Samos. Xisco Bonilla

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.