April 16, 1941
They’re here. Their guns are so loud that I initially thought it was thunder, but I could hardly see the stars through the window in the loft where I’ve been since the battle started raging. The stars have virtually disappeared behind the smoke. The war had finally arrived, and I could hear the cannon shells exploding in the hills – loud explosions tearing at the cliffs and at our lads, who are engaging them. We all knew this day would come. The talk of the village was about when the Germans would get to us.
Did we expect anything else? The Italians tried to invade us. Metaxas said OXI! How is saying ‘No’ going to stop Mussolini? They tried to bully us, but our boys pushed them back to Albania. Little Greece pushed back the arrogant Italians. Take that, Mussolini!
I remember the day that would change my life forever. Earlier that morning, I had finished my chores and got on my bicycle and headed for the river. Papa had workers out in the fields, and Mama was back in the farmhouse cooking for the Australian soldiers who were staying with us. The laborers waved to me as I rode past and I could hear singing ringing out from the fields.
The threat of war with the Italians was over. We had won. I could now draw again and had much to show my brothers when they returned from the front lines. They promised me they would come back, and I had to have the drawings finished. Michael, Thieri, and Theodore were big, strong men, and I loved them dearly, but they could be annoying. It didn’t matter. I missed them and wanted them home.
A promise is a promise is what we vow in the Lambros family. It means if we promise to do something, it will be done because we gave our word. Papa says that a promise made is like a promise you make to God. You can’t renege on a promise to God.
My stay beside the riverbed didn’t last long as the weather started to cool, the wind picked up and the air smelt of impending rain. The sky turned a deep purple, and dark clouds hovered in the distance. Little did I know that it was an ominous sign of the darkness that would envelop my heart. I raced the storm clouds, and just as I reached the farmhouse, I saw our village priest, Father Haralambos, enter the house.
Father H was here. What did he want? Maybe he was here for dinner with the Australian soldiers. It had been a while since we had a big feast. As I entered the house, I knew it was bad news that brought the priest to our home. Papa wore his best coat, which he only wore on Sundays to go to church. He didn’t wear it as he usually did, but it was draped over his shoulders instead, as if it was a cloak. That was never a good sign. Papa only wore it on his shoulders when someone in the family died. At first, I thought it was my grandmother Maria. She’s over a hundred, and if anyone were going to die, she would be the one. However, she wasn’t dead because she was wailing in the corner. I hadn’t seen her because my attention was focused on my father.
Mama was crying and hanging on to my papa. My father was a tall, sturdy man, but he looked so tiny as he hung on to Mama. I had never seen my father cry before. I didn’t want to ask who had died.
Father Haralambos saw me and got up to meet me. He was wearing his black flowing robes and that giant crucifix that looked so heavy. His blue eyes looked into mine and I could see the sorrow. Papa saw me and came to me. He took my hand and led me to the sofa where I sat down with him.
“We have some terrible news…”
“Who died?” I asked and reached out to touch his cheek. Tears filled his eyes, and even his upturned mustache looked to be drooping. “Whoever died is now with God.”
“My darling child. God has called your brothers home…”
No. That wasn’t right. No. I didn’t believe it. God had promised that my brothers were going to come home. That’s what Father H said. God PROMISED that he would keep the Greeks safe. My brothers promised they were going to come back from the war.
A promise is a promise. You can’t break that promise. You’ve made a covenant with God.
God broke his promise. Little did I know then that God breaks many promises.
I had never had my heart shattered into a thousand pieces until that day. My heart felt as if a knife had sliced through it. How could this be? My brothers were dead? No, there had to be some mistake.
There was no mistake. That was three months ago, and now we are facing the Germans. They have invaded my home and are at the door. I overheard Papa say that the enemy was at the gate. He was right. The Australian soldiers are here and fighting for our freedom, and we must support them.
I try to comfort our horse, Zeus, because the noise is scaring him. I’m scared too as I look up into the heavens and close my eyes. I pray to God for victory and promise him that if he helps us, I will do my chores without question and I will do what is asked of me. I didn’t expect an answer right away. Father Haralambos always says that God doesn’t answer your prayers as soon as you ask him.
“Loud night for you, Zeus,” I said after I finished my prayer to God.
The horse shoved his head towards me, and I giggled at the animal's playful nature. “I'm absolutely certain that the Germans will be defeated. We defeated the Turks in 1821, then the Italians. Now it is the Germans who will feel the full force of our brothers… God is on our side, and as Father Haralambos often says in church, ‘If you have God on your side, you don't need anyone else.’”
