THE MIRACLE A True Story which had to be delivered, when news of the demonstration taking place in Taksim Square began to filter through. Only the day before, he had noticed some white circles chalked on to the houses where Christians lived and had wondered what they meant. Neither he nor anyone else in the house could explain what the chalk marks signified, but they were all aware of a heavy atmosphere of hostility that was widespread. Their senses were heightened by the dangers they faced every day which had become permanent features of their lives and now they felt a kind of numbness, like an invisible pressure weighing down on them.    At about 8 o'clock in the evening shouting and banging was heard from outside the front of the house. The rioters had arrived, yelling their frenzied slogans: "Death to the giavours!" "Damn the infidels!" and "Today your property, tomorrow your lives!"    The whole family ran upstairs to the second floor in panic. From the window they could see the mob moving about in the main street; its numbers seemed to swell with every moment that passed.    A stone was suddenly flung through the second-floor window, scattering pieces of broken glass all over the bedroom. The stone landed at the far side of the room beside the baby's cot. As everyone in the room screamed with terror, Nikos Soukas leapt to his feet and dashed across the room, seized the infant in his arms and with extraordinary calm said quietly:    "I'm going to hide in the garden with the baby! You go and hide in the hut next to the spoon factory. We'll have to try and get out the back way, but we mustn't make a sound. Right, let's go!"    With bated breath and their blood running cold in their veins, they began to go downstairs. On the ground floor was a door that would take them out into the garden. The last one to leave was Thanassis Vafias, who had a heart condition. Helped by his sons and stopping every few minutes to catch his breath, he moved slowly down the stairs. Outside, at the front of the house, the shouting from the mob was getting louder. The stones hurled at the front door and the windows were coming thick and fast.    The first to go out into the darkness of the garden was Nikos Soukas. Clutching his infant son tightly in his arms, he made his way in the dark along the familiar path towards a fig tree which produced the best fruit in the garden, and crouched down under its sheltering branches.    Behind him came Olga, holding her mother's arm, and they were followed by her brothers supporting Thanassis Vafias. The poor man was having difficulty breathing, he was so flustered and upset. At that moment they heard loud banging coming from the front door of the house; the demonstrators, shouting at the tops of the voices, were trying to break it down with crowbars.    With a look of anguish and horror on her face, Olga Vafia-Souka looked behind her and waited for her brothers and her father, who was now having evident difficulty walking, to catch up with her.    A sudden thunderous crash made them all shake with fright. The front door had given way under the constant battering and the clamouring of the mob could now be heard even more clearly.    All five members of the family were now out of the house and standing paralysed with fear in the garden behind. The pitch blackness smothered their slow steps away from the building. The banging and shouting coming from inside the house was terrifying. In the back hall, 61 and 62 Leonidas Koumakis THE MIRACLE A True Story If you prefer a hard copy of the book, please send an email to HEC-Books@hec.greece.org Previous Page | Initial Page | Site Map | Next Page (63th of 204) © For Internet 2001 HEC and Leonidas Koumakis. Updated on 19 June 2001.