Samos

"Yes, we do.” Almices' face lit up. “We can go to Uncle Castor. Last year father and I visited him. Don’t you remember?”

"We don't know where he lives. We do not even know if he’ll want visitors. Even our mother couldn't visit him, remember.”

"He lives on the island of Kos. I know it will be difficult to find, but we have nobody left. I think I remember the inlet where he lives.” Almices hugged his sister. They did not know which way to go and they certainly could not afford to waste more time. “Come on, Telma. Let’s go home for some food and water and get the girls, they must miss us.”

They entered their house again. The room was still lit by the lights that Hermes had turned on at sunset. The reflection of the flames spread throughout the house, tiling over the lifeless bodies. Worried that Andreas would suddenly appear, the young siblings collected as many supplies as they could carry, constantly glancing over at their parents. Almices told Telma that the trip might last a couple of days, but it was better to be safe. The boy approached a small hole in the wall where he knew his father kept some coins of little value, as if it were a real treasure. They might be needed. He glanced sideways at his father, feeling guilty for taking the money that had taken so much time and effort to save. Meanwhile Telma gathered dry fish and fruit in a large basket. She also found two water-filled skins that her mother brought from the village early in the morning. A noise by the door distracted them.

"What was that?” Telma stood up “Andreas?”

“A rat," replied Almices, disgusted, pointing at the animal that was sniffing the Carthaginian’s blood.

"Come, let's go now. Andreas could arrive at any time.” Almices nodded. He approached his mother and kissed her fondly for the last time. He then knelt in front of his father and prayed for the strength to be able to guide his sisters to safety. Telma also said goodbye to them. Before leaving, she took two coins from her brother's bag and put them into her parents' mouths so that they could pay the boatman Caronte on his trip to Hades. They got up in sorrow and went stealthily to the jetty, looking back in case they saw Andreas approaching.

It seemed that the wind had died down a little and the waning moon was rising providing a poor light to the night. The siblings quickly walked away, thinking about everything they left behind. Almices remembered with sadness how his father had let him work the tiller in the morning. How quickly their lives had changed in just a few short hours.

"We forgot warm clothes.” Telma tried to retrace her steps.

“What are you doing? We can't go back. Andreas might be there already,” Almices stopped her. “What do you want the clothes for?”

"It's windy and the girls might suffer. The temperature will drop tonight, can’t you see the clouds?” She pointed at the sky. “Plus, we cannot leave mother and father like that.”

"It’s fine, there are several blankets on the boat in case of a problem, we can all keep warm with them. And we can’t do anything for our parents now, it’s too dangerous. Come, let's return to our sisters.”

The jetty was already visible in the twilight. As they approached, their faces reflected an added tension. They couldn’t see the girls anywhere.

"Where are they?” Telma's voice sounded grave. “I told them not to move.”

“I don't know, they may have returned to the cave.”

“Let's call them.”

"No!” Almices’ voice was sharp. He thought about Andreas. They cannot be found. He stopped to look at the boat.

They reached the jetty and there was no trace of their sisters. Almices advanced over the whimpering wood until he reached the boat. The clouds had covered the scarce moon and it was hard to see the inside the boat.

"Are they there?” Telma felt distressed.

"I don't see anything. Wait for me to come up,” he said as he jumped. He didn't remember leaving the rope so untidy. He pulled them away.

"You’re here already?” Nerisa woke up yawning. Almices gave a sigh of relief.

"What a scare you gave me!” The young man took a step back. “Telma, they're here.” He heard his older sister walk across the jetty.

"Where is Janira?" Almices asked Nerisa. “I thought she was with you.”

"She’s here." She raised the nets that were still on the boat, exposing their little sister, who was in a deep sleep. “We were sleepy and didn’t want to bother you, so we came on the boat.” Almices smiled relieved as Telma approached.

"You had us worried. Good thing you're okay.”

"And Dad?” Nerisa was restless. By this time, they were usually fast asleep.

