Cheerful and polite, with eyes filled with confidence, and a sense of humour. She listens to jazz music, likes the memories of travelling, almost never leaves her village, and doesn’t allow anyone to say anything bad about it.

11

The marks of time show on her face and transmit her wisdom gained from living her life. Ms Smaragda is the only resident of Anavatos: an almost deserted medieval village in central Chios. The village is also known as “Mystras of the Aegean” and was founded during the Byzantine era.

She has been living here for the past 30 years of her life, and, as she says, she is a “citizen of the world” who at one point decided to “settle down”.

The colourful flowers

“I travelled to France, Italy, and many more European countries. Then I settled down and came here,” she told us when we met with her on the eve of the Archangels celebrations, as she was decorating the church; after the Vespers she would have guests over for a coffee.

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She was holding a few colourful flowers and was cleaning them carefully before she put them in a vase/ Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos
The village is also known as “Mystras of the Aegean”/ Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos

She was holding a few colourful flowers and was cleaning them carefully before she put them in a vase. She spoke without looking at me. At one point she pushed a chair towards me and nodded. I didn’t ask her anything. I took in the scenery, the hard rock and the contrast with the slope across that is covered in green.

If I’m honest, I wanted to ask her how she ended up her. I wondered about her life, her pleasures, and all the things that can make this person live there alone, in a village-symbol of the island, that at the same time is remote and deserted.

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“My family brought me here all the time when I was little”/ Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos
Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos
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Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos
After the Vespers she would have guests over for a coffee/ Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos

“I don’t understand them…”

She spoke to me without me having to ask anything. “They come here all the time, asking me why I stay here. Where else would I go? This is my home! I don’t understand them…”she told me – I don’t know if I’d ask her that, but I’m grateful I decided to stay silent. We went back in time, to the time she was a little girl. “My family brought me here all the time when I was little. We lived in the town of Chios, and this was a lovely excursion for us. Each time we left, I remember crying. I wanted to stay here, and, after all those years, I’ve managed it.”

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Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos
Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos

The stars and the 15 engagements

I asked her if she’d share her age with me. “I came here when I was fifty. I’ve been in Anavatos a bit over 30 years. But I won’t tell you my age. I’m a Gemini, with a Taurus rising, but lately I’ve been getting Capricornus features. Do you know what that means?” The truth is I just looked at her in silence. I wasn’t expecting her to speak about her horoscope. “I was engaged around 15 times, but I never got married,” she added.

Each time she spoke she confirmed my original impression: this woman has a rich past. She is a person who lived an intense life and at some point decided she’d had enough. It’s that thin line that separates us from excess, and it is at a different spot for each person.

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Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos
No, I don’t go to Chios often. Once a month I go grocery shopping. I don’t need anything else/ Photo: Dimitris Stathopoulos

3.000 records 4.000 CDs

She described her daily life. During the day she waters her countless plants, feeds her animals, the ducks, the geese, the hens and the dogs and does her chores. “No, I don’t go to Chios often. Once a month I go grocery shopping. I don’t need anything else. When it gets dark I listen to music. I have around 3.000 records and 4.000 CDs.” Her favourite music is Jazz, but she listens to other music too. “I also like folk music, the gypsy tunes, but also music from India. I don’t watch TV. I only watch Elif (a Turkish show on Greek TV) every afternoon.”

As I was leaving I knew I wanted to return, like Ms Smaragda, when she was little. Of course, now, apart from the unique history and beauty of the village, her presence is essential and gives life to the whole village.