Page 6 of The Silent Sister

The three of them stood to leave Eléni for the night when they were approached by a doctor they hadn’t seen before. ‘Can you call in to see me before you go, parakaló ?’

‘ Kalinychta, agápi mou. ’ Sophia kissed Eléni. ‘I will see you tomorrow.’

The little girl waved as they left.

The doctor waited for them as they walked the length of the ward.

‘ Efcharistó, I’m sure you can see your daughter and your granddaughter has now recovered from her injuries. We can do no more for her here. We must use her bed if someone comes in who needs it.’

Tom looked to Cassia before she began speaking. ‘Her body, it is healed, yes. But she does not speak. There must be something more you can do for her. We do not have a home. We live under a shelter. It is not good for her, eh?’ Panic sounded in her voice. It was the day she had dreaded.

The doctor shook his head. ‘She is clearly not deaf. She has suffered a trauma from the earthquake. She chooses not to speak. Did she ever speak before? She isn’t very old. Two or three, maybe?’

Sophia spoke for them. ‘She’s three. Yes, she could speak before this awful tragedy happened. She must have seen...’

Before she could finish her sentence, Cassia butted in. ‘Isn’t there a medical person who could help?’

‘Normally, there would be, but times are not normal. They would have been able to help with the night terrors, too.’

‘What do you mean? Night terrors?’

‘You are not here in the night. You must prepare yourself. Eléni wakes up screaming most nights. But they are getting less. She is soaked in sweat. Her eyes show she is terrified, and she covers her head. If you say you cannot manage her, I can arrange for her to have a place with the authorities who are taking all the orphans. Otherwise, you must take her home tomorrow.’

Once outside the tent, Cassia began to cry. ‘We cannot let that happen. We can’t.’

Tom placed an arm around her shoulders. ‘We think of something, eh?’

But what she didn’t know.

Sophia was silent.

* * *

Cassia and Sophia watched Eléni drawing a picture. They had now been living back at the shelter for over a month. Cassia had given up her work at the centre to concentrate on getting the little girl settled and happy.

To start with, the screams had been recurrent and although Cassia had warned the family living next to them, it had been a shock to everyone how upsetting they’d been.

The terrified eyes had come back, reminding Cassia of Eléni drifting in and out of consciousness in the hospital ward.

Slowly, the night terrors had become less frequent and, in the end, had disappeared altogether.

It was all down to one person. Arianna. Eléni had made friends with the little girl from the other family living in the shelter and they enjoyed playing games together. Her days were once again filled with fun.

Although Eléni still didn’t speak, Arianna consistently knew what her silent friend wanted and was feeling. They didn’t need words.

Eléni’s drawings were becoming more detailed too. The little girl had drawn a picture of a house, only to straightaway scratch it out, pressing so hard with the pencil that the lead snapped. She began to cry.

‘Whatever’s wrong?’ said Cassia.

Eléni stabbed her index finger at the drawing.

‘It’s all right. Have you drawn your house and you’re upset because the earthquake has destroyed it?’

The little girl nodded. She wiped her eyes and took another sheet of paper. Her next drawing was a sketch of the same house, but this time, a small stick figure lay with a large oval shape on the middle of the body. She grabbed Cassia’s hand. She pointed at the figure and then at herself.

‘Is that you, Elenáki mou ?’

Eléni nodded. Sophia pulled the little girl into a big hug.

That evening, Tom stopped by. They hadn’t seen him for a few days and Cassia had missed him. Eléni ran up to him when she saw him approaching.

‘How is my favourite girl, then?’

Eléni grinned at him and, taking his hand, pulled him to where she and Arianna were playing a form of marbles with small stones. He bent down and joined in the game. His stone hit some of the others out of the way. Arianna squealed, and Eléni clapped her hands.

‘I go to talk to Cassia. Later I play,’ he told the girls.

Cassia was kneading dough to make bread.

A bag of flour lay on the makeshift table to the side of her.

Every time he visited the area they called home, there were new additions that made living there more comfortable.

