Part of character development involves showing the daily lives of different individuals, revealing through their conduct what kind of people they are. Since daily life consists of ordinary tasks and unremarkable events when we first meet Alethia Kostopoulos, she seems perfectly ordinary, a widow who lives on the Greek island of Tzia. But we soon discover she is secretly a Maenad, a devotee of Dionysus. She believes herself to be the last one until Dionysus appears to her when she is in a trance state, revealing to her that not only is she not the last, she will be undertaking the task of training new Maenads for Him. A grandmother in her late seventies, she finds this a daunting task but devoted to her god, she willingly undertakes it. She journeys to America where her children and grandchildren live…..
It wasn’t until spring when finally with her passport in hand, Alethia passed through the Athens International airport, boarding the jet that whisked her away to a strange new land. The past months had crawled by, it seemed to her, but her son reassured her everything was going normally. Now it was finally happening. It was the first time she had ridden in a jet so she was dreadfully nervous. Peering out the window from her narrow cramped seat, her heart thumped at the sight of clouds beneath her rather than above.
New York City greeted her with a bewildering swirl of traffic, humans, incessant noise and acrid exhaust fumes. The only thing that made it bearable was being surrounded by her grown children and numerous grand-children who Alethia had only seen in photos or on Skype. As her oldest son drove the van crammed with her own offspring and theirs, her three youngest grandchildren, ranging from 8 years to 12 years excitedly pointed out landmarks to her. Trying to look up at the skyscrapers made her dizzy but she persisted, not wanting to appear as if she was overwhelmed by the scale of things compared with her tiny island home. The mad extravagance of it all amazed her. But it was the sad sight of beggars and homeless which brought home the corruption that underlay the mind boggling wealth that made this awesome city possible.
“Look, Yaya! Look!,” cried Hannah, the youngest. “That’s the Empire State Building! That’s the one King Kong climbed up.”
“Oh, don’t tell her that!” said ten year old Adrian scornfully. “She doesn’t watch movies.”
“I most certainly do.” replied Alethia crisply. “Your poor old Yaya isn’t so out of touch as all that! I know all about the silly movie about the giant monkey who carried the screaming lady to the top of the building. I saw that one when I wasn’t much older than you!”
Adrian sat back pouting. There seemed to be a game of one-upsmanship going on between him and his younger sister. Alethia smiled to herself. She had seen that game played many times by her own children at that age. Well, now it was her son’s turn to referee. She would just sit back and pretend to enjoy the tour her family were giving her. Inwardly she wondered how Dionysus planned on getting Maenads recruited. In the old days her aunt had told her they selected certain women and occasionally men and brought them to ceremonies where they drank the sacred wine to induce the trance state which allowed Dionysus to come to them. A mystical inner sense allowed them to determine who would be suitable. But it was a different world here and Dionysus was already here among mortals, though as yet He had not appeared to her.
“Mother, look!” said her second oldest child, Dionne. When her daughter was younger, Alethia had hopes she would be interested in becoming a Maenad. But she had never felt the inner push that would have shown her daughter was a candidate for initiation. Instead Dionne had gotten a business degree and now worked for a fashion agency. “That’s where I work.”
She looked at the building but saw only a decorative facade with an elegant canopy over the entrance. A tall slim dark-skinned woman chic in a handsome embroidered tunic and pants so tight Alethia wondered how the woman could bend over in them was just entering the building.
“Heavens!” She exclaimed in spite of herself. “Is that what young women wear these days?” Dionne laughed as Alethia went on. “Oh, I know I’m old fashioned. And I don’t know why I’m so surprised, especially with what some of the tourists who visited my island would wear.”
“Well, that is one of our models. We recruit men and women as models and train them. We represent them and get commissions by finding work with all kinds of fashion designers and advertising agencies. It’s a high pressure job but I’ve always enjoyed working there as an agent.”
As her daughter spoke, an idea began flickering in the back of Alethia’s mind. Even as a mortal in appearance, Dionysus would be an eye catcher. As a model, His picture would be everywhere, attracting anyone who might be a potential Maenad. She knew any god exuded a divine glamour. Would that show up in a photograph? He often appeared to her in dreams. She would have to try and remember to ask Him.
She stared wistfully at Central Park as they drove by it, fighting back a surge of homesickness. It would be nice to see something green once in a while.
“Do you have to pay to visit that park?”
“No, of course not, Yaya.” said Hannah. “You can go there any time. They have a merry-go-round and a zoo. In the winter, there’s a skating rink. Or you can just have a picnic. I like going there.”
“Well, I’m a little old to learn skating but a picnic sounds very nice.”
Well, once you’re settled in, we can arrange for one.” Said Dionne. “I’ll see if I can get everyone to come. That way we can have a big family get-together.”
The grandchildren squealed with delight at her words. Alethia smiled. They drove to her eldest son’s home on Long Island. She had only brought a small amount of luggage with her, not wanting to burden herself with too many possessions. Two suitcases of clothing, plus another with a few books and keepsakes were quickly taken inside. Both Hannah and Adrian jostled each other as they ushered her to her new bedroom.
“This used to be my room.” announced Adrian. “But now I have a new room in the addition we had built. Papa repainted this so it would make a guestroom but we decided it would make a good room for you.”
“We put in new curtains and rugs.” chimed in Hannah.
“I was going to tell her that.” shot back Adrian, heatedly, clearly annoyed over being robbed of his role as a tour guide.
“All right, you two.” said Lucas, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. “Let’s give your Ya-ya a chance to settle in, not just make her stand there listening to the pair of you arguing.”
He escorted the two pouting youngsters out, then returned to give his mother a hug.
“Were Dionne and I ever like that?”
“Constantly.” She laughed. “Your father was usually the peacemaker. You’ve taken over his role, I see.”
“They seem to mind me more than they do Kathy. Margaret’s still at soccer practice and won’t be home until supper. Do you want me to help you get your things put away?”
“No.” She replied sighing. “It’s all been a bit overwhelming and I think I’m feeling a little touch of that jet lag you told me about. I’ll wait until tomorrow to unpack.”
“Of course.” He replied, hugging her again. “You can come down and take your ease on the sofa while the children argue about how you should be entertained. Margaret’s been very anxious to meet you in person for the first time, instead of on Skype.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting all my grandchildren. Somehow seeing them only on a computer screen just isn’t the same.”
Supper was thankfully a low key affair after the exhausting day. Margaret dashed in just before they started eating, a slender dark haired girl just putting on her first teenage growth spurt. She proved to be more quiet in person than on Skype as her younger siblings easily out-talked her. Well, there would be time enough to get acquainted with her in the days to come.
The next day as Alethia sorted out the contents of her luggage, placing items on the bed, she was assisted by Margaret. Hannah and Adrian, the novelty of their grandmother’s arrival having worn off, were outside playing, giving their older sister a chance to shine. As the pair went through the various items in the suitcases, they chatted about Alethia’s homeland. Margaret, at thirteen already showed promise of great beauty, her dark eyes thoughtful, her generous mouth quick with a smile. She was eager for stories about her father as a child which delighted Alethia who had plenty to tell…….
