September

Natural sounds take over the island again. I am sitting at my balcony and I only hear the sea murmur, a dog barking and some cats chasing invisible enemies among the vine leaves. Even the small fishing boat engines sound like a subtle heartbeat, drawing more attention with their lights as they spread outside Naxos, Ios, Iraklia and Pisso Livadi. They make me think of the game: connect the dots. If I could connect the dots, they would create a big circle around the moon river.

September gets you, if you are here at this time of the year. At village cafés and taverns, people that sit in different tables greet, looking each other with a certain respect as they recognize that they share the island at its best.

But there is a sense of fragility in September, that island people know well. Each day, may be as clear and full of flavors and colors as a plate of melon and goat cheese, but is also leading to another day, and that to another, till one of those days will be the last of the precious “small summer” period. The inevitable sadness about the loss of those long warm days, is kept out by locals with a rough, wise remedy: loud tsambouna and toubakia music; a sign for the forthcoming souma distillation season.

photos by christos drazos