Exclusion Calm sea with imperceptible schisms; intentional light that colours the low clouds. So you won’t remember, you won’t forget. The present, he says; which present? Deaf messengers came during the night, they sat on the stone stairs, took out their kerchiefs, lay them on their knees, then they folded them again. They left. One of them had a deep scar from his temple to his chin. He stood, pointed towards the sea and tied the rope on his waist. Then we put the oil lamps on the ground and noticed our shadow, hairy, boneless, gigantic, as it climbed up the white wall.
Joyous Break We were all full of joy that morning oh God, how full of joy. First, the stones, the leaves and the flowers shone then the sun a huge sun full of thorns yet so high up in the sky. A nymph gathered all our cares and hung them from the trees a forest of Judas trees. Young cupids and satyrs played and sang there and you could see rosy limbs among the black laurels flesh of little children. We were full of joy all morning long the abyss was a closed well where the tender hoof of a young faun pounded you remember its laughter: how full of joy we were! Then clouds, rain and the moist soil you stopped laughing as you laid down in the hut and opened your large eyes gazing the Archangel practicing with a fiery sword. ‘Inexplicable’ you said ‘inexplicable’ ‘I don’t understand people no matter how much they play with colors they all remain black.’
Tyne did not know what to say. If Morley were here, he would know how to respond to Ruby’s outrageous suggestion. She lowered her head and mouthed a silent prayer. “Oh God, help me say the right things. Give me wisdom, Lord, because I’m scared. I’m scared for Morley because I don’t know what’s happened to him. And I’m scared for these children you have seen fit to bring into our lives. But God, I’m not ready for all this; too much has happened too fast. Please keep Morley safe and send him to me.” She looked up to find Ruby staring at her. Tyne shook her head. “I can’t give you an answer, Ruby. You know I’ll have to talk to Morley about it.” Ruby nodded. “Yeah, sure I know. But I also know I can’t take him back, Tyne. I’m just dreaming when I say he has to come home.” She burst into tears. Tyne jumped to her feet. Crossing to the sofa, she sat down beside the distraught woman and put her arms around her. “Hush, it will be all right, I promise. We’ll work something out.” In a few minutes Ruby dried her tears and stood up. “I have to see Ronald again before it’s time for my bus. I have to go home tonight.” At the door she turned with a half smile. “Thanks for listening.” Tyne watched her leave, her thoughts in turmoil. Another promise … she had just made another promise that she didn’t know if she could keep. Her life was spinning out of control. She and Morley had been married for less than half a year when their world was rocked by that first promise she had made the night Lydia Conrad had come to the nurses’ station in Emblem Hospital. As a result of that brief encounter with her patient, she and Morley had known the joy of loving two small children; they had known panic when those children went missing; and they had known the heartache of losing their own unborn child. And now, Morley was missing after going on a mission of mercy to find the children’s father and bring him to them. What more do you want of us, God? Tyne cried in her heart. What more do you want us to do?
“I like the dean’s offer. I believe it will be quite a job, and I should take this opportunity. Of course, there is the fact that I must go abroad for a couple of years, but that is the way the cookie crumbles, as the saying goes. I cannot avoid that: it is part of the Hermes package. When I return, I will be hired, no questions asked. The dean assured me of this. Of course, I need to talk to my parents, who I’m sure won’t like the idea of two years in a foreign country. I’d like to hear your opinion, though. From both of you. You two have been my second parents for so long, and you understand this a bit more than my father and my mother could understand.” His aunt sat there, silently looking at him with great affection, this child who made her feel so proud. Demetre cleared his throat, “This is a very good offer, a position which many others would love to have. It’s a lot better than being hired as a clerk at some bank or a government position, although that would perhaps be a steadier career. Still, this is better for you because it will open quite a wide field of action for later. Of course, the disadvantage is that you need to go away for a while. It is, after all, a serious thing to go so far away and be a stranger among strangers, with no friends, and all that. On the other hand, if that is what it takes, that is what a man does.” Hermes smiled at the last part of his uncle’s comment, “Yes, there is always a way where there is a will. I believe in what I can do, and I know deep inside that after the hardship, I’m going to be where I like to be and among the people I like the most.” “We know you well,” his uncle says, “and we know that we cannot go against what you want to do. Besides, you are in many ways exceptional, and you owe it to yourself to achieve great success.” Demetre was right: he saw in this young man the soul of the eagle who lived near the mountain peaks, unconquered by time. He will remind him of this at every step of his way. Hermes realizes clearly now it is his duty to try, and it is his duty not to fail, although the word fail is one he never had in his vocabulary. He now knew clearly that he owed this to his destiny, because it was no less than…
Manolis Aligizakis 