Envy – Part 2
The second part of our story, Envy, set on the Greek island of Crete.
In the first part best friends Emily and Heidi set out on a school trip to Crete. Heidi is studying ancient Greek at School and her friend Emily - well she’s just along for the trip. But somehow it is Emily, not Heidi, who gets all the praise from their teacher for knowing all about Greek mythology and even some modern Greek words. And Heidi, well, she’s feeling just a little bit envious.
When we left them, they were about to take part in an archeological dig on the site where some rich people want to build a villa.
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Heidi turned up a few stones, and Graham found the skull of a sheep. When everyone was feeling hot and tired, and Heidi was complaining that her back hurt, Emily called out:
“Mr C, come and look. I think I’ve found something!”
The teacher was the most excited the kids had ever seen him. “Go carefully Emily,” he said. “Take your time.”
She carefully brushed the dust off the shard of pottery.
“Good,” encouraged Mr Christakis.
“Yes, well done Emily, that looks really interesting,” said Heidi, who was feeling more envious than ever. How come her friend had all the luck?
It was quite a large piece of pot, with a geometric pattern on it. The chief archeologist put on his glasses, and examined it carefully. “It’s interesting, but I can’t say for sure if it’s important,” he said. “We will send it to the museum in Heraklion for further examination.”
“Do you think it’s valuable?” Asked Heidi.
“We’ll let you know before you leave the island,” replied the archeologist. “If it is valuable, it is bad news for the owners of the land. We will have to dig even deeper to look for more!”
And Heidi thought, “But it’s only ever good news for Emily!”
The next day they got up early for a longer trip to the ancient ruins of the palace of Knossos. Mr Christakis explained that Knossos is by far the largest and most spectacular ancient site on the island of Crete. In the year 1900 it looked like the site where they had been digging the day before, but the British Archeologist Sir Arthur Evans kept on digging and discovered a Minoan palace which they were now going to explore.
“But first, would anyone like to tell us the legend of Knossos?” Asked Mr Christakis.
“Oh, yes,'' said Emily, “There was a labyrinth here where the ancient bull monster, the Minotaur lived. He was killed by Prince Theseus with the help of Princess Ariadne who gave him a ball of golden thread.”
“Very good Emily,” said Mr. Christakis.
“You really know your mythology,” said Heidi.
“I learned it all from the novels I read,” said Emily.
For Heidi, the feelings in her stomach only got worse when they visited the museum in the afternoon. It was full of wonderful things, like pots decorated with swerling octopus legs, frescos of dolphins and acrobats jumping over bulls. Heidi loved looking at all these wonderful objects that had come down to us from a joyous ancient civilisation. But the most special part was when they had the privilege of visiting the experts who worked behind the scenes. Emily presented the piece of pot that she had found on the dig, and the Museum’s archeologist held it in his hands and examined the pattern on it.
“It is probably from the late classical period, perhaps 400 BC,” he said, “I will consult with my colleagues and let you know what they think in a day or so. Thank you Emily for bringing this find to our attention. It is not every day a foreign school student brings in an archeological artefact”
“Good job Emily,” said Mr Christakis.
Emily could not hide her delight at the praise and beamed a smile from ear to ear. Heidi tried to smile but found it difficult. She knew it was wrong to feel envious of her best friend. She should be happy for her. But deep down inside, she really wished that Emily had not come on the trip. She felt confused. Was she a bad person to feel this way? Normally she could talk to Emily about anything that was bothering her - but this time Emily was the last person she could talk to. Oh how she would have loved to catch the plane home right now and she didn’t care if the take-off was scary or even if there was bumpy turbulence all the way back to Gatwick!
It was early evening when they returned to the stone villa. Mr Christakis went into the village to order pizza for supper and Emily went with him to help carry the boxes back. For some reason that was the last straw for Heidi. Now she felt angry. She went out into the garden and said aloud to nobody:
“So Emily is the teacher’s pet now! And she’s not even in the Greek class!”
Heidi wanted to get away from everyone. So she went to the back of the garden and out through the gate. She wandered aimlessly along the cobbled street to the Roman mosaic that Emily had found. There, she ran her eyes over the notice board that explained all the points of interest nearby. A little map indicated there was a cave above the village. Legend held that one of the Muses of the Arts was born there. It had also been used as a hideaway by resistance fighters and bandits in various parts of Crete’s history, right up until the Second World War.
