Dimitra Mantheakis - Melina Breaking Free

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll be a natural beauty!” she sarcastically said to herself. At ten to eight she was already at the spot where she was to meet Paris. On the way there she thought that she may be going to the beach for nothing and the most likely outcome was for the chap not to show up at all; that his whole approach had been nothing more than a joke on her. Her heart leaped when she saw his car parked at a distance and him standing next to it and smoking.

“Welcome!” he said to her when she approached.

“Do you want us to stay here or to go somewhere else?” he asked her.

“Let’s leave here as soon as possible not to be seen by anyone!”Melina said. “I don’t feel like provoking gossip and causing problems…”

Paris opened the passenger door, put up the car top and sat behind the steering wheel. In a few minutes the car was swallowing up the country road and the wind as it rushed in through her open window was tousling the girl’s rich mane of hair. Paris sneaked glances at her.

“She is very beautiful and unaffected, despite the rags she is wearing,” he thought.” Imagine what she’ll look like if properly dressed and if she goes to have her hair done and face made up! She’ll be a true Goddess!”

Melina on the other hand thought that his light-blue long sleeved shirt suited him well while his discreet aftershave blending with the smell of the leather seats gave her a sensation of pleasure. It was the first time she had been in such a fine car; it was the first time that she experienced such luxury and she wanted to savour every moment. She was greatly flattered by the fact that this cosmopolitan man had noticed her and had chosen to go out with her.

“Do you know somewhere where we can eat? I’m a stranger here and haven’t any idea of things around here.”

Melina said that she knew a village on the side of the mountain that she had heard was scenic and had a good taverna. She herself had never been there. Besides which it was only a few kilometers away from where they were at that moment. Paris turned the wheel, following her directions, and the highly-tuned car with a murmur started up the steep road which wasn’t in the best state of repair. Fifteen minutes later they arrived in the centre of the village. Huge plane trees spread across the flagstoned square and several tables were set out in the open space while rushing water bubbled in channels to the left and right of them.

“What a lovely place!” exclaimed Melina.

“It is certainly idyllic!” agreed Paris, leading her to a table hidden behind the trunk of a huge tree. They sat down and ordered food. The platter of grilled meat gave off a delectable aroma when it arrived at their table. Melina wanted to gobble everything down in a flash, but held herself back for her escort not to see that she was famished.

Paris watched her empty the plates of delicious and well-cooked meat with such appetite. He didn’t know that at her home they only ate meat twice a year or perhaps on one or two other occasions when invited to a wedding or a baptism. When they had finished their meal they stared into one another’s eyes for a while, slowly drinking their wine.

“You impressed me from the first moment I saw you in the square!” Paris began. “I would like to know more about you…”

Melina told him, in five short phrases, everything that had to do with her. She didn’t have anything spectacular to say about herself. Her biggest accomplishment was her high school diploma. The only point at which her voice perked up was when she admitted to him that she hated the provinces and that it was her heart’s desire to leave and go to Athens to find a job to try and change her life. She couldn’t stand the monotony, the boredom and the gossip any more, nor the lack of prospects for something better. Nor did she want to marry a fellow villager and be buried, so to speak, forever in her home town.

Paris, in his turn, told her that he had an import-export company, that he travelled extensively and lived in New York for most of the time. He didn’t spend more than three or four months a year in Athens.

“You’re very lucky to be able to live how you want, and where you want!” said Melina. “God help us who live in the village and will waste away here for the rest of our lives!”

“Don’t say that!” replied Paris. “People only fail to do things they don’t want. If someone has goals and persists, at some point they’ll succeed. Determination is needed, and a little luck of course!”

“Where would I find luck? It passed by and didn’t stop for me!” she thought but didn’t say this out loud to the stranger.

They spoke for a while longer and Melina said to him that they should be getting back. She didn’t want to be late and to have to explain where she had been to her parents. At ten thirty they were back again. Melina told him to let her off before they entered town so as not to be seen. So it happened. Before she got out of the car Paris embraced her and kissed her lightly on the lips, stroking her face gently.

“I like you a lot!” he said to her, but strangely he didn’t carry on kissing and stroking her. Melina felt goose-bumps of pleasure rising on her skin when he touched her, but didn’t say a word.

“Will I see you tomorrow at the same place?” Paris asked her.

“Yes! At the same time,” the girl replied and went off.

They met every day for several days in a row. The man explained that he was passing through her town but had stayed behind only because of her since she had captivated him with her beauty. Three weeks went by. Paris, except for a few kisses, hadn’t asked for anything more. Melina felt like a queen to see this desirable man showing so much interest in her, for just a simple provincial girl and didn’t pressure her at all sexually, as other men would do, in order to bed the woman who had drawn their attention. His discreetness, his politeness, made her fall in love with him. He had everything she would want in a man. Good looks, money, manners, a life in cosmopolitan centres – Melina’s dream - travel, expensive clothes and a way with words. What made her wonder was what did a catch like this want from her, since in all this time he hadn’t progressed to even one daring caress, something that would be well received by her. Melina wanted to sexually “try” a man-of-the-world who had entranced her. She had nothing to lose even if he abandoned her the next day, which was the most likely outcome. She didn’t believe that she could conquer Paris emotionally, knowing that for sure many interesting women of his social standing would have passed through his bed. However many thoughts and questions went through her mind she couldn’t drum up the courage to ask him where he was going with all of this.

One night Paris, taking her hands in his and kissing them tenderly, said to her, “Melina, my dear, in two days I have to leave for Athens and I would like to take you with me. I am charmed by your beauty and sweet manner and that’s the reason I stayed so long in your town. I have my own apartment and if you want you can stay with me. It’s an opportunity for you to live the things you dreamed of and to change your life. Don’t reply now, please. I want you to think about my proposal and to tell me tomorrow what you have decided.”

Melina couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked him, “In what capacity will I be coming with you, Paris?

He looked at her affectionately. “In whatever capacity you want Melina, dear. As a friend, a companion, or whatever you want to call it!” the man replied.

When Melina left him she was confused. On the one hand the opportunity to leave the provinces was a gift from heaven, on the other hand she thought about the pain she would be inflicting on her family and the repercussions for them. Lying on her divan-bed that she shared with her sister, hearing it squeak each time she turned, and in the near-dark of the room she could see three other people lying on mattresses on the floor: her grandmother, her younger sister and her brother. The frequency of her father’s cart-hire fares had been reduced greatly and then almost exclusively only to transporting animal fodder, since trucks had entered the goods transport market and had pushed aside the out-of-date animal-drawn carts. Her washerwoman mother’s daily wages had become rarer because local households had bought washing machines. It was a matter of time before they would be left without any income at all. These miserable thoughts made her come to a decision. She couldn’t put up with this kind of life any longer and she would take her chances. The next morning when she found herself alone at home for a while because her grandmother had gone to a neighbour for her morning coffee and her siblings were playing in a nearby field she sat and wrote the following letter to her family.