas to it.
‘Here, you need it more than I do. Give my regards to your children.’
He sailed away and she stood before the gate reading the inscription above it, feeling the dread her children would have felt. She proceeded, not knowing that she was the only person who ever walked through Dante’s Gate not abandoning hope but with more of it than she had ever known. She pulled off her headscarf and let the sea air comb out her chestnut colored hair.
The Greeks say they can spot a xeno from across the street. He smells different, he walks different, and he doesn’t need to open his mouth for them to know Greek will not come out of it. They say it because most foreigners walk around like they do not fit in their body.
Lepers have the same insights. They can spot a healthy person before they get up close, even if the person is dressed in the drabbest of clothes. The healthy walk differently, with a bounce. They take their body for granted. The leper treasures every step. The healthy are not aware of the light in their eyes. Even if the healthy person is troubled their eyes still have light, their gaze may be steely or have become clouded but there is still light. Theodora looked up at the street sign exactly as her son and daughter had years ago. She was still looking up at it when Father Manoussos saw her.
‘Theodora! Oh my dear child have you too been struck down with the disease.’
‘Father.’ She fell to her knees and kissed his hand. ‘How good it is to see you. I have come to be with my children, with my Nikos and Theodora.’
Manoussos lowered his head in the painful realization this mother did not know her daughter had been dead for three years.
‘Father what is it, are my children alright?’
Aliki and Ikaros had seen the newcomer and walked up to greet her.
‘Welcome and not well come. What brings you here woman?’ Asked Ikaros.
‘Ikaros!’ Manoussos was appalled at his abnormal curtness. ‘What do you think brings her here?’
‘No Father, this woman does not have the disease.’
‘He is right Father. I am well, praise God.’
‘Theodora, what is going on?’
‘I am in health but am willing to risk losing it to be with my children. I prefer a slow death with my loved ones instead of a quick death to an invader’s bullet.’
‘Good choice. The world has been dragged into hell by these Satans.’
‘The children Father?’
‘Yes Theodora, come with me.’ Manoussos prayed for strength as he walked her towards the house of Nikos and Theodora. He would take her to Maria later.
Theodora had drawn a crowd. The residents of the island could see there was a newcomer walking the street with Manoussos. It was Stella the fat whore who noticed the high wide brow of the stranger and the steady rhythm of her walk was familiar to her. This woman had the brow of Nikos and the bearing of Maria. Stella called out, ‘Ay, Welcome and not well come lady. Tell us, would you be the mother of Lambrakis?’ The woman stopped and looked at Stella in the same way Nikos stops and looks at people, with a gentle half smile and a direct look in the eye, and all present noticed.
‘Eh Nikos, come out. Someone is here to see you,’ yelled the fat whore.
‘Uncle Nikos, someone is calling you,’ said his little niece.
‘Yes I heard that Stella yelling again.’ In his mind he hoped she wasn’t yelling to try to have another session so she could secure some more funding for her house. He was already bored with the two fat ugly whores. Their services meant no more to him than a haircut, just something that could be done as required. Their conversation was shallow and their voices were harsh and horrible to listen to. He had used them just as they had used him, they were whores after all.
‘You keep drawing the pretty pictures koukla mou. I will be right back.’
He stepped outside and expected to see ugly Susan or fat Stella undoing the top buttons of her shirt in playful seduction. They were there but quickly disappeared out of focus. It was the woman standing next to them who had captured all his attention.
Neither of them could speak. Mother and son sighed together. It was Theodora who stepped forward first. Nikos was still wary, believing he may be seeing things or having a strange dream. His mother was right in from of him now and put her hand to his hair to flick away an unruly lock just as she had done when he was a child, but he still wasn’t sure. Theodora placed her hands on each side of his head. Nikos instinctively lowered it for her to press her lips to his forehead.
This woman smelt like his mother. He would bring lavender and lemon blossom for her to add to the water in which she washed her clothes. She would also put them in the cupboards for all the clothes to take on the fragrances. She kept his head in her hands but moved her face back to study his. He couldn’t see her at all now, tears fully blinded him as he allowed himself to realize who was in his arms. He could only say one word,
‘Mama.’
Within their embrace they swayed in unison as she whispered into his ear, ‘Agori mou, my boy. I have come to be with you and Maria.’ He stopped swaying and looked over her shoulder and saw all of Spinalonga packed into the street outside his house. All were weeping with them. Theodora looked around too, still clutching her son.
‘So many people here to see us together but no Maria?’
‘No Mama, no Maria.’
She turned around again for any reassurance. No one had dispersed. They were not going anywhere. All wanted to stay there to support Nikos’ mother when she would learn about her daughter. It was Manoussos who spoke first. ‘Theodora, your Maria has fallen asleep. She fell asleep some three years ago.’
