don't know, they may have returned to the cave.”
“Let's call them.”
"No!” Almices’ voice was sharp. He thought about Andreas. They cannot be found. He stopped to look at the boat.
They reached the jetty and there was no trace of their sisters. Almices advanced over the whimpering wood until he reached the boat. The clouds had covered the scarce moon and it was hard to see the inside the boat.
"Are they there?” Telma felt distressed.
"I don't see anything. Wait for me to come up,” he said as he jumped. He didn't remember leaving the rope so untidy. He pulled them away.
"You’re here already?” Nerisa woke up yawning. Almices gave a sigh of relief.
"What a scare you gave me!” The young man took a step back. “Telma, they're here.” He heard his older sister walk across the jetty.
"Where is Janira?" Almices asked Nerisa. “I thought she was with you.”
"She’s here." She raised the nets that were still on the boat, exposing their little sister, who was in a deep sleep. “We were sleepy and didn’t want to bother you, so we came on the boat.” Almices smiled relieved as Telma approached.
"You had us worried. Good thing you're okay.”
"And Dad?” Nerisa was restless. By this time, they were usually fast asleep.
"Darling, dad and mum are no longer here.” Telma stroked her hair, trying to keep her composure. “Some men have entered the house and killed them. We have to leave; we can't go home.” She immediately regretted her bluntness.
"It can't be.” Nerisa started to cry. “I want to go to mum.” She tried to jump off the boat to run home but Almices held her arm.
"Sweetheart, we can't go home. We can't go back. Andreas wants to kill us too.” He hugged her.
"Almices, look!” Telma exclaimed as she pointed toward the house. In the darkness the illuminated entrance was hardly discernible. Almices observed the movement of a silhouette in the doorway.
"Andreas is already looking for us. Telma, ready the boat.” He let go of Nerisa and jumped to the jetty.
"What are you going to do, Almices? It won't take long for Andreas to get here.” The young man said nothing. He went over to Andreas's boat and slashed the man's sails with his knife.
"Run, Almices! He’s coming.” The boy turned to the house and watched as the silhouette increased in size. Their neighbour had already seen them. But his sails were already torn, and Almices threw the oars into the water before jumping back to the jetty.
"Telma, fast, cast off!” Almices shouted as he cut his neighbour’s moorings and pushed the boat to sea. He turned to the house and saw Andreas was almost on the jetty. Telma had freed the boat and the young man pushed it off and jumped inside.
"You, wait!” Andreas screamed at them from the jetty. Telma and Almices took the oars and rowed with all their strength. Andreas's boat was loose, and with the moorings broken and driven by the wind, it was already drifting out to sea.
"Wait, dam you!” Andreas, already at the end of the jetty, in a matter of seconds realised that the children were out of reach. He turned toward his boat and cursed when he saw it drifting away, slowly out to sea. He did not think twice, he jumped into the water to rescue his boat.
"Almices, Andreas has thrown himself into the water. He’s trying to retrieve his boat and chase us.” Nerisa looked fearfully at the coast and their neighbour.
"Don't worry, I tore the sails. Nerisa, grab my oar and keep rowing with Telma.” He passed the oar and without wasting time he raised the sail. He had done so many times, competing with the other fishermen’s children. The automatic movements made the ship ready in a short time. His sisters continued to commentate.
"Andreas is already on his boat!” Nerisa exclaimed terrified, and craned to see if their neighbour was approaching. The man had just gained his boat and started to unfold the sails. The wind was blowing again, and the sea was lashing with much more force. The clouds had cleared a wide space around the moon and its pale light lit the scene. Almices turned in time to see his neighbour raise his hands toward them, surely cursing the sails that the boy had slashed. The wind censored his string of insults.
"Telma, Nerisa, you can stop. The wind will propel us now. Andreas can’t reach us here.”
"I don't know if that’s a good idea Almices, it's getting windy and the waves are growing. I still fear for us.” Telma looked at the hectic sea with concern.
"Trust me, I know this area and we can sail without problems. We will sail south along the canal to get away from the coast and then east toward Kos. Then we will see how our uncle receives us; in the meantime, we will be safe from Andreas and those Romans. Now try to sleep a little bit.” Nerisa was as frightened by this night as the rest. She picked up one of the blankets and snuggled away from the wind with Janira, who continued to sleep deeply. Telma cradled another blanket, somewhat further away from her sisters, next to the bow. Almices was by the helm, ever a good steersman and he guided the ship from the rocky traps that he knew lurked here under the waves.
The hours passed and the wind raged. The waves strengthened, though they did not threaten the ship. Nerisa held Janira tightly. She was worried that an abrupt movement could throw her into the sea, so of course she couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about her parents. She did not understand what her older siblings had told her. Why couldn't she see her parents again? Why were they killed? Why must they flee? Too many questions for a nine-year-old girl. She wished she could tell her father she wanted to be a fisherman just like him. She had never dared to tell him before because there were no fishing girls in the village, nor fishing women; it was a man’s job. She remembered how jealous she felt of her brother when her father told him that he must go fishing every day with him. Her mother had never understood. She had once refused to help her because she wanted to go to sea with the men and was punished for two days, forced to stay at home. What would they say to her now? She continued to reminisce about her parents as tears ran down her cheeks in the same lilt as the waves hit the hull of the boat.
Telma remained curled in the bow feeling a little dizzy. She couldn’t understand the misfortune that had fallen on them. She blamed her neighbour, the inn keeper, for hosting the Romans. She blamed the castaways for washing upon their beach. She thought about how she would never see her beloved Telemaco again, but was surprised how little she cared. Her wedding intentions paled in comparison to the recent events. She constantly argued with her mother, but now she missed her so much. She spent many mornings methodically preparing the old recipes memorized by her mother. The scolding she received when she improvised and changed an ingredient. She never understood why her mother sometimes seemed to hate everyone, even though she knew that her childhood had not been easy. Now she felt alone in adversity, like the time she had fallen between the rocks by the beach and climbed up against a rising tide, insisting that her siblings move away and not worry about it; but Almices had gone in search of their parents anyway, who finally rescued her from the danger. Who would support them now? How would she take care of her brother and sisters? At times she began to understand the feelings her mother felt toward the rest of the world. People were not good. They seemed to take any chance to harm others, to take advantage of an outsiders' misgivings to thrive selfishly. She felt like an outsider, a fragile being, surrounded by danger.
Almices’
