excerpt
…compete with his new life. He wanted to work toward the betterment
of the people who live under the military regime, which dictated all
the rules, and surely the other regime, the church-driven regime,
which controlled the people’s lives differently, yet almost as badly
as the military one. There might be no chance for anyone to stand
opposite the government unless his hide was ready for the burner or
his bones for the crusher.
The ship had increased its speed; they’d hopefully reach
Piraeus early the next morning. The familiar hum of the engine was
heard echoing like a heartbeat of a healthy person; no arrhythmia,
no hesitant beats, but rather regular, concise, measured, while the
vibrations on the floor were distinctly felt. His mind returned to his
mother as she saw him off at the bus terminal, his father bidding him
farewell at the house before he left for his orchard. Hermes wondered
how many sleepless nights his mother and father must have gone
through these past four years he had spent in Athens under the care
of his uncle and Auntie. His parents were as worried as any other
parent whose son had gone away to study or to serve in the army or
to emigrate to secure a future better than the one he’d have back at
home.
But his parents were deeply worried about their son because
they did not understand where their son got all the ideas about
changes needed in society, in the country under the junta, and all
that. Although he was his own man now, a university graduate,
sometimes they were still afraid of what might happen to him. And
some other times, they thought maybe they were just too old to
understand the young generation.
Hermes recalled his mother’s blue eyes as he kissed her goodbye
at the bus terminal. She looked at him with such pride: this
young man was her son, and all the nights she spent worrying about
him were all worth it.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep for a while since there
was still a long way to go. The sound of the engine and the vibrations
didn’t let him relax, though. He glanced around at the rest of…
Libros Libertad 