LATER I went to the tower and knocked politely. A man in a grey suit opened the door. I told him I was here to collect my brother. He sneered. I stayed where I was. Then another man came and they both stared at me. I said that I wanted to bargain for Abdul's release. I said that he was French and called André Dubois. The thin man in the suit barked a question at me in French and I answered. They talked together. Then they brought Abdul. Bruised. Beaten. I was so angry that for a moment I could not speak. The thin man asked for 3000 lire. I offered him 300. I can only afford 500 in any case. So we stood on the stone step of a castle with Abdul lolling between the two men, unable to stand, bargaining for his life. I don't know how I did it. But I stayed calm, and eventually agreed on 500 lire. Then they just dropped poor Abdul onto the steps, took the money and slammed the door.
It took me hours to half carry and coax him back to the camp. He does not seem to have any broken bones. He is thirsty and bruised. He drank a lot of water and fell asleep. He hasn't spoken. I told Isaiah what happened. He says we must get away tomorrow, before the market finds out that we are worth kidnapping. He says that Abdul can ride in the cart if we wrap him in all our blankets. I agreed and packed up all our stuff ready for a fast getaway. Abdul seems to be asleep and dreaming. He's saying âKill me' over and over again. This is getting on my nerves. Sirius is lying next to him, licking his face. He is such a good dog.
We got away quietly and we are now camping in a field. It's a bit muddy but there's no one around. I can understand that. Abdul is still dreaming. I don't think they are pleasant dreams. Isaiah says he must have got a blow to the head and he will come out of it in time. Meanwhile we must keep him covered and give him water and wait. I hate waiting. I'll take the fishing pole and see what I can catch for dinner.
I got three fine fish last evening. I nearly drowned in the mud, though; it's very deep and treacherous around here. It seemed to be trying to drag me down. Awful. I couldn't strip and wash because there's no fresh water here. We moved on slowly today and we did come to a stream where I could pound my clothes clean and scrape the mud off myself. It's hot and my clothes are drying on me. Abdul is lying in the cart with Sirius next to him and a cloth over his face because the light hurts his eyes. I have seen a lot of dead soldiers who looked just like him. Father thought so too because he began to recite the burial service. I stopped him by putting my hand over his mouth. He blinked, but he shut up. Once I would never have dared to do such a thing. Then I sat down and despaired. How was I to get both Father and Abdul to Greece by myself? As though I heard her voice, I remembered Aunt Euphie telling me to count my blessings. So I did. I had both of them, though they were hurt. I had Isaiah, and I had the cart and Roland. And bread and fish for dinner. I made myself a sardine sandwich and tried to cheer up.
LATER Abdul opened his eyes. He saw me and tried to smile. This is encouraging. Sirius left him to go for a short walk with Father. A lot of soldiers passed on the road, but they did not bother us. I have not seen those uniforms before. Maybe they are Greeks? I did not stop them to ask.
Last night Isaiah was telling another tale of Sinbad when Abdul woke up and said, âI've heard that before.' Then he said, âI'm hungry, brother,' and I gave him the bread and cheese I had saved for him. He shared it with Sirius. He's much better and even walked a little today, to spare Roland. I wonder how far it is to Alexandropolis? And what we shall do when we get there? I have been watching birds. There are flocks of them, from tiny little finches to huge great things which Isaiah says are bearded vultures. He let me watch them through his binoculars (more British army issue, I noticed) and they are the most well-fed, smug birds. I suppose they find a lot of food in Thrace. There are dead everywhere. Off this path they sink into the mud. A whole crowd of people died here. I hope we get out of this smell soon. It makes Abdul sick.
I don't know about leaving from Alexandropolis. The nearest islands, Samothrace and Thassos, are not very far away but they are both Bulgarian islands now. Isaiah is going on to Thessaloniki and from there we might be able to get to Lemnos where the Australians are. But we can't go to Lemnos because Father is a traitor and will be shot. I had forgotten. Well, I shall just have to get him home some other way. I asked Father and he just said, âGod will provide, son,' which is true but not helpful. Abdul is much better today and walked the whole way. Alexandropolis is in sight. It's a large camp. Lots of the lost are here. Us too, of course. And I thought I saw the gypsies. It would be nice to see them again. I wonder how that baby is? And Tasi?
