excerpt
…people in the movies revive others in these situations, so he plugs the
boy’s nose and blows into his mouth with all his might, once, twice,
and then asks Anthony to compress the chest, until after a minute or
so the boy gasps and expels water from his mouth as he comes to his
senses. Anthony and Eteocles turn him face down as he continues to
cough and spit out water, and in a few moments he is well enough to
recognize the women.
“Mom” he says quietly, looking up at one of the two women. She
sobs and embraces him.
The other woman can’t stop thanking and praising the two young
heroes. She takes a couple of figs from her bag, peals them, and gives
one to each of the boys. Eteocles and Anthony bite into the sweet
fruit and thank the woman.
As they walked back to their football game, Anthony looks at his
cousin as well as all the other boys who crowd around and ask Eteocles
where he learned to resuscitate drowning victims.
“At the movies,” Eteocles tells them, his chest swelling with pride
and happiness. He has brought someone back to life.
Manolis Aligizakis 