The train left Kastoria at midnight. It was passing slowly through the Lower Anavros Plain and entered the railway station of the city of Lavrio in the afternoon. As the powerful screech of the wheels stopped because of the braking, the people started storming the doors to either get out or get in to continue their journey to Gavdos. Captain Andreas Lysandros Metaxas got out of the carriage and took a cigarette out of his pack. He left his jacket in the carriage, so he felt the chill of the 3 degrees Celsius temperature. Following him was captain Thanasis Kalamides. He took his lighter and fired up both cigarettes. They started to slowly smoke them, as they felt the warm smoke like a bless compared to the nearly frozen air around them.
Metaxas and Kalamides were captains of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, from the Second Rifle Guards Division, named after the Tyrrhenian revolutionary Sophia Doxiadis. The division was sent on to the Grammos Mountain to help the Astynomia end the attacks of the so called “National Army of Tyrrhenia”. Both of them were returning to their unit based in Gavdos after a five day leave to their hometown, Kastoria. This leave has been both sweet and sour for them. Metaxas came home to help his mother arrange the funeral of his father, while Kalamides, came home to fulfill a promise to his sweetheart, that he will marry her before the unit will enter the action in the Mountains.
“Regional train no 665 leaving towards Gavdos; will leave the station from line three.” Both of them heard the calls of the station master and extinguished their cigarettes and returned to their carriage.
Metaxas seated himself on Kalamides’ place as he was closer to the heater. He had short black hair, with green eyes and barely was 24 as he graduated the academy in the spring. He was a little short and slender, with the uniform, made of a black vest, white shirt, black tie and a black jacket with the yellow sun and the red hammer and sickle on his chest suited him perfectly.
When he came, Thanasis made a sad face when he saw him seated there, but he knew that there was on chance now to move him from there, so he seated on Metaxas’ spot. He had short strawberry blond hair, which had a tendency to curl if it becomes longer and light brown eyes. He is very tall and skinny and his uniform suited him horribly, as it was too wide, even his wife, Katina, said that if he would wear a potato sack, he would have looked more elegant.
As the train picked up speed, the suburbs of the city of Psoriarika disappeared and the extensive plain came into view again. Andreas’ attention was drawn towards two kids in white shirt with a red pioneer scarf that were sitting nearby. He couldn’t understand what their mother was talking with another elderly woman, but observed that at one point, the two children rose up and started to slowly sing a carol. This surprised him, especially when he remembered that in his days of membership in the All-Commune Pioneer Organization, singing other songs than communist ones was frowned upon. But that was more than seventeen years ago, and his those days, the influences of the Zervos dictatorship still lingered, even if the Socialist Confederation was formed five years earlier than his birth. As the kinds went on with “Hristou thi thia gennisi/ Napo, napo st’archonti kosas,” memories started flooding back to him, from an age in which everything seemed pure, with his mother young and always smiling, with his father still alive and him living a simple life with the sole responsibility of singing a good song dedicated to Agapios Iordanos, when his aunt came to visit. Thinking of this now, and remembering that the song that the children were singing was also one of the favorites of his mother, he kept on thinking: How come, in those days, everyone said that life was harder, but still, now, everyone is so cynical, so devoid of live and optimism. Maybe it was only the fact that it was his childhood and he didn’t observe that the people were is same as today, or even worse, but one thing it clear. He missed those days.
“Come on, let’s go to the restaurant carriage, I need some coffee.” He said irritated when he observed that the song of the children started to obsess him as he couldn’t clear his mind of it. Thanasis simply nodded and followed him.
They passed through three carriages towards the front of the train and waited for some time for a table to clear. As they were seated and ordered two coffees, Thanasis asked:
“Did you observe those two pioneers?”
“Yes…” Said Andreas with a sigh. “I am shocked that no one commented against them singing that. When I was like them, we were told that it’s strictly forbidden to sing a carol in that uniform.”
“Heh... when you became a Pioneer, the government of Afroudakis, signed the treaty of friendship with the Tyrrhenian Church and mended the feud that existed since Zervos, even if they still frowned upon religious things. But in my days, we were even told to find out, who was religious or doing religion related stuff and people were even expelled from the organization because of that.” Thanasis was older by four years than Andreas but there was a clear cultural difference because the Chairmanship of Korina Afroudakis liberalized much of the Tyrrhenian socialist culture, thus changing much in the way the people even perceived the world in a mere decade.
