LITMIR.BIZ

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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?” Telma's voice sounded grave. “I told them not to move.”

      “I 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

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