A Trial with Poseidon

I gazed out the airplane window. The clump of land seemed as if

inhabited only by houses, architecture
and beaches. “Please remain seated,
ladies and gentlemen. We shall land in
15 minutes”, The muffled voice of the
captain rang through the small audio
system above my head.
“About time”, The man behind me
grumbled.
He had every reason to, of course. The
flight attendants weren’t particularly
pleasant to him. But then again, they
must’ve gotten sick of his picking on
the food.
Either way, he wasn’t going to rate this
flight high; their main concern.
Taking a break from my controversial
thoughts, I went over my belongings,
which I had come to memorize.
A sudden bump broke my train of thoughts. Rough landing.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to welcome you to Santorini
International Airport. The local time here is 2 p.m. and the
temperature outside is a pleasant 24˚ Celsius. We will be arriving
at gate 3 and your baggage will be at belt 5. We wish you a
wonderful stay”.
The whirr of the plane came to a stop, so did the speed. A hustle
started forming in the plane; one that I was glad I wasn’t involved
in.
I picked up my hand-bag and wove my way through the crowd.
Nodding a thanks to the flight attendant at the ASD, I strolled
through the jetway bridge.

I scoured the area for my name-plate. I caught my name on a hot

pink, bedazzled piece of cardboard. Wow, the guy must’ve had a lot
of free time. He started waving like crazy.
I walked towards him, instantly feeling embarrassed.
“Hi”, The man smiled. “You are Siara, I hope?”. “That’s me”, I
replied.
“Good. I’m Adonis Aetós, I’m your partner for project Santorini”, He
took a hold of my suitcase and trudged forward, constantly assuring
me and deflecting my ignored protests with ‘it is my duty as a man
to relieve a woman of any burden, whether if she is fully capable or
not’
What a gentleman.

As we left the airport, a taxi zoomed up. The two men exchanged some
Greek and hoisted my suitcase into the boot. “Thank you”, I mumbled.
Adonis smiled, opened the door of the taxi and slid in after me.

“Where go now”, The driver asked.

“Cavo Bianco, please”, Adonis said.

The driver turned the music up and sped through the clear streets of

Thira.

“Let’s use this time wisely and start with ice-breakers”, I

suggested. “Why not”, He replied, facing towards me.

We talked about various topics including ourselves and on-going pop

culture.

“We are here”, The driver said, outstretching his hand. Before I

could take out my wallet, Adonis put a bill of 10 euros in his hand.

We bantered for a bit, coming to a conclusion that I would pay for

supplies tomorrow.

Lugging the baggage out of the trunk, we rolled up to the steps of

the magnificent façade of the hotel. As we entered, we were welcomed

in politely with fresh tropical drinks; following the ritual of

“Xenia”.
We checked in and decided to call off any work for today. It was too

good a day to be missed. We’d start afresh tomorrow.

“I’m going to go down to the beach”, I said, walking off in my

swimming attire.

The cold water flooded my senses with relaxation and relief.

Ah. This is life. I should’ve come here sooner. It’s so pretty and

calm here.

I bobbed my head above water and stayed there for a while, observing

the movement of the people relaxing on the beach. That was the first

rule of photography, you had to observe first to give a natural

final product.

The second rule was, ‘always be alert of your surroundings’; one

that I rarely applied out of my field. Now was a good example.

I saw people scrambling away from the sea and before I could

comprehend what was happening, I was plunged downwards.

The water of the sea, that moments ago felt as if harmless, had the

same pressure as walls of brick. The light of the pleasant evening

was falling farther away. My vision clouded over as my eyes were

stung by the salty sea water.

What had happened; I didn’t know. All I knew, was that my

consciousness was drifting away. My lungs were bursting with the

need of air and as a reflex, my mouth opened and took in a fistful

of water on which I gagged on. Bubbles of precious air escaped.

I felt that I was being stretched and pushed upon at the same time.

I felt the need to break the surface and with the last energy left

in me, I did.

“HELP!”, I screamed and took in a breath of air before being

swallowed by a high wave. The water seemed relentless; cascading

down on me with such force.

I thought of the project that I had yet to complete. I had made so

many plans; eliminated every nook and corner. My parents! The same

people who brought me up with such love and care. The ones who

waited 9 months of pain for me. Who provided me with anything I

could ever fathom. God, I was still 22! I had a long life to live! I

had yet not done all that I should’ve...could’ve.

Even then, this is where it would end? My body riding lifelessly

along the current of this torturous sea? I couldn’t imagine my

parents hearing the news. Would they even? Or would they be kept in

the dark, worried to death, not knowing what happened to me.

I felt my body go numb; every spark of energy dissolved. That was

it. I was going to die. My life flashed before my eyes. That was the

last thing I’d ever see.

And then,

Dark.

I felt pressure on my chest, my eyes shot open and I heaved out all

the murky, briny water I had taken in.

I sat up, completely disoriented.

“Siara!”. I turned my head. “Are you alright now?”. “Adonis?”, I

coughed.

“Wow, you need some rest. Are you fit to walk? I’ll hail a taxi", He

said, opening his phone. “Yeah, give me a few moments-“, I said

dizzily, collapsing once again on the beach.