“I like the sound of that,” thought Heidi. “I’ll go and find it and then perhaps Mr Christakis will notice me and realise that I can show some initiative too!”
So Heidi walked through the village in search of the path that led up to the cave.
She saw an old man sitting outside his house drinking a tiny cup of coffee.
“Excuse me Sir,” she said. “Where is the cave?”
The man smiled revealing a gold tooth. He clearly did not speak English.
“Hmm,” thought Heidi, “here’s an opportunity to practice my modern Greek.” She had been learning tourist phrases such as ‘Where is the hotel, and where is the police station, and where is the toilet’ but so far her video lessons had not given her the word for a cave. But then again, maybe it was one of those words that was the same, or similar, in ancient and modern Greek. She gave it a go. “Πού είναι ὁ speîos?” “Poo eenee ho Speios,”She asked. For a moment the man looked blank, but then he comprehended. “spiliá,” he said. Perhaps he was used to people asking this question, but at any rate, he understood. He stood up from his stool and lead her 50 meters along the road to the start of a path, and sure enough there was a sign in English and Greek pointing to the cave. Heidi wished him well. “Ya Sas,” she smiled and headed up the path. It was steep and stony, but Heidi’s step was almost as springy as a goat. All the same, she wished that she had brought a bottle of water as she was feeling thirsty. After 15 minutes of climbing she was rewarded by finding a fresh spring where she could drink and wash her face. Then, around the next corner she found the entrance to the cave and a little Greek Orthodox chapel made out of white washed stone. She tried the door to the chapel and it was locked. So instead, she ventured inside the cave, using her phone as a torch. At first the cave seemed quite small, but then it widened out. She found herself walking among pointy stalagmites and stalactites that looked like teeth. It was as if she was inside the mouth of the Minotaur himself. But she was too mesmerised to be afraid. She felt the thrill of discovery. Of course many people had been here before, but she was the first from her class to visit the cave. Not even Mr Christakis had mentioned it. Yes, she, Heidi, had found the birthplace of one of the ancient Muses. This was where it happened. And its subsequent history had been exciting too. Bandits and rebels had hidden out here.
“What a shame I can’t share this secret with anyone,” she grumbled. “If I tell Mr Christakis, he’ll probably give me detention for a week for leaving the villa. The only time he notices me is to tell me off. In fact, the best thing I can do is just stay here. He won’t even realise that I’ve gone. I’ll spend the night here and then go down for breakfast. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. It will be a test. If he doesn’t realise that I’m not there, that will prove he’s a bad teacher, and it’s not my fault he’s biased against me.”
So Heidi lay down in the mouth of the cave. She was so wrapped up in her feelings and thoughts that she forgot to turn the torch off on her phone, and soon the battery was dead.
Meanwhile, the rest of the kids were eating pizza under the veranda of the villa. Emily was looking around anxiously for her friend. She did not like to point out that Heidi was not there in case it got her friend into trouble. As soon as dinner was over, she went back to their room expecting to find Heidi lying on the bed. She had noticed that Heidi was quieter than usual, but had not spoken to her about it. She felt uneasy, as if there was some unspoken tension between them. She couldn’t imagine anything she may have done wrong, but it couldn’t have been serious. Surely it was a mood? Just a little rough patch between best friends? She decided it was better to say nothing and wait for it to pass.
But of course Heidi wasn’t in the girl’s bedroom. Nor was she hanging out with the boys in the other room. And she could not find her in the garden either. In fact, none of the other kids had seen Heidi for at least an hour, perhaps more.
“Oh dear,” thought Emily. “What must I do?”
It was time to tell Mr Christakis. She knocked on his door and explained that she couldn’t find Heidi.
“Wasn’t she at supper?” He asked.
“No, she wasn’t,” said Emily. “I thought that perhaps she wasn’t feeling well and was in our room. But after supper, I couldn’t find her there either. I have asked around and no one else has seen her.”
“You are a good friend to Heidi. We must find her quickly. I will look around the garden and talk to the owner of the villa. She can’t be far away.”
But after enquiring and searching for an hour, Heidi was nowhere to be found. The sky was already getting dark when they went down to the village, but none of the cafe or shop owners had seen her. There was no room for doubt, Heidi was missing. And the sky was now black.
“Oh, dear,” said Mr Christakis. Only he did not quite say that. He used a word that teachers aren’t supposed to use.