"Darling, dad and mum are no longer here.” Telma stroked her hair, trying to keep her composure. “Some men have entered the house and killed them. We have to leave; we can't go home.” She immediately regretted her bluntness.

"It can't be.” Nerisa started to cry. “I want to go to mum.” She tried to jump off the boat to run home but Almices held her arm.

"Sweetheart, we can't go home. We can't go back. Andreas wants to kill us too.” He hugged her.

"Almices, look!” Telma exclaimed as she pointed toward the house. In the darkness the illuminated entrance was hardly discernible. Almices observed the movement of a silhouette in the doorway.

"Andreas is already looking for us. Telma, ready the boat.” He let go of Nerisa and jumped to the jetty.

"What are you going to do, Almices? It won't take long for Andreas to get here.” The young man said nothing. He went over to Andreas's boat and slashed the man's sails with his knife.

"Run, Almices! He’s coming.” The boy turned to the house and watched as the silhouette increased in size. Their neighbour had already seen them. But his sails were already torn, and Almices threw the oars into the water before jumping back to the jetty.

"Telma, fast, cast off!” Almices shouted as he cut his neighbour’s moorings and pushed the boat to sea. He turned to the house and saw Andreas was almost on the jetty. Telma had freed the boat and the young man pushed it off and jumped inside.

"You, wait!” Andreas screamed at them from the jetty. Telma and Almices took the oars and rowed with all their strength. Andreas's boat was loose, and with the moorings broken and driven by the wind, it was already drifting out to sea.

"Wait, dam you!” Andreas, already at the end of the jetty, in a matter of seconds realised that the children were out of reach. He turned toward his boat and cursed when he saw it drifting away, slowly out to sea. He did not think twice, he jumped into the water to rescue his boat.

"Almices, Andreas has thrown himself into the water. He’s trying to retrieve his boat and chase us.” Nerisa looked fearfully at the coast and their neighbour.

"Don't worry, I tore the sails. Nerisa, grab my oar and keep rowing with Telma.” He passed the oar and without wasting time he raised the sail. He had done so many times, competing with the other fishermen’s children. The automatic movements made the ship ready in a short time. His sisters continued to commentate.

"Andreas is already on his boat!” Nerisa exclaimed terrified, and craned to see if their neighbour was approaching. The man had just gained his boat and started to unfold the sails. The wind was blowing again, and the sea was lashing with much more force. The clouds had cleared a wide space around the moon and its pale light lit the scene. Almices turned in time to see his neighbour raise his hands toward them, surely cursing the sails that the boy had slashed. The wind censored his string of insults.

"Telma, Nerisa, you can stop. The wind will propel us now. Andreas can’t reach us here.”

"I don't know if that’s a good idea Almices, it's getting windy and the waves are growing. I still fear for us.” Telma looked at the hectic sea with concern.

"Trust me, I know this area and we can sail without problems. We will sail south along the canal to get away from the coast and then east toward Kos. Then we will see how our uncle receives us; in the meantime, we will be safe from Andreas and those Romans. Now try to sleep a little bit.” Nerisa was as frightened by this night as the rest. She picked up one of the blankets and snuggled away from the wind with Janira, who continued to sleep deeply. Telma cradled another blanket, somewhat further away from her sisters, next to the bow. Almices was by the helm, ever a good steersman and he guided the ship from the rocky traps that he knew lurked here under the waves.

The hours passed and the wind raged. The waves strengthened, though they did not threaten the ship. Nerisa held Janira tightly. She was worried that an abrupt movement could throw her into the sea, so of course she couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about her parents. She did not understand what her older siblings had told her. Why couldn't she see her parents again? Why were they killed? Why must they flee? Too many questions for a nine-year-old girl. She wished she could tell her father she wanted to be a fisherman just like him. She had never dared to tell him before because there were no fishing girls in the village, nor fishing women; it was a man’s job. She remembered how jealous she felt of her brother when her father told him that he must go fishing every day with him. Her mother had never understood. She had once refused to help her because she wanted to go to sea with the men and was punished for two days, forced to stay at home. What would they say to her now? She continued to reminisce about her parents as tears ran down her cheeks in the same lilt as the waves hit the hull of the boat.

