My Sunday father

My "Sunday" father

I always think of you on Sundays, because Sundays were always for the two of us.

Back then when I lay beside you, in the small refugee house in Ayious Anargyrous and you told me all those stories about the years you worked as a sailor on boats. I still remember that strange side table lamp witch deemed with a little round button and made a funny zzz noise accompanied of the wisteling noise of your nose as soon as you fell asleep it just made me want to lough I had to turn the other way.

On my school lunch breaks, you came with a plastic bag full of warm koupes from Antonakis cofee shop. In winter sundays, two movies in a row, with your newpaper on your knees, ready to cover my eyes, on all the unfit scenes. But before that we had to go, sit at a cafe, and you made me bring all of my homework for you to check it, and I hated it, and I felt it was humiliating and embarrassing but because of you I became a good student and grew to love books and reading.

On summer Sundays, we would be swimming in the icy Protaras waters, you always in the front, with your fish gun in your hand, and I, following you, trying to keep up and shouting “daddy, daddy, wait for me”. And you laughed, showing me small seashells you picked from the sand, teaching me how to grab and pull them from the rocks. “you have to do it really abruptly otherwise they know they are in danger and they hook firmly on to the rock and you won't be able to unlatch them”.

Adventures, trip and endless stories about your village and the fruityards and your own childhood and how mischivieous you were. For you were still a child above all and we were growing up together, what if you were my father, you were more than anything else real, you did not give me theories and preachings, your actions did all the teaching. No one taught me as much as you, no one loved me as much as you, or believed in me as much as you.

And those who think that a father can not love enough in one Sunday, is because they haven' t met you. You, who paid so much attention each Sunday, that kept me fullfilled until the next. That's how you taught me that great loves sustain dad, they stand in time, they stand distances, with a special code they lock and seal !!

Love you

your daughter

Marina

(letters to my father)