"I will take you to the house of Christomanolis," Irene said. "The man with the candle in front of the church. He will help you get to Heraklion and deliver the papers."
"And what about you?" Anna asked. "Are you not coming with us?" … "No. I must stay here and avenge Mikis, but do not fear.
You will be in good hands with
Christomanolis."
They traveled in silence after that, moving through the back alleys carefully, ever watchful, until they came to a house just like all the others in the village except for the candle in the window. Irene tapped Anna on the shoulder and pointed to the house. Then the women hugged and Irene slipped off alone into the shadows. Hesitantly, Anna stepped to the front door of the house.
Christomanolis was waiting for her.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, but I must get to Heraklion as soon as possible," replied Anna.
"We can't leave at this hour, Miss ... Miss Anna. It would be suicidal."
"All right, but when?"
"In the morning. We don't want to attract attention. For now we must hide you."
A beautiful woman came into the room wearing a long white nightgown.
Pulling her long hair back, she said:
"Welcome, my dear, my name is Sophia. Oh, my God, your clothes ... Come, come to the kitchen. It's warm there. I'll fix you something to eat."
"I am not hungry, I just need to rest," answered Anna.
"You'll be okay, my dear. What can I cook for you?"
"I appreciate it," said Anna, "but you don't have to go to any trouble."
"You are our guest, dear, you know
Cretan tradition."
"We must hide her, Sophia." The voice of Christomanolis came from the other room. "You just keep an eye out till we get done," replied Sophia. "And don't talk so loud. The children are sleeping."
The kitchen was a small room whitewashed with lime, complete with a fireplace in the corner. There was a low round dining table in the middle. In the cooking area, the fire was always going to keep the water heated in the big blackened copper pot.
"Take your dress off, my dear. I'll help you clean up."
Anna readily obeyed. Sophia brought a large ceramic bowl with a soap made from olive oil and a sea sponge a friend had given her from the island of Kalymnos. Sophia had saved it for a special occasion.
In a frying pan, Sophia then poured olive oil, a diced onion, zucchini flowers, and a sliced potato. When they were soft and golden brown, she beat two eggs and added them in, toping it with hard ground shepherd's cheese. Anna's tattered clothes were thrown into the fire and burned.