Telma remained curled in the bow feeling a little dizzy. She couldn’t understand the misfortune that had fallen on them. She blamed her neighbour, the inn keeper, for hosting the Romans. She blamed the castaways for washing upon their beach. She thought about how she would never see her beloved Telemaco again, but was surprised how little she cared. Her wedding intentions paled in comparison to the recent events. She constantly argued with her mother, but now she missed her so much. She spent many mornings methodically preparing the old recipes memorized by her mother. The scolding she received when she improvised and changed an ingredient. She never understood why her mother sometimes seemed to hate everyone, even though she knew that her childhood had not been easy. Now she felt alone in adversity, like the time she had fallen between the rocks by the beach and climbed up against a rising tide, insisting that her siblings move away and not worry about it; but Almices had gone in search of their parents anyway, who finally rescued her from the danger. Who would support them now? How would she take care of her brother and sisters? At times she began to understand the feelings her mother felt toward the rest of the world. People were not good. They seemed to take any chance to harm others, to take advantage of an outsiders' misgivings to thrive selfishly. She felt like an outsider, a fragile being, surrounded by danger.

Almices’ arms started to hurt. He had been sailing south for several hours and had gently turned to the east so that his sisters would not be disturbed by the change in direction. Shortly after setting off he had to lower the sails because the wind was threatening to blow. He had overcome the reefs of the cove and knew that Andreas would not be able to follow them. It would take hours to mend his sails and he had no oars to reach them. He cast his mind back to that morning when the he jumped onto the boat floor. He smiled with melancholy. He recalled his father talking to him cheerfully while he controlled the tiller with an accurate course to the cove. He felt his arm falter at the helm and grabbed it more forcefully. He would get to Kos, bring his siblings to safety and then, though he didn't know how, make Andreas pay for his betrayal. He didn't know if his uncle would welcome them, but he didn't too much care. If their uncle didn't want them with him, so be it. They had the boat, and he knew how to fish, they would get by. He lifted his eyes to heaven, imploring the protection of the gods.

III

After midnight, dense clouds hid the moon and darkness had taken over the immensity of the sea. Almices had no visual reference to follow his course. He began to doubt his ability to fulfil the trip he had proposed to his siblings. He clearly lacked the experience to be able to pilot the boat in these conditions, he was simply led by his intuition. He went almost an hour without seeing any stars to confirm the course. The wind had not increased; but since they had left the canal, formed between the island of Samos and the continent, the waves were more intense. The waves constantly splashed onto the deck and at times the crossing felt eternal. Telma was soaked and now sitting next to her sisters. Nerisa was still scared but nevertheless tried to console Janira, who had woken and not stopped crying or calling for her mother. Almices cursed himself for the course he had chosen. Instead of going directly east to the nearby continent, he went south to mislead both his neighbour and the Romans in case they had a ship in the other bay. Now he did not know how far they were from the continent, which on clear days was perfectly visible from Samos. He knew that the island of Kos was south of Samos, and therefore it was very difficult for them to get lost. The route he had traced with his father on his journey to the island had followed the coast of the continent to another stretch of it that almost reached Kos. Finally, they got their wish. The clouds parted to reveal the light of the moon. Almices scanned the horizon of dwindling darkness in search of a reference point that might lead back to a good path. Suddenly the boat turned sharply, it’s course marred by a wave. Telma, startled, grabbed the mast and the little ones grabbed her.

"Almices! What are you doing?” Nerisa yelled.

"I'm sorry," her brother apologized, rectifying the course. “We have land in front of us, but it’s too soon to be Kos or the continent.”

"Don't you know where we are?” The question made Almices nervous. The boy tried to remember the other fishermen’s descriptions of the nearby islands.

"I suppose it may be the island of Agathonisi. I have never been there with father. If so, we are on the right track; although it is a dangerous area, with many small islets around and we could get grounded. Better if we stay away from the coast and wait until dawn.”

"How far are we from Kos?”

