As she was shelling the eggs she was preparing for them, she giggled. Barefoot, standing on the stone floor, in front of the wooden kitchen table. The chickens were moving in and out undisturbed, looking for crumbs. From time to time her thin ankle showed below her long skirt, just to throw a fondling kick. Still giggling. She was all alone at the house, everyone else was away to the fields. It was May 15th. The celebration of Venus and Bacchus. Well, she didn’t know that. They did not celebrate them in the island. But, at that same night she was planning to elope and she could hardly wait. Everything was planned the day before, in the middle of a fox anglais, up on the rocks.

Faidona for ikariamag.gr

Notes:
May 14th: the celebration of St. Isidore. A local festival takes place in Aghios Isidoros, at Pezi, Ikaria, with traditional live music.
May 15th: celebration held by the Romans in the name of Venus and Bacchus, during which the festival goers through eggs to one another, a cause of great laughter. This is where the (greek) phrase “are they shelling eggs for you?” derives from.