"I am not my father. I am not my husband. I am myself!" These are the words my mother always told me, and since I lost her early, I have used them as a guiding light in my life, to remind myself that I must rely on my own strength. In the household of the Fotiadis family, everyone considered me an outsider, and they treated me with the harshest manner, but Grandma Kassiani supported me like a mother. I dare say I was loved a lot, both by Argyris, whom fate did not allow us to be together, and by Krateros, to whom I owe my change of course and my most precious treasure, my Myrtle. But, as it turned out, it was not meant for me to find happiness in Odessa.
With a small suitcase in hand that held all our belongings, my Myrtle and I found a safe harbor in Greece. I knew I would succeed because I would now define my own life. And I was right. Nana and Andronikos wrapped me protectively in their arms, helping me find my way and to discover unconditional and love without limits, which came and took root inside me and since then has never abandoned me. Because what truly matters, my eyes, is trust—trust in ourselves, trust in the people we choose as our companions, and pure, selfless love.