“If this is the island I'm talking about, we still have a whole day's journey ahead, ahead, maybe more. We cannot continue toward her right now. We must keep our distance, so we do not run into trouble. I hope that the storm will subside and, if the clouds clear a little more, I might know for sure the direction I should take. Rest a little. Poseidon will soon call a truce.”

The dawn was long in coming. The girls remained quiet. Nerisa was no longer sure about being a fisherman; she did not think the sea was romantic any more. Telma, discomposed by the swaying of the boat, kept her eyes closed praying to herself. Janira had finally fallen asleep from pure exhaustion. Almices, tired of fighting the sea, struggled to keep the boat away from the coast. The storm had passed at last. He thanked the gods and stood on the bow of the ship. Now he could see the irregular coast of the island through the breaking light of dawn. He spotted several islets. It had to be Agathonisi. He rinsed his face and raised the sail to catch the wind. Soon the boat recovered its course.

At noon, the continental coast was once again on the horizon and the boy changed his course to the south. Fortunately, there was no trace of Andreas or the Romans. No doubt they had been misled. They had deviated from their initial course, but had now recovered it. The bad thing was that the clouds had reformed, threatening a storm similar to the night before. Although the girls had eaten, they were not feeling well. The lack of sailing experience had left them with seasickness that they could not shake.

The sun was setting when a strong wind rose that forced Almices to retract the entire sail. Telma and the young man started to row. The waves were heavy and soon it began to pour. When they looked out to sea, the sky looked like a watery mantle. Almices was determined to get closer to the coast. He didn't want to risk being approached by an unknown ship. The area was famous for pirates, but the risk from the sea was greater. The storm threatened to be much more intense than the night before.

The afternoon passed and the storm continued to grow. The boat was not far from the coast. Almices did not want to risk getting closer for fear of the rocks. Then they suffered a tremendous blow that sounded in their ears like a scraping moan.

"What happened?” Telma stood up hugging her sisters forcefully. The young man took a quick look at the deck.

"We have a leak.” Almices rose quickly to try to plug the gap that had formed in the bow. It wasn't a big hole, but the water was already threatening to flood the boat. They wouldn't get far if they didn't plug it. The little ones cried again, and the tension gripped them all.

"Can I help you?” Telma had stopped rowing to reassure her sisters and then approached the bow.

"Pass me the pitch and hemp. They are down there.” He pointed to a pine box wedged under one of the banks.

Telma was surprised at her brother's ability to solve the unexpected problem. They fixed the leak, but the storm was still raging, and they nervously discovered that Telma's neglected oar had disappeared, taken by the sea. With just one oar, guiding the ship in the middle of the ocean was a near-impossible mission. Almices decided to lift the sail, just by a third to use wind and thus guide the boat through the hectic waters.

The day gave way to the night and the wind accelerated. The momentum of the boat, even with so little sailing space, gave it an unmeasured speed. The hole was still leaking, but was not a concern at the moment. Almices calculated that, at that speed, they would arrive at Kos before dawn. The sail was being forced to its limits and he kept his eyes constantly fixed on it. The ties he had made to keep only part of the sail unfolded were loosened without warning and the entire sail suddenly inflated. The ship swung sharply toward the bow and the mast gave a dry roar. The children looked up. They saw that the sail had torn and was fluttering violently. The ship drifted through the strong waves. The four of them hugged each other, praying for the mast to withstand and to avoid the coastal breakers. Almices mustered some courage and tried to lower the rickety sail with the intention of repairing it. His efforts were fruitless, and he realized that it was impossible in the midst of the storm. With dusk they lost the reference of the coast. The boat was now carried by the whims of the waves and soon Almices did not know where the storm was pushing them.

Dawn surprised the Theopoulos boat. It had been a long, tense night in which they had finally fallen asleep one after the other. Telma was the first to wake and she checked quietly that all four were still on board. Despite some damage, the ship had endured the storm. She looked up at the remnants of the sail, then turned to look at the horizon. There was no land in sight. She was concerned, so woke her brother.

