of the places in the mountains where an outlaw might hide; he was not the first. They killed him by the knife, as he had killed Kosmas, then, under the black shroud of night, Manolios and his two sons dumped his body in their fishing boat and sailed into the night. The sea roared like a wild beast as if Poseidon himself was in as much of a rage as theirs. They sailed out as far as they dared to where the seabed shelved steeply, then pushed the lifeless body, weighted with an anchor, overboard into the deep to rot beneath the waves, never to be mentioned again.
In the upper village, Mitros’s mother waited for his return but as time passed his fate became obvious to her; now, alone in the world she had to consider her own safety and future. The explanation she gave to her neighbours and inquisitive villagers about her son’s absence was that he had gone abroad, emigrated to America, as so many young men did in those days. Staying in the village, she had no other course of action.
Froso spent several weeks in bed while her mother and father along with all the female members of her family nursed her back to health. At first the girl was so traumatized by her ordeal, she seemed to be struck completely mute, she found no voice to express her sorrow. Gradually, as she started to regain some of her senses, she began to cry and wail at the loss of everything she held dear and clung to her mother for support.
The rape, though acknowledged, was never spoken of again. Calliope, though distraught herself, maintained a calm exterior and threw herself into aiding her daughter towards recovery.
Almost three months later, the young girl at last started to eat and to regain her physical strength. Froso’s emotional state was still fragile; she suffered from nightmares and night sweats and her body felt alien to her. For long weeks it was beyond her capacity to accept that Kosmas had been snatched away from her and had gone forever, all happiness and the future she had dreamed of destroyed in a few moments.
The realization that Froso was pregnant hit both mother and daughter like an earthquake. Calliope remained resolute, all the while praying to the Panagia for her guidance. Froso, on the other hand, after her initial state of shock at the discovery that she was with child, was certain, as she told her mother, that the baby in her belly belonged to Kosmas. She was convinced beyond doubt this was the fruit of their union on that fateful day when they consummated their love for the first time. The baby she was carrying was the gift that her beloved had bestowed on her. If she couldn’t have Kosmas, she would have his flesh and blood. She was sure that this was the truth, no less, because the Virgin Mother came to her in a dream and told her so – the child would be the living manifestation of their love; she had no doubts.
But Calliope had her misgivings. She feared the worst. She tossed and turned in bed, prayed to God and to all the saints and angels. She made her pilgrimage to the Archangel Raphael and begged him to guide her actions. At last she concluded that the baby must be loved and cherished as any blessed child that came into the world and the circumstances of its conception were immaterial. The baby would be innocent at birth and he or she should grow up bearing no stigma of shame or doubt. A precious life had been granted to them and, since it was God’s will, they would love and cherish it.
Still Calliope spent more nights and days pondering and assessing their predicament. Eventually, in the course of her visits to the church during which she devoted much time entreating guidance from the Holy Mother, she reached a profound decision. She resolved that the wisest course of action, in the best interests of the child and of them all, would be for her, Calliope, to assume the role of the mother while fifteen-year-old Froso became the big sister. A young unmarried girl with a child would certainly arouse disapproval and suspicion in the neighbouring area. That secret must be guarded at all costs. The two of them, with the help of Nikiforos, would raise the baby in the loving context of the family fold, protecting the child from the