PART IV

PART IV

1. For a long time Stavre Nakovski despised the two strangers who freed him. He did not want to be freed. He wanted to die in his yard in front of his own house. He wanted to leave his bones in front of his own doorstep, but the strangers were persistent and forcibly dragged him behind the house and into the thick grove. He was not very curious about why he had been rescued. One of the two strangers was skinny, dark and tall with unusually thick eyebrows. He was always smiling.

“We all have suffered a great deal in the angry hands of the Monarcho-Fascists. Will you join us,” asked the stranger.

Stavre Nakovski did not answer him. He was thinking of Evangelia and the children.

The second stranger, who had a damaged right eye, was always silent. His name was Todor Rikov.

“How did that happen?” asked Stavre and sat down to rest.

“We were not allowed to speak Macedonian before the war. They did this to me in my own house. They busted into my house and arrested me for speaking Macedonian with my wife and children and then beat me badly. One of the gendarmes hit me in the eye with a wooden bat so that I couldn’t look at him. I spent five years in jail. When I was released and wanted to go home they again warned me not to make the same mistake,” replied the man.

“And, of course, you didn’t, right?” asked Stavre.

“I did it the very same day I returned. I went to the market in Solun and found my neighbour there. He did not speak Greek. So in what language was I going to say hello to him? Greek? Arabic? I spoke to him in the only language we both understood; I said a single word in Macedonian. Is it a sin for a man to speak in his native language? Two months ago a government military unit arrived in my village.

They forced us to declare ourselves Greeks. I managed to get out of the village before they got to me. They cut off the tongues of the first three people who refused to sign,” replied Todor.

“They did the same thing in my village. I spent a long time in Athens and now I am back here again,” replied Stavre.

“Will we ever get out of this hell?” asked Todor.

“I doubt it. Maybe if we abandon your homes and leave our homeland? Or perhaps if we leave this world altogether… Why do they call you Katsar (barrel maker)?” asked Stavre.

The other man smiled.

“My ancestors were barrel makers. That’s what the people called us,” replied Katsar.

Stavre Nakovski laughed loudly. When he stopped laughing dark clouds appeared over his eyebrows.

2. After walking several hours over the mountains they arrived in the village Parnarovo. They went to a house which belonged to a relative of Todor Riskov. The people there welcomed them like they were part of their family. They gave them food and winter clothes for Stavre.

“You can’t stay in the village too long! The Monarcho-Fascist dogs are circling like vultures and are threatening us with death by firing squad,” said the man who welcomed them into his home.

“Do not worry! We are leaving immediately,” said Stavre and quickly got up. “Let’s go!” he said to the other two. “We will spend the night in the mountains.”

They again found themselves in the mountains. The wind was blowing and it was very cold. Before dawn they arrived at a deserted house which belonged to the Tsiporiazov family. They went inside. There was dust everywhere. The beds and bed covers were

untouched. They were very tired. They went to bed without bothering to shake the dust off the blankets.

“Should we place a guard?” asked Katsar.

“There is no need. The house is quite far away from prying eyes. Go to sleep!” replied Stavre.

“How is your wound? Does it still hurt?” asked Katsar.

“I am fine! Go to sleep now!” replied Stavre and turned his back on him.

They all fell asleep very quickly.

3. Unbeknownst to them, seventeen people quietly entered the yard of the Tsiporiazov house where the three were sleeping. They were surprised when they saw people sleeping in the beds. Stavre opened his eyes and looked at their sweaty faces suspiciously.

“We are Macedonians, don’t worry! Hello Stavre, nice to see you! It’s a small world, isn’t it?” said the white haired man standing near the door.

“Hello Chonka!” replied Stavre, dazed.

“Don’t worry! We are leaders of the Macedonian organization. We know about you,” he said and turned to the others. “This is Stavre Nakovski of whom Kolio Bochvarov spoke,” he added and asked his comrades to sit down.

Stavre Nakovski got out of bed and took a step with his wounded leg. He felt a lot of pain and yelped slightly.

“Are you wounded?” asked Chonka.

“In the right leg. We couldn’t remove the bullets,” replied Stavre.

“Your comrades are in a deep sleep. Probably dreaming of taking revenge,” said Chonka.”

“It doesn’t matter what they dream. No one cares about us! We are like stray dogs. We do them no harm and they beat us. The hell with talking, let’s me make you some porridge. You must be hungry?” said Stavre and woke Todor and Katsar.

