The Tower

As Cassie waited for her flight she started to get excited. She had always wanted to go to Greece and finally, here she was at Gatwick waiting for her flight over there. As she wandered around the airport she found herself drawn towards all the things she had imagined herself needing…sarongs…bikinis… shorts.

She walked into the bookshop and gazed at the pictures of idyllic Greek settings…sun, sea, sand…it looked like heaven.

Suddenly there was an announcement over the tannoy. “Flight BA2192 to Athens is now boarding at Gate B34. Would all passengers for this flight please make their way to Gate B34?”

Cassie jumped up, grabbed her bag and made her way to the gate.

As she passed over her boarding pass and passport, the girl standing there, who couldn’t have been more than twenty, smiled, “Have a nice trip.”

“Thanks.” Cassie smiled back and walked down the walkway onto the ‘plane. She showed her boarding pass to the air hostess standing by the ‘plane door.

“Ok. This way,” the hostess said, pointing towards the back of the ‘plane, “fifth row back, near the window.”

“Ok. Thanks.” Cassie smiled and walked to her seat. After placing her bag carefully in the overhead locker, she sat down ready for the flight.

~

Walking through Athens airport, towards the baggage reclaim, Cassie smiled. She couldn’t believe she was here and couldn’t wait to explore.

After collecting her baggage, she went through passport control and finally out into the Greek sunshine. A tanned taxi driver was waiting, holding a sign marked with her name, to take her to the cottage she had rented out for her stay. She walked over to him.

“Cassandra Wood?” he asked.

“Yes,” smiled Cassie, “that’s me.”

“Ok. Over here then.” The taxi driver replied in hesitant English and Cassie followed him to the taxi.

“I take your bags.” The driver said, holding his hand out for them.

“Thank you.” replied Cassie, handing her bags over and getting into the passenger seat of the car. The driver got in and after starting the car, started to drive off.

“It seems lovely here,” smiled Cassie, “so hot.”

“Yes, it is hot,” said the driver “but I am used to it now.”

“In England, we’re used to it being cold and raining most of the time!” Cassie smiled, “What is your name?”

“I’m Kivil,” he replied, “You had a good flight, Cassandra?”

“Yes, it was great, thanks,” Cassie said, smiling “Oh and you can call me Cassie.”

“Ok. Well we are near the cottage now, Cassie.” Kivil said.

“Ok. Well thank you for bringing me here,” Cassie smiled as they pulled up, “It looks wonderful. Are there any places you suggest I should visit?”

“The museums are good,” said Kivil, “but it depends what you like. I warn you. There is an old tower near the cottage. Stay away.”

“Ok. What’s wrong with the tower?” questioned Cassie.

“I must not tell you. We are at the cottage now.” Kivil stopped the car and turned off the engine. Cassie got out and went to get her bags from the boot. She looked over at the path and noticed a small rustic wooden sign saying “Tower Cottage.”

“I take them for you.” Kivil called, walking over and taking the bags up the winding path to the cottage. Cassie followed, her feet crunching on the gravel beneath.

When they reached the front door of the cottage Cassie fished the large bronze key out of her bag and unlocked the door. She turned the big brass handle and opened the door and Kivil put the bags just inside the door. “I pick you up in two weeks and take you to the airport.” said Kivil.

“Ok. Thanks. See you then,” Cassie smiled, revealing her pearl white teeth, “Bye Kivil.”

“Goodbye Cassie.” said Kivil and waved, walking away to the car.

“Tower Cottage. How fitting,” Cassie thought to herself as she carried her bags to the bedroom, “This is wonderful. I can’t believe I’m in Greece.” When she had put her bags in the bedroom, Cassie started to explore the cottage.

She followed the hall and found herself in the kitchen, with a large mahogany table and chairs. She glanced over towards the window and saw that there were French doors opening onto the patio. She explored the rest of the house and found a lovely bathroom, with a Mediterranean theme, another bedroom and a large living room, with a television and a large comfortable sofa.

After she had explored, Cassie decided to unpack her bags and get her room sorted out. When she had unpacked and put everything away, she saw that it was nine o’clock p.m. so she went to bed, as she was feeling tired after her flight.

~

When she woke, Cassie wondered where she was for a second, but soon realised. She got out of bed and when she opened the curtains, the sunlight came flooding in.

Yawning, she had a wash and got dressed and decided to take a walk to the village to get food. As she stepped out of the front door into the warm Greek air, she smiled and started to walk down the narrow lane. As she walked she noticed that either side of the lane were fields. On the left she could see olive trees and on the right there were horses and stables at the end of the field. As she passed by the horses looked up, and most carried on eating the lush green grass in the field, although one came over to investigate. She smiled and put her hand out to it. “Hello,” she said softly, stroking the horse’s nose, “aren’t you beautiful?” She patted its neck and looked at the horse. It was a tall, chestnut horse and she wondered what its name was.

Just as she started to walk off, a tall man came along the road towards the field.

“Hello,” Cassie smiled as he opened the field gate “Is that your horse?”

“Hello,” replied the man “Yes. He is called Távros.”

“He’s very beautiful,” said Cassie as she started to walk off.

“Yes. He has won shows,” replied the man.

“That’s good,” smiled Cassie “Bye.”

She carried on walking and soon reached the village. As she came near, she saw a sign saying “Távros”. “So that’s where his name comes from,” Cassie thought to herself.

She walked into the village and soon found herself intrigued by the Mediterranean look of the buildings. It was so different to England. She soon found a bakery and went in. All the bread looked so nice and fresh, but she decided to get a baguette, some pitta breads and some of their special Greek cakes. She went into a variety of other shops, getting humus, a variety of vegetables, some fresh fish and some jam.

When she had bought all she wanted, Cassie walked back to the cottage to have something to eat.
When she arrived at the cottage, she unlocked the door and took her shopping to the kitchen. It was still morning, so she decided to have some bread and jam for breakfast.

As she ate it, sitting on the terrace at the back of the cottage, Cassie watched the birds and gazed at all the beautiful scenery around her and the clear blue sky. As she ate the last bit of bread on her plate, Cassie stood up to clear up. When she had cleared her breakfast things away, she decided to go for a walk.

She walked down to the end of the garden and came across a small pond. Promising herself that she would come down here more often, she carried on into the woods. As she climbed the stile leaving the woods, Cassie glanced up and saw a tower. “That must be the tower Kivil was talking about,” she thought to herself. As she stood by the stile Cassie decided to see what it was like.

“How much harm can looking at an old tower do?” she thought to herself.

As she moved closer, Cassie realised how lovely the tower was.

“It’s beautiful,” thought Cassie “I must have a better look.”

She reached the short pathway to the tower and began her way down it. With Kivil’s words ringing in her ears, Cassie reached for the old rusty door handle…

“Stay away…”

“Stay away…”

“Stay away…”