Scarred

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Hiding for seven years Michael returns to his hometown.
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Story edited by Spyro. I would like to thank the editor for doing a great job with the editing of my story. I have made some minor changes after the edit. If there are any errors in the grammar, it is my doing. I hope you enjoy the story and I am open to any comments.

Enjoy.

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Chapter 1

Radio FM: "It's the first Saturday of August, and the temperature will be soaring to its highest today, for all you holiday makers. 40 Celsius in Nicosia, 37 Celsius in Limassol, 35 Celsius in Larnaca and 34 Celsius in Paphos," the weatherman announced on the radio.

"It looks like it's going to be another hot day Charlie," I said to my four-legged companion. "Come on boy let's go and check the vineyard. This time next month we'll be harvesting the grapes."

Charlie is my faithful dog. He's an American Boxer. He is three years old, that is twenty-one in doggy years. I've had him since he was a puppy, trained him myself to be obedient, and that he is.

With my hoe on my shoulder, I commenced crossing the 5-acre field to the other side of the plot. My faithful friend is strolling next to me keeping the same pace as me. Reaching the end of the land, I began shaping the soil and removing any weeds around the vine stems. One hour later the first row of vines is finished. With seven more rows to go, I start feeling the heat even though it's only seven in the morning. Pulling my T-shirt off, at once I sense the warmth on my scars which cover my back.

Looking over at Charlie his tongue is hanging out to one side of his mouth. "Charlie go and sit on the veranda, in the shade?" He just sat there looking at me with his head slightly slanted to one side. With my voice raised, I ordered him this time. "Now boy in the shade!" Quickly turning he leapt towards the house. After having a quick drink of water from his water pan, he lied down, with his chin on his paws staring straight at me.

I was near the end of the third row of vines when Charlie's barking got my attention. Looking up, I felt the sweat run down my face. Raising my arm, I wiped the wetness from my forehead. My eyes sting from the sweat as I squint to see who is driving down the dirt road towards the house. It was a silver Pajero Intercooler. It was uncle Stelios. Checking my watch, it wasn't even nine. "He never comes this early. Something is wrong," I say to myself.

Stelios is not my uncle. I call him that due to respect. He had known my father since 1974 when Turkey invaded Cyprus occupying forty percent of the island. They fought in the war together, ever since then, Stelios has been a very close friend of the family.

Dropping my hoe next to the stem I was working around, I started making my way to the vehicle whilst wiping my hands on my jeans to get rid of any excess soil.

Once the Pajero came to a halt, Stelios climbed out of the vehicle with a recreational bone in his hand. Charlie sprang up, running circles around him, jumping for the bone while Stelios held it up high. Once Charlie was given the bone, he rushed with it to where he was earlier. Holding it down with both of his paws, he began licking it and chewing the ends.

"You're spoiling him you know!" I called out.

With my hand extended for a handshake, he took my hand in a vice grip. Feeling the clutch in my hand, I squeezed as hard as I could, overpowering the big man. Releasing the pressure after a while, letting him over-power me.

"I see you've been working out Michael?" he said with a smile on his face.

"It's been hard work, sustaining my father's land." Gesturing towards the field behind me, with my hand.

"I remember when your father purchased this plot of land, fifteen years ago. The ground was as solid as a rock. Hadn't been ploughed for years, on top of that it was full of rocks. In seven years you have managed to create a paradise." Looking around him, at the vineyard and the small one-bedroom house I constructed out of wood.

"Uncle, you haven't come to praise me for what I have accomplished." I looked at him in the eyes. "What have you come to tell me? What has happened?

"It's your father, Michael. He's at Larnaca General Hospital. He's had a stroke. Paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors said it was a blood clot in his brain stem."

I felt my eyes go moist as the word slowly left my lips, "When did this happen?"

Rubbing his chin, he carried on telling me what he knew, "Your aunt Androulla called last night. She told us it happened three days ago. She said he's stable now, but he can't move his legs."

Feeling something on the side of me, I looked down to see Charlie standing there next to me. Kneeling down to his height, I started to stroke his head. Staring into space, remembering memories of my past.

"Are you ok Michael?" Stelios said, with a concerned look on his voice.

Shaking my head, as I came out of my trance. "I need to go home. I have to be there for dad. He'll need me." Getting up, I commenced making my way to the garage.