The unspoken words choked in Theodora’s throat. They would not come out. She was different now. The old Theodora would have wailed for her loss but the old Theodora had already done that. Why am I numb? She asked herself. Why aren’t I wailing? Who have I become to hear news like this and not feel the pain? And she answered herself, ‘You are different now. You are not the same woman you were then. Your children were lost to you. How can you mourn what has been gone for so long. But you have taken the life of another mother’s child as he scrambled in the waters like a child in his bathtub. You hacked him up like a piece of liver. And then you did it again and again. And you enjoyed it. For you it was as easy as plucking eggplant off their vines. You liked it and you cursed their mothers as you did it’.
She was crying now but not just because of her lost girl, she was crying because she was tired of death. Her life for the past few years had been nothing but the dead and the dying and now their beloved country was under attack by monsters that spread death everywhere they stepped. She yearned for the promise of life, of hope, of a feeling that the future carried purpose not more death.
She felt the comforting arm of Manoussos around her shoulder when she saw her come out and smile at her. Little Maria, her girl was an innocent child again. She smiled at her and waved one of her long plaits at her just as she had done long ago. Theodora took a deep breath to bring herself back to reality and to enjoy the presence of the one child she did have left. She opened her eyes again but the child apparition was still there. Little Theodora walked up to Nikos and took him by the hand.
‘Uncle Nikos who is this pretty lady?’
‘Theodora, this is your Yiayia, Theodora.’
‘You are my mother’s mother? Uncle Nikos talks about you every day. Hello Yiayia.’ The little girl kissed her on both cheeks as if she had known her all her life, all because of the stories of Nikos.
‘Hello my golden one.’ The two Theodoras walked off together holding hands.
‘You look just like your mama my darling.’
‘
I know Yiayia. Uncle Nikos told me all about her. Father Manoussos explained to me that she is with the angels now. Come on I will show you where I go with Baba to send her flowers.’ Nikos marveled at the little girl and the natural way that the dilemma of taking Theodora to her daughter’s grave was overcome. The two Theodoras returned after a few minutes. They were smiling and calm. It was the right time for the patients to wish her well and welcome her to Spinalonga.
‘Are you okay Mama?’
‘My son, I am in a strange place yet feel completely at home. Yes I am very okay.’ Nikos followed them into the house and for two days they sat and talked and talked. The other patients brought them food and drink while the little family shared every detail of what they had been through. Lyras came to meet the mother of his love. Theodora knew who he was as soon as he walked in and stood to greet her son in law. He bowed low and kissed her hand and left. ‘That was a great honor he just gave you. Lyras bows to no one.’
Theodora blended easily into life on the island. She was devoted to her grandchild and son and even carved up meat for Artemis who showed her acceptance of Theodora by spreading her wings for her. One time Nikos took Theodora up to the heights and let her watch him release Artemis for a hunt. They watched her scan the sea below her for a few seconds then dive in quickly.
‘That was quick, she must have spotted a big one.’ When they went to the edge to look down and see where Artemis was they saw her struggling on the surface of the sea. Nikos knew his goddess and could see that she had latched onto something that she was not going to release. They ran down to the shore and were astonished at what they saw. Artemis was swimming. In her beak was the biggest salmon they had ever seen. It had to weigh at least ten kilos. Right before their eyes Artemis flapped her wings so as to hover on the water and raise the fish out with her claws. She twisted her head to get to the fish and with an elegant snip of her beak had cut its spinal cord and the fish hung lip in her beak.
With the fish in her mouth she began to use her enormous wings as oars and rowed herself to shore and still with the fish in her beak delivered it straight into the hands of Nikos. Theodora crossed herself at the miraculous sight. Nikos and little Theodora both fed Artemis plump bits of juicy goat to reward her supreme effort. Artemis was dripping wet so the spectacular exhibition continued. She waddled over to a spot slightly away from them and stretched out her wings. She ruffled her feathers to dry them and kept her wings outstretched. Then Nikos and Theodora witnessed the phenomena of an eagle drying itself. Her feathers began to rotate as if each row was on its own axle. One by one the rows of feathers ruffled and rotated until she was clean and dry. Only then did she leap onto Nikos’ arm and sat there obediently as he put the hood on her for the journey home. Theodora looked at her son as if he was a stranger to her.
‘Nikos, even the eagles bow to you my son. What kind of man you have become?’
‘I have become the man you raised me to be.’
Chapter 21: Operation Cyclops
Nikos called a council of war. He had a plan. Nikos went to the storehouse and for the first time blessed the memory of Pavlos. ‘Rest in Peace you leprous soul.’ He had said when he picked the large can of red paint Pavlos had once used to humiliate innocents. At the infirmary Nikos had assembled a full work crew led by Makis. They set to work painting the roof. It didn’t take too long to dry in the Mediterranean sun. Nikos, Manoussos and Angela watched the progress from the ground. She had gone to see him about painting the infirmary at the same time as he was organizing the painting crew.
‘Nikos, I am familiar with war zones, and we are now in one. It is advisable that we follow the International Humanitarian Law protocol and equip our infirmary with the distinctive emblem.’ Then she looked over his shoulder and saw Makis and his team with paint pots and ladders. ‘Oh, I see you are aware.’ Nikos was reflective as the three of them stood together, ‘International law was my special interest. It was my dream to serve the less fortunate through the creation and implementation of humanitarian law.’
