The Island of Screams

42 You always meet twice

Schloss Wackerbarth – near Radebeul/East Germany is where some of the so-called Markos-children lived. More than 1,000 children of Greek communists who were killed in the civil war were taken to East Germany.

After breakfast on the rooftop, the Australians drove to Agios Andreas with Jürgen to help Manos move. Martin, Tom and Dave discussed with their friends how to spend the day. Sophia had an idea:

"Let's go to Aegina. The voyage isn't long, and there are beautiful beaches and I have no relatives on the island. How about you, Anna and Xenia?"

Xenia said that relatives would not bother her, after all she was engaged to Martin. Anna didn't know anyone on Aegina. So minutes later they were on their way.

***

Manos was sad. He liked living with his mother in the little village on Euboea. The thought of leaving her behind haunted him. He didn't have a lot of furniture that he could have taken with him, only two small cupboards and a few shelves. His couch was old and broken, so they would have to make do with mattresses in their new house for the time being.

Sandy wrapped the sculptures in rags that Yannis had brought piles of from his workshop. He took several larger figures from a cupboard, which were about 35 cm tall and made of black marble, including a Madonna and Child and three others representing Greek gods. Like the great crucifix, they were made of one piece.

While Randy, who had accompanied Sandy and Manos, made a first trip to Agios Andreas, Manos harvested his "special plants" and with a heavy heart cut them into small pieces. He dug up two young cannabis plants that were only 20 cm tall and put them in a sack with a root ball.

His mother joined him:

"Son, you're going to miss the garden for sure."

"Mom, I'll miss you. I've thought about it. Why don't you move to Agios Andreas? We're sure to find a nice apartment for you, and we have a large piece of land where you could plant a garden. What do you think? We could see each other every day, and our house is almost at the shore. It's so beautiful there."

She was pleased that her son wanted this. Of course, she would have a hard time leaving the village she'd lived in for 25 years, her friends and neighbors, but living near her sweetheart was a real lure. She promised to consider his proposal.

In Agios Andreas, Jürgen, Manny, Rudy and Bernd were lying on the beach. Jürgen and Bernd told the others about their meeting with the old men. When Bernd mentioned that he might be able to make a living from his drawings, Manny and Rudy asked him to show them to them.

They went to Sandy's house, arriving just in time to help Randy unload. Bernd was very impressed with Manos' larger works, and Manny considered the sculptures to be of such high value that Sandy and his friend wouldn't have any financial worries for some time. However, he told them they would have to be marketed skillfully.

Then the three experts looked at Bernd's pictures.

"You should give Sandy some of the drawings and watercolors when he goes to the art dealer," Manny suggested. "That man must have an idea how to sell them at good prices. But that's risky in Greece if you don't want to be interned in a camp. They like to imprison artists there."

***

Although it was Sunday, the secret policeman was sitting in his quiet office near Syntagma Square. He was glad that he had gotten reinforcements just in time to pick up Tom's trail again. The secret police suffered from an acute shortage of personnel, especially since the leadership had recruited thousands of part-time informers who now had to be looked after by the professionals. Divisions in the secret service also consumed resources; mutual distrust grew from month to month.