her investigations with Theo, but too weary to ask any questions.
‘Well, there’s a lot of things to photograph here,’ he said, gesturing out of the window towards a steep precipice falling to the sea beyond. ‘I hope you don’t feel carsick, Miss Calli,’ he added cheerfully, ‘there are many bends on this road.’
‘I think I’ll be fine,’ she replied, sinking into the seat, her eyelids suddenly heavy with exhaustion. She was quite used to ‘bends on the road’, Crete was full of them. She longed to close her eyes for a few minutes to combat her fatigue after the early morning start but what she now saw out of the car window was so spectacular that she couldn’t bear to shut it out; sleep would have to wait.
‘No matter how many times I make this journey I am always amazed by these views,’ Theo told her, ‘especially on a clear day like today when you can see so far!’
The journey to the village – a bone-shaking drive, since Theo was not the best of drivers, which lasted almost two hours – proved to be breathtaking and kept Calli wide awake and on the edge of her seat. One moment they were high in the hills, only to plummet down into a valley the next, then climbing steeply again to reveal through crystal-clear air a panorama of the shimmering sea stretching across to neighbouring islands.
‘Look, Miss Calli’ – Theo gestured eagerly to her – ‘you can see Samos over there, and the other one is Fourni . . .’ His excitement was equal to hers, as if he was seeing everything for the first time through her eyes.
Theo delivered Calli to her hotel safe and well, if a little rattled, in good time for her to collapse into bed for a well-deserved siesta of her own. When she woke the sun was already sinking fast towards the west. She stepped out barefoot onto the balcony and rested her eyes on the uninterrupted line of the horizon. The sky, a swirl of faded pastels, was alive with the flight of swallows skimming the surface of the sea in a last attempt to snatch whatever insects they could find hovering over the water before nightfall. The warm sea breeze on her naked arms and legs felt like a welcoming Grecian caress. It can’t get much better than this, she told herself and filled her lungs with sea air.
In no time at all she bathed, dressed, grabbed a camera and ran outside to catch the last of the light. She needed to explore, to walk around, see what was there. She didn’t need a map, she didn’t even want any information from the hotel reception just yet, she was sure she would find her way around.
No sooner was she outside and down the front steps onto the road than she was cheerfully greeted by a young couple in high spirits dancing their way barefoot towards a small crowd, also apparently in a celebratory mood.
‘What’s happening over there?’ Calli asked, gesturing towards the animated group.
‘We are all going down to the beach,’ the young woman replied in English. ‘Come with us,’ she said, taking Calli by the hand. ‘My name is Sylvie and he is Christian, what’s your name, are you staying at the hotel, have you just arrived?’ she asked in one long sentence.
‘Did you come here in time for the festival?’ The young man hurled another question, giving Calli no time to reply.
‘I’m Calli,’ she finally said, extending her hand. ‘I didn’t know there was a festival . . . But possibly yes, maybe I have come here for that,’ she murmured, more for her own benefit than theirs. It occurred to her that a festival was just what she needed now for a multitude of reasons, but chiefly because it was high time for her to start enjoying herself again.
‘Well . . . it’s not exactly a festival but more of a celebration—’ Christian started to explain before Sylvie cut him short.
‘Come on!’ she called, pointing towards the waterfront. ‘Let’s go! We’ll talk about all of that later.’
‘Why is everyone here?’ Calli asked once they reached the beach.
‘We’ve come to see the moon rise, we do it every evening,’ an older woman in a red bikini and a colourful sarong replied, turning to look at her; she smiled broadly, flashing even white teeth.
‘Calli has just arrived,’ Sylvie explained as a way of introduction.
‘Nice to meet you, Calli.’ The woman extended her hand.