Free The Santorini Summer by Christine Shaw

and pieces of timber but it was deserted, and I turned into his arms with a sigh of relief.
    ‘You might have been killed today, Christos.’
    ‘And so might you, Olivia. I was in agony until I saw you emerge with Niko.’
    We kissed with a fervour born of fear. I had never been made to feel the fragility of existence until that morning and now that I knew how easily everything is lost, I felt panic rising inside me.
    ‘Hold me, hold me – ’
    We slithered down onto the sand, locked together, and Christos pulled me on top of him.
    ‘I love you, Olivia.’
    ‘I love you, too, Christos.’
    I had no qualms. He searched my face to be sure I knew what I was doing, but I whispered ‘Yes, Yes,’ so fiercely that he could have been in no doubt. We were celebrating being alive.
    Afterwards we swam in the sea to wash, staying in the shallows where the water was still warm and relatively calm. Then we made our way, slowly, and with great difficulty over the broken steps, back up the cliff face.
    It was dark as we approached Stavros’ garden, and if anyone noticed our arrival wearing damp clothes and having sand in our hair, no-one commented. After such a day, our absence and return meant very little to the devastated townspeople, but I was still amazed that nobody commented on a difference in my appearance, for hadn’t I just become a woman?
    The next day the neighbours went back to their ruined homes to see what might be recovered. Most of the food eaten in Oia was fresh, so there was little to save from kitchens except cans of olive oil, but these were precious and were diligently searched for. Items of furniture which had survived were dragged outside and Christos and Niko tried to rescue the cradle made for Irina’s coming baby, but after hours of digging away at rocks they found only splinters of wood. Niko comforted his wife by telling her he was already working on a new one. Everyone had suffered some damage, and many had lost everything. There was no running water and no power. The town’s children had suffered a great trauma, and clung to their mothers either weeping or dumb with shock.
    Terrifyingly, there was an aftershock that afternoon, which set everyone screaming again, and those who still had an indoors running outside. More damage was done, and some of the women became hysterical. The older men tried to calm everyone down by explaining the nature of aftershocks, but for many it was simply another earthquake and to hear that we could expect more shocks over the next few days and weeks was horrifying.
    In the evening everyone reconvened at Stavros’, telling uplifting stories of unexpectedly recovered items or dismal tales about the destruction they’d found. Rumours were circulating that a state of emergency had been declared and the Greek Army was already sailing to the island with emergency aid. In the meantime, food was the priority. The shops had been largely destroyed, and the donkey paths from Fira were blocked in many places, so the people of Oia needed food and water.
    Niko and Christos decided that the best they could do in the circumstances was to go back to sea and catch as much fish as they could to provide sustenance for the town.
    So the next morning they went off in the Ariadne and Irina and I joined the general move to repair the houses that were not beyond help.
    Stories were circulating that homes damaged beyond repair would be bulldozed and compensation paid to those who had lost everything. People were trying to make the best of the situation. There was a sense of unity, everyone trying to help everyone else. I felt part of it all, that I was accepted. I did not know that it was the last time I would feel like that.

 
    Chapter Five
     
    We have to leave early so that I can attend the conference which is my main reason for being here. Alexa drives confidently back to Fira and drops me off near the entrance to the cable car, from where I can reach the Centre by foot.
    ‘See you about