“Fuck knows… “. The waiter brought two cups of bitter black coffee, with a small cup of hot milk and a sugar bowl. While drinking it, Andreas also lighted up a cigarette.
“Cheer up, Andreas. One day you will also know that a trait like this…” Thanasis said, showing with his arms, the carriage, “will bring you back home and you will have a wife that will wait for you at the station… Who knows, maybe you will find one in the Grammos Commune and you will take her to Kastoria or remain with her.”
“Remain with her… and with that should I become a shepherd? But first, I should get use to the sheep smell… but the difference between you and me in this would be that I would need to get used to the smell of sheep, while you are now obliged to get used to the stink of the fish…”
“You are right… Katina said that once this campaign is done, we will move together in our own apartment and the problem is that the only place where we can afford an apartment to buy, not to simply rent it, would be near the port. And all the trawlers bringing the fish in the morning will bless us with their stink. So, I don’t know what to do, accept this and get used to fish stink for the rest of my life, or get into arguments with Katina in hopes that we could live for a year or two with my parents until I get the money to buy an apartment in the Nikifora Sosialismos Boulevard in the city center.”
“Yep… you are under her shoe…” Afterwards, the finished drinking the coffee and returned to their seats. Andreas observed that the two pioneers fell asleep and he started looking outside the window. After a while in which no one said anything, he observed that Thanasis was taking a cat nap. As the train was rolling on, the plain gave way to hills and immediately after to mountains. As the city of Gavdos was approaching, it started to be darker and darker, the clear skies from Kastoria, being changed now with light snows. The train started to slow down, as it entered the train yard of Gavdos. When the conductor announced the terminus station, the people inside started preparing to finally get off the train after a fourteen hours trip.
As they passed through the building of the station, they went to take the tram on the Persephone Boulevard towards the Revolution Square, on the eastern edge of the town, where the officers of the “Sophia Doxiadis” Division were camped.
“It’s good that you finally came. Tomorrow morning, the group commanders will convene. We will enter the mountains in force to help the Astynomia finish that fascist movement once and forever.” Said Major Ioannes Pandis as they finally signed for their arrival and entered the put their luggage in one of the bedrooms.
Metaxas and Kalamides were captains of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, from the Second Rifle Guards Division, named after the Tyrrhenian revolutionary Sophia Doxiadis. The division was sent on to the Grammos Mountain to help the Astynomia end the attacks of the so called “National Army of Tyrrhenia”. Both of them were returning to their unit based in Gavdos after a five day leave to their hometown, Kastoria. This leave has been both sweet and sour for them. Metaxas came home to help his mother arrange the funeral of his father, while Kalamides, came home to fulfill a promise to his sweetheart, that he will marry her before the unit will enter the action in the Mountains.
“Regional train no 665 leaving towards Gavdos; will leave the station from line three.” Both of them heard the calls of the station master and extinguished their cigarettes and returned to their carriage.
Metaxas seated himself on Kalamides’ place as he was closer to the heater. He had short black hair, with green eyes and barely was 24 as he graduated the academy in the spring. He was a little short and slender, with the uniform, made of a black vest, white shirt, black tie and a black jacket with the yellow sun and the red hammer and sickle on his chest suited him perfectly.
When he came, Thanasis made a sad face when he saw him seated there, but he knew that there was on chance now to move him from there, so he seated on Metaxas’ spot. He had short strawberry blond hair, which had a tendency to curl if it becomes longer and light brown eyes. He is very tall and skinny and his uniform suited him horribly, as it was too wide, even his wife, Katina, said that if he would wear a potato sack, he would have looked more elegant.
