Among the Olive Groves Page 19

  Elena merely gave a wave and disappeared into the trees, leaving Angelos sitting alone.

  ~

  The resistance and the Italian army danced around each other constantly throughout the winter and into early spring. Every few days, Elena went to the caves to sit with the English airman, who was called Richard. She liked talking to him. She learned all about his home, a town called Bristol, in the south of England. It had a harbour, a suspension bridge that spanned the river and large parks. She liked the sound of it. Richard told her how he left behind a girl he liked, called Alice. Richard knew Alice wanted to marry him, but he was not sure if he wanted to marry her.

  “Why not?”

  “The war changes everything. If the Germans have their way, I may not even have a country to go back to. If that happened, there would be no future at all. I do not want to end up marrying someone and live in hell with her. It would not be living, it would barely be an existence. What about you Elena?”

  “What about me?”

  “I know that you are resistance. You and Dionysis would not have saved me if you were the enemy. They told us all about the resistance in our training. I think you are very brave. Do you have a husband at home?”

  “No. I live with my parents and my brother. I do have a young daughter, but no husband. I suppose you are shocked now, that I have had a child out of marriage.”

  “Not at all. I assumed your husband had died.”

  “He did not.” For some reason Elena felt comfortable with the Richard, and even though she knew it was a risk, and that Dionysis would be furious, she opened up. She needed a friend, someone who would not judge her and that she could share aspects of her life with. “Before the war started, I fell in love with a Greek man that lives on the island, but he comes from a rich family and I am from a poor one. His father hated me so much. He still hates me. The man I fell in love with loved me just as much as I loved him and we spent many happy days together but it was not to be. I had a child and his family refused to accept my child or me. The man I loved is now married to someone else and I am alone. I spend all of my time fighting for my homeland, and looking after my child. I hate myself so much, Richard. I have done unspeakable things in the name of war, things that I am not proud of. I do not think I will ever be able to forgive myself.”

  Elena tried so hard not to let her emotions show but a floodgate opened. All the hurt, anger and despair from the last few years crashed over her like waves and she struggled to keep her head above the chaos.

  “It cannot be that bad, Elena. Have you killed anyone in cold blood? Have you set off bombs? Have you stolen?”

  “No.”

  “Well then, as far as I can see, you are not a bad person.”

  She looked up at him and knew she had to be honest.

  “It is worse than that, Richard. I am a traitor to my country, to my friends, to my family.”

  “How? What have you possibly done to make you a traitor?”

  “Dionysis has forced me to sleep with an Italian officer, a captain, to get information that will help the resistance.”

  “And you did?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “People have done worse. May I ask you a question?”

  She nodded.

  “When you were with the Italian, did you ever tell him anything about the resistance, or betray any of your family or friends?”

  “No. Never!”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about. All you did was get close to a man to get information for the resistance. Many others have done it, so it does not make you a traitor, but it does make you very brave.”

  “So I am not a traitor?”

  He laughed. “No you are not a traitor.”

  “I hate it though. I hate the smell of his tobacco. I hate being with him. I hate feeling him touch me. I hate it when he calls me piccolina. I do not even know what it means.”

  “I think it means little one in Italian.”

  “Oh…” They were silent for a few minutes before Elena said, “What should I do, Richard?”

  “I think you should do what is right for you, Elena. It seems to me that you have spent your whole life pleasing everyone else and not looking out for yourself. Maybe it is time you thought about you for a change. I think you would be much happier if you did.”

  “But what about the war? I cannot stop helping the resistance now.”

  “You do not have to. You just choose the bits you want to do. If there are things you do not want to do, tell them. They cannot force you to do things against your will.”

  “It is that easy?”

  “Yes.”

  They fell silent and Elena thought back over their conversation. Maybe Richard was right. Maybe it was time to start putting herself first. She no longer wanted to be aligned with Pietro or his Italian army, even though Dionysis told her she was doing it for a good cause. There was only so much she could take. Enough was enough and she wanted out. She wanted her life back, she wanted to feel clean again, and the only way that could happen would be to walk away from Pietro once and for all, and hope that things would be okay.

  ~

  The resistance movement on Zakynthos had grown, but no one knew exactly how many there were. They were highly secretive and planned their campaigns in silence, with only those who were essential to the plan having access to the details. They were stealthy and their attacks, both small and large, hit hard, reminding the Italians that even though they were their captors, the Greeks still valued their freedom and fought for it as much as they possibly could. In turn, the Italians were ill-equipped to cope with the island’s terrain and most had no clue of how to find their way about like the locals did. The Italians became increasingly frustrated and began to arrest any local they thought of as conspiring against them.

  In the height of summer, the resistance leaders met high in the hills. It was somewhere the Italians rarely went, since they generally stuck to the main town, some of the smaller towns and the coast so that they could look out for Allied invaders. The night was dark and the moon was already shining brightly. Huddled in the caverns under ancient rock, the resistance looked down upon the land they loved, giving their reports. Elena listened intently, taking in every word. Tonight she would have to tell her comrades what she had been up to and she was dreading it. The truth was about to come out.

