
I’m usually the last to fall into bed. Routine movements include closing the shutters and activating the alarm.
I always leave for last a large window in the living room facing the city of Athens. Countless lights twinkle, weaving a vast glittering sheet under the dark sky that generously offers them the leading role in the picture
My eyes do not stray from her because just a few meters beyond me there is the faint light from a lamp in the window of a maisonette that has for years now occupied a prominent place in my heart.
This sweet light stands between me and the city. It shines like a beacon on one of the last images of my day. Unwillingly, a smirk on my lips responds by sending a greeting. A small ritual, from the trivial routines recorded in the life of every person.
A light that is lifeless and at the same time so friendly looks like the star Sirius which belongs to the constellation of Canis Majoris.
I would never have learned about the stars if I hadn’t spent my childhood and teenage years in the Boy Scouts. Kids thirsty for adventure and knowledge of little explorers. A unique combination of games aimed at survival in the wild. A love that is born on small and long trips to our forests. Respect for an environment that can become hostile if you don’t get to know it. Important for people’s lives, destined to be there no matter how many generations walk its paths in the shadows of the trees.
The email shortly before dawn called for residents to evacuate their homes. The new day hurt forests and people. The thoughts that flood my mind and eyes give birth to pain. Unprotected nature surrendered to death along with its own inhabitants. Those who live in the forest fulfilling the supreme task of balancing His creation.
At noon on the roof of my house I inhale death. My eyes search through the smoke for a positive sign. Fiery rays raise terror, embrace large trees and houses, erasing their history in a few moments. Despair an icy embrace numbs you. Matching sounds accompany the image. Electricity pylons crack with loud bangs. Sirens from alarms fail to gain the attention of the police cars that accompany the fire engines by screaming theirs.
A small part of our life has been loaded into the car. The countdown to what’s yours to leave behind and to the evacuation is coming to an end. The mask does not help me anymore, the chest reacts with pain from inhaling the smoke. I go down to my house for the last time, to pick up Kimberly, my faithful “supporter”. Mute, she doesn’t react giving me peace of mind. I make one last thought, an internal check for something important that I shouldn’t leave behind. My eye falls on the frame with my Eirini’s degree. I put Kimto on her long leash, which she knows portends the walk up the mountain, but she doesn’t get the usual joy because she’s understood that we’re not going there.
With the frame in our arms and Kimberly we get into the car. Smoke has taken over the road, driving people and cars away. An eerie silence envelops the few cars that drive on it.
I walk in front of the house with Sirius knowing this is a night I won’t see him.