"Now I can go back to my unit. You will be in good hands here, Anna," proclaimed a satisfied Petros.
"I told you I can take care of myself," protested Anna.
"I know, Anna, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself ... Okay? So trust me."
"Welcome, Lieutenant Petros! How are you? And how is my son? I am sure you're taking good care of him, I am sure of that!" said the short, stocky man as he shook Petros' hand. "My, my, what have we here?" With hands open wide, he approached Anna. "What is your name, daughter?" he asked, smiling with no concern for the fact that several of his teeth were missing.
"My name is Anna. Nice to meet you." "Yes, it is nice," replied the old man.
"My friend here needs to get to Souda Bay. Can you see to it please?" Petros asked the old man.
"Consider it done," was the enthusiastic answer. "Stay for a while, Petros," he said.
"Thank you, but I must go."
"God be with you, son. Oh here, here, give these to my boy." He took a pack of cigarettes and some money out of his pocket and handed them to Petros. "And a bottle of wine for you son." He kissed Petros on both cheeks and said good-bye. The tall lieutenant turned quickly so as not to reveal his emotions and sped away in his jeep. His abrupt departure left a strange feeling of emptiness inside Anna.
"We don't have much time, daughter." The stocky man was packing as he talked. Anna also felt uneasy, as though she was sitting on coals.
"Do you know the Germans are landing tomorrow?" asked Anna.
"Yes, we received the news just a few moments before you arrived. We are getting mobilized to fight. Are you with us?"
"All the way," replied Anna. "But just to be clear, we are talking about the Germans, right? We are fighting the Germans."
"Yes, yes, of course. Let me now welcome our new freedom fighter." With a low voice, the man whispered close to Anna's ear: "The rest we'll fight later." Grinding his teeth, he walked away and said no more.
***
The town consisted of no more than thirty homes. In the unsymmetrical square, there was a general store with mostly empty shelves and a café. On the other side, an unusually large church seemed out of place, dominating the entire square. The small streets dead-ended against an ancient rock wall or ploughed fields. In some places the roads were so narrow that a donkey carrying two sacks of grain would have difficulty squeezing through. Anna saw no other women except a figure dressed from head to toe in black, hobbling toward the church.