My beloved Maria,
One month has passed since I have moved to
this place, where nobody knows me, nobody knows my culture, my food, my
language, nothing.
I begin to lose myself, as well, in those
dark tunnels, miles beneath the surface of the earth. Dirt and black dust fill
my mouth, my eyes, my lungs, day in day out.
Breathing is hard. Engulfed in black from before the sun rises, until
the last rays of sunlight are buried underneath the cloak of the night itself.
Working from the black of the morning to black of the night for winning the
black of the earth. The coal coats my hands, in the deepest shades of ebony.
But just last week appeared light in midst
of this darkness. Mining through the tunnels for hours, my group of workers and
I wrought through a small shaft. I was placed in the front of the line, as
usual, because I was the youngest and smallest of the bunch. Hacking my way
through the black darkness, something suddenly hit me, Maria. This flash of
light. Like an electric shock passing through my me. I could feel every cell of
my body turning around over its own. Felt like my blood was boiling and burning
me from the inside out. Every inch of my skin tingled, like millions of needles
pricking on it at once. I stood there in front of this line, stuck in my spot.
Not being able to move. Like I was nailed to the ground, this power pinning me
down, clasping at my bones for dear life. This must be the end. That is what I
thought. This is the light, that takes us back to where everything began. But I
did not wish to disappear, not yet. I began fighting against this source of
uncanniness. It was like fighting against nothing. Like punching into an empty
space. An supernatural empty space of fire and heat. Hot and fast, this
paranormal fire seemed to consume my body. The feeling of flesh burning of my bones,
every time my mental hands tried to punch and wrench the iron clasps off my
soul. But I battled against it. Slowly, it seemed as if I could defeat it. My
fingers started moving first, until I could move my whole body again. I had
won. My coworker nudged me from behind, shouting something in this strange
sounding language. For me, time had stopped. I was trapped in this moment for
hours. As if nothing had happened, I was forced to move on, and keep on hacking
through this lost shaft of the coal mine. It was the scariest moment of my
life, Maria. I was unsure, if I would be able to return back to you, and what
the future would hold for you, if I would have disappeared in that instant. To
this moment I still do not know what this eerie light of power presented. Was
it the ghost of the coalmine haunting me? Or was it mother nature playing an
evil trick, keeping us from exploiting and destroying her earth? Was it just an
illusion, maybe? I don’t know. The only thing certain to me at this right
moment, is that I am alive. This supernatural force did not defeat me.
But do not worry about me. I
may not be able to solve this mystery, but I was able to escape this terror
alive. I am yearning the day I will be able to return to you, my dear Maria.
For the sake of our future and
our family, we are separated, but life shall rejoin us soon.
Forever and always with love
Dimitris
Mühlheim an der Ruhr, September 1962
Areti Sakelari
