THE MIRACLE
A True Story |
 |
3
The days that passed until the following Tuesday morning
were very busy and extremely tense.
The Turkish officials lost no time in carrying out the
inventory of our property, both at home and in the shop.
At home, everything went on to the list - furniture, rugs,
pots and pans right down to the smallest kitchen utensil
- all except our clothes. At the shop, anything that was
even remotely valuable - tools, equipment, furniture, stock
- was noted down.
Friends and acquaintances had gathered at our house to
offer their support. Some were weeping but others were
smiling, trying to encourage us with assurances of the
chance of a better life.
My father tried in vain to sell off the few paltry items
that had not been recorded in the inventory. The Turks
were standing by hoping to grab the booty for free. And
that is precisely what happened: the shop was taken over
by a Turk who had been employed as my father's assistant
and when we left the house, it was later taken over by
the Turkish caretaker of the apartment block next door.
My father faced the situation with characteristic calm.
Over the next few days my mother seemed to get over
the initial shock and come to terms with the idea of a
new beginning. But my sister was in despair. She was
having to give up her school, her friends, the whole world
she had grown up in. She was quite inconsolable.
As for me, circumstances forced me to grow up very
quickly. Without realising the full extent of the change
that was about to take place in our lives, I sensed the
gravity of the situation. It was many years till I would feel like smiling again.
As Tuesday approached, the day when my father would
leave us, clutching one small suitcase, and make his way
to Athens to seek a new life for us all, we grew increasingly
more agitated.
On Monday evening, only a few hours before he was
due to depart, he called all the family together and said:
"Tomorrow morning, when I go, I shall be leaving behind
everything in my life that I hold most dear: the place
where I was born and grew up, our home, my work, your
mother, and you, my children. But as you can see, I am
trying very hard to stay calm and I believe all the things
that are happening to us are beyond our control and that
there is nothing we can do to alter our fate. I'm going to
Athens and I'll try to rent a small apartment so that you
can come over to join me as soon as possible. Of course,
this won't be easy; first I'll have to find a job because, as
you know, we'll have no money. But I'll do everything in
my power to have you with me again as quickly as possible.
Till then, I want you to live together peacefully, do as
your mother says and be careful. Make sure you don't
give the Turks the slightest excuse to make trouble. When
you're out on the street, you shouldn't open your mouths
- even if you're provoked.
"Leonidas, you will now be the only man in the family.
Take good care of your mother and your sister. I shouldn't
think it will take me more than a few weeks to sort
things out in Athens. But however long it takes, I must
have an easy mind - as far as that is possible - about
things back here so that I can bring you over to join me
soon."
We all listened silently to my father's words with rapt
attention.
"Perhaps," he went on, "it's better, from one point of
33 and 34
|
|
|