A thunderous explosion made me jump as the noise reverberated through the night. “Oh, that must have destroyed several of those Germans tanks.”
“Zoe, come inside, child,” my mama called out to me and soon joined me. I looked up to find her green eyes were glistening. She had been crying again.
“It’s all right, Mama, God is on our side. I think we are winning. Listen to those rockets. That's the Allies—they are winning, and we are beating those horrible Germans like we beat the Italians!”
My mama’s gaze turned to the mountains, and she sighed. “God willing, we will all come out of this alive.”
“We will. Father H said we have God on our side and that means we will win.”
“Don't call the reverend ‘Father H.’”
“Why?”
“It's not respectful. Father Haralambos is a man of God, and we should show him respect.”
I didn’t think to call him Father H was disrespectful. “I don't think God is going to mind.”
Despite my mama’s tears, she laughed. I missed hearing that beautiful laugh. She kissed the top of my head. “You are going to give me a lot of grief as you grow older, but I love you.”
“I love you too,” I replied putting my arms around her waist. “Why is Zeus outside? All this noise is scaring him.”
“Papa is going to hitch the wagon to Zeus, and we are going to Thieri's cabin.”
“Now? Are we going to watch the battle from Athena’s Bluff?”
“Yes. I want you to come inside and help pack.”
“Why are we going to Thieri's cabin? Why aren’t we staying here?”
“It’s not safe here, Zoe. Don’t ask so many questions.”
“If I don’t ask questions, how will I find out anything? You keep telling me that I need to ask if I want to find out.”
“We don't have a lot of time.” That’s all Mama said and went back inside after she kissed me on the head.
“I don't know why we are going to Thieri's cabin, but we will be seeing the Germans being routed. I love Athena's Bluff, Zeus. We will have a perfect view of the Germans from up there.”
Athena’s Bluff was where my brother Thieri had built his home. It was a cabin fit for a king, he would say. The view from the outcrop was of Tempi Valley, and you could see Mount Ossa in the distance. One day I’m going to see what’s beyond Mount Ossa after I visit Sparta. That’s where my parents were born, and I want to go to Sparta and Athens.
That day was not going to be today. I patted the horse one more time and walked back to the farmhouse. When I entered the living area, there were blankets piled high on chairs and on the sofa, and two suitcases sitting near the kitchen.
I navigated around the suitcases and entered the kitchen. The smell of homemade bread permeated the room. Five loaves were cooling on the table, and another two were in the oven. Mama had taken out pickled vegetables that were stored in jars from the pantry. Before I had a chance to ask what was going on, she gave me a white bed sheet which had been ripped into long strips. “Take these to Papa and tell him I’ll be ready in about thirty minutes.”
I collected the makeshift bandages and quickly walked the short distance to my room. It felt strange to knock on my own door, but I did and entered. Lying on my bed was an Australian soldier, Jimmy Peterson. His right trouser leg had been torn from the knee down, and a large bandage was wrapped around his lower leg. I saw some blood, which made me a little sick to my stomach.
My papa was the tallest of the men that were around the bed. When he saw me, the edges of his brown eyes crinkled in delight. Sitting next to him was Apostolos Kiriakou, my brother Theodore’s best friend and the doctor. Next to Apostolos was another Australian soldier. They had been at the farm for the last three days trying to get their friend well enough to travel. Sergeant Clarence spoke Greek but with a bizarre accent which was funny.
Papa stood and took the bandages from me. “I’m so proud of you. You have been a big help to our guests, and God will reward you for your loving spirit. Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid, Papa. Our friends and our brothers will beat them back to where they came from, won’t you, Sergeant Clarence?”
“We will win, little sister.”
“God willing, we will be victorious,” Papa said and kissed me on the cheek.
“Mama said she will be ready in thirty minutes.”
“Good. Now I’m going to change the bandages. Why don’t you take Sergeant Timmins and help him load the wagon?”
“All right,” I said and waited for the soldier to join me before we left the room. Sergeant Clarence greeted Mama before he picked up the blankets and we headed outside. It didn’t take us long to get the wagon ready.
“So how is the picture coming along?” Sergeant Clarence asked me as he sat down on an upturned bucket near the barn.
“Drawing!” I corrected him and laughed at how he got the word wrong. “How did you learn Greek?”
“My grandmother is Greek.”
“Where is she from?”
“She was from Constantinople, and when they threw them out, she went to Egypt.”
“Is that why you have a funny accent?”
Sergeant Clarence laughed. “No. That’s my Australian accent. My grandmother met my grandfather, who is an Australian, and they went to live there.”
“Say something in Australian?”