Well, here we are. The gypsies are camped near the sea and so are we. The grazing isn't so good here. The horses are looking thin. We bought food in the town. It's more like a huge camp than a town. There is a fish market and we bought fish and lemons and I even got a pinch of real tea and fresh bread. I miss butter. When I think of that big slab of butter on Aunt Euphie's tea table I could weep. Tasi said that the countryside is ruined and there's lost people everywhere. She said that one gang of bandits tried to hold up the gypsies. They had guns. They were beaten off but she says that Romani has ordered that the gypsies should stay in or near towns until the coming winter kills off the robbers. Misery everywhere. This is war, I hate it. Isaiah went off to sell things. Father and Sirius stayed in the cart. Abdul and I went into the town. It's autumn but there is little fruit, even though this area is famous for cherries. I could buy cherry jamâat fierce pricesâbut I do not know how to make the scones to go with it. Time to talk to fishermen about boats. I have put on weight, got taller. And I may need new clothes soon. My hair's growing again.
Isaiah knows all the fishermen. We went to a little taverna. We bought them raki and they talked freely. All the news was bad. I have come to expect this. The people on the nearest islands are mixed Turkish and Greek and they both hate the Bulgarians so they are rebellious and not safe for Father and me. Or Abdul. We might be able to persuade someone to go further. But we have to go soon because autumn brings gales and makes sailing too dangerous. We need a boat with an engine, too. The men laughed and drank and talked and then they shoved one man forward. âYanni will do it,' they told us. âYanni needs the money, he wants to get married!'
Yanni is young, with a gold tooth, curly black hair and a boat called
Elene
. This is the name of the girl he wants to marry. He told us that he would take us to Tinos. We were to say that we were pilgrims. Tinos is a holy island. From Tinos we could get to Crete and maybe home, in the end. Or perhaps to Athens. It's a long, long trail a-winding to the land of my dreams, as Aunt Euphie used to sing. We have to get some new clothes. We look far too Turkish, especially Abdul.
The market had some old clothes stalls. They were awful clothes. I think they were taken off the dead. They stank. I could not wear such things. The gypsies said they could clothe us for a fee. Isaiah says that Abdul should wear girls' clothes. Abdul said he would rather die. But Isaiah explained that the Bulgars had a watch notice out for an old man and two boys. If one of us was a girl that would throw them off our scent. Abdul still wouldn't agree so I said I'd do it. Tasi giggled as she supplied me with a black skirt and pink jumper and a headscarf like she wears. The skirt is a nuisance. It catches around my calves and I can't walk like I am used to. But I'll get used to it if it means that we get out of here. We found a worn but respectable suit for Father and boys' clothes for Adbul. He went on and on about taking off his fez but with me in girls' clothes he didn't have a lot to complain of, really, so he shut up in the end. We ate with Tasi's family. The abandoned baby is doing well. We had a stew with a lot of tomatoes and eggplant and so on. It was delicious.
Yanni brought his boat and we set off. Isaiah waved goodbye from the shore. I shall miss him. He is so old and so wise. And he looked after us. Even if he is a Jew. Abdul said something about getting rid of the Jews and gypsies at last and then was immediately seasick, which just about serves him right. He's still sick. I'm not and Father and Sirius are sitting in the bow, enjoying the sea breeze. Yanni has two brothers to work the boat, Costa and Athanasios. I will practise my Greek talking to them. Our voyage is going to take days. They call me Thespoinis which means Miss. This is going to take some getting used to. Like the skirt. Now I am a girl I have to refer to myself in the female. This is hard and sometimes I don't know the feminine form. Yanni thinks it's funny. Luckily. It's very nice to be sailing. We have to stop to fish. And there's fish for dinner. With lemon juice.
Still sailing. Good catch of fish, squid and octopus. Really can't get used to eating tentacles. Abdul still sick.
