Nikos. Anastasiia Deniz Mitchell
that the man was hardly able to stand. He reeked of alcohol, like his two subordinates.
This made me sick. Fee mou8, why was I in a situation like this? Well, it was fully my fault: I should have got back home as soon as I took the goats into the shed.
I began to pray. “Feotoke Parsene, haire, keharitomeni Maria…”9 We all, the Greeks, were strong believers.
“Hey, you […]! What’re you saying?” Ramazan shouted. “If you won’t stop, I’ll […] kick your […] teeth out of your […] mouth!”
“Woah! Why swearing so much, Ramazan?” said his friend, whose name was still unknown.
“Because she’s irritating me!”
“Shut up, you both! You, the two soldiers, whom I have hired! My ears are about to fall off my head! Get the girl into the hold and shut her there!”
I resisted, but in vain. Ramazan was still holding me. Now, he carried me first onto the ship, up the stairs, and then down into some dark room. Despite the fact that I beat him with my fists, the man didn’t react. He opened the door with one hand, holding me in the other, and then threw me onto the floor of the room. I didn’t have any energy left to do something to save my life.
I cried. It was simply unfair! I didn’t want to die in that room! Death in the hold would be the most terrible punishment.
“I’m sorry, dear Mummy! Dear Daddy, they’ve caught me! They’ve captured me!” I thought. In my head, I begged my parents’ pardon. I knew that I probably wouldn’t see them again, as well as my sisters. Poor Nicoletta and Georgia! How would they live without their elder sister?
“Shut her in there and don’t let her out!” the captain commanded. “Don’t let her out till I tell you to!”
After that, Ramazan shut the door, all the three men leaving. They didn’t come back anymore.
Not knowing what to do, crying, trying to calm down, exhausted after the today’s “events”, I lay down and fell asleep.
2
In the morning, I woke up. At first, I didn’t understand what had happened and where I was, but when I remembered yesterday, I cried again. Parakalo, soghorese me, Fee mou! Y mitera mou, parakalo, soghorese me! O pateras mou, parakalo, soghorese me! Me sighoreite!10
And what about my sisters? Would they forgive me? I didn’t think so. They would be angry with me, of course. They’d say, “Why have you left us, Ermina? Why? What for? What did we do to you?”
At the same time, I didn’t want to think about that. I was hungry and thirsty. Moreover, I wanted to go to the toilet.
Where were the three men? Were they going to visit me, or what?
The sun’s rays slanted through the slots in the hold’s walls. My back was aching. And it seemed like my arms were swollen.
Anyway, was there any water…? There wasn’t. I had searched all the corners of the hold but found nothing. Just emptiness.
Then, it dawned on me. I had to look for the way out. There must have been something in the hold that would let me escape. So, I began to examine every cell of it.
I remembered the goat I was talking to the day before. It seemed to me that this day was just another reality. I told her I wanted to be free like a bird. Well, now, it was out of the question. What freedom was it? I was immured in the hold of the steamship, and only God knew when I would be able to get out. Probably, never…
Were the three men going to make me the Sultan’s concubine? Or, maybe, just a slave? I didn’t know exactly. I was at a loss.
After thorough search, I saw a hook fit into one of the walls. It was oddly shaped, though, because it didn’t look like a usual instrument. A pirate’s hook…?
I took a closer look at it. “Interesting,” I thought. Finally, I had found something for me at least to try to run away!
I took it, fingering it over, and then moved it. It drew first back and then forward. “Let’s see how that will come off,” I said to myself. “Let’s see…”
Suddenly, I heard steps from above. Those were the three evil men who wanted to do something bad with me. I started praying again.
“Feotoke Parsene, haire, keharitomeni Maria, o kirios meta sou. Eulogimeni si en ginaiksi, kai eulogimenos o karpos tis koilias sou, oti Sotira etekes ton psihon imon.”11
“Hey, pretty little girl! We’re watching you!” there was a drunken voice behind the door. “What’re you doing there? Do you want to join us?”
Perhaps, it was Ramazan’s voice. Then, there was another voice, I think captain’s:
“Ramazan! What’re you doing, […]? Come here! The girl is mine! You’re only my worker! Can’t you understand that?”
“I’m sorry, my boss,” Ramazan said apologetically. “I won’t do that anymore.”
Then, the man left. I started pulling the hook more and more, with more intensity. Now, it moved only towards me. I didn’t know why it was moving like this. Suddenly, the wall the hook was on moved over. I did something! But what was behind the wall?
I peeped through the hole that was formed thanks to the hook. I was seized with terror. There was water splashing!
I stepped back. I had to look for another way out! I couldn’t end my life! I didn’t want to drown like this! I wanted to live, and live, and live!
What did I have to do to save my life? I needed to think, and think hard. I had no other choice but to get out of here by pulling the hook forward, so that it could destroy the wall!
I started to take action.
First of all, I strained. When I was a child, Daddy taught me to carry heavy things, because sometimes, he needed help to carry the goods.
I turned the hook to the right and then to the left. It moved, so that I could pull it. Suddenly, the wall leant forward to me. This meant only one thing: the hook was a sort of key to open the wall! I looked out again. There was the sea, splashing. What was there to be afraid of…? Actually, nothing. There was nothing to be afraid of. Well, maybe, I had to fight for my life. But what was more precious for me than a chance to live itself?
What I had to do is to jump out of the hold and start paddling along the heavy current of the squally sea. I was already going to get into its depths, when suddenly, the door of the hold opened, and Ramazan entered.
He saw me ripping up the wall and shouted:
“Hey, you […]! What’re you doing?” The man ran up to me and slapped my face.
I cried.
“Next time, you won’t do it! You must be thankful that you’re still alive, you little […]!”
With these words, he untied my mouth. At least, I could breathe fully now – I had had my mouth tied for the whole night!
“Don’t you think that you’re going to eat now?” he grinned. “You won’t! I’ll lead you out of here, and you’ll be with us there! But,” he gave me a bad look, “you won’t be with us! You’ll be hanging above the deep blue sea!”
He put me up and threw me onto his shoulder. Then, he carried me out of the hold and shouted, laughing like a horse:
“She’s still alive! A strong one!”
“And what?” the captain growled. “Only a night has
My God
The text of the Hail Mary Prayer in Greek: Hail Mary, full of grace. This is the transliteration of the prayer. The original version of the prayer (Greek) is as follows: Θεοτόκε Παρθένε, χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη Μαρία, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξί, καὶ εὐλογημένος ὁ καρπὸς τῆς κοιλίας σου, ὅτι Σωτήρα ἔτεκες τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν.
Please, forgive me, my God! Please, my Mother, forgive me! Please, my Father, forgive me! Forgive me, all of you!
Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou amongst women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.