One Summer in Crete by Nadia Marks

Author:Nadia Marks [Marks, Nadia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781509889754
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2020-05-13T18:30:00+00:00

3

Crete, 1950

Finding time to be together and alone proved to be extremely challenging for the two young lovers. Kosmas had to go to sea every day, fishing with his brothers and father, and Froso had her domestic duties. Other than the one or two mornings a month when the young girl ventured to the upper village for her books, she was never alone. For the most part they had to make do with seeing each other on Sundays at church. Their imposed segregation served to inflame their passion and each time they met, either standing in close proximity to each other during the Sunday service, if her mother didn’t insist she joined her upstairs in the women’s gallery, or accidentally touching when they met outside the church, their love and determination to find time to steal away increased.

Once in a while Kosmas faked sickness at the quayside on a morning when he knew Froso was taking the bus to the school and would sneak off, having arranged to meet her in a remote place away from prying eyes. Those Sunday mornings in church were the perfect opportunities for making arrangements. A discreet note passed between them, always making sure her father was nowhere near, or a furtive whisper were enough to keep them going for days with the heady anticipation of meeting. Kosmas knew of a small ravine in the outskirts of the village with caves and hollows in the rocks, where they could be safe and private, and when he could get away, they would plan to meet there. Froso would first visit her teacher, collect her book, then instead of returning to the square to board the bus back home as she always did, she would walk in the opposite direction, hoping no one had seen her. She would then scramble down the hill and rush to meet Kosmas, who, as arranged, would already be there waiting for her. He would always make the journey on his bicycle, avoiding riding on the bus, thus ensuring that no one had seen him arrive.

Their time together was short and precious; they could not afford to raise suspicion, because then Nikiforos would insist that Calliope must put a stop to Froso’s visits to the school. If, God forbid, they were caught together in the cave they would be punished and, worse, be barred from even speaking to one another, hence destroying any chances they had of her family accepting him as a marriage match. Froso also knew that such behaviour from a decent girl would mean ruin for her and disgrace to her family.

‘We could run away together,’ Kosmas told her one day as they held each other close in the cave. ‘We could go to Heraklio, or Chania which is even further away. No one would ask any questions there, no one would know how old we are.’

‘We must wait just a little longer, at least till my next birthday,’ Froso replied, ‘and then you can come to my father and ask for me.

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