Colourful blankets covered the beds, and soft cushions now provided padding on the wooden chairs. ‘Did I hear my name mentioned?’

Tom rewarded her with a wide smile.

He turned to Sophia. ‘Do you mind keeping an eye on Eléni for the moment? I need to talk to Cassia.’

He led Cassia to a space where there was room to sit down. She wondered what was so important that Tom wanted her to be away from Sophia.

‘We’ve been summoned back to Malta and my ship leaves next week. Our work here is done. There are no more survivors to rescue and nothing else for us to do now. There are other ships sailing in to help. I just wanted you to know.’

Cassia looked down. She had a sense of unease that once HMS Daring sailed out of Argostoli harbour, she would never see this lovely man again.

He was right. Food, water and supplies had arrived on the island.

There was an urgency for temporary buildings to be erected for the homeless as areas were cleared by bulldozers and cranes.

‘I always knew you’d have to leave sometime.

We’re all going to miss you, especially Eléni. ’

Tom took her hand. ‘I still have next week. I’ve been making enquiries and thinking...’

Cassia looked puzzled and waited for him to continue.

‘You can’t stay here with Eléni. There are no permanent places to stay yet. Don’t you think someone will mention they know Eléni? It can’t only be Sophia who recognises her.’

‘But if there is, they won’t be family! Sophia is adamant she has no one else.’

Cassia’s heart thumped. She knew what it would mean if Sophia had got it wrong.

If found out, implying they were Eléni’s parents would prevent any hope of her staying with them.

Soon, Sophia’s daughter would arrive to take her mother back to Athens to stay with her, and Eléni would be taken in by the authorities.

How could she lose her just as the little girl was starting to trust her?

When working at the centre, there’d been speculation about having to build an orphanage to accommodate the hundreds of children who had survived but had lost their parents and families.

When she’d checked with Sophia, the old lady had reassured her that Eléni’s mother had never mentioned any other family.

There was such chaos in Argostoli at the time, where would the authorities start looking for any other relatives of orphaned children?

She had to take Sophia’s word for it. She knew she was doing the right thing.

‘Cassia, are you listening? There is one part of the island that escaped the devastation. It’s the area around Fiscardo. All the buildings and houses are still standing. Many of the men came down to help with the rescue. Didn’t you say it’s where you’re from?’

Cassia thought of the pastel-pink house her parents owned, untouched by the tremors and still intact opposite the pretty harbour. Her sister, Eugenia, lived on a smallholding with an olive grove stretching down to the beautiful, white-shingled cove.

‘But I left to be with Nikos. Even though my father is dead now, they won’t want anything to do with me if that’s what you’re thinking.’

‘They wouldn’t be so heartless as to turn you and your “daughter” away.

Remember the driver with the donkey and cart delivering the medical supplies the first time we met?

Well, he asked about you. I enquired if he knew anyone who had a horse and trap that could take us to Fiscardo.

Guess what? He has. His farm is several kilometres out of Argostoli — he came in that day to see if he could be of help — and is almost untouched by the quake.

Just a few of the outhouses suffered and the animals were spooked, but that’s all.

The best news is he’s offered to take us . . . first thing in the morning!’

Cassia’s mouth gaped open. ‘Tomorrow? Tom, we can’t just up and leave. I can’t take Eléni away from Sophia. It will break her heart.’

Tom took both of her hands. ‘Sophia will want what’s best for Eléni. And I know deep down, you do too. It’s your only chance, Cassia.’

She knew he spoke sense. She owed it to the little girl who had survived against the odds.

It could work. If the little girl was too young to remember her parents and grandparents, would she come to think of Cassia as her mother?

A vision of a tiny cherub-like baby lying swaddled in a finely crocheted shawl entered her head.

Her baby. The baby who’d arrived sleeping.

Angelika would have been the same age as Eléni had she lived.

Wouldn’t I have wished for a new start for her if I’d been killed like Eléni’s mother?

Cassia knew what she had to do. She had to try. Not just for Eléni’s mother’s sake. For Angelika too.