“What is going on? Who are these people?” asked Katsar half asleep.

“They are friends… Macedonians… our people. They are hungry. We will prepare some porridge for them while they rest,” he said and limped his way to prepared the flour. Todor and Katsar joined him. The porridge was ready in no time. Katsar lifted the pot out of the fireplace and put it on the table. They all quickly surrounded the table and began to eat.

“Later we will extract the bullet from your leg,” said Chonka.

“You mean the two bullets?” laughed Stavre.

“Well, if there are two, then two will extract both of them,” said Chonka, smiled and coughed from swallowing wrong.

After they ate Todor and Katsar went up the mountain to hunt game. Stavre remained behind and sat in front of the house. The people who came with Chonka lay down to rest. Chonka sat outside with Stavre.

“Don’t you want to rest and get some sleep?” asked Stavre.

“I am not that tired. I wanted to talk to you,” replied Chonka.

“Do you need a person like myself in your organization?” asked Stavre jokingly. He then said: “Chonka, I already am a member and a member of the Party. I was one of the first people to join the Macedonian organization…” he added proudly.

“Then we can count on you…Right?” asked Chonka.

“Certainly!” said Stavre and sighed.

“We have not seen each other for a long time… since you were in Banko Budbarovski’s cabaret in Athens,” said Chonka.

“Those were the good times, even though it was during the war. In those days I could insult the king’s mother and everyone would laugh. Now it is different. They want to slaughter us for the slightest thing,” replied Stavre.

“Don’t worry, Stavre! Our time is at hand. You will see. The sun will also shine on us Macedonians just like it shines on the other nations of the world. Trust in me!” said Chonka.

“Just don’t tell me that you will return me to Kostaneria with a song!” said Stavre.

“That I will not do… for now. The future however is ours. We are young and we must outlast the struggle. The Balkans have risen for us. There will be a Balkan federation in which we, the Macedonians, will have our own state and will not have to suffer any man’s tyranny,” replied Chonka.

“You talk like this is going to happen in some unwritten fairy tale. But I accept your invitation to fight with you. We will be stronger together. Whatever we get we will share,” said Stavre.

“Agreed!” replied Chonka.

4. “Goodbye Stavre! Its war time and we might never see each other again… But you do know where our office is…” said Chonka.

“Goodbye Chonka! May good fortune follow you!” replied Stavre.

Stavre Nakovski turned around and, followed by Todor Riskov and Katsar, left the yard. They walked into the thick grove and began to climb up the mountain.

“Does your foot hurt? I see you are limping slightly,” said Katsar.

“It still hurts; the wound has not fully healed. We must move slowly, otherwise I might lose my leg. That’s what the doctor said,” replied Stavre and laughed out loud.

“Who are we meeting with?” asked Todor Riskov curiously.

“Some people from Yugoslavia,” replied Stavre.

They all went quiet. Stavre walked in front. Todor walked behind him and Katsar walked last.

5. They walked for eight hours. They arrived in Bel Kamen and, as was previously agreed upon, they sat on a stump to rest their feet. Less than ten minutes later they were ambushed. Five well-armed men jumped out of the woods with their guns pointed at them. Stavre, Todor and Katsar jumped to their feet and raised their arms up high. There was silence.

“When would you die for your freedom?” asked one of the five while still pointing his gun at them.

“Before the sun sets,” replied Stavre, standing there rigid and motionless. He then loosened up a bit.

“The sun is ours and will never set,” said the man and spread his arms to hug him.

Stavre Nakovski hugged him back and pressed his arms tightly around his shoulders. Todor and Katsar remained motionless with their mouths gaping open in surprise.

“Lower your arms! We are among our own people here,” said Stavre.

Still confused Katsar and Todor slowly lowered their arms.

“Bring the bag and boxes!” said the first man to his companions.

They all moved fast without saying a word. When they returned they brought back one bag and five boxes and laid them down in front of Stavro. The bag was unusually long and thin.

“There are machine guns in the bag and ammunition in the boxes. Now goodbye until we see you here again in ten days,” said the man.

“Goodbye and see you back here in ten days,” replied Stavre.

They shook hands and the five men left. Stavre lifted the bag and put it over his shoulder. Katsar and Todor picked up a box each.

“Hide the other boxes in the bushes! We will return for them,” said Stavre.

They put down the boxes that they had picked up and hid the other three in the bushes. They then picked up the original boxes and placed them on their shoulders. They traveled a long distance on rugged terrain in the mountains and often stopped to rest.

