Page 127 of Villa of Secrets

He stared at the sky. ‘A few months later, I was forced to throw the bodies into the furnace – all day, every day.’ He placed his hands over his face, as if to block the images. ‘Most of the time, they were dead.’

‘Oh, no. Who?’ Afraid of his answer, I hugged Sonia even closer to my chest.

After a long silence, he swallowed hard. ‘Danial. He was my favourite of everyone. I admired him so much, wanted to be like him – and there he was, skin and bones, his face twisted in pain, starved to death. I didn’t want to let go of him. Thin, thin skin stretched over bones. Dear Danial, my dear brother.’

I stared at the ferry that took Giovanni from me and Sonia. Danial’s last words returned with such clarity I sensed he was there on the roof with us.

A riddle for you, Dora. What falls into the sea every day, but never gets wet? A bag of caramels for the right answer.

I gazed at the sun sinking into the Aegean. ‘You owe me a bag of sweets, Danial,’ I whispered, my heart breaking.

Sonia snuggled up, blinked at me, then closed her eyes again. My brother and I sat on the roof, silent with our private thoughts and memories until the moon came up. ‘Why do you think all this happened to us, Jacob?’

He just stared into the dark, his eyes wide and a look of complete horror fixed on his face.

*

Two weeks later, I stood on the quayside with Sonia on my hip, waving goodbye to Jacob. He would be happy in Italy, married to the nurse he’d fallen in love with. He promised they’d come to Rhodes for their honeymoon and I looked forward to meeting her.

1 July 1965

Dear Diary, the years have flown. My Sonia has grown and gets married tomorrow. The last month was filled with preparations, but now I have an hour for myself and my diary.

Jacob arrived from Italy this morning with his lovely wife and their two girls. He has become a music teacher, and plays the violin very well. We are going to perform at Sonia’s wedding.

Sonia has asked me to sing O Mio Babbino Caro, because she has never known her father, yet in an odd way, she feels it will make Giovanni part of her wedding ceremony.

The song will be excruciating for me because my heart still aches painfully for my family – especially my own father – who gave me the pen I’m writing this with just a few days before he was taken away. The words of the song turn over in my mind.

O my dear Papa. I love him. He is handsome. He is handsome.

I recall the choir singing outside my father’s shop. I was a child in love with a curly haired boy. I am afraid I will break down in the middle of the melody and embarrass Jacob.

Sonia’s going to marry a local fisherman, Zorba. They are in love. My daughter was baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church by the old village priest. I found that hard to take. My own child, a Christian!

It was the Christians who slaughtered millions of us simply because of our religion. It was the Christians that herded us, young and old, rich and poor, into the gas chambers and crematoriums, burning old women and babies alive. For what reason?

I feel I have betrayed my family and my roots by allowing it. But then I remember Sonia’s father. Giovanni, the shepherd boy. He was a Christian.

Before his retirement, the old papas visited me. He was a kind and understanding person who said, ‘We must learn tolerance for other religions if the world is to become a better place.’

I haven’t met the incoming priest who will marry Sonia and Zorba tomorrow. His name is Papas Yiannis Voskos, new to the area and living with his wife and child in the next village until the house opposite is refurnished and painted.

Sonia told me that Papas Yiannis is open-minded and in my honour and out of respect to Jacob, some Jewish traditions will be incorporated into the wedding.

The Breaking of the Glass is a Jewish tradition that means a lot to me, although I never had the opportunity myself. It comes at the end of the Jewish wedding, and the interpretation’s left to the bride and groom.

I wonder what Sonia and Zorba will say.

Sonia has done the most unusual thing. Her dress is heavy white lace, fitted but flaring out at the knees down into a fabulous mermaid’s tail that lengthens into a train at the back. The narrow sleeves are unlined lace and come down to a point that covers the backs of her hands. The neckline is a scalloped boat-shape that highlights her perfect shoulders but is at the same time modest.

I thought of Evangelisa’s blue gingham dress with puff sleeves and white heart-shaped buttons that I wore for my wedding.

At the dressmaker’s, I helped her into the gown and then cried. I couldn’t help it. So much has happened in my life, and there I was standing before this vision of beauty, my daughter. I wished Giovanni could see her. Even after all these years, I can’t forget the shepherd boy that I married on a Juliet balcony. Beneath the cinnamon tree with its hidden scars, he gave me the greatest gift of my life, my beautiful child.

I see him in Sonia’s eyes and I explode with love. I also remember Irini, and then my heart breaks even more.

Sonia works at the local bank and brings home a good wage. She gives me a little money each week, and she has paid for half of her wedding with her savings. I wish I could have done more, but Zorba’s parents understand my situation and have helped.