Roi Mat

By Antonios Koumoundouros

"The little bar on the corner was a port for many amidst the night’s loneliness. One more drink wouldn’t do any harm...
Moments full of alcohol and extinguished cigarettes. The music was my partner in my sadness and my only friend was the unknown man behind the bar. How much truth do these moments hide? My mind had clouded over from the drink and had traveled far away. Far away from Iro, my Iro. The Iro I saw with my own eyes, the one I loved so much. No, I wasn’t wrong about her, it’s just that she was frightened now like a wild animal. It made her cruel and dangerous. I needed to restrain her. One murder was enough."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Antonios Koumoundouros
• Release date: Oct 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301864799

Antonios Koumoundouros

Scion of an historic family of Greece, with origins lost in the mists of 17th century in Venice , a descendant of a Prime Minister, son of a poet and a very excellent mother, he grew with the music of Bach and the unregulated notes of Jazz into a green suburb north of the city of Athens. From the earliest days of his life he realized that he came here to live his own wayHe does not like soccer and basketball, but boxing and wrestling. Does not deal with politics because he prefers to watch Mad Men and Lost online or reading his favorite books. He wakes up in the morning and feeling happy that he can meet again with the bright light, loves nature, recycles, exercising - but also smokes heavy French cigarettes, takes care of his diet - but is also a social drinker, he deeply loves his nephew, his friends and the whole world. He perhaps is curious and definitely awkward at the same time a good man.He works for years in advertising and believes that good ideas are only those being implemented. And in order to do so he does not stick to details. He believes that everything can be done at a specific time as long as there strength, willpower and perseverance.Anton trains his body, exerts his spirit and works for his soul. Touches unexplored aspects of existence and feel free. And that's really a good thing. -

Book preview

Roi Mat

Antonis Coumoundouros

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Antonis Coumoundouros

1.

One summer afternoon I was sitting under the large mulberry tree trying to escape from the heat. Ennui, that distinct sense of time passing, had overtaken me. I had surrendered to it unconditionally. At the same time, I was thinking about all the work that, despite my bad mood, needed to be done on the farm and my exasperation grew. I had really worn myself out lately without seeing any results though. The last thing I wanted of course was to sell everything and go back to the city, which I’d left almost five years ago. Just thinking about this made me want a drink immediately, an urgent need. Fortunately, Stephano, my faithful friend and accomplice in my agricultural enterprise, had already made provisions. A bottle filled with the alluring contents of rum stood on the small table next to me, keeping company with its usual friends, the heat-harassed ice and the black beauty, waiting patiently to soothe my thoughts. And so, drinking, I tried to find a way out of the economic dead-end in which I found myself. The cultivation of pomegranates had not gone well this year and our debts had increased. The loan that I had received from the National Farmers’ Bank was my biggest nightmare. I had at any cost—something that would become reality in the future—to find a solution. My thoughts, which had only managed to increase my sense of dead-end, were interrupted by Stephano’s loud shouting. For about an hour now he had been clearing the little courtyard of weeds and cursing his fate. Today’s find for him was an unlucky snake, unlucky because immediately after meeting Stephano, it met its end. Stephano, like a true child of the provinces, was familiar with snakes and all God’s creatures and he didn’t waste a second in demonstrating his superiority over them. This behavior had led us more than once into Homerian fistfights without any resolution whatsoever.

Now once again he approached me, filled with pride over his latest conquest, provokingly displaying the snake that hung dead from the end of his hoe. He was sure that I would be furious. And he wasn’t mistaken. I responded in a flash. First, I hurled the bottle of alcohol at his head and then, since I had already gotten up, I hurled my fist as well. Accustomed as he was to my sudden outbursts, Stephano managed to dodge the first volley, but not the second. This was the continuation of often repeated older fights. Punches until one or the other falls down or gives up. This time however we never found out who the winner would be in our crazy fighting as we were interrupted by the loud horn of a car that had just entered the property. With surprise I made out that the driver of the car, now just a few meters away, was a woman. And my surprise multiplied when I saw her beautiful face. I didn’t know if I was seeing clearly at first or if the heat, the fist fighting and the alcohol had gone to my head. But no, my eyes were not playing tricks on me. Before me stood most beautiful Iro. My very own Iro. The woman whom I had loved so much. The woman who had left me with the same ease with which she had accepted me into her life.

2.

Stephano, can you leave us alone for a minute? were my first words. With an embarrassed smile, wiping the sweat and blood off his face with his sleeve, my good friend quickly walked away.

Dimitri, I need your help. I know that you never expected to see me again after what happened between us, but believe me life can turn everything upside down sometimes. Dimitris, before you say anything….I’m in danger.

Her facial expression and serious tone convinced me immediately that whatever was happening to her extended well beyond the boundaries of our own story.

Come, sit down. Tell me what’s going on.First we have to hide the car.Ok.

I shouted for Stephano who drove the car into the big stable. Iro had already sat down, and bent over, she was shaking her head. And in this manner, for the first time that I could remember, she started to cry. The police are looking for me, she whispered through her sobs. They consider me a suspect in the murder of Leonid Kastinelli. Her words immediately brought to mind the story I had heard on the radio a few days ago.

Leonid Kastenelli, a powerful industrialist and a representative of the workers’ party, was considered to be one of the most influential people in the political and social life of the region. What’s more, the range of his business operations extended beyond the boundaries of the country. A particularly capable, charming and intelligent man, he had managed by the age of 45 to build a small empire in the sphere of mass media and other business ventures. The stories connected to his name were numerous and full of mystery. But nobody knew anything more about him than he himself allowed people to know. One thing’s for sure, the international contacts he had were substantial and powerful.

For the previous two years he had been lived with Iro and everyone figured that marriage was the certain outcome of their relationship. Moreover Iro was not one to give up her goals at the drop of hat. Her life with him offered her much excitement. She lived intensely, having at her disposal money and power, two things she literally worshiped. All of this however came to a sudden violent end when Kastenelli was found murdered one evening in the middle of August, in the large apartment he kept outside the capital. The body was discovered by his secretary who had gone to inform him of the latest development in the scandal in which Kastenelli was the main protagonist naturally. The sensation caused by the murder was significant