Excerpt of "Deadly Secrets" - Chapter Four, Part One

Chapter Four
HELENA REALLY ENJOYED the visit to Chora—one of the nicest andmost charming towns of the Greek islands—with her aunt. The weather was beautiful, and the air was so clear. The waterfront was filled with little stores with Greek art, souvenirs, jewelry, and small objects made out of seashells. Even behind the harbor front, there were endless small streets with shops, churches, windmills, terraces and whitewashed houses.
She was thrilled wandering around and visiting every single store, discovering little treasures everywhere. She felt like a little girl, rushing from one store to the other. With her arms aching from all the shopping bags she was carrying, she kept on walking down the street to the next store.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me,” she told Sophie. “I would have gotten lost otherwise. All these small streets give me the impression I’m going around in circles.”
“The street layout was intended to be like that,” Sophie explained. “It was built this way to confuse pirates.”
“Oh, that’s very interesting,” Helena said, thinking she should learn a little bit more about the history of this fascinating island.
Sophie seemed very happy to see Helena having such a good time. They were walking together, laughing, when Helena stopped at the window of yet another shop. Her eyes were fixed on a beautiful miniature of a sailing boat. Oh, how beautiful! Helena thought and glanced back at Sophie, smiling. She had to have it. During the cold winter nightsback in England, this exquisite craft would always remind her of the sunshine and the bright days on the island.
They walked inside the little shop. The interior was cool and seemed kind of dark, coming inside from the bright sunshine. Sophie called out for the shopkeeper, but there was no one around. Helena walked over to the window and took a closer look of the sailing boat. In the meantime, Sophie walked to the back of the shop calling Maria, the shopkeeper.
“Do you know her?” Helena asked.
“But of course. She’s a very nice lady. She’ll be very happy to meet you,” Sophie replied.
Maria was nowhere to be found, and Sophie disappeared in the back of the shop.
Helena heard the little bell hanging over the door ringing and realized that another customer had come in.
All of a sudden, she sensed someone standing behind her and was taken aback, hearing a child’s voice saying in English, “Some things reach all the way to our soul.”
Helena turned around to face a young boy, around seven or eight years old.
The boy was standing there staring at her.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“I said that some things reach all the way to our soul,” the boy repeated.
“What do you mean by that?” Helena asked and stared at the child, puzzled.
“All I’m saying is what my grandmother told me to say,” the boy replied and pointed to the old lady who was standing a few feet away.
Helena glanced at the old lady—whom she hadn’t noticed until now—dressed in black, with a black kerchief covering her head. She looked almost a hundred years old. Then again, Helena couldn’t be sure. People on the islands usually appeared older than their actual age due to the hard work out in the sun and the sea. Plus, the way these old women insisted on covering their heads with kerchiefs made them look even older.
Helena walked towards her and inquired in Greek, “What did you mean by that?”
The lady stared at Helena closely. Her lips moved, but all Helena heard was a murmur.
“Grandma is having a hard time speaking sometimes,” the boy explained in Greek this time. “You have to lean really close to her to be able to hear what she has to say.”
Helenasmiled politely at the lady, even though, she felt uncomfortable with those piercing black eyes fixed on her. “I see,” she said, and having no intention to lean close to her, she started to walk away.
Hearing the old lady’s whispering voice saying something to the child, she stopped and turned around to face them again. She didn’t know why, but she could tell those words were meant for her.
“What did she say?” she asked the boy.
“She wants to read your palm,” he replied.
Helena laughed. Oh! No! A fortuneteller, she thought, that’s all I need.
“No, thanks,” she said facing the lady and started to move away for the second time. Out of the blue, something made her stop—she wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Glancing towards the old woman, she saw her standing still. Without a second thought, Helena approached her and raised her right hand, instinctively turning her palm upwards. The lady didn’t touch it. She reached over and took Helena’s left hand andturned it over, so that the palm was facing up. She didn’t even look at it. She kept her eyes fixed on Helena’s face while she traced the lines on her palm with her other hand.
Helena shivered from the old lady’s touch. Her hands were wrinkled and cold, and Helena was uncomfortable, already having second thoughts.
The old woman whispered something, and Helena stared at the boy inquiringly.
“Grandma says you have come a long way,” the boy said, andHelena laughed again.
Yes, right, she thought. Having inherited her English mother’s looksmade it obvious she had come a long way.
“She’s talkingabout your heart and your feelings,” the boy continued,and Helena glanced at the old lady, surprised.
“Your life will be filled with joy and happiness, if only you make the right choice...” the boy went on.
Life is full of choices, Helena thought. Which one is the right one?
“You know the right one,” he went on, repeating out loud the old lady’s fading whispers. “You know it in your heart, but you’re fightingyour feelings, and that upsets the balance of things.”
Helena stared at the old lady and felt uncomfortable, since she seemed to be able to read her mind. She was so involved that she jumped, surprised, when she heard Sophie’s voice calling her from the back of the shop.
“Helena, we’re coming,” Sophie said.
Looking over her shoulder towards the back of the shop, Helena tried to pull her hand away. She was surprised to feel the old lady’strembling hand holding on to it tightly. Turning to face her, she saw her whispering something to the boy in a shivering voice. The boy stared at Helena without saying a word. The old lady touched him on the shoulder and murmured something again.
“What is it?” Helena asked, seeing the boy’s hesitation.
“Grandma says you should be very careful,” the boy said, and his voice wasn’t steady. “It’s not good for business,” he continued, more to himself than to Helena.
“What are you talking about?” Helena asked, puzzled.
“It’s not good telling someone he’s facing death,” the boy replied hesitantly.
Helena froze for a couple of seconds and then stared at the old lady in confusion.
“Your grandmother said I’m going to die?” she asked the boy, keeping her eyes on the old lady’s wrinkled face.
“She said you’re in grave danger and you need to be very careful.”
“But why?” Helena asked anxiously. “What did she see?”
However, before she could say anything else, the old lady had already left the shop—with surprising swift moves for her age—and the boy ran after her.
Helena was still standing there, feeling lost, when Sophie and Maria walked towards her.
“This is my niece I told you about,” Sophie said to Maria, and turning to Helena, she said, “Maria is a very good friend of ours. When my mother was still alive, they were good friends with Maria’s mother, and we used to spend a lot of time in each other’s houses.”
“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Maria said and extended her hand to Helena for a handshake. “I’m so sorry to keep you waiting, but I hadto go upstairs to check on my mother, who is very ill.”
Helena gave the lady her hand but kept looking over her shoulder towards the side of the street the old lady had disappeared to. She didn’t even wait to get paid, Helena thought.


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