Two months had passed and Penelope was adjusting to life outside the clinic. She readily went back to cooking her tasty dishes from Smyrna and cleaning the house. Her grandsons loved her. Life was meaningful for her again. One Sunday, at lunch after church, Eleni pressed an envelope into her mother's hand.
"You know what this is, Mom?"
"No, what is it, my daughter?"
"It is a ticket. We are going to sail to the
Holy Land."
"Don't play jokes with me, Eleni."
"No, I'm not. It is true."
"Where did you find the money, child?" asked Penelope.
"A group of teachers is going and they asked me to join them. When I told them I could not because I had my mother to care for, they all said the same thing."
"What did they say?"
"We invited you in the hope that you'd bring your mother, so that we can enjoy her company on the trip."
"That is so nice of them, Eleni. You must work with nice people."
"You don't realize how good it made me feel, Mother." Eleni sighed. "It restored my faith in people."
"Thank God," said Penelope in a low voice. "I wish my sight was better, so I could see all the places where our Christ walked and taught."
"He will help you see because you have love in your heart."
"Thank you, child."
Penelope excitedly crowded her mind thinking of all the things she was going to take with her, and a list of all the people she wanted to pray for, living and dead. The time came for them to sail and Penelope was ready. She took a picture of Nikolas, and even some of his old clothes. Along with birth papers, his Greek passport, and some small mementos of his childhood, she would place them in the hands of the Virgin Mary and ask her to please give them to her son when she sees him, because the Holy Mother goes back and forth between heaven and earth.
The ship was a converted American troop carrier, freshly painted and with many added conveniences. But most of the passengers did not want any luxuries because the purpose of the trip was a spiritual pilgrimage.
As they passed the eastern part of the island of Crete, Eleni threw the flowers she had brought aboard into the sea. "May your memory be eternal, my sweet brother Nikolas," she managed to say, choked with emotion. "Why did you have to die so young?" She then raised her head to breathe the fresh sea air. As her hair blew in the gentle wind, she thought that she was breathing the same air her brother did before the Germans sunk his ship. "We will never forget you, beloved brother. Greece is grateful for your sacrifice, no matter what that evil doctor tried to tell our mother." After she had thrown the flowers into the sea, she returned to her cabin and hugged her mother, happy that they were together.