Those Who Are Loved by Victoria Hislop

Author:Victoria Hislop [Hislop, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472223258
Google: JcmGDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B07NF1PYVJ
Goodreads: 43884141
Publisher: Review
Published: 2019-05-29T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

BACK IN THE tent, Themis was oblivious to everything and everyone. She lay on her mat, her eyes closed to the world. She did not even weep. Her ideals were one thing, but she realised that hope of a joyous reunion with Tasos had been what really sustained her. Now this was gone.

The rest were outside to collect their evening ration of bread but an overwhelming nausea had killed her appetite. She was sick with sadness and sunstroke.

Suddenly a commotion disturbed her reverie. The authorities on Makronisos liked to have an excuse for both mass as well as individual punishment and had seized on Themis’ undisciplined behaviour with vindictive enthusiasm.

The women were all coming back into the tent now, talking in high voices, some of them shouting and protesting. She opened her eyes and realised they had all gathered around her bed. Feebly, she tried to sit up.

‘You!’ one of the toughest women in their group said, leaning down and jabbing her finger towards Themis. ‘You! This is all because of you!’

‘Yes, it’s your fault. Entirely your fault.’

‘There’s no food. Not a crust between us.’

‘And it’s because of you.’

All the camaraderie and the mutual support between the women had evaporated. They would happily have found a way of physically punishing her if they could but their sharp tongues were enough for now.

In the moment when Themis had been vainly calling out Tasos’ name, they had swiftly drawn the conclusion that the two had been lovers. It was common knowledge that this was against all the rules of the party, a sin against the beliefs and practices of the army.

Several of the women, hungry and angry, began to taunt her.

‘So he’s forgotten you, has he?’

‘Shame! Shame on you, you little slut.’

The abuse continued until the women got bored and went to lie down on their own mats. Hunger kept most of them awake. It was a terrible night for them all.

As the days passed, Themis realised that many of the women no longer spoke to her and that even the most sympathetic had become enemies.

The memory of Tasos’ blank stare haunted her and she told herself that he must have been brutalised to have gone through such a transformation. As tears began to soak her blanket she thought of the times they had made love. This was the image she would try to keep in her mind.

In the following days the prisoners were assigned to what was described as a special building project. The regime on Makronisos had decided that they should construct a model of the Parthenon. It was the true symbol of their patrída and, by building it, the wayward detainees of the island would recognise where their loyalties lay. The carrying of heavy stones from one end of the island to the other would remind them of their duty.

The midday temperatures of late April were intense and sweat poured down Themis’ back as she trekked up and down with her burden. Like several others, she had found a spare piece of cloth from the embroidery box to cover her head but was told to remove it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.