“Where are these people from?” asked Katsar.

“I am sure they are from the other side of the border. Who else has such weapons!? We know that the ELAS fighters surrendered theirs after the Varkiza Agreement was signed,” replied Stavre.

It was dark and they were silent as they entered the yard of a house. They put down the bag and boxes in front of the door. Stavre entered the house first. He stood there stunned. There were human corpses everywhere inside. Stavre counted nine. The bodies were so badly beaten that Stavre could not recognize them by their faces but only by the clothes they wore. He surmised that they were part of Chonka’s group. Todor and Katsar entered the house and were petrified at the sight.

“Let’s get out of here!” said Stavre. “We will hide in the Vlach cottages.”

They took the bag and crates and moved away from the house. They were at the cottages before midnight. They had a restless sleep. The next few days they waited, hoping that some wild game might pass by that they could shoot to fill their hungry stomachs. But, unfortunately, nothing came by. After that they decided to go up the mountain and do some hunting. They took two machine guns and some ammunition and went off. They wandered around in the snow for a long time before they spotted a young deer. Katsar hesitated and did not want to shoot. Stavre Nakovski killed the deer with his first shot. They returned to the cottages and roasted the animal. They were so hungry they were unable to eat much...

6. They were very lonely in the cottages and their souls were hungry to socialize with other people. Nine days later they went back to the meeting place to meet with the five men from beyond the border. On the tenth day they met them at the same place.

“What’s new?” asked the man.

“Someone massacred the people who sent us here. We don’t know who did it. They said they were leaders of the Macedonian organization. Now we are cut off from them,” replied Stavre.

The five men did not show any concern.

“Hide the guns in a safe place and wait for the right time…!” said the man.

They separated.

7. “These people came from Skopje. They want to fight with you against the Monarcho-Fascists. Their wish is to return to their recently abandoned homes,” said the man and, together with the other four, went in the direction of the border.

Stavre Nakovski looked at the people curiously. He didn’t know any of them. Their faces were tame but from the look in their eyes they were ready to fight. He led them to the cottages. When they arrived

he assigned them a place to stay. He then began to nervously pace from cottage to cottage.

“We will need to supply us all with food. We are now thirteen. I must make contact with the democratic army headquarters. It is the only way to solve this problem…” Stavre thought to himself.

The next day he came out of the cottage, which he had dedicated as the headquarters of this unit and loudly yelled out:

“Fall in!”

The people came out of the cottages and hastily lined up. They were all armed.

“Follow me single file!” he ordered and they began to march.

8. Stavre Nakovski was determined to get in touch with headquarters at any cost, which he anticipated was in the mountains of western Macedonia. They wandered around for a long time and ran into similar groups, but could not find the headquarters of the democratic army. It was as if it existed in name only. Tired, they were returning to the cottages but when they got closer Stavre spotted people all around them. The men stopped, took defensive positions and observed. It was midday. The sun finally came out of the dark clouds that were hanging over their heads and above the cottages. Stavre spotted someone he recognized and jumped up with joy, surprising the men.

“Pondilaki!” he screamed out loudly and ran to greet the man who was walking between two cottages.

“Stavre!” yelled Pondilaki and smiled a great big smile when recognized him.

“They are hugging…” one of the men remarked. The others looked on wildly in disbelief.

“Stavre!” yelled Kotinaris and ran towards him. They embraced. The men stood there stunned, staring at them with their mouths wide open. They were all confused. When they left the cottages there was no one left behind. The new faces were a strange presence. But the magical moment of mystery did not last long. They were all introduced to one another and found themselves cheerful and smiling. They all forgot that they were tired and had not slept well for days.

9. Stavre Nakovski could barely come to his senses. He escorted Pondilaki and Vangelios Kotinaris into the cabin he himself had designated as the headquarters of his unit, which consisted of himself, Katsar and Todor Riskov. Katsar was already in the cabin, had lit the fire and was boiling tea in the fireplace. They sat down. The tea was soon ready. They drank quietly. Pondilaki and Kotinaris left the cabin and went to sleep. Stavre was left alone. He was in deep thought but could not keep his eyes open and his mind sharp. He was very tired and fell asleep in his chair. The next day he woke up earlier than the others. Kotinaris entered the cabin with a smile on his face.

“It’s like in the old days...” he said.

“Only now we are not fighting Nazis…” replied Stavre and offered him a cup of tea.

Kotinaris took the cup and looked at it.