"Brother, wake up," she put her hand gently on his shoulder. Almices opened his eyes. Lying face up, he saw the sky was cloudy, but it didn't seem to be raining. He sat up.

"Good morning, Telma. How are you and the little ones?”

"Exhausted, it's been a very long night. I'm still dizzy. You fell asleep and then the little ones wet themselves.”

"Yes, I can smell it.” He gave them a loving look. They were still asleep. “Last night I was so exhausted it was hard for me to keep my eyes open,” he tried to excuse himself.

"Almices, I'm worried. I can't see land anywhere; we have to do something.”

"We don't have another sail on board. We will have to use one of the blankets as a sail.”

"Do you think it will work?" Telma was ready to pick up one of the blankets that was soaked by the storm.

Noon was approaching and the wind, as strong the day before, did not show signs of abating. Janira, tired by the rugged voyage, was alternating between sleep and waking, between sobs and nightmares. Nerisa had closed herself off. She woke up shortly after her older siblings and without a word curled up in a corner looking toward the sea as if she were a statue. Telma had tried to talk to her on several occasions but she only replied with monosyllables, her gaze fixed upon the horizon. The old blanket tied to the mast was so heavy that it wasn't even blowing in the breeze. Almices constantly tried to steer the boat eastward, fighting the current with one oar while Telma held the helm.

“A boat!” Nerisa exclaimed with hope in her voice. “Look Almices, a, boat, over there.” Nerisa pointed insistently to the port side. Her brother glanced to where she was pointing.

"We don't know if they are friend or foe, Nerisa. It’s better if they don’t see us. We must be cautious," Almices replied. Indeed, a small sail could be seen on the horizon.

“We won't be able to get anywhere like this, brother," Telma chipped in. “We’ve almost ran out of water and we don't know where the nearest land is. Maybe they can help us.”

"It's very risky," her brother insisted, doubting whether it would be the best.

"Almices, you’re just like mother, always distrusting people," his older sister responded. “We cannot risk any more, Janira has to rest, or we will lose her too. We have no choice but to ask for help.” Nerisa nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we'll turn to that boat, see if they can see us." He took over from his sister at the helm and changed direction, then began rowing with the only oar toward the boat that appeared to approach them.

The sail was slowly approaching. The Theopoulos’ took for granted that they had been spotted. Almices calculated they were about five hundred stokes away when the ship turned to them. The die was cast. They had some money, if they were fishermen the children hoped they could pay their way to Kos; if they were not, better that everything happened quickly, the boy thought. It was a much larger vessel than the battered boat of Hermes Theopoulos. A large triangular sail pushed her decisively toward them. From the small boat they could see several people moving about on deck. The animation onboard warned Almices that they were preparing to board them, they began to retract the sail.

"Ahoy there! who are you?” a voice arose from the bow, a man with a strong complexion raised his hand with a friendly gesture. Almices was prepared to respond.

"We come from Samos, the storm broke the sail and we’ve been drifting. We need help getting to Kos.”

“Your ship is damaged, come on board, we’re going to Nisyros, which is next to Kos. I guess we'll be able to leave you somewhere on the island.”

The two ships were placed next to each other and the children went on board leaving the small boat empty, drifting by. The burly man who had spoken to them appeared before them.

"Good morning, children. I am Zamar, the captain of this ship, welcome.” He smiled sardonically. “These are my men.” He gestured to the crew. A dozen men of various ages, each more dishevelled and dirtier than the next. The siblings feared that they were not fishermen. Some of the sailors leered at Telma's breasts, which stood out thanks to the girl's clothing, still soaked by the storm. The ship was certainly large, had to have several compartments for the crew and considerable space for cargo. No nets were seen anywhere.

"Thank you for picking us up," said Almices. “What can we offer you as compensation?”

"Don't worry about that now, go and rest, and in a couple of hours we will eat and talk about everything.” The captain smiled, made a gesture to go below deck. The children, a little suspicious, felt exhausted, and after speaking briefly discussing the offer, ended up accepting the invitation.