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Redemption

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Excerpt

He walked back to the rented room and settled in his new home. It was
a small room with a table, a chair, a closet for his clothes, and a single
bed. The size of the room was no more than three by four meters,
with paint cracks all over; some paint had peeled right off the walls.
He didn’t really care about its condition. It was a very cheap room.
A small window with shutters opened to the street, and Hermes
saw a small garden. He took out his clothes from the suitcase and
hung them with care in the closet. He, then, sat down on the bed and
thought it would be a good idea to write home and let them know he
had arrived and was okay, three letters to three different addresses.
Realizing he had no paper, he walked out to the closest corner
store, where he bought some paper, a small jar of coffee and a small
rectangular box of sugar cubes, which he encountered for the first
time in his life. He went back to his room and sat at the desk to write
his first letter to his uncle and untie. He described in detail that his
trip was very good, the city was beautiful, and he felt enthusiastic
about the university. He wrote with intense feelings, particularly
in the second letter, addressed to Magdalene. He signed the letters
and sealed the envelopes. He would post them first thing tomorrow
morning. Hunger took over him. He got up, knocked at the
door of his landlady and asked where he could find a restaurant to
eat something. She informed him that “Black Cat” was the closest
restaurant to the house and told him how to get there. Hermes got
out and walked the few blocks to the restaurant. The server brought
his coffee. Hermes understood that coffee was served each time, even
before an order was given to the servers. He looked at the menu, but
he couldn’t understand the words; therefore, he didn’t know what to
order. He had his coffee and a cigarette. The girl refilled his cup and
looked at him with questioning eyes. He pointed to the menu and
said, “I don’t know what these are…” his finger travelling down the
list of food items. The young server asked him,
“What language does he speak…” He said, “Greek,” she called
him to follow her. He got up and followed the girl through a hallway
to an opening that connected the restaurant to the kitchen.

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Redemption

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…at their destination, and they should fasten their seat belts. Hermes
looked down from the window. It was a cloudless night. He had a
superb panoramic view of the city, full of lights flickering in the dark.
He could distinguish the streets and the tall buildings as the aircraft
slowly descended.
They landed, and Hermes got up to take his carry-on bag from
the overhead compartment, stepped off the plane, and said goodbye
to Tom. An airline official led Hermes down the long hallways to the
baggage area. He found his suitcase from the appropriate carousel
and made his way to the arrivals area, where people waited for their
friends and family members. Happy voices were everywhere; people
embraced one another, kissing, laughing, and crying. He turned
around as if to see someone he knew. There was no one there, he knew
no one, and this was his first bitter moment of realization that he was
so far away from people he loved. He wished Magda were here. He
then sat on a bench and wondered aloud,
“And now, where are you going, Hermes?” A question justified
under the circumstances, a question he had no answer to, only the
sense of loss, of abandonment, of forlornness, and fear crept into his
heart. Then, as if from the great source, he felt he heard a voice that
whispered to his heart, not to his ears. And it was the voice of his new
motherland that said,
“Welcome, Hermes, you are here in Vancouver now, go out
there, find your way to do your studies and get your diploma. Your
folks are waiting for you, back in Greece. They look forward to seeing
you back. Your diploma is your goal and nothing less…” were the
words he felt he heard, and the voice wasn’t any other but the voice
of Canada, his temporary motherland, which, like a mother, took
another orphan off the streets and gave him a chance.
Suddenly, the fear he had just felt vanished, and a jolt of enthusiasm
took over his senses. Hermes stood up. His eyes ran around the
space of the large airport hall when his glance met the old woman
whom he had helped in Montreal; she saw him too. At the same
time, a very tall man with a good-looking woman approached…