"Are you sure? Will it be safe for you to go back? Remember what they did to you. How much they hurt you seven years ago."

We both walked side by side as we spoke. "I have to face my past uncle. I was eighteen then, now I am older and wiser."

"That you are, but still it will be dangerous for you to go back."

"You have been like my father these few years. Teaching me about life, you were my mentor. But I have to go home. My father needs me."

His eyes became moist. "You can use Athina's car for a few days. She doesn't need it this weekend." He tried to change the subject. It was getting too emotional for him.

Athina is Uncle Stelios' wife. A retired nurse. If it weren't for her when I arrived all bloody and bruised, I would have been dead now. For a month, she attended to my wounds. Changing the bandages twice a day. Making sure I did not get infected. If my injuries did not cause my death, my morale would have driven me insane. For what I saw at eighteen, no teenager should witness in his lifetime. But Athina and Stelios were by my side while I healed.

Pulling the metal door open to the garage, revealing a covered vehicle. The green canvas covered in brown dust.

"Don't tell me. You've still got that Jeep. I thought you wanted to get rid of it."

When I first came to Kathikas, my jeep was a total right-off. It looked like a group of hooligans attacked it with baseball bats. Every panel on the vehicle was full of dents. Shattered windscreen, broken headlights, everything was destroyed. Only God knows how I drove it down here that night.

Pulling back the cover, the first thing that took us by surprise was the reflection on the windscreen from the morning sun. Moving to the side to avoid the bright light. In front of us was a fully restored Black Jeep Wrangler 2.8 CRD.

With a smile on his face, Stelios laughed. "Why you, if I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it. Now I know what you and Jimmy were up to down here every evening. There I was thinking he was wasting his time playing video games. But you inspired him to do what he does now."

Jimmy is Stelios' youngest child. I hadn't known him very well when I visited Paphos with my parents when I was young. As he was a couple of years older than me, we did not have much in common. I got to know him better when I moved out here. I was eighteen years old then. Jimmy had just finished his national service. At twenty years old, with average marks at school. The only job he could find was in the hotel industry, as a waiter. Something he was not very keen on pursuing.

When I first came to live in this remote village in Paphos. I stayed with Stelios' family for three months. That is until I healed physically and mentally. In that time, I shared a room with Jimmy. Something he was not too pleased with. He had his issues with his father about his future. I had a long, painful healing process to go through. With only 500 euros in my pocket and a ruined jeep that looked like it had been chewed up and spat out, I began a new life.

I worked hard to build a new life in Kathikas. With a small loan from Stelios and some money, my father sent me. As he could not come to see me, for fear he will give away my location. I purchased and put together a portable house to live in, on the plot of land my family owned. I planted some vineyards with the advice and help of Stelios.

I worked beside my mentor Stelios for three years. He had one of the most extensive vineyards in the region of Paphos. I was in the fields twelve hours a day, Earning my keep. Paid off my loan and put some money aside. But most importantly I learnt everything there was to know about managing vineyards.

After three years of maintaining my vineyards, in the afternoon when I finished work and during the weekend. I was going to have my first harvest. I asked Stelios to come and check the grapes for me, to give me his opinion. I was outside with Charlie, trying to train him. I had him only for two weeks then. He was still a puppy. Stelios pulled up in his Pajero. Jumping out of the driver's seat, slamming the car door behind him. Jimmy was chasing him. It seems they were having one of their arguments again.

"I don't want to work in hotels dad. I hate being a waiter!" Jimmy called out to his father so he could hear him.

"You don't want to work in hotels. You don't want to work for me? What do you want Jimmy?" he yelled at his son as he marched down the field, gesturing me to go with him. "Let's go and check the vineyard, Michael!"

For an hour Stelios and I walked around the vineyard. Together we checked the grapes, while Jimmy stayed with Charlie. Stelios advised me how pest control works.

At the same time, he was telling me he was worried about Jimmy's future. When we got back, Jimmy was nowhere in sight, nor was Charlie.

Next to the house, I parked my Jeep. Covered it and left it there. For four years It hadn't seen daylight. We went and found Jimmy had uncovered it and was inspecting the vehicle.

"Hey, Jimmy, do you know anyone who wants to buy it for scrap?" I asked him.

