Summary

“Departure Time” by Tessa Green tells the story of Samantha, who takes the train from Patras to Piraeus where she will take a plane to England, her home country. She is fleeing a failed marriage with a Greek man named Nikos