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As they set off, Lili told him why that shoreline had a special significance.
He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her, dark bushy eyebrows rising as he listened to her story. ‘You’re her! The little English girl they found wandering the beach alone.’
‘You remember that … me?’
‘Yes, it was all over the local news. It’s not something you forget in a hurry. It was a very unusual case. It is not uncommon to hear of children getting lost, but to find a child wandering alone and the parents missing …’
He took his eyes off the road to glance at her once more. ‘Strange,’ he said, shaking his head.
‘I wanted to see the beach where I was found.’
‘I get the impression you have not been back to Corfu since?’
‘That’s right – I haven’t.’ Lili stared out of the car window. She didn’t expect to recognise anything; she had been too young the last time she was there.
She watched the honey-coloured facades of the grand detached residences flashing by along the beautiful waterfront. She was looking forward to exploring this part of Corfu Old Town too and walking its long, wide boulevards overlooking the crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Lili recalled what she’d read about Corfu during her flight. According to the guidebook, things had changed since the package holiday heydays of the seventies, eighties, and nineties. Back then, certain areas of Corfu enticed young backpackers who just wanted to party, giving some of the beach resorts a bad name. Connie and her own parents came to mind. Now it seemed that Corfu attracted more discerning travellers; those who sought peace and tranquillity, beautiful beaches, and day trips to see the sights.
The guidebook intimated that the nightlife in the Old Town comprised of couples and families with children going out in the cool evenings to walk along the promenade and sit outside little restaurants for dinner. They passed many such restaurants in the car, and Lili could see the staff setting up tables. The town was still relatively quiet, apart from a few tourists, but it sounded as though it really came alive at night. Lili was looking forward to a meal alfresco and walking the streets straight from her hotel door.
As they left the beautiful Old Town behind them, Lili promised herself a boat trip around the island. Her guidebook suggested this was not to be missed.
Lili noticed that the long stretch of highway leading to the resort of Benitses was full of shops, some displaying billboards. There were potholes in the road and lots of moped riders darting in and out of the traffic, honking at the cars in their path. It made her head spin. Looking out of the window at the rather ugly shopping strip on either side of the main road, Lili wondered if she would rather visit one of those pretty coves her guide had mentioned about after all.
‘How far is the beach?’ Lili asked.
‘It’s about twenty minutes to Benitses. So, are you here looking for your parents?’
Lili shook her head. ‘No, I found them.’
‘You did? Well, that’s fantastic news. I always wondered what became of them.’
Lili said nothing more. She left him to his misconception that they had turned up alive and well to claim her and that they were all living happily ever after. If only that were true.
Spiros turned left at a set of traffic lights. A sharp bend opened out on to a pleasant stretch of road with a lot fewer cars and no shops. Lili looked out of the side window and discovered they were on a winding, scenic coast road. Her spirits lifted. She was feeling that perhaps the resort of Benitses would be worth the trip after all.
