with all the love she could muster. She realized that her hands were soaked in blood. She rose, a little dizzy, to get closer to her mother. Almices helped her to get around her father's body and to the table. It became clear to her that her mother's death had come by surprise. It had come from behind, a gloomy confirmation of the mistrust that she had always shown for the rest of the human race; her rigid, heavy body, lying face down on the table, had a shabby knife stuck in the base of her skull. There were utensils on the floor next to her, pots and pans too, as if the killers had suddenly appeared while she was preparing dinner. The benches of the table were broken on the ground, suggested there was a struggle. Telma figured her father and the Carthaginians had defended themselves with all their strength. Hermes had numerous cuts in the arms and torso. That was certainly not a sign of a fair fight.
"Telma, what are we going to do?” Almices, his eyes once again filled with tears, asked his sister the question, hoping she might bring their parents back and wake him from a dream.
"I don't understand. I do not know who could have done this. They have never hurt anyone.” The young woman dried her eyes. Her bloody hands marked her face.
"Surely they were Romans. They took away the other castaway alive, remember. If they had been thieves, they would have killed everyone.” She looked around the room again.
"Let’s go to the tavern to ask for help. Telemaco will help us.” She was convinced that the inn keeper’s son could find them help and shelter. She needed that to happen. They had no one else. “Then we’ll come back to get father and mother.”
“Okay, let's go. Quickly, the girls are still by the boat, it would not be good if they got tired of waiting and came here.”
They went out carefully and headed toward the village, deciding to pass by Andreas's house to shorten the distance. Remembering his conversation with their parents' killers, they decided to be stealthy. Close to their neighbour’s house, they heard footsteps. They hid by the trees and the darkness of the night helped to veil them.
"We must not leave any evidence. It has to look like a robbery.”
"Don't worry. I will honour the agreement," Andreas answered. “I will take care of the body of the man you brought here, then I’ll go to the Theopoulos’ house to finish the work.”
"Make sure you put everything in place, I don't want any witnesses." Now Telma and Almices could distinguish them perfectly between the trees. The speaker wore a brown tunic that partially covered a leather pectoral.
"Don't worry. I will take care of their children too. I know they are in the cave on the beach and will wait for their father to collect them. I know they have been sleeping there. Tomorrow it will be the talk of the village; the thieves have even killed their children.” Andreas laughed mockingly and spat where the siblings were hiding.
"Come, let's toast to a job well done.” The Roman slapped Andreas on the shoulder. “We never disappoint those who help us. You have already received part of your reward; the rest will come tomorrow. Look for it tomorrow in the village. We will wait in the tavern until the sun starts to rise.” The two men walked away until they entered Andreas’ house.
Telma was angry. Her bitterness and bewilderment became consumed by anger. Her brother had to hold her down when they heard their neighbour incriminating himself. They waited until the men had gone inside.
"We can't go to the tavern now, Telma.”
"But we have to ask for help. There’s nowhere else to go.”
"Help in the tavern? You just heard that they are staying there, we cannot go there. They do not want witnesses and now we know they also murdered the other Carthaginian; it must be his body they referred to, and that Andreas will bury him here and then come for us. Not even Telemaco and his father could help us.”
"What can we do then, Almices?” The girl felt numb, she did not know what to do.
"We have to leave, Telma," Almices decided, "let’s get what we need and go with our sisters. The first thing they will do is try to get rid of us.”
"Where will we go, Almices? We have no-one to turn to. We're lost.”
"Yes, we do.” Almices' face lit up. “We can go to Uncle Castor. Last year father and I visited him. Don’t you remember?”
"We don't know where he lives. We do not even know if he’ll want visitors. Even our mother couldn't visit him, remember.”
"He lives on the island of Kos. I know it will be difficult to find, but we have nobody left. I think I remember the inlet where he lives.” Almices hugged his sister. They did not know which way to go and they certainly could not afford to waste more time. “Come on, Telma. Let’s go home for some food and water and get the girls, they must miss us.”
They entered their house again. The room was still lit by the lights that Hermes had turned on at sunset. The reflection of the flames spread throughout the house, tiling over the lifeless bodies. Worried that Andreas would suddenly appear, the young siblings collected as many supplies as they could carry, constantly glancing over at their parents. Almices told Telma that the trip might last a couple of days, but it was better to be safe. The boy approached a small hole in the wall where he knew his father kept some coins of little value, as if it were a real treasure. They might be needed. He glanced sideways at his father, feeling guilty for taking the money that had taken so much time and effort to save. Meanwhile Telma gathered dry fish and fruit in a large basket. She also found two water-filled skins that her mother brought from the village early in the morning. A noise by the door distracted them.
"What was that?” Telma stood up “Andreas?”
“A rat," replied Almices, disgusted, pointing at the animal that was sniffing the Carthaginian’s blood.
"Come, let's go now. Andreas could arrive at any time.” Almices nodded. He approached his mother and kissed her fondly for the last time. He then knelt in front of his father and prayed for the strength to be able to guide his sisters to safety. Telma also said goodbye to them. Before leaving, she took two coins from her brother's bag and put them into her parents' mouths so that they could pay the boatman Caronte on his trip to Hades. They got up in sorrow and went stealthily to the jetty, looking back in case they saw Andreas approaching.
It seemed that the wind had died down a little and the waning moon was rising providing a poor light to the night. The siblings quickly walked away, thinking about everything they left behind. Almices remembered with sadness how his father had let him work the tiller in the morning. How quickly their lives had changed in just a few short hours.
"We forgot warm clothes.” Telma tried to retrace her steps.
“What are you doing? We can't go back. Andreas might be there already,” Almices stopped her. “What do you want the clothes for?”
"It's windy and the girls might suffer. The temperature will drop tonight, can’t you see the clouds?” She pointed at the sky. “Plus, we cannot leave mother and father like that.”
"It’s fine, there are several blankets on the boat in case of a problem, we can all keep warm with them. And we can’t do anything for our parents now, it’s too dangerous. Come, let's return to our sisters.”
The jetty was already visible in the twilight. As they approached, their faces reflected an added tension. They couldn’t see the girls anywhere.
"Where are they?”