With a puzzled look on his face, he gave me an answer I wasn't expecting. "Why don't you fix it up."

I sighed and said to him, "got in touch with the dealer for Jeep. Told me it would cost over 10,000 euros to repair."

"You don't have to go to the dealer."

'Where's he going to get the parts, other than the dealer Jimmy? It's an American Jeep," his dad sarcastically said.

"Jeep Wrangler Sahara Sport. Soft top with a 2.8 diesel engine. This is the best model they made that year because It has a 6-speed manual gearbox. 174 BHP, throw on a powerchip, and you can get at least 210 BHP, turning it into a mean beast." A car salesperson couldn't have said it better, that is without the mean beast part. Stelios turned around, making his way back to the car, mumbling to himself.

"What do you suggest Jimmy?" I asked.

"We can order the parts that you need from the states. New or second hand in good condition. The parts that are repairable like the bodywork I have friends who can do an excellent job, which will cost next to nothing," he said with enthusiasm in his voice.

"When can you start on it?" I asked.

For six months that is what we did. Jimmy would finish work, and he would come to the farm and work on the Wrangler for a few hours a day. Once we completed the Jeep's restoration, he took on other projects. Now he doesn't work in hotels anymore. He has a garage, where people order parts they can't find cheap in Cyprus. Orders them from abroad, makes a profit and they also save money.

With the battery connected, I turned the ignition. The engine fired up after a few turns. Letting it run for a few minutes before I slowly drove it out of the garage.

"Last time I saw you in that driver's seat, you were an eighteen-year-old teenager. Now I see a man. A man that has beaten the odds to live again," He said this while nodding his head. "What now Michael?" Stelios asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Now I go to visit my father."

Pausing for a moment, before continuing.

"Then I face my Demons!"

Chapter 2

Stelios reassured me, he will have some of his employees take care of the vineyard, while I was gone. Before he left, I put out my hand for a handshake. Instead, he embraced me in a tight hug.

"You look after yourself, son," he mumbled in my ear. Releasing me, he wiped his eyes.

"Always uncle," I tried to comfort him, with my words. I watched him get in the Pajero and drive off. Leaving a trail of dust as the vehicle disappeared.

I tossed some clothes in an old duffel bag. Arranged some beverages in the cool box, for the journey. The drive was only two hours, but the heat was unbearable. We would need some refreshments. With the top of the Jeep rolled down, Charlie and I commenced our journey. Driving into Paphos central town from Kathikas, Charlie was running from the back of the jeep to the front. Backwards and forwards, barking every time he would see pedestrians. I let him do his thing, as it was his first time this far away from Kathikas. Hardly leaving the farm, this was an adventure for him.

Before getting on the motorway, I stopped at Jimmy's garage to have the Jeep inspected before my journey. Rolling into the garage, Jimmy stopped whatever he was doing to come and greet me. Once I went to a halt, Charlie leapt out of the vehicle. Running to Jimmy, while wiggling his tail in joy. Going on his knees, Jimmy started rubbing the dogs head, "I bet you missed me, boy? Because I missed you," Jimmy said to Charlie.

Looking up at me, Jimmy said, "what brings you down here my good friend?"

"I have to go back home, Jimmy. My father is not well."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Will it be ok for you to go back?"

"I need to go Jimmy. This journey is well overdue. I need a small favour from you. Can you check the beast, as it has been sitting in the garage for a while."

Pushing his tool trolley over to the Wrangler. Popping the hood open, he commenced work on the car. He called his mechanic to do a diagnostic on the engine. With the electrician, Jimmy got some items from the storeroom. They worked for three hours to install some gadgets in the cockpit. Explaining to me after, how everything worked. Once finished, he ordered some kebabs for his staff and us. Charlie is enjoying his bowl of food I put for him. Quickly cleaning his bowl, he came over to us for some kebab. While eating, Jimmy kept insisting on coming with me. I assured him everything would be ok and I'll be back in a couple of days.

It was after six in the afternoon when I managed to get onto the motorway. With all the excitement, Charlie had exhausted himself. Rolled into a ball on the passenger seat, he was fast asleep. Listening to the roar of the Wrangler, I cruised down the motorway towards Limassol, remembering flashbacks of the past.

