Читать книгу Greek Girl's Secrets - Efrossini AKA Fran Kisser - Страница 12

One day the family received a letter from America. Malama’s oldest married sister named Efrossini and her husband from New York would be coming to visit them. Finally, they would get to meet the lady who sent them trunks full of quality clothes and all those goodies, in the lean years. The trunks would come during the war and for about ten years after the war.

Their father Achillea would turn those heavy wooden trunks into beautiful, colorful pieces of useful furniture, much needed items for his large family. Now, Achillea would get the chance to show them, that nothing they had ever sent them had gone to waste.

The aunt and uncle came to Greece by ship. They had made reservations downtown Thessaloniki at a beautiful hotel. They would come to Malama’s home almost daily. They stayed half a day each day and in the evening after dinner they would go to their hotel.

The aunt and uncle were very impressed with the father’s handy work. They were also impressed with the young twelve-year-old Efrossini, who by the way was sharing the same name as her aunt. They were impressed that she was an excellent student, and with the fact she already had four years of French.

Now she was taking a third language English, at a night school. In Greece even back then, you had to speak a few languages to get a good paying job later in your life.

The aunt and uncle promised to go back to New York to America and start proceedings to bring Efrossini to America and give her a bright future, because she deserved it!

One year later the ticket came and Efrossini would be leaving for this great opportunity in America. It seemed like a dream. It was so exciting to be making such grand plans. Her parents told her, she would have everything they could not give her, including her own bedroom. She would go to better schools, and most of all, "You will become anything you wish," they told her.

This is such a wonderful opportunity, and you deserve it! You are so smart, and you love learning. Go with our blessings! You will take trips and come and see us, they continued. While they were telling her all these wonderful things about her future, they were hugging her and kissing her and crying, as they were missing her already.

“Finally”, she secretly said to herself, “I am going to America!”