“They look like the same cups we drank from in 1943?” he remarked with a curious look on his face.

“They are. We didn’t bring new ones…” Stavre replied looking concerned.

“Something troubling you, Stavre?” asked Kotinaris.

“Food!” snapped Stavre, worried.

“No problem…” replied Kotinaris.

“No problem??” snapped Stavre.

“We will hunt. We will hunt mountain game. We will supply ourselves the same way we did during the war against the Nazis,” replied Kotinaris.

“Perhaps we should free Kostaneria first?” suggested Stavre.

“Kostaneria was burned down to the ground…” replied Kotinaris looking down.

“It wasn’t. Most of the people returned to the village and repaired their houses,” said Stavre.

“So then we should attack and occupy it...” replied Kotinaris.

“You should lead the attack Kotinaris, you are a soldier and an experienced fighter. You can be the commander of this unit!” suggested Stavre.

At that moment Vangelios Kotinaris lost the character of the cheerful young man that Stavre remembered from the war. His blond hair was neatly combed and lines of principled firmness and restraint decorated his pale face. His transparent blue eyes that reflected his strong character, honesty and patience, did not vibrate like before but were quite calm and absorbing everything that Stavre said.

“Thank you for your vote of confidence, Stavre! But will the others agree?” replied Kotinaris.

“I have already spoken to Pondilaki. He agrees. After all, you are the only one among us who has combat experience,” said Stavre.

“Then when shall we set out for Kostaneria?” asked Kotinaris.

Stavre Nakovski laughed.

“You are the Kapetanios now. You decide!” said Stavre and walked out of the cabin.

Vangelios Kotinaris was left alone in deep thought, holding the old cup with tea in his hand.

10. Vangelios Kotinaris stood inside the cabin designated as the unit’s headquarters. Stavre Nakovski came in. Kotinaris offered him a cup of tea. Stavre took it and quickly gulped down the warm liquid.

“Today we will take Kostaneria,” said Kotinaris.

“Why today?” wondered Stavre.

“Because tomorrow it may be too late,” replied Kotinaris.

“I don’t know what you have in mind but I will respect your orders…” replied Stavre. He finished his tea, went outside, lined up the men and waited. Kotinaris came out behind him and laughed.

“Is this the army? Is this some sort of joke?” said Kotinaris and stood in front of the men. “Line up one behind the other, in a single column and follow me!” he yelled and pulled in front of the men. Stavre pulled in behind him and the rest of the men followed single file. Pondilaki walked at the end of the column. After about four hours of walking down the mountain the men were deployed around the village. They lay down on the wet grass and waited for their orders to attack.

11. Pondilaki had a great desire to visit Kostaneria. He thought that village life was idyllic, good enough for a man to live his life in peace.

“Your group will enter the village first!” Kotinaris said to Pondilaki.

Pondilaki looked upset. He pushed Tushi Gonev with his elbow and gave him a sign with his head to go behind him. Stoios Panagopoulos took his position behind them, followed by Stoian

Dzhavalekov, Nikos Zaikopoulos and Manoli Strezovski. They quietly pushed their way past the first houses, making sure they were not seen, and took their positions behind Dimitar Popgonev’s house.

12. That morning Zinda Niarhos did not go to the church. He went to Stefano’s store and sat with the teacher Ioannidis Karahopoulos, Vasil Digalovski and Milkiadis and played Xira. Zinda was telling them something and occasionally showed his yellowed teeth and often laughed out loud.

Stavre quietly went inside the store and loudly yelled out: “No one moves!”

His loud yell nailed them on their chairs. They raised their hands above their heads and obeyed his order like they knew what he was thinking.

Stavre Nakovski took them out of the store, surrendered them to Tushi Gonev to guard and fired a shot into the air to signal the others that the job was done. Kotinaris laughed and entered the village with the rest of the unit.

13. For days Stavre Nakovski was preparing for this moment, when he was going to tear off Zinda Niarhos’s head. He had this evil desire to tie him to a stake, skin him alive and let the bugs eat him. Now that he had him in his grasp he no longer wanted to harm him in that way. He couldn’t understand why. He ran home. On his way he ran into Kolio Bochkarov. They embraced.

“I am going home. How are Evangelia and the children?” he asked while panting.

“It’s best you don’t go home! She left with the Slivarov’s and Popgonev’s and crossed over the border,” said Kolio. He then grabbed him by the arm and led him back towards the village square.

