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Eléni & M Move to Athens - Part 29

O Anthi My Anthi

By Patrick M. OhanaPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Photo of Agios Nikolaos Lake Voulismeni by Anastasi & Apostoli (CC BY 2.0) on Flickr

This new series has its history in the form of several short stories, several poems, and a 13-part series that is linked at the bottom via Part 28 of this series. Anthi Psomiadou has graciously agreed to play the role of a fictional character also called, Anthi, as she had played in the first series, but in this series with the special name, Anthi Kanéna, which she has chosen herself. It is a beautiful name that rings a bell in my mind.

I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free. Nikos Kazantzakis

Anthi awoke too, but we could not meet at the kitchen this time, being in two adjacent hotel rooms, but we could communicate mind to mind.

I cannot even imagine life without you, my Anthi. It is you or oblivion. I love you intensely.

“I love you with all my mind and my heart, my M. I know what you mean. What a dream we had! How did our goddess know about Woody Allen? It must have been Patrick. We are lucky that she did not choose, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask,” my beautiful Anthi imparted, laughing with my heart.

Now, she may, my Anthi. No! She is too good but unpredictable. What a goddess! I love you, Anthi.

Je sais, mon amour. Je t’aime aussi (I know, my love. I love you too),” my Anthi replied, touching my heart with a thought.

I kissed her toes, one by one, each with a different thought, until I heard Delphine asking her mother if something was wrong.

“No, Delphine! I was just daydreaming,” my Anthi replied.

We all met at the lobby for breakfast, accompanying Grandpa, Grandma, and Delphine who were still used to it, all the rest of us having cool water with some lemon, followed by mint tea.

Agios Nikolaos was about 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of Heraklion, so we proceeded towards it like a cool breeze, Patrick preparing to drive Athena, Eléni and me, and Anthi readying to drive Grandpa, Grandma, and Delphine. We were going to become two separate families. We realized it, Anthi and M, I mean me. But what could we do? Our Athena came again to the rescue, asking Grandpa and Grandma to be with Patrick and her, and sending Eléni and M, I mean me, to be with Anthi and Delphine. I think that I was crying inside from joy, as was my Anthi. Every minute counted, and we did not want to be separated. Do people realize that this is how a real god and goddess should be, instead of the garden variety found all over Earth? A god or goddess that really cares and does not live in the clouds or some other oasis for the divine.

Grandpa sat in front with Patrick, and grandma sat in the back with Athena. It seemed odd at first, but it quickly turned out to be the best arrangement given that our wonderful goddess could never sit in front with our grandparents in the back. Eléni and M, I mean me, were planning to sit at the back, but here too a change occurred when Delphine insisted on sitting next to Uncle M, and thus my Eléni sat next to my Anthi. I think that a few neurons must have committed suicide in my mind, or took some time off. Anthi was, of course, joyous to see her girl getting attached to me, and I was confused, to say the least, seeing the two women that I loved sitting together for the one-hour duration of the drive.

We arrived at 11:05; I checked. That five was always a sign that our goddess was with us. Lake Voulismeni was beckoning to us with its blueness, so we started there. It used to be a small sweet-water lake before being connected to the sea. It has a circular shape, with a diameter of 137 metres (452 feet) and depth of 49 metres (162 feet), and it is very close to the sea in the form of a harbour about twice the size of the lake. We rented a small boat for a short tour, enjoying all the blueness both around us and above. What a colour! No wonder that blue is one of people’s most favourite tint, as well as that of Greece and several other countries, along with white, the colour of peace.

Next we had a relaxing lunch in a nice tavern, everyone again, both personnel and patrons, mesmerized by the extent of the beauty in our group, Goddess Athena stealing the show for everyone except for yours truly who only had eyes and everything else for my Anthi. If Athena was the Sun, Anthi was the biggest flare that ever was, enveloping me with her heat, smell, and tactility. I spoke to her mind every chance I got to declare and state my overflowing love. Anthi felt it, reddening from time to time, with Grandma and Delphine mentioning it, and Anthi replying that it was the beauty of the scenery.

The Diktean Cave was our following stop. Its stalactites—icicle-shaped formations suspended from the ceiling and produced by the precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the cave plafond—were stunning, and its stalagmites—rock formations rising from the floor of the cave due to the accumulation of deposited material from ceiling drippings—were almost as appealing. They complimented each other like Aristotle’s action and passion, but I was not sure which was the action and which was the passion. Anthi was both for me. I was reacting to her action of being and the passion that her being elicited in me. It may be a definition for love. What do you think, my Anthi? I asked in her mind.

“We are both, my love. We both react to each other’s action, and we both have passion for each other, though yours seems to have no boundaries when you express it in our dreams. You surprise me all the time. Je t’aime mon M (I love you my M),” my beautiful Anthi replied.

Are you writing anything? I asked Patrick in his mind, as we were leaving the cave.

“Yes, but I am taking my time. I am writing about Athena, but keeping it in the fantastic mode given the right decision to keep her presence secret from the rest of the world.”

I am glad. We always needed to write something. I was afraid that you stopped completely.

“No, M! I am writing. Thank you for asking!”

How can I not? We were together once, and look where we are now. I sometimes think that we are living in a dream.

“Maybe we are. I often think so as well, especially when I look at Athena and cannot believe that she is there in front of me and with me.”

It is the same for me being now in Greece and living with Athena and you, and a talking owl for crying out loud, and Anthi that I love so much.

“Yes, Glaukopis is a smart bird, and Anthi is something else. She is special and Athena adores her. I do too.”

We all do. She is one of us forever. I do not think that I could see my life without her.

“I agree. She is one of us, and now there is also her daughter who seems to like you a lot.”

Like mother like daughter was never truer. I like her too. I have a feeling that she will become like her mother, a woman that everyone loves.

“I agree. I do not remember when we had more than a few words.”

It must be because of Athena and Greece. I love Greece and I never want to leave.

“I agree. I think that we have finally found our home.”

And it is all because of you who left for Greece to find Athena.

“Your Athena. I hope that there are no hard feelings there.”

None whatsoever! I love Athena but you are in love with each other. I am in love with someone else.

“Yes! Eléni is one of a kind.”

She is, and more than you could ever believe. She is the Sun and I am her tree, I said to Patrick, and then whispered, O Anthi my Anthi, to Anthi, who smiled and lit up my heart.

...

...

I thank Anthi Psomiadou for her kindness and support as shown by her many comments, suggestions, and discerning words, which always make me ponder and smile as I prepare for the next part. O Anthi my Anthi has become my only invocation and perhaps prayer. Am I losing my mind to something both real and impalpable?

...

fantasy
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About the Creator

Patrick M. Ohana

A medical writer who reads and writes fiction and some nonfiction, although the latter may appear at times like the former. All my stories (over 2,200 pieces) are/will be available on/via Shakespeare's Shoes.

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