The Forty Column Castle by Marjorie Thelen

cake of soap, I washed my hair but had a hard time getting all the soap out. By the
     time I was finished the water was cold. In a perverse way I was pleased he would have
     to take a cold shower. Maybe it would calm him down.
    I pulled my bag into the tiny shower room and got out a pair of fresh shorts and tank
     top. When I came out of the bathroom, he wasn’t there. I checked the door. Locked.
     I tried to open the deadbolt but it was jammed or locked from outside. I kicked the
     door in frustration.
    On the stand beside the bed was a tray with several small hard roll sandwiches and
     two bottles of Keo beer. I could really tie one on with two beers. I took a long,
     thirsty swallow and smacked my lips good enough for a beer commercial back home.
    Zach’s bag was no where to be seen.
    By the time I had eaten one of the sandwiches and downed a beer, exhaustion overtook
     me. The day had started too early and involved too much drama. I stretched out on
     the bed and turned off the light. I remembered looking out the window at the stars
     blazing away in a crystal clear night and must have drifted off.
    I started awake.
    Someone was standing by the bed.
    The faint illumination from the lamp on the driveway outlined Zach’s profile. He wore
     only a pair of shorts and his hair was slicked back wet, like he had just showered.
     I could see the well-defined contours of the muscles in his chest. Any other time
     I could be real interested in those muscles but now I tensed, waiting to see what
     he was going to do. I didn’t have long to wait.
    “Time to get up,” he said with no more effort than was needed for a night time conversation.
    I propped up on one elbow. “What time is it?”
    “Around four A.M. We’re pulling out.”
    “Do I get to brush my teeth?” I felt cranky and difficult. And not refreshed at all.
    “If you hurry.”
    I pushed the hair out of my eyes and tried to finger comb it but ran into too many
     snarls. It would be impossible to untangle now.
    He pulled me from the bed and headed me in the direction of the bathroom. “If you’re
     cooperative, I’ll buy you a coffee.”
    I slammed the bathroom door again. That was beginning to feel really good.

Seven
    We watched the sun come up over Chrysochou Bay on the northwest tip of Cyprus. A new
     day dawned. I didn’t know where my aunt was, I had no cell phone, I was sleep deprived,
     the police were looking for me, and my kidnapper thought I was a thief.
    We had stopped at a café in Polis, a town right on the bay, and sat outside at a small
     table shaded by a mimosa tree in bloom. The café was no different from hundreds of
     cafes frequented by Cypriot men drinking coffee, a national past time. I was the only
     woman as other sane tourist women were no doubt sleeping. Cypriot women didn’t do
     the café thing.
    I was nursing my second small cup of the black tar they call Greek coffee. From the
     corner sundries store across from the café, afro pop music blared from a CD player.
     It was a little early in the morning for that level of noise. But it was a catchy
     tune, and I tapped my fingers on the table top in time with a female rapper who sang
     in French.
    Breakfast arrived as Zach sat down across from me. He had phone calls to make and
     left, I guess, to have a private conversation. We were the only two tourists in the
     café accompanied by several Cypriot men engaged in noisy conversation.
    “Who’d you call?” I asked, not that I expected a civil answer. I shoved eggs and potatoes
     in alternate forkfuls into my mouth. I was starved. Adversity had not affected my
     appetite.
    My kidnapper, as I thought of him now, hadn’t said two words the whole trip down from
     the Troodos Mountains. I had slept most of the way, or tried to while my head banged
     on the window that I was using as a pillow.
    He gave me his half smile like he was trying to decide if he would take me into his
     confidence or not. “I had to report yesterday’s