Stavre Nakovski could not believe what he just heard. Every smell and every sight reminded him of his past and the good times. He struggled with himself to snap out of it but was unable. Both his spirit and body were weakening and he felt like he was going to collapse. A child’s cry got his attention, but only for a moment. He could not tell if it was real or a hallucination. He heard another and then another. He turned around to see who it was, and there in front of him was the large village church. He kept looking and inside the door he saw Milkiadis Tsakondas, his wife Evridika and their three children. Their children were crying and squealing loudly to heaven, as if wanting God to hear their prayers, praying for their father.

Evridika Tsakondas ran from one to the other but was unable to pacify them. She left them to bathe in their own tears and cry to exhaustion. They left the church and took to the road. The youngest kept stumbling over the potholes and falling on the road. Her knee began to bleed. She looked at it and started crying even harder.

Evridika tried to comfort her but was unable. She too began to cry. She was crying because of the terrible situation she was in. She wanted to make amends with Stavre so that he would forgive and spare the father of her three children for what he had done to Stavre and his family. Her eyes were filled with tears and she could not see clearly. She did not see the stone… Even if she had seen it, the outcome would not have been any different. She tripped over it and her frail body hit the ground. She bit a mouthful of soil as she fell right in front of Stavre’s feet. She stood there on the ground powerless and shaking, feeling sorry for what had happened to Stavre and contemplating Milkiadis’s fate. She spit the soil out. Her three daughters kept tugging at her dress screaming and melting in tears. She composed herself and grabbed her daughters. She stood up and looked at Stavre. She stopped crying. She wiped the blood from her mouth and stood there stunned.

“I know he is a beast but there is no one else to support my children,” she said with a quiet and sad sounding tone of voice.

Stavre Nakovski watched this woman trying to compose herself, attempting to stand up on her thin legs and trying not to fall over. He then turned his gaze to her daughters who were melting in tears.

“The people will decide his fate,” he said quietly so as not to further upset her children.

Evridika Tsakondas screamed out loud.

“If there is a need to pay the people I will give them my life. I can’t support my children by myself. He brings the bread home. You know that better than anyone,” she cried out.

“Go home, woman. The people will determine your fate,” Stavre said through his clenched teeth as he entered Stefano’s store. “Pour me a shot of rakia!” he said sternly.

Stefanos filled a shot glass with rakia and handed it to him. His hand was shaking. Stavre picked up the glass, took a sip and looked out the window. He saw Evridika Tsakondas walking away at a slow pace, going home. He felt sad for her daughters who were frightened, kept crying and kept looking back hoping to see him one more time. They were clenching Evridika’s dress with their little hands. Far beyond them, in front of the local church, by straining hard, Stavre saw Tushi Gonev escorting Milkiadis, Zinda Niarhos, Vasil Digalovski and Ioannidis Karahopoulos inside the church.

“Even death has its dignity,” he thought and spat on the floor.

14. Vangelios Kotinaris arrived at Stefanos’s store panting and anxious. He looked at Pondilaki and then at Stavre and said:

“What should I do with the prisoners?”

“Execute the priest and let the others go home. Let them go where they came from,” replied Stavre abruptly without giving it a second thought and with a bitter tone of voice.

Vangelios Kotinaris gave them a military salute and went towards the church.

“You made a mistake!” said Pondilaki. “You should have shot them all! We will have problems with our own people,” he added.

“I can’t!” replied Stavre as he kept thinking of Evridika and her crying children covered in tears, clutching at her colourful dress, an image he could not get out of his mind.

“You are making a mistake!” said Pondilaki.

“Some people are born under a lucky star,” replied Stavre, took another sip of rakia, put his glass down, left the store and at a rapid pace arrived in the churchyard.

“Execute your orders!” he said to Kotinaris.

Kotinaris called on the fighters to assemble. He then took two of them, went inside the church, escorted the priest out and placed him against the wall. Zinda Niarhos stopped crying and praying and stood against the wall petrified with fear. The bullets ended his thoughts that somehow his lips were going to save his life. He collapsed on the grass and lay there lifeless. Vangelios Kotinaris sighed. Pondilaki approached Stavre and pulled him by the sleeve. They both went to Stefanos’s store and were joined by Tushi Gonev.

15. Escorted by two fighters, Milkiadis and Vasil Digalovski came out of the church. They were lucky today. Their lives were spared. They silently walked by the fighters and went their way.