Had a scare. The wind came up and we got blown all over the ocean. I've skinned my hands pulling ropesâhence the bad handwriting. But the sea is calm now. We saw dolphins. The sailors say that they are sacred. Orthodox saints aren't the same as our saints. Though some are in common, like St George. He is the patron saint of Greece. Father is muttering about idols. Abdul agrees with him. I don't like this.
We came into Tinos harbour. There was a crowd of people on the dock. No officials, though. I paid Yanni and he and his brothers took us to a tavern called Kypros for breakfast. The town is full of pilgrims. There is a miracle-working icon here called Panagia Evangelistria. It shows the annunciation of Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. The people are calling it
megalochari
, which means great joy. As in, âBehold, I bring you tidings of great joy.' Which is what the angels said to the shepherds. I had to explain it to Abdul. There is a sense of awe in the air. Even the taverna was quiet and the sailors in it well behaved. I like this place. I shall go and see this icon later, when the crowds have thinned a little. There is a narrow street which leads to the church and people are crawling along it. Old people. Sick people. But Yanni says that it is also a good place to be baptised and sometimes at festivals the island is full of families with their babies. The war seems very far away from Tinos. I haven't heard the guns for days and days. Yanni introduced us to a cousin of his who has rooms, so we have a place to sleep. From here we can get a ferry to Piraeus, which is the port of Athens. Possibly. I still have a bundle of Turkish lire and I need to change it for Greek drachma.
LATER I changed the money for a good rate. The money-changer seemed to know me and asked how his good friend Isaiah was. I said he was well. Things are different if you are dressed as a girl. Men smile at you. I still stumble over my skirt. I liked boys' clothes better. I don't know how fast I could run in these things. We ate with Yanni's cousin Spiro and his family. Moussaka, a dish made of lamb and eggplant. Very tasty. They assumed that we were here to ask the icon to give Father back his mind. That might not be a bad idea. Abdul is nervous surrounded by Greeks and the Greek language, and knowing how they feel about Muslims. Even though I am dressed as a girl I feel comfortable here. There are a lot of priests, but I haven't seen any soldiers.
I had a dreadful dream, all mud and dead men and screams. I usually dream of the war these days. I woke up sure that I could smell that trench reek of decomposition and dirt. But there was just the gentle sun and the smell of oranges and coffee when I opened our window. Abdul had a nightmare, too. He dreams he is back in that castro. We both went to eat fresh bread and honey to take the taste away. Father likes to sit on the balcony with Sirius on his lap, looking at the people and the circling doves. Both of them seem content with this. I went to the cathedral. It is a lovely building, all gold and white, and inside it is dazzling. Huge amounts of precious metals have been used to decorate the icon and the church. There is an orange tree made of gold and silver, for instance. The icon itself can hardly be seen for all the decorations. I said a prayer for Father. I followed the crawling old ladies down to the crypt, where the icon was found by a nun in 1822. The crypt is called Evresis, which means discovery. There is a spring called Zoodochos Pigi which is supposed to heal. A priest was handing out little sips of water from a silver cup to the devout. I got one too. I am as devout as them, I suppose. Maybe. The water was cold and fresh and a little salty. I was overwhelmed and almost blinded by the reflected light of all those offerings and had to stumble out of the church and sit down on the side of the road. Another priest patted me on the head and gave me a cup of water. These Greek priests are big. At home they would be ruckmen, or maybe wrestlers.
Asked yesterday about ferries and there is one leaving tomorrow for Piraeus. I suppose we ought to take it. Abdul is worried about staying in Greece too long. I asked him what he meant to do. Was he coming to Australia with us? He said he didn't know. He wants to wait until he can talk to some friend of his father's who has been in hiding on the mainland. I told Father about the church of the icon. He seemed interested. He has started talking again. Mostly about the Bible, but sometimes about Aunt Euphie and Australia. He talks to Sirius a lot. Spiro's wife Maria is worried about Father and keeps bringing him titbits and little drinks. She is a wonderful cook. I haven't eaten so well since I left my home. I wish she could meet Aunt Euphieâthey could exchange recipes. Perhaps we can stay here for a while until Father is better. It's a peaceful place and has to be good for his poor troubled mind. No one has asked us for any papers. How did that money-changer know Isaiah? If someone asks me about the price of oranges in Edirne I will be cross.