A morning on the island

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, and waves splashing across the shore.

I had barely gotten any sleep through the night. I had laid on my back, staring into the roof as I pondered on my dilemma, and it wasn't until the early hours of dawn before I finally dozed off.  My eyes felt very sore from all the crying I had done through the night, and my head ached.

I turned on my side, and was met by the sharp ray of the very warm sunlight that glared in through the open window. I quickly turned back on the other side, as my eyes felt too fragile to hold the light.

I tried to get up, but my entire body felt weak, as if my mind had lost control over my body. I crawled on my stomach like a snake, down the bed, until I reached the edge and my legs hung over. But even then, I could not bring myself to rise up. It was as if I was starting a system that was stuck in a continuous loop of booting. My mind was absolutely asleep, even though I was wide awake.

I remained in that position for a moment, waiting to see if I would get better. And when I didn't, I groaned and pound my fist against the big comfortable mattress.

When I had exhausted my energy, I slowly turned my head back in the direction of the window to see if I could punish myself back to my senses by subjecting my eyes to the glare of the sun. But the sun did not hit me as hard as it had hit me before. Something was standing between me and the sun, so I looked up to find out what it was. I found myself staring into the face of a pleasant looking, middle aged lady in her late fifties. Her greying hair was pulled into a tight bun at the top of her head, and she was wearing a happy green, floral dress and holding a gray and white fur cat in her arms. The cat was also staring at me with bright blue eyes.

I remained like that for a moment, looking into the face of the old lady for a long time, with my mind not processing anything. But then, slowly it dawned on me that I was staring into the face of a complete stranger who I had never seen before. An old lady, holding a cat! Could be a witch!

I jumped up to my feet, screaming at the top of my lungs. The woman was also startled, and she too screamed at the top of her lungs, letting the cat go. The cat jumped down to the floor near my feet, screeching and hissing at me, making me scream even more, then it went away.

I ran to the other side of the bed for safety, then I screamed some more. The old lady screamed in response. Then we both suddenly stopped screaming together, and just looked at each other for another long moment. I looked around the room to see if I was still in the same room which Jordan had showed to me the previous night, or if I had been whisked away by a group of witches while I was asleep shortly. This looked like a deserted, haunted island! It was very possible!

But I was still in the room. I had seen it only in the night before, but the exquisite interior was unmistakable. So, why was the strange lady in the room?

I turned back to her and glared at her suspiciously.

"Who are you?" I asked at last, after summing up some courage.

The woman touched her hand to her chest and stared at be curiously. I immediately suspected that she did not understand me. But I repeated myself anyway, this time with a little demonstration of nodding my head and pointing at her.

"I said, who are you?"

"Nana. My name is Nana, but the men call me Mam Nana." The woman said gleefully, flashing a big bright smile that immediately put me at ease, even though I stubbornly remained suspicious. Her English also sounded weak and strained, but her tone was too pleasant, making the bad English sound less painful to the ears.

"The men? What men?" I asked.

"The boss men. Many many." The woman said slowly. "They guard the boss. I am maid, here. I take care of house." She said, gesturing wildly.

"You're the maid?" I asked her.

"Naí!" The old lady replied in Greek. It sounded like she was saying 'no', but she was nodding her head in the affirmative, which had me a little confused.

"So, why were you standing there over me like a ghost?" I asked.

"I cam to collect master Nickolas." She said, pointing towards the door of the bathroom.

"What? Master Nickolas? There is a man in there?" I cried in horror.

"Okhi! okhi!! okhi!!!" The woman cried, laughing and shaking her head from side to side. "Okhi omorfi. No man there! Just toilet. Master Nickolas is cat. The cat gone away." She explained, pointing towards the exit door.

"Oh." I said in relief as my eyes followed the gesture of her hands.

"Naí." She nodded. "The boss men no come up, except you called. But Master Nickolas, he always sneak up the window, crawl into toilet. If I leave it, you will scare when you go there to wash." Mam Nana explained patiently, and although she spoke with so much difficulty and incomplete phrases, I somehow understood her completely. I nodded in understanding.

"Thank you." I blurted, and the woman flashed her warm smile again.

"You no like cats?" She asked.

"I have never had one, but I really don't mind." I shrugged.

"Good goodness." Mam Nana said in relief. "Because master Nickolas, he come here again and again. The master hate when master Nickolas go to his room. He rage, like hades. Then swear and say, he kills the cat! Again and again." The woman said, bubbling with laughter even as she was still talking. I couldn't help but join her in laughing, and it wasn't just because her cheerful laugh was so contagious. I imagined Jordan raising hell over a cat! He seemed so calm and level headed, and always in control of his emotions. I imagined him loosing all his cool over the little creature, the creature hissing at him while he cursed and thundered. The thought of that was so enticing, I wanted to see it right away. So I laughed even more, throwing back my head, and I staggered a little at the force.

"Omorfi mou, watch yourself now. Don't loose your head because you laughing." Mam Nana advised, moving closer to me.

I flopped down to the bed and continued laughing. I went on laughing until my stomach began to hurt. Mam Nana had stopped laughing, and was now looking down at me with concern in her eyes. I carried on laughing, until suddenly I began to sob.

"Omorfi. Are you fine?" Mam Nana said softly, coming to sit beside me and gently putting her arms around me. I sank into her warm arms and sank my head into her shoulders, as I broke down completely.

No, I was not fine. I had just been revisited by reality, and I remembered everything that had kept me awake through the previous night. I had hoped that it was all a dream, and when I woke up from sleep, I hoped it would be gone. But here I was, reality staring in my face, and I was still stuck on the island. I was still very much in a bondage which I had been dragged into by a blatant lie. I still had no idea what Jordan planned to do with me, but I knew for sure that I had literally put my entire life in his hands. I had been blinded by guilt, and I made the most horrible decision of all my life!

The more I thought about it, the more I sobbed.

Mam Nana let me cry my heart out, while she stroked my hair and whispered many endearing words into my ear, none of which I could understand, because it was all in Greek. But I felt it, every single word. I felt the comfort they carried. And I cried even more.