"The true skills of a skipper are revealed in a storm. Yanni ... Let's sail!"
"But sir?"
"No, Yanni. I have been waiting for a long time."
"The weather, sir?"
"The weather looks fine to me, Yanni. Nothing will stop us now."
"Yes, Captain Nikolas. Adoni, untie her!
We're sailing!" shouted Yanni in a loud voice. The Ithaka was on her way.
"We are heading west, men. The approximate time of arrival will be … " Nikolas looked at his watch, "about ten hours from now. Let's see ... That will put us there around sunset."
"Does this island we are going to have a name, Captain Nikolas?"
"It does, Yanni."
"Captain, Captain ... I am sorry, I forgot."
"What is it, Adoni?"
"A man came looking for you, Captain Nikolas, this morning. I told him you were out and he said he'd return later. But now we're leaving, and he left his sack here. I put it downstairs."
"Well, he will have to get it another time, Adoni," said a busy Yanni.
"Did he say who he was?" asked Nikolas.
"No, he looked dark skinned ... didn't sound Greek."
"Well, he will have to wait."
* * *
"I'm so happy that Captain Nikolas thinks that he has found Anna," continued Adoni. "Now that the search comes to an end, I don't know what I am going to do next ... I guess I'll start by visiting my parents, my village, Distomo! Have you heard of it, Yanni?
It is near Delphi, you know, Mount
Parnassus?"
"Yes, of course, I know Distomo. Is there anybody in Greece who doesn't? The Germans wiped it out in 1944, right?"
"Yes, Yanni. I'd like to go there for the memorial service. Each and every year they remember the holocaust." Adoni sighed. "The massacre, the war left so much pain in the people of my town." He looked away. "My mother will probably want me to get married to a village girl. But I know who I am. I have other plans, Yanni. I am going to America. There I can have a house with a garden and I can plant all the flowers I want, a rainbow of colors! And you know what? Nobody is going to make fun of me there!" said Adoni, his gaze on the rising sun.
"That sounds great, Adoni! Go for it! And you know what I am going to do? I am going to settle down with my family, get a real job ... no more sailor stuff. No gambling or women ... no more!"
"I can't believe I am hearing this,
Yanni ... Why, that's wonderful!"
"Hey, Adoni, how about we throw some dice on the deck?"
"For the last time, eh? Okay, Yanni," Adoni replied. "I guess my grandmother was right. She used to say that a bad habit is the last thing to leave the body when you die!"