Manoussos patted Nikos on the shoulder, ‘The Lord works in mysterious ways.’ Even Angela who had little time for the restrictive thinking of the old ways added, ‘Well they do say everything happens for a reason. If you break it down to more simplistic terms Nikos, you are fulfilling your dreams, right here, right now.’ Nikos showed his good humor, ‘This was not what I had in mind.’ Then Nikos became serious again,
‘They will want the island. It is a perfect fort. They may want it for storing ammunition or just as a lookout point. They will no doubt send out a reconnaissance mission to take a look so we must be ready for them. We have a secret weapon that will fight them off without us even touching them.
‘What is that Nikos?’
‘Leprosy.’
Nikos had two objectives, the first one being to ensure the safety and well being of the residents. They would need food and medical supplies. Nikos had spent years establishing an efficient supply system. Now with wartime restrictions and vicious invaders he had to ensure all the residents of Spinalonga were safe. During winters the waters were choppy and in the past it had often taken weeks before a boat would get to them and also mainland supplies dwindled for the same reason.
The Spinalongans had taken easily to the system of squirreling away supplies in the buildings they had allocated as warehouses. Residents had been trained as store men to stack and stock the shelves as required. They had worked like the possessed to build up a basic food and medical supply of one year.
Nikos had also insisted once their new pensions had commenced that every recipient of the pension give ten percent of it towards a special infrastructure fund. He had allowed it to build untouched for the first year, following that, due to its constant replenishment. He was able to offer small bonuses to anyone who volunteered to work in a position that offered benefit to the population of Spinalonga.
Every single resident applied. The bonus was meagre but the significance of it was enormous. Every single resident could now claim they offered value to their state and were in paid employment. The warehouses were now all full and Nikos wanted to ensure they stayed that way whether the Nazis were around or not. They needed continual fresh supplies so Operation Cyclops was devised.
In the German camp, the onslaught of Crete was viewed as a mere technicality. It was to be a quick sweep as part of a bigger strategy. The Germans had been studying the coastline of Crete and became excited about the excellent location of Spinalonga.
Nikos was tuning the radio and heard German, he knew he had intercepted an enemy military communication, but he could not understand what they were saying. Lyras rode by on his horse, on the way to pick up a load of wood for the outdoor oven Ikaros had built. ‘Lyras, come here and listen to these German voices. Let us know if something is going on. I am meeting Manoussos at the taverna. If you need me I will be there.’ Lyras sat down and put on the headset, tuned in and indeed did heard German voices, ‘It does appear to be very well fortified obviously from a previous era.’
‘It looks to be the perfect place to set the storage facilities for all the ammunition and supplies as well as for monitoring enemy naval movements.’
‘Is it occupied?’
‘I believe it is but we can fix that with a quick annihilation of the population.’
‘That will be an inconvenience but Operation Mercury would benefit from such a fort.’ Lyras ran to the square and burst in to the taverna. Everybody was startled considering the type of news he had brought them the last time he burst in. The look on his face told Nikos what was happening, ‘They are coming here aren’t they?’ Lyras nodded very fast. ‘Did they mention a day?’ Lyras shook his head very fast.
‘Then we need to get to work right away.’ Nikos made sure they were prepared. He installed a twenty four hour lookout roster with every single resident of Spinalonga involved, all except the children of which there were now four, the oldest being little Theodora, the women had set up a nursery hou
se and would takes turns in shifts for watching them.
Every adult had a four hour watch and he had three vantage points on the island. They were unarmed of course but they had better weapons than bullets. Radio communication from the partisans on the mainland gave them some warning, ‘Boat approaching! It is coming from the North. They have departed from Rhodes. There is a large castle there built by crusaders, the palace of the grand masters. That malaka Mussolini was using it as a summer home. Po po these Italians have no shame.’
‘There are a lot of Greek Jews on Rhodes.’
‘There were but not anymore.’
‘They took them and they executed them all.’
‘Why? What is this madness? Why are they killing Jews? What have the Jews ever done to them?’
‘Always hold grave fears whenever one type of people is singled out for punishment. It won’t be long before they will have a problem with another nationality too, it won’t stop with the Jews.’
It was a small stroke of luck that the Germans were bringing their own boat and crew down from Rhodes. It gave them some more time to prepare. Nikos estimated that if an expedition boat was to come it would come in the morning so all night the Brotherhood of Spinalonga finalized the details of their plan. Nikos was right with his timing. The German expedition boat moored just off the coast of Elounda, a dinghy was lowered into the water and five soldiers climbed in and they rowed over to Spinalonga.
‘I thought they told us it was populated,’ said one as they all looked around taking in the high stone walls and all internally agreeing this would be an excellent base. They stepped out of the small craft into the thigh high water and began to tow the little boat in behind them to moor it and investigate the island.
‘This is a full fort. It will suit us very well.’
From behind the fortifications Nikos observed them and waved his frontline forward to carry out the first volley. Out of the small opening in the wall clambered out what looked to the Germans to be zombies.