******

Seven years ago:

It was the village fair in Avgorou, at the end of June. After taking our final exams, we were celebrating our graduation. Tony and I were cruising around the village in my Wrangler. Something all teenagers did at our age. We wanted to have as much fun as possible before Tony went into the army for two years. Something that all young men did, once they finished school. Myself I was an exception. At the age of fifteen, my mother had passed away from cancer. It was my father and me. As I had no siblings and my father had some health issues. I had been omitted from doing my national service.

Driving past Tony's house to get some CD's. His father Mr Savvas insisted on taking Tony's younger brother with us, Mario and his friend Lucas. Tony protested but, what his father said that was it.

Mr Savvas was a powerful man in Avgorou. When I say dominant, I mean money. He controlled the running of the village. Even had connections in the police. What he said happened. Tony didn't want that. He would always say, "once I finish my national service I am out of this village." His brother Mario, who was a year younger was different. He was following in the footsteps of his father, possessed for power. That is why Tony did not want his brother with him when he went out.

"When did you buy this Micky," Mario sarcastically said to me as I drove out of the driveway.

Snapping his head around to look at Mario. Tony yelled, "His name is not Micky, it's Michael. If you showed some respect for people, maybe you would have some friends."

Looking in the rear-view mirror, Mario and Lucas were mimicking Tony as he spoke.

We drove around for a while. Then we decided to go to Ayia Napa to a club that had opened recently. Meeting some friends from school, we decided to go to a beach party held at one of the five-star hotels. It was after two in the morning when the party had finished. Everyone had gone, including our friends. We were still there as Mario decided to take a swim before we go.

"You had too much to drink you fucking idiot!" his brother Tony screamed at him. Pulling his T-shirt over his head as he chased him into the water.

*****

Present day

As we were entering Limassol, I turned to see if my companion was still asleep. Charlie was sitting there, looking at all the buildings, all confused. Yawning and stretching, making me yawn at the same time.

"Great passenger you are, Sleeping most of the journey."

Putting my foot down, the Wrangler roared as it accelerated to the next lane. Overtaking a convertible Beamer, Charlie commenced barking. The girls were screaming and owing him as I flew past the car. Exiting the highway, on the next roundabout. I entered Jumbo superstore car park. Parking the car next to McDonald's. Taking Charlie's bowl, I poured him some water to drink before I walked into the fast food restaurant to get myself a beverage.

Sucking hard on the straw, I could taste the vanilla shake in my mouth. Trying not to consume too much, as to give me brain freeze. Opening the restaurant door, I hear Charlie barking. Looking over at the jeep, I see a young man provoking Charlie with a stick. Getting nearer I recognised the car, it was the girls from the Beamer. They were screaming at the young man, "stop provoking the dog, Terry."

"Charlie," I shouted. Charlie straight away stopped barking and stared at the young man, eyes glued to the stick.

Walking up to the young man I said, "my advice to you is to put what you are holding down before the dog rips your hand off while you're still holding that weapon." I was bluffing, as far as I know, Charlie wouldn't harm a fly. When I was near enough, I grasped the stick from his hand, throwing it under the beamer.

"What was that all about?" I said to him.

One of the girls yelled, "he was trying to impress us, by scaring the dog."

"Really?" I called out as I walked back to the Jeep. Charlie's vision still on the young man.

"Don't walk away from me." Now, this guy was pushing me.

"Charlie get in the Jeep." Turning around, he ran and leapt into the vehicle. Sitting there, he carried on staring at his enemy. "You stay their boy." Climbing myself into the driver's seat, I started the Jeep up. I drove past Terry. The girls left him standing there and went into McDonald's. Checking my rear-view mirror, he chased after his friends once we had some distance.

Once I was on the highway to Larnaca, Charlie came from the back and sat in the passenger seat. "troublemaker," I said, smiling at him. Turning away, he put his head out of the window, enjoying the breeze as the vehicle picked up speed. It was getting dark, at the same time the temperature dropping. With humidity at a very high level as we entered Larnaca.

It was late when I got to Larnaca General Hospital. Finding a parking spot, opposite the entrance. I sat there and waited. It was nine in the evening. Visiting times were until eight-thirty. People usually did not leave until nine. I did not want to confront any of my relatives just yet. Like I suspected, a group of people came out, it was my uncle with my father's sister Androulla and my two cousins. Crouching down, not to be seen. I hoped that none of them would recognise the Jeep.