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Redemption

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“Yes, Mother, but I’m only going away for a while; do not forget
that.”
Maria smiled and added, “Of course, my boy, you will return.
But remember, you must write home frequently, so we can find out
how your studies are going.”
“You guys think as if I am going to forget completely where I
come from. Don’t worry yourselves with that.”
His father cut in, “Son, you are an adult, but I want you to be
very careful in the foreign country you are headed; we, your mother
and father, uncle and auntie, or friends, will not be there. There are
a lot of dangers over there, and you might get into a lot of trouble.
Have your eyes and ears open, be careful in a foreign place. You are
responsible for yourself.”
The old man’s voice became hoarse. Hermes looked at his dad
with surprise in his eyes: tears flowed freely down the old man’s
cheeks. Yet this time, George Dragakis didn’t even care to hide his
feelings from the rest of the family. Hermes went to his father and
gave him a big hug.
“Do not worry. I know where I’m going, and I know what I’m
there for. My only concern is to finish my schooling and return home
to find you all. Do not worry. Nothing will distract me from my goal.”
Hermes’s voice had so much certainty as it was heard that all those
present felt positively about his voyage.
“What about Magda, my boy?” his aunt asked.
“Magdalene and I are going to be in touch, and I hope to see her
when I come back. She told me she might even come and visit me in
Vancouver next summer. I look forward to that, really. I like this girl
a lot.”
His mother and father heard these words and felt a bit relieved,
although they’d prefer if he didn’t go away at all.
George got up to go to the bathroom, and Hermes could
hear the old man blowing his nose. Then Hermes went to the bar
and poured a drink for himself. He asked if anybody would like to
have one, but they all declined.

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Redemption

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…citizens as their wish and the iron fist of the church who keep the
minds and emotions of people under their control,” he said looking
deep in Magda’s eyes who showed her understanding as she nodded
her head and smiled at his comments.
“The one you’d have a hard time even talking about is the
power of the church over the lives of the people because it has been
so much entrenched in their essence as something they have received
from their ancestors and as such, they would never think of leaving
behind, let alone changing dramatically,” she underlined to Hermes.
“Yes, I agree; but what we inherited shouldn’t always be
accepted as a given and never evaluated, viewed by today’s standards
and beliefs and then accept it or reject it for something better. Think
of it, in today’s world, where you can communicate with anyone and
in such a short time, when you travel from one end of the Earth to the
other within a day, we still believe in such stupid ideas, and anachronistic
thoughts.”
“True, indeed, Hermes, but…” she added
“There shouldn’t be a but, Magda, look, in the old days, during
the seventh century BC, the Spartans had a law that forced mothers
to go and throw down the Kaiadas all their incomplete children, the
malformed, the kids with Down’s syndrome, etc. That was part of
our tradition too; however, we today don’t kill the malformed kids
or the ones with Down’s syndrome because we must understand that
human life is as valuable and indispensable, regardless of what form
it might have. Yet, we can’t get rid of the Christian tradition no matter
what. Tell me why it is so?”
Magda stared into his eyes and noticed the burning fire, which
could become a conflagration, a fire she loved to see; a fire she’d
agreed with, however, she chose her words very carefully.
“I believe what you said, but I also know how deeply entrenched
the whole idea of the church and how impossible it would be to effect
any change at this time of the nation’s history, especially under the
iron fist of the dictators…on the other hand, nothing is impossible
when one wants to fight for what one believes in.”

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Redemption

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The taste of her mouth aroused all his instincts, and he wanted
to touch this girl all over. However, they heard the clearing of the proprietor’s
throat and stopped. Hermes pulled back, and she gave him
her best smile, showing a straight line of teeth and a hungry tongue.
They stayed there for another half an hour, and then she
wanted to go.
“What would you like to do now? See a movie?”
He looked at his watch; it was eight o’clock. “Where do you like
to go?”
She suggested they go to see the latest movie in a cinema close
by, and he agreed. They walked to the cinema, and Hermes offered
her his arm. She took the chance and leaned toward him a bit more,
which Hermes loved. They got to the theatre and realized the place
was almost full, so they made their way to the balcony, where they
noticed that it was almost empty. They found two seats. He turned
to look at her, and she took the courage and offered him a long and
passionate kiss. His hunger for her body became evident. She took
his hand and placed it between her legs, a move he took even further
by sliding his hand up and touching her pubic hair. That made her
go wild. He didn’t let go, and the rubbing of his hand inside her
made her move her body left and right with such intensity that she
had an orgasm in a matter of seconds. She then found his erection
and played with him for a minute or two, but he wanted a lot more
than that.
“You like to go?” she asked.
“Where could we go?”
“I know a place.”
He wondered where this place might be, surely not her parents’
house.
“A friend of mine, she whispered, is out of town; I have the key
to her place.”