“I saw a vision of my own death,” Milkiadis thought to himself and looked at Vasil Digalovski who walked beside him with uncertainty. They both walked away with their heads down. They heard screaming and turned fearfully. They saw Ioannidis Karahopoulos running, scrambling to get away from Kostaneria. He did not even pack his things. They continued walking. Milkiadis separated himself from Vasil but soon changed his mind and joined him again. They turned, took the village road and went home. Milkiadis was living in Vasil Digalovski’s house on the ground floor. Vasil Digalovski was not sure that his life had been spared. He walked

past his mother’s room and felt her eyes looking at him. He knew that she despised him.

“I gave birth to a little owl, not to a person,” she said.

Vasil did not turn to look. His mother’s cursing was far less harmless than the looks in the eyes of the villagers and the people who came to Kostaneria with Stavre Nakovski. He went into his room and lay down in bed with his head covered.

16. Stavre Nakovski stayed late in Stefanos’s store drinking rakia with Pondilaki and the dock workers until the last glass of rakia was drunk. He then got up, looked at Kolio Bochvarov and said:

“I guess I will be your guest tonight?”

“I would love to have you as my guest!” replied Kolio, got up and was ready to go.

“I will see you all tomorrow…” Stavre said to the dock workers, saluted them and followed Kolio out of the store. They walked in silence and soon reached Kolio’s house. Stavre went to bed right away but could not sleep. He eventually did fall asleep.

II

1. Life normalized in Kostaneria. The villagers felt free. They went to work without worries. They walked along the dusty road relaxed, confident and proud. Their faces became bright with smiles. The cold wind blowing from the sea, making the chestnut leaves vibrate with excitement, did not seem to bother them. They went out in the forests and collected firewood for the winter. And they did not vote in the election.

2. Kolio Bochkarov held the newspaper in his hands and read out the names of the people who comprised the new government in Athens.

“From the past twelve governments that came after the war with the Nazis, these members of the new government have occupied the highest posts available in this country. They are now all gathered together. But, to this day, no one has assured me that their intensions for this country are good,” said Kolio and hit the table with his fist.

“The newspaper you are reading is old,” said Pondilaki and laughed out loud.

“What do you mean it’s old?” rebelled Kolio.

“The new government has taken a loan from the United States to the tune of three hundred million dollars. Mr. Truman has assured US lawmakers that these dollars were intended to destroy the communists in Greece. According to the newspaper ‘Kathimerini’, England and the United States don’t care if democracy in Greece exists or not,” said Stavre.

“Truman gave Greece this loan so that the United States could establish opposition to the Soviet Union. The same kind of loan will be given to Turkey, if it already has not been given. You will see!” said Pondilaki.

“None of this will matter after our victory…” said Kotinaris so convincingly that everyone was able to picture democracy in the warm chairs in the Athens parliament.

“Forgive me people, but today I have a meeting with the people from the other side of the border. Let’s go Kotinaris,” said Stavre, got up and left. He was followed by Vangelios Kotinaris and about a dozen of his fighters. They left the village and headed for Bel Kamen.

3. They walked sluggishly along the goat paths. Kotinaris suddenly stopped and waved his hand for everyone to stop. He listened intently. Stavre Nakovski came over to him and asked him what was going on.

“A large group of people is approaching,” Kotinaris said anxiously.

“Then send someone to find out who they are,” replied Stavre.

“I will go myself!” said Kotinaris and began to climb the hill without waiting for Stavre’s approval. He soon came back.

“They are villagers…. They are wandering around the mountains…” he said.

“Let’s intercept them,” suggested Stavre.

They went to meet with them. They stopped in front of their path and a little boy came to the front.

“Where you going?” asked Stavre.

“We are going north across the border,” replied the boy.

“You can stay in Kostaneria. We will protect you,” said Stavre, intending to deter them from leaving.

An old man came to the fore. His eyes were full of tears.

“Those cursed will come to Kostaneria too and will burn it down. They will leave no house intact. They told us to go to Skopje to our king…” the old man said.

“If you leave you will let them destroy our hearth. You will also convince many others to leave,” said Stavre with a worried look on his face, but soon he realized that his words were flying with the wind and no one was paying attention. He selected five of his fighters and sent them to escort them to the border. Stavre was very sad to see his people leaving their homeland. He stood there a little while longer and then left for Bel Kamen. Soon he and his men arrived and met up with the people from beyond the border.

“The king is dead. You have a new king. His name is Paul. Good luck with your new hangman,” said the man from the other side of the border who led the other four.