Green Neon

22 A very wide world

Tom got up way too early. Full of anticipation for the upcoming sea voyage, he ran through the apartment singing and whistling and packed his bag. When Christina, still sleepy, appeared in the kitchen in a light pink dressing gown, he felt a slight hunger, so he made coffee for them both.

Meanwhile, Christina stuffed more and more things into a large leather bag, because Aunt Kyra's shopping list was long. Suddenly Tom remembered that some of his clothes were still at the laundry. Luckily it was on the way to the ferry terminal so he could pick them up on the way.

At breakfast, Christina talked about Mykonos, and Tom got the impression that she found it rather boring there. According to her description, there were a few nice taverns, but only one bar that regularly organized dances, and unless you were a real water rat, there was nothing else to do during the day than seek shade, which, due to the lack of vegetation on the island, could only be found in the town.

Although Greeks loved to hang out on the beach, Tom had noticed that women didn't go into the water to swim, but rather stood in groups in knee-deep water and gossiped. They created their own realm of shadows with huge straw hats. He couldn't imagine Christina in such a party. However, her report did not dampen his anticipation. It was outweighed by his curiosity about the unknown.

Nikos arrived just before nine and Christina handed Tom a tube of sunscreen as a farewell. Although his skin had proven to be quite resilient, she told the boys to protect their faces and especially their noses on the ship, because the radiation at sea was even more intense than on land. Tom politely thanked her for her sympathy and forgot about the sermon as soon as he stepped onto the street.

At this time of day, the heat was not so oppressive. The sidewalk was damp in many places because many shopkeepers or homeowners cleaned the doorways, and often the sidewalk, too, early in the morning with a chlorinated lye. The big city, of course, had many dirty corners, but at that hour the street exuded cleanliness, also because of the antiseptic smell.

After Tom and Nikos had passed them, two men got out of a Ford and followed them at a great distance.

Tom went to the laundry to retrieve his clothes, then they walked to the ferry terminal. Nikos had slung the bag containing Aunt Kyra's gifts over his right shoulder, and it was obvious from his gait that there was considerably more weight to be handled on this side than on the other, where he carried his own belongings.

Many people were on their way to the ferries, so progress was slow.

The two secret police officers struggled not to lose sight of Tom, but they stayed on his heels until a stopping truck blocked their view. When the truck moved on, the two boys were gone.

The ships bobbing in the ferry port connected the mainland with the numerous larger and smaller islands. Some did not look particularly seaworthy, because traces of rust could be seen even from afar. The ship that was supposed to take the two adventurers to Mykonos, however, made a fairly solid impression.

On board, Tom noticed that many signs were in a Scandinavian language and in English, while the Greek translation was added later. The ship had apparently sailed in Scandinavia in its previous life, and indeed the boys learned from a sailor that it had sailed between Denmark and Sweden until larger ferries were introduced, which could also transport vehicles.

The all-passenger ship looked rather big to the boys. There were five decks, three with cabins, which remained largely empty on this voyage, and two with lounges and restaurants, which were constantly overcrowded and filled with smoke. After exploring the entire ship, Tom and Nikos went to the sun deck to watch the casting off maneuver.