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Redemption

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Everybody in the coffee shop gathered around him, even the
mayor. Demetre kicked his nephew’s foot to quieten him. He knew
that some people do not like to hear about change, especially in the
current political situation, where even the slightest change can trigger
a nationwide negative reaction from the politicians. However,
young Hermes didn’t want to lower the tone of his voice now that he
had their attention, because he wanted to teach these people some
ideas which might inspire them to fight against the system.
“Hey, Yanni, your father was looking for you,” someone yelled
from the open door, interrupting the whole conversation.
“Foti, get us another round of brandies,” Gerry yelled at the
proprietor, who nodded his head.
Hermes continued to explain to them that they could find
a good lawyer, who would write the rules of the co-op, elect a governing
body, and do whatever was necessary to start looking after
themselves and not just rely on the existing system to help them.
He referred to many examples from ancient days to today, trying to
connect them to their original roots. They listened. Some villagers
raised their eyebrows, others nodded their agreement, and others
simply carried on with their entertainment without paying attention
to the fired-up young Hermes.
The villager sitting next to Hermes was still not convinced:
“You think that an association like that is going to do a better job for
us?”
“Yes, definitely. Listen to this: when I go to Athens, I’ll find you
a good lawyer, then I’ll make sure before I go away, he gets in touch
with you guys, and you take it from there.”
Demetre gave him the signal to stop, as he was worried about
what the mayor was thinking about all this and what notes he
reserved in his mind as to who this information could be useful.
Hermes didn’t listen to his uncle and continued to tell the villagers
how to form the co-op and what their rights were. “But what you are
telling us to do, Hermes, is nothing more than a communist idea,
isn’t it?” the mayor butted in.

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Redemption

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…dedicated themselves to the benefit of the people’s lives. Ah, my poor
motherland…”
“Yes, I know. But we’d better go now.”
“Yes, let’s go. We might take the other road over the small
marsh, and hopefully we could come across some ducks, then we
could go by my father’s greenhouse and see what he has accomplished.
Sounds okay?”
“Yes, let’s get going then.”
They followed the road to the marsh. There were a few dark
clouds on the north horizon, clouds that lingered in the sky, indecisive
clouds, unsure of where they’d like to run; there was light wind
blowing from the north, and the weather could change very quickly.
A fierce storm could come from the north, which will drench everything
in a matter of minutes.
“We’d better be quick, Uncle. I don’t like the looks of those
clouds.”
“I don’t think this weather is going to change any time soon,
Son. Why are you so concerned?”
But his nephew repeated,
“We must be quick, my uncle. I don’t like these clouds.”
As they entered the olive grove, Hermes caught sight of a wild
dove at the top of a tree. He aimed and shot, quickly and with confidence:
he succeeded. He reloaded and ran to pick up the bird, which
was still fluttering its wings on the ground. The dog reached the bird
first. He approached the bird to pick it up with his mouth, but when
he came close to it, the bird fluttered and scared the dog away, barking
and wagging his tail.
Hermes bent down and reached for the fluttering bird; he could
see the huge pain in its eyes. Suddenly, the strange shudder overtook
his body again, like when he was aboard the ship. “What is it?” he
wondered, and suddenly, he didn’t feel like hunting anymore.
The wind started blowing stronger now, and Hermes convinced
Demetre that they should head to his father’s greenhouse.

