that the loss of her baby was a sorrow she would always carry with her, but she refused to give up. There was a world out there waiting for her. She was finally ready to embrace life again and as it turned out this came in the form of an assignment, a job proposal from her Sunday paper.
‘There’s an island in Greece called Ikaria,’ David, her commissioning editor, had said when he telephoned, ‘and I’d like you to go there and do a story for us.’
‘Sounds great! What’s the story and where is it?’ Calli asked.
‘Somewhere . . . let me think . . . in the Aegean . . .’ he replied, distracted by interruptions competing for his attention in the office; Calli could hear someone in the background trying to talk to him.
‘What exactly do you want me to do, David?’ she asked, trying to focus his attention on their phone call.
‘Well . . . apparently people are living for an awfully long time on this island,’ he struggled to explain, ‘but no one really knows why . . . It’s a bit of a phenomenon.’
‘Is that so different from other Greek islands?’ she persevered, hoping for more information. ‘Don’t most people live to a ripe old age in Greece?’
‘Well, maybe, but they say this is different . . . something to do with the environment that makes them live even longer . . . Look, just come into the office tomorrow and I’ll tell you everything,’ he finally said, exasperated. ‘It’s crazy busy in here and I can’t hear myself think.’
As soon as Calli was off the phone, she looked up Ikaria online.
‘I’ve been given a commission to go to Greece to follow up a story,’ she told her parents over dinner that night.
‘Where in Greece?’ her mother asked, leaning forward to hear more.
‘The island of Ikaria – do you know it?’ Calli looked at them both.
‘Isn’t that the island where everyone lives for ever?’ mused Keith.
‘Kind of . . .’ Calli said, wondering why she hadn’t heard about it before now. ‘How did I miss this?’
‘Perhaps because you’ve been a bit busy lately?’ Eleni replied.
‘I heard a programme on the radio about it the other day,’ Keith told them. ‘It sounds a fascinating place.’
‘To say the least!’ Calli reached for a chunk of bread to soak up the olive oil and lemon dressing from her plate. ‘They’ve named it the island where people forget to die! Did you know that there are only four other places in the world that have the same record of longevity?’
‘Do they know why?’ Eleni asked.
‘Well, it must be something to do with the healthy lifestyle, but apparently from what I’ve been reading there’s more to it than that . . .’
‘Well . . . there’s all the mythology too,’ Keith added, ‘hence the island’s name – you know, the story of Icarus flying too close to the sun and falling into the sea and all that?’
‘Exactly!’ Calli said. ‘Not that that can have anything to do with people living a long time – but it does add to the mystery, don’t you agree?’
‘When do they want you to go?’ Eleni reached for the bottle of wine and filled their glasses.
‘Soon, I think. I’m going into the office for the briefing tomorrow.’
‘Will you still take the flat?’ her mother asked. Calli had at last found an apartment that she quite liked and was considering putting down a deposit. Over the last few weeks she had viewed several possibilities, but nothing that she thought suitable until now. No point moving somewhere you don’t like for the sake of it, her parents encouraged her. Stay until you find the right place.
‘I probably won’t, Mum,’ she replied, ‘It wasn’t that brilliant. If you don’t mind, I’d rather leave my things here while I’m away?’
‘Of course we don’t mind!’ Eleni said, relieved that her daughter was not about to move out yet. ‘You can start looking again when you return.’
‘You know . . .’ she looked at her parents, ‘I was thinking I might stay on a little longer after I finish the job, take a break . . . have a holiday . . . spend the summer in the sun. I mean, I don’t really have to rush back, do I?’
‘Ikaria is part of the north Aegean islands,’ David informed her the next day when she went into the office for her briefing, ‘and it has been declared one of the five “Blue