"That's pretty strong stuff, Yanni," Adoni commented as he lit a cigarette and, taking a drag, crossed himself.
"Adoni, bite your tongue," ordered Captain Nikolas.
The two younger men looked at Nikolas, wondering about his sudden reproachfulness.
As if to break the strange silence, Yanni continued:
"Yeah, when I am at sea, I feel as free as a bird." He spread his arms in a flying gesture. "You know, Captain, if I wasn't working with you trying to find Anna, I would go to America or Australia."
"What about your wife and children, Yanni?" asked Nikolas.
"They seem happy without me, especially my wife," replied Yanni. "She is happy to see me once every couple of months. That way we have a new honeymoon. And we never get tired of each other, or so she says."
"When I find Anna, I will never stay away from her. Not for a single day," said Nikolas with a deep sigh. "I am not much of a religious man, but I keep asking the Ever Holy One, Virgin Mary, to use her influence with her son to help me find Anna. And when I do, I will have a direct talk with Jesus to let her go.
Thousands of women are committed to him. I hope he will understand that Anna is mine."
"What do you mean, Captain?" asked Yanni, as Adoni listened with a questioning expression.
"I mean, once a woman decides to become a nun, she forfeits her identity, surrenders her will. She is given a new name and becomes married to Christ. I was told all this by the hierarch of the church, when I asked him to tell me where to find Anna. So here we are. I have gone to countless monasteries. However, the sisters are protective of their own. You can't get any information out of them.
"Once an elder with an angelic face told me, 'my son, if you want to find her, you must ask the Virgin Mary and Christ himself. Only they can help. Now go in peace.' Then she shut the huge convent door in my face."
The boat sailed slowly into the harbor of Pythagorean Samos. "Let's stop for the night," said Nikolas.
Yanni threw the ropes and proceeded, with Adoni's help, to tie up the twenty-fourmeter vessel. It was a cool but pleasant evening. The friendly people of Samos were smiling as they walked in pairs along the dock. Children played barefoot nearby at the water's edge. A striped cat rushed toward the fishermen's nets, looking for a meal. Blonde Scandinavian girls were busy flirting with the native young Greek men. Nikolas sighed deeply. His heart felt tight as he saw them. He looked away and pulled the ropes to secure the boat. When they finished, Adoni went below.