her baby, the break-up of her relationship or about her grief, to her or to anyone since she arrived on the island.
‘How did you know?’ she asked almost in a whisper.
‘It is who I am,’ the older woman said softly and reached for her hand. She held it tightly for a few moments before continuing. ‘I would like you to know, Calli dear, that there is someone who is by your side, someone who is looking after you . . .’ She hesitated for a second, then shifted a little closer. ‘That someone,’ she continued, ‘is Raphael. He is your guardian angel.’
Calli turned sharply to look at her with unblinking eyes.
‘Don’t look so shocked, my girl.’ The older woman gave a little laugh. ‘I know what I am saying; Raphael looks over you, always.’
Calli stared silently for a long while until finally she managed to speak. ‘If that’s the case,’ she said under her breath and pulling her hand away from Maya’s, ‘then he isn’t doing a very good job of it, is he?’
‘You might not think so now, my friend,’ she replied solemnly, ‘and you may reject what I am about to say . . .’ Maya paused again for a moment to think before continuing, ‘But things always happen for a reason and—’
The younger woman’s response cut her short, coming fast and sharp. ‘What possible reason do you suggest there was for me to lose my baby and for my life to be turned upside down?’ Her cheeks were blazing, her voice raised.
‘I know it’s a harsh and painful thought . . .’ Maya paused again, unsure if she should continue. ‘But you see . . . you had to be free.’ She hesitated again before speaking. ‘And now there is nothing that ties you to that man . . .’
Calli leapt to her feet before Maya had a chance to finish; her eyes flashing with fury, she looked down at the woman still sitting on the step. There was much she wanted to say but no words could come out of her mouth. Her thoughts were jumbled, uncertain. She knew James was not worthy of loyalty or mercy and it was true she wanted nothing to connect herself with him. But that poor innocent soul – what harm had she done?
‘What I am saying,’ Maya said gently, trying to soothe her, ‘is that it just wasn’t meant to be, my friend, not any of it.’
Calli continued to stand facing her defiantly, her emotions jumbled, her head aching. Having spent a couple of days with Maya she had come to realize that she had never encountered anyone quite like her before. This was a woman with a different slant to the world, a different reality and vision from her own. Until now Calli had found this intriguing, but now she felt that Maya’s attitude had gone beyond her acceptance.
‘You see, Calli dear’ – Maya continued in the same gentle tone of explanation – ‘it’s a chain of events and the loss is truly tragic. But some things must happen, no matter how painful they are, before others follow, before change will occur. Believe me, my girl, I know what I am speaking of. Out of sadness will come joy for you, I promise. This lunar eclipse we are about to witness tonight, it will bring change, it is a given, and change never happens without the loss of something.’
The drive back to Armenistis was subdued. Calli had been shaken by her experience at the monument, and the conversation with Maya disturbed and confused her, giving her much food for thought. Maya, concerned that her earlier rhetoric had contributed to her friend’s agitation, refrained from saying more. The two women sat in the car in reflective silence until a rock formation in the distance on a small hill by the roadside caught Calli’s eye.
‘What is that ahead?’ she pointed, leaning forward for a better look. ‘Is that another monument?’
The stones, or rather giant boulders, which were rapidly coming into closer view looked as if they had been arranged intentionally in such a way as to resemble some kind of memorial site or shrine.
‘No, it is not,’ Maya replied. ‘This is one of those natural formations of stones I was telling you about yesterday, remember? Isn’t it magnificent?’
‘Can we stop?’ Calli asked, reaching for her camera. Earlier she had been too preoccupied and disturbed to think about taking any photographs, but now with her camera poised for action she was