Clarence gazed down at me and then smiled. “Bonzer sheila,” he said. I was confused as I didn’t know what he had said, but he translated it. “You are an excellent young woman.”
“Bonzer sheila,” I repeated, and it made no sense to me, but I liked how it sounded.
“You should come to Australia, ZoZo.”
I laughed when he called me that nickname. He must have overheard Papa calling me that. “I want to see what’s out there beyond Mount Ossa.”
“At the moment, a lot of bad men.”
“After you defeat the bad men, I want to come to Australia and see that bridge... oh,” I said and then remembered I had something for him. I fished around in my pocket and brought out the photograph that Clarence had given me. I raced into the barn and came back with my sketchbook. Flipping through the pages, I found the artwork for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. “This is for you.”
Clarence took it and smiled. “Wow, this is beautiful. Can I keep it?”
“You like it? Yes, you can keep it.”
“One day you are going to be a great artist. I will take you to this bridge.”
That’s all we had time for, because Papa and Apostolos came out of the house. They loaded supplies onto the wagon and put a blanket and hay to cushion the ride for the wounded soldier. It looked like Papa was going to go with them and I didn’t want him to leave. There was much to do at the cabin.
“Papa, are you going with them?”
My father took my hand and walked to a nearby chair where he sat down, and I sat on his lap. I felt safe with his strong arms around me. “I have to go with Apostolos and the boys around the gorge to evade the Germans,” he said.
“Why can’t Apostolos do it? I thought you were coming with us to the cabin.”
“I want you and Mama to go to the cabin. Your aunty Yannoula, Stavros, and Ellie will be there too. Don’t come down from the mountain until I come to get you. Alright?”
“You are coming back to get us, right?”
“Yes, I will come back and get you to take you back to the farm.”
“Alright, but why do you have to go?”
Papa hugged me tight and told me a secret. “I know a secret way around the gorge. Do you remember the summer we went hunting and Theo caught that wild pig? That’s where we are going.”
I looked up at my father as the gunfire and exploding artillery sounded louder and closer. I could smell the gunpowder in the air and knew that we had to leave. “You will be back, right?”
“I will be back.”
“You promise?” I asked and hoped he would promise me he was going to be back. I needed to hear those words. “A promise is a promise, Papa.”
“No, I can’t promise, little one. No one can promise—”
“But Papa—”
“Zoe, we are going to try to stop the Germans, but you have to do your part. You have to be strong and be like Laskarina Bouboulina.”
“She was ferocious and a hero in the war of Liberation!”
“That’s right. You must be like Laskarina. Whatever happens, my little girl, you must be strong. You must be courageous and never let anything stop you. If I don’t make it back, your mama is going to need you.”
I didn’t want to think about what my father just said. Of course, he was coming back. He couldn’t leave us. “I don’t want you to go.”
“If I don’t go, my baby, how are we going to win this war? Remember the brave men and women during the Liberation? They had to go and fight for our motherland.” Papa tipped my face towards him and gazed into my eyes. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Yes, this much.” I threw back my arms and tried to mimic the love he said he had for me. “I love you even bigger. Bigger than Mount Ossa!”
“Only that much?” Papa teased and then kissed me on the cheek. “Be brave, be strong, and listen to Mama until I come back. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes, Papa, but—”
“Shh.” Papa wrapped his strong arms around me and kissed me on the head. “Be brave.”
I was not feeling brave. I was scared, and I didn’t want him to leave. “Yes, I will be brave,” I said although I was not honest.
“I love you and never forget how much. I will always love you. You are my favorite daughter.”
“I’m your only daughter,” I told him and wanted to cry and beg my father not to leave, but I couldn’t. He was going to save the Australians so they could win the war.
“That’s why you’re my favorite,” Papa replied as he gently tapped his finger on my nose. “Now I have to get up and say goodbye to your mama. It may be a few days before I come to the cabin.”
Papa walked away and went towards Mama, who was anxiously standing by the wagon. He put his arm around her waist and even in the darkness I could see how much they loved each other. One day when I get married, I want to be able to look at my husband the way my mama is doing. I may never find that one person to love like that, but if God is listening, that’s what I want.
It was getting late, and we boarded the wagon. I desperately wanted to hang on to my father but knew he had a job to do. Papa led Zeus towards the road, and the other cart followed us until we got to the crossroads. Papa gave me another kiss on the cheek and kissed my mother on the lips before he walked back to the covered wagon.
I turned in my seat to see my papa getting on board. He looked back at us as the wagon turned and made its way down the road.
“Come back to us, Papa,” I cried out as Mama led Zeus towards Athena’s Bluff.