  “Elena.” Dionysis’s voice brought her back to the present.

  “Yes.”

  “Can you tell us anything?”

  “Yes. Last night, when I was with Pietro...”

  “Who is Pietro?” one of the men asked, interrupting.

  Dionysis held up his hand to quell the voices. “I gave a special assignment to Elena almost a year ago, she will tell you.”

  “Pietro Cipriani is an Italian captain. I have been lying in his bed for almost a year in order to get information from him...”

  “Pah! Loukas Sarkis always said you were a whore, and now we know it!” the man shouted. The others laughed loudly, and the sounds echoed around the cave almost deafening her.

  Dionysis slammed his hand on the overturned crate before him. “Quiet! Just because we are in the mountains does not mean we cannot be heard. You have no right to talk to her that way. She is one of us. I told her to do this. She was reluctant at first, but eventually she saw the greater good. This is war! We all have to do things we would never have considered before. You have all done things you did not want to. Immoral things. Some of you have stolen, some of you have used your own babies and children to smuggle food, medicine and weapons. One of you has killed, and more of you will likely do the same before this war is over. Do not question Elena because she is a woman and uses her body to get information that may help save your lives one day! As for Sarkis, I will not hear his name spoken here again! That man and all who associate with him are sworn enemies of Greece and will die for their defection.”

  The cave was quiet and Elena felt her blood run cold. She remembered her co
nversation with Angelos. He was now her enemy. His death, it seemed, was inevitable. It was a thought that brought her great sadness.

  “Now back to business. Elena, please carry on.”

  “I have been gaining Pietro’s trust and he now believes that I love him and am on the side of the Italians. He believes I have lost all interest in anything but him and my daughter. The time I spend with him is precious as it is not always easy to get away, but he has opened up to me. At the moment, the Italians are bored. They do not want to be here, and they all want to go home. They are lazy, they drink a lot and most do as little as they can to get by.” She paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

  “The relationship between Hitler and Mussolini is strained. I believe a change may be coming but I do not know what kind of change or when, if it happens at all. At present we are lucky, we are allowed to move fairly freely about the island. But the Italians are adding new lookout points on the main roads. They have placed men in the Venetian watchtowers at the north and east of the island. The Italians now have a base in Exo Hora and they are preparing for something big. Pietro seemed worried last night. About what, he would not tell me, but change is definitely on the way.”

  “You have done well, Elena. That is it for tonight. Please leave silently.”

  Elena was the last to leave and Dionysis caught her arm.

  “Do you love him?”

  “Who?”

  “That is the question, Elena. I know your history with Angelos. He is the father of your child; you still carry his locket about your neck.”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Do you think I would not recognise one of my own creations?”

  “Oh.” Elena ran the chain through her fingers.

  “Well?”

  “I have always loved Angelos, I think I always will, but he has made a life for himself that does not include me and Athena. His father did his best to keep us apart and succeeded. I know Angelos only does what he does because of Loukas. Did you know that Angelos stood up to Loukas and refused to do his dirty work with the Italians, and Loukas put a gun to his own son’s head and threatened to kill him? How could Angelos possibly say no?”

  “I did not know that. That knowledge may just have saved Angelos’s life.”

  Elena breathed a sigh of relief. “Really?”

  Dionysis gave a small nod.

  “Promise me, Dionysis. Promise me that you will do everything you can to protect Angelos. Please do not let him die.”

  “I promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And what of the Italian?”

  Elena burst into tears. “I hate myself, Dionysis. I hate being with him. I feel like I am betraying everyone: my daughter, my parents, my brother, but mostly myself. I do not want to do it anymore. I cannot do it anymore. I am scared Dionysis. Really scared.”

  “My dear little one. Life has tested you, has it not? I am sorry for putting you in this position. It was unfair of me, but you must understand that what you do, you do for this island and for all of Greece. There is no one else who can do what you do, Elena. Is it such hardship to continue for a while longer?”

  Elena sat and thought about everything; her head was spinning. She was so confused. How had her life ended up like this? Most people she knew on the island had been gifted normal lives: a life worth living, a love that they married, children they cared for and a place to call home. She may have Athena, but the rest of her life was a mess and now she was a pawn in the game of war. She had no one to turn to. Angelos, the man she still loved with all her heart, was no longer part of her life. She was sleeping with the enemy in order to help the resistance, which was such a dangerous thing, and now she was also helping to hide and protect an English airman. Where had it all gone wrong for her?

  She sighed and looked out across the darkened island, bathed in the moon’s silvery glow. She knew that her path in life had been chosen for her long before she began living it and she was merely a passenger along for the ride. She was in too deeply, and all she could do was what was asked of her. She had to help the resistance, whatever the outcome may be. That was her fate.

  “I hate this, Dionysis. But I know that you need me, I know that I have no other choice but to carry on. I will just have to learn to live with myself. It is all I can do.”