Then he said something in Greek that Emily could not understand.
“Are you going to call the police?’ Asked Emily.
“No, not yet,” said Mr Christakis. “All hades will break loose if we do that. First I am going to speak to the village priest. He will know what to do, and if he doesn’t, he can at least pray for us!”
Meanwhile Heidi half opened her eyes and looked at the moonlight that was shining on the wall of the cave. The shadows of a tree seemed to form the shape of a dog.
“That’s Shumfi,” she thought, thinking of her little dog at home. She recalled how Emily had been terrified of her dog when she first got him, and how hard she had worked to overcome her fear for the sake of their companionship.
“Emily’s my best friend,” she thought. “She will notice I'm not there and I don’t want to worry her. I’d better go back before they call for a search party.”
Meanwhile, Mr Christakis hurried to the church in the square, hoping to catch the priest before he went home for the night. Thankfully he found him just as he was leaving and quickly explained the emergency.
The priest invited Mr Christakis into his office and gave him some spiritual help, known locally as raki, as well as some practical assistance. He used his phone to gather a group of ten friends, and they went around the village knocking on doors and asking if anyone had seen an English school girl. Eventually they found the man who had directed Heidi to the path that led to the cave.
While this was happening, Heidi was descending down the path, but as her phone had died, the only light she had came from the full moon. She did not get very far before her sandal stubbed a stone, causing her to stumble and fall. Ow! her ankle hurt! Now she could only limp down the path, and her vision was even worse because her eyes were wet with tears. She heard dogs barking, and although she loved dogs, she felt afraid because she thought there might be wild dogs on the loose at night. “How I wish I had stayed in the cave,” she thought sadly. And then she sat down on a rock and cried.
Heidi had no idea Mr Christakis and the Priest were heading up the path using big flashlights to guide their steps. Time stopped still, and it seemed like hours and hours passed while she was sitting and crying on that moonlit rock. All the time she was thinking over how she had felt each time Emily, not her, had stolen the praise. It all seemed so trivial now. She should have been happy for her friend and glad that she had come with her on the trip. She had inspired her to learn some modern Greek, which was a good thing. And when they got back to school, all her hard work and study would pay off eventually. “I’ll never be envious again,” she said to herself. “I’ll just concentrate on reaching my own goals.”
She was so lost in thought that she did not hear the footsteps of Mr Christakis and the Priest. The teacher was shining his spotlight all around, hoping to find a clue that Heidi had been this way, when to his amazement, the spotlight fell on the girl herself, sitting on a rock.
“Am I dreaming?” He thought.
Before he could say anything, Heidi called out, “Mr C, please don’t be cross, I didn’t mean to get lost.”
And Mr Christakis replied, “Heidi, of course, don’t worry about a thing. I’m just relieved to have found you. You gave us quite a scare.”
They helped steady Heidi as she hobbled down the mountain side. Of course she was incredibly happy to be rescued, but at the same time she was feeling embarrassed. What would she tell Emily and the other kids? Why had she run off like that? Mr Christakis seemed to read her thoughts. “Everyone will be very interested to hear about your adventures in the morning,” he said cheerfully.
“Did you phone my mum and dad?” She asked.
“No,” said Mr Christakis. “I couldn’t get a signal.”
“At least, that’s one good thing,” said Heidi, relieved.
Mr Christakis was almost right. The kids were incredibly excited to hear all about Heidi’s adventure, but they weren’t waiting for the morning to ask her loads of questions. As soon as she arrived at the villa, Emily gave her a huge hug, and they all sat round Heidi curious about what had gone on.
“You’re a real explorer!” Said Emily. “I would have been too afraid to go on my own up the mountain.”
“Too sensible, you mean,” said Heidi.
“Well you’re safe and sound, thank goodness,” said Emily.
“Yes, I’m glad Mr Christakis found me. He’s a good teacher.”
The rest of the trip was more relaxing. They spent a few days by the beach, because who can visit Crete and not enjoy the beautiful sea and the sound of the waves. Mr Christakis received a call from the museum.
“It’s bad news,” he said. “For the Germans who want to build a villa. The pot that Emily found is even older than we thought. It dates from the Minoan period. It means that it is an important archeological site, and there are probably many more interesting things to find there. They will be digging for at least another two years!”
“Oh, Emily, you are a real archaeologist!” Exclaimed Heidi. And this time the praise for her friend was heartfelt.