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Redemption

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…when he took it in as though he were touching the Bible. The mayor
examined it with great curiosity while fellow villagers looked over
his shoulder to get a good look at this piece of paper, too.
“So, this is a diploma,” said the envious mayor when he handed
it back to Hermes.
“Yes, this is the diploma and here is my award.” Hermes showed
him another piece of paper with golden letters and official stamps
honouring him for his excellent standing in the class.
“You also received an award, Hermes?” The mayor’s eyes widened,
“Bravo! My congratulations once again!”
He looked at the paper more closely and asked.
“So, what are you going to do now, young Dragakis? Become an
economist? What does an economist do?”
Hermes gave them a brief explanation of what an economist
was and how he had a scholarship to study abroad for two years and
then would be teaching at the university. The mayor and the others
had a hard time understanding what all these meant.
“Scholarship to go to another country and study,” the mayor
said as if talking to himself. “Which country are you heading for?”
“Canada.”
The crowd turned to look at one another, with awe written upon
their faces. They felt quite proud of the son of George Dragakis; not
many young men from the area got the chance to go to the city and
study, never mind accomplishing what Hermes had, this far, this fast.
Demetre’s cheeks blushed thinking of this young man who had
brought their family and ancestors this honour of achievement.
Smiling, Demetre took Hermes away from the crowds.
“Time for us to go to my brother’s place.”
So, they said their goodbyes and started their walk to the house
at the other end of the village. They followed a narrow pathway and,
in a few minutes, arrived at the house. As they approached his father’s
dog, the hound started to bark. The uncle and his nephew were not
even inside the fence when his mother, as though by instinct, came
out of the house and saw them.

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Redemption

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They travelled in silence, tired. Demetre couldn’t find a way to
take him away from his thoughts, although he surely wanted to talk
to him about Magda. But the young man was in a melancholic mood,
just like the overcast sky over them and the monotonous light rain
of Crete. The monotony that overburdened a heavy heart or a wandering
mind that only knew how to find disturbance and make it its
own, that only found imbalance and made it its own, as was Hermes’s
mind and heart this fine cloudy evening.
And it was that certain heaviness on his chest as his mind travelled
to the years he’d be faraway from this land he was born into and
raised, this land with its poor people for who Hermes had strong feelings
of understanding and empathy, these people for he felt he had
to work his best to alleviate their daily burden by making sure one
day they might carry a lighter burden and they might be able to have
a decent living comparing them to the citizens of other European
countries, since he had spent many hours studying and educating
himself with regards to the standards of living in some European
countries and he knew things could change to the better if the proper
legislature was passed and if new and modern rules were put in place,
he had many thoughts of the how and the when, yet he also knew it
was very difficult to change things people had been doing for eons,
but he also knew he had to try nonetheless because he truly believed
that when the going gets tough, the tough get going, as a familiar saying
went.
When they arrived at his parents’ house, he had in mind to
show them the graduation papers which he had brought along and
which were resting inside his small briefcase. He wanted them to feel
pride for his diploma, something many people would love to have,
yet he had this unbearable weight on his heart and he could see it
with the eyes of his soul, a soul big enough to take in the whole world,
the world with its poverty and disease, with its wars and disasters…

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Redemption

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He was in his room with his mind wandering to faraway lands
where he might have to go for a while. Yes, he had to accept the offer.
This position was going to be his post. Even if he had to go abroad, it
would be just for a while. He liked the idea of being around the young
people who could be moulded to his way of thinking. He could be a
craftsman who would take soil and plant it into a pot of his liking.
Yes, this was a position he had to accept.
“Everything will go the way it was supposed to go,” Hermes
told himself.
Cleaned and dressed, he went downstairs. His aunt was there.
“Ready to go, my boy?”
“Yes, dear Aunt. I shouldn’t be late.”
“You are right. Go then and try to learn everything, so you
know what you will get yourself into, conditions, demands, everything,
okay? Remember, nobody these days offers you something
without expecting something in return.”
“Yes, I know, I will find out the best I can. Don’t worry. I’ll tell
you all about it when I’m back.”
“Are you going to be late?”
“No, and I’m not going to Eleni’s after this, if that’s what you are
saying,” he answered and went to the door.
Half an hour later, he was at the doorstep of the dean’s house
and rang the bell.
The dean himself opened.
“Good evening, Dean.”
“Good evening, Hermes. Come in.”
He walked in and sat down in an armchair. The house was
rich, lordly, with thick carpets and furniture of a conservative style.
All kinds of paintings hung on the walls. Some of them were classic
styled and coloured pieces, although a couple of them looked
modern, especially one, an abstract painting, flooded by an overhead
light, looked very impressive as it caught Hermes’ glance, which
focused on it for a few extra seconds, not to be missed by the dean,
who smiled and, sitting across from Hermes, asked,

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