The Hole in the Wall

By Rich Cole

Omiros Skarlatos has lived all of his thirty-odd years in a small village in mountainous northern Greece, when, one day, a seemingly unassuming call by the family lawyer informed him that he was the closest relative to his recently deceased uncle. Vasilis Skarlatos had been something of a black sheep in the family, the only one among dozens of uncles and aunts in the complicated Skarlatos family tree that had chosen to live in the capital. The inheritance was an apartment in the heart of Athens, in a horrible state. Uncle Vasilis had gone crazy the last few years of his life, after a mysterious "accident" that left him wheelchair bound, rambling about his bizarre delusions and acting rude to everyone, even the people who cared for him, so the apartment had gone to seed, right out of a hoarder TV show. Omiros, hating life in the ugly, crowded, and loud capital city, decided to clean it up to rent or sell it as soon as possible, then return to his normal life. And then, he found a hole in the wall. And through it, he could see into a room that shouldn't exist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seagull Editions
• Release date: Nov 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223714156

Book preview

Cleanliness is half of nobility

I’m telling you, I’m fighting for my life here, man.

Come on, it can’t be that bad, Jina said.

It is, though, I said. I laughed, trying to pass it off as a joke. It was bad, though. I stepped on another cockroach.

What are you going to do with it? she asked. I sighed. I had been thinking about that very question on the long, lonely drive during my way over, though I was still unsure.

I don’t know, man, I said. I might put it up as a short-term rental. They’re all the craze these days, I’m told.

That needs constant monitoring, doesn’t it? she asked.

It does. I sighed. I shook the pesticide can, put on my surgical mask—it didn’t do much against that kind of spray, but I told myself that it was better than nothing—and stared spraying the room’s corners.

Maybe you could hire someone else to come and take care of it.

Depends on how much I make, I said into the phone, sighing again. Besides, tourists visit Greece, what, six? Seven months out of the whole year?

Yeah, I get it, Jina replied. I could almost see her lounging in her armchair with her feet under her, tablet in one hand balanced against her knee, absentmindedly talking to me on the phone she held on the other hand. You’re thinking, what about the other three, four, five months that you wouldn’t be renting it out to tourists.

Yes, I sighed. Maybe I could be coming by once every few months or something. Once in June, to prepare everything, then when winter comes. I sprayed under the furniture.

You could take the gang, too, she said. We could help—

Like hell, I laughed. I know what you want. You think that the clubs here in Athens rock. You think you can get a free eight-hour drive and a great few nights of partying.

Am I that obvious? Jina laughed. They do rock, though.

How do you know? I asked. You barely have been to Thessaloniki, let alone down here in Athens.

That’s what it says on the internet, she grumbled. Besides, any place would have better clubs than what we have here.

You mean the exactly zero clubs we have, I laughed. She laughed as well.

It sucks, living in a small town out here, Jina said. Why not move permanently there?

What, here? I asked, incredulous. "In Athens? Who in their right mind would live in such a hellish place?"

Come on, dude, Jina laughed. It can’t be that bad.

Let me give you an idea. Give me a moment, I said. I went to one of the balcony doors and grabbed the brass handle. It turned with some difficulty, and I pulled it open, shoving aside a tower of rotten and moldy papers, and other stuff, too deformed to resemble anything. Cockroaches rushed out from underneath and I sprayed them and the surrounding area.

I got out into the small balcony. Two rotten wooden lawn chairs supported two towers of garbage. I could see old electrical devices among them, but mostly, it was supermarket bags filled with years-old garbage, tied, and now decomposed, vomiting their contents on the balcony. Even though it was night, there was so much light pollution that I couldn’t see the stars in the sliver of sky visible between the apartment buildings. It felt oppressive.

Listen, I said. I removed the phone from my ear and held it aloft. I was in the fifth floor. Still, I could hear the sound of the early night traffic on the road below with no problem.

What am I listening for? I heard Jina’s tiny voice from my phone. I replaced the phone on my ear.

The cars, I said, exasperated. There’s just so much noise.

Oh, those where cars? Jina said. I though you had opened a water faucet or something.

And it’s like nine o’clock in the evening, I grumbled. Do these people even sleep? I closed the balcony door behind me, not that there was much outside the house that didn’t already have a thriving colony inside it as well.

Maybe Athens is in a different timezone, Jina laughed.

It’s still Greece, I said, laughing. Sobering, I surveyed the house. Two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and two bathrooms, all filled with so much garbage, and so deeply infested, that I’d need a crew to clean up. You know, cleaning this shit-hole up, I almost hate the guy.

You didn’t know him, she said. How could you hate him?

Because he died and left me all this work, I said. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate already.

And what did you have on your plate? Jina laughed. "Besides, you’re barely gone, what, twelve hours? We were drinking coffee with the gang in the morning, today."

It feels like years already, I said. And it did. I didn’t like the big city, not a little bit.

Since you’re there, take the time to explore, Jina said. Get to know the area. It’d be good to get out a little, I’m sure.

Sure, I sighed. I’ll send you pictures of clubs. But from the outside. There’s too many people inside.

You say it like it’s a bad thing, she said. Her voice had changed, taking on a sleepy quality, as she let out a long, drawn-out yawn. We’ll get together at Menelaos’ place tomorrow for some boardgames, his parents are out of town and he has the place to himself. You think you’ll be back by then?

No, I shook my head even though she couldn’t see it. I’ll need a few days here for sure.

Alright, she said. So you’ll miss the new arrivals.

The crowd-funded games finally arrived? I asked, surprised. She mumbled an affirmative. Oh man. I wish I could be there.

Well, I wish my uncle died and left me a three-bedroom apartment in the middle of Athens, Jina mumbled.

He was not my uncle, I countered. At least, I’m not sure. I think he was something like my father’s cousin. It’s weird that he had no family and I got the house. And it’s not in the middle of the city. I don’t think so, I added, hesitating. I had no idea which part of the huge—for my standards—metropolis was considered its center. I needed to look at a map.

Dude, I think I’ll call it a day, alright? Jina said. She yawned again. And I’m working a double shift tomorrow down at the coffee place, so don’t call.

Yeah, I know, I said. I won’t bother you. I’ll call Ioannis or something, if I want company while I, uh, I looked at the cockroach-infested mess before me, commit genocide against a variety of species of insects.

Call him, she agreed. "He said earlier