  Elena wiped her eyes, removing a stray tear that threatened to fall. She refused to let Dionysis see her cry. She would leave that for a desolate hour in the depth of night, when she sat alone staring at the starlit sky once again, questioning the choices she had made.

  “You are very brave, Elena. We both know that Pietro is our enemy and there will come a time when you will have to choose between your island, your beliefs, and him. I must warn you now that, if he ever finds out what you have been doing, your life will be in peril. There will be little that I can do to protect you. Every member of the resistance knows the ultimate price for their actions is death; it is the same for you, too. You do understand that? I will not force you to carry on if you do not want to. I know I can be persuasive, and I am not lying when I say that we need you, but if you truly refuse to do it, I will not force you. It is your decision, Elena, and yours alone.”

  “I know.” She was very well aware of the risk she was taking. “But as you said Dionysis, you need me, and we are fighting a war. If Greece and this beautiful island need me, then they shall have me.”

  “As long as you are sure?”

  “I am sure.”

  “Then, it is time you went. Take care of yourself, Elena Petrakis. Your daughter needs her mother.”

  With these parting words, she slipped into the darkness and cautiously made her way home.

  ~

  Pietro finished the cigarette and threw it to the ground, exhaling the remaining smoke to the elements. He was fed up of the war. They had been on the island for two years now and nothing had changed. The rest of the world was still tearing itself apart and they were no nearer to a resolution. He heard the stories from his superiors about Jews being rounded up and locked up in concentration camps, their belongings seized, their houses and shops burned to the ground. Even those who went into the camps were not safe. They were herded into chambers and gassed until they were dead; innocent men, women and children. And why? All because one man with a twisted version of reality said it must be that way.

  That was what made it worse for him, the death of so many women and children. It disgusted him and he no longer believed in the war he had been sent to fight. He wished he could run away, take Elena and her child with him, but traitors and deserters were shot, and where would they go anyway? He could not go to Italy, he still had a wife there, and Germany seemed to have a tight grip on a large part of the world now.

  He had not seen Elena for a few days and he hoped that she would come to him tonight. The sky had already begun to darken, the day nearing its end. Sitting on the small veranda he watched as his colleagues walked past.

  “Pietro! Come join us!”

  “No. I am in no mood to get drunk.”

  “You have become boring, Captain. You need some ouzo in your belly and a country girl in your bed!”

  Pietro waved them along, ignoring their jibes. He could have had them reprimanded, since it was no way for them to talk to a senior officer, but he knew that they were as bored as he. What good would it do to come down hard on them? None at all. Their laughter eventually faded to nothingness, and he sat back lighting another cigarette, enjoying the taste as he inhaled deeply.

  As the sun finally dipped over the horizon, the moon rose in tandem and stars began to twinkle. Throwing another spent butt to the ground, he pushed back the chair and went inside to remove his uniform. A noise startled him and he turned his gun ready to defend himself.

  “Pietro! It is only me. Why so jumpy?”

  Placing it on the side he bounded forward. He lifted Elena in his arms and whirled her around. Smiling, she slid her arms around his neck pulling his head to
wards hers.

  “I have missed you so much,” she breathed between tender kisses.

  “And I you. I wondered when you would come, I have not seen you for days, and I have missed you so much.”

  “I know. It is not always easy for me to get away.”

  “I am glad you are here, though. I have a surprise. Come.” He took hold of her hand and guided her through to the back of the house. In the kitchen he lifted a wicker basket and slid out of the back door, keeping a finger to his lips. Quietly she followed him up the alleyway to the fields that lay beyond the village. Climbing a wall, she giggled as she slid into his arms on the other side.

  “Shush. If we get caught we will be in trouble.”

  “Sorry!” she whispered.

  Under the cover of night, they traversed the fields until they found themselves somewhere quiet and safe away from patrolling soldiers. Opening the basket, Pietro pulled out a blanket and threw it on the ground before emptying the contents onto it.

  “I have made us a picnic.”

  “It is wonderful. I am very hungry, too. We just do not seem to have enough food nowadays. Where did you get all of this?” she asked, marvelling at the array of village bread, olives, and other delicious morsels. The sight of it made her mouth water, but she also felt guilty. Some people on the island were starving and barely able to feed themselves, and here she was eating food that could have gone to them, and kept their cupboards stocked for days.

  “I am an Italian officer. We live well, even in war.”

  Too tired and hungry to care, Elena dived in and ate heartily. Once they had finished, they shared some wine and lay back on the blanket to gaze up at the stars.

  “I wish it could be like this forever, Pietro.”

  “Me, too. I am bored of the war. I wish it would all just end.”

  She turned to face him, “But if it ended, you would go home and I would never see you again.”

  “You believe that?”

  “I do not know.” She was not really sure of anything anymore. Dionysis’s words continued to roll around her head.

  Trust no one.

  “I would see you again. I would see you every day, we would no longer be at war, and we could live together wherever we wanted, happy and free,” Pietro said.