Excerpt
He took his mother by the arm, and they walked toward the gate.
He hugged and said goodbye to everyone, and then he hugged his
mother again and kissed her.
“Goodbye to you; I’ll see you in two years.”
“Goodbye, my boy,” his uncle and aunt said.
“Goodbye, Son,” his father said, and his mother added, “With
our blessings. Take care of yourself.”
His father searched his pocket and brought out a rosary: he
wanted Hermes to have it and remember him by it. As he gave it to
his son, his eyes were filled with more tears. The granite was broken
down. Hermes had never seen his father in tears before last night. He
hugged the old man with force and said goodbye to his dear aunt and
uncle for the last time before going through the gate.
Once in the international departure area, he bought a magazine
from the newsstand and sat down to read to keep his mind
occupied until the airline officials announced his flight. A short
while later, his flight number was called over the speaker. He followed
the flight attendants along with the rest of the passengers to
the aircraft. He found his seat; his mind was still on the ground, with
four people he had just left behind.
The flight attendants finished their safety demonstration, and
in a few minutes, the plane soared into the sky. It was so superb to
look at the world from such a height! His trip was uneventful as they
flew over Europe to Amsterdam, where they landed to refuel,
and they had to stay inside the aircraft. Then the plane was in the
air again, and the longer part of the trip commenced over the Atlantic
Ocean, to Montreal. They came across some turbulence over the
ocean; however, they got to Montreal without any problem. All passengers
disembarked because they had to take a different plane for
the remaining part of the trip to Vancouver. Since this was the first
time he stepped onto Canadian soil, Hermes also had to go through
Canadian customs. As he waited in line to show his passport and visa
to an official, an old woman asked him in Greek,
“Hello, young man, can you please help me with my papers?”
Libros Libertad 