As the train picked up speed, the suburbs of the city of Psoriarika disappeared and the extensive plain came into view again. Andreas’ attention was drawn towards two kids in white shirt with a red pioneer scarf that were sitting nearby. He couldn’t understand what their mother was talking with another elderly woman, but observed that at one point, the two children rose up and started to slowly sing a carol. This surprised him, especially when he remembered that in his days of membership in the All-Commune Pioneer Organization, singing other songs than communist ones was frowned upon. But that was more than seventeen years ago, and his those days, the influences of the Zervos dictatorship still lingered, even if the Socialist Confederation was formed five years earlier than his birth. As the kinds went on with “Hristou thi thia gennisi/ Napo, napo st’archonti kosas,” memories started flooding back to him, from an age in which everything seemed pure, with his mother young and always smiling, with his father still alive and him living a simple life with the sole responsibility of singing a good song dedicated to Agapios Iordanos, when his aunt came to visit. Thinking of this now, and remembering that the song that the children were singing was also one of the favorites of his mother, he kept on thinking: How come, in those days, everyone said that life was harder, but still, now, everyone is so cynical, so devoid of live and optimism. Maybe it was only the fact that it was his childhood and he didn’t observe that the people were is same as today, or even worse, but one thing it clear. He missed those days.
“Come on, let’s go to the restaurant carriage, I need some coffee.” He said irritated when he observed that the song of the children started to obsess him as he couldn’t clear his mind of it. Thanasis simply nodded and followed him.
They passed through three carriages towards the front of the train and waited for some time for a table to clear. As they were seated and ordered two coffees, Thanasis asked:
“Did you observe those two pioneers?”
“Yes…” Said Andreas with a sigh. “I am shocked that no one commented against them singing that. When I was like them, we were told that it’s strictly forbidden to sing a carol in that uniform.”
“Heh... when you became a Pioneer, the government of Afroudakis, signed the treaty of friendship with the Tyrrhenian Church and mended the feud that existed since Zervos, even if they still frowned upon religious things. But in my days, we were even told to find out, who was religious or doing religion related stuff and people were even expelled from the organization because of that.” Thanasis was older by four years than Andreas but there was a clear cultural difference because the Chairmanship of Korina Afroudakis liberalized much of the Tyrrhenian socialist culture, thus changing much in the way the people even perceived the world in a mere decade.
“Fuck knows… “. The waiter brought two cups of bitter black coffee, with a small cup of hot milk and a sugar bowl. While drinking it, Andreas also lighted up a cigarette.
“Cheer up, Andreas. One day you will also know that a trait like this…” Thanasis said, showing with his arms, the carriage, “will bring you back home and you will have a wife that will wait for you at the station… Who knows, maybe you will find one in the Grammos Commune and you will take her to Kastoria or remain with her.”
“Remain with her… and with that should I become a shepherd? But first, I should get use to the sheep smell… but the difference between you and me in this would be that I would need to get used to the smell of sheep, while you are now obliged to get used to the stink of the fish…”
“You are right… Katina said that once this campaign is done, we will move together in our own apartment and the problem is that the only place where we can afford an apartment to buy, not to simply rent it, would be near the port. And all the trawlers bringing the fish in the morning will bless us with their stink. So, I don’t know what to do, accept this and get used to fish stink for the rest of my life, or get into arguments with Katina in hopes that we could live for a year or two with my parents until I get the money to buy an apartment in the Nikifora Sosialismos Boulevard in the city center.”
“Yep… you are under her shoe…” Afterwards, the finished drinking the coffee and returned to their seats. Andreas observed that the two pioneers fell asleep and he started looking outside the window. After a while in which no one said anything, he observed that Thanasis was taking a cat nap. As the train was rolling on, the plain gave way to hills and immediately after to mountains. As the city of Gavdos was approaching, it started to be darker and darker, the clear skies from Kastoria, being changed now with light snows. The train started to slow down, as it entered the train yard of Gavdos. When the conductor announced the terminus station, the people inside started preparing to finally get off the train after a fourteen hours trip.
As they passed through the building of the station, they went to take the tram on the Persephone Boulevard towards the Revolution Square, on the eastern edge of the town, where the officers of the “Sophia Doxiadis” Division were camped.
“It’s good that you finally came. Tomorrow morning, the group commanders will convene. We will enter the mountains in force to help the Astynomia finish that fascist movement once and forever.” Said Major Ioannes Pandis as they finally signed for their arrival and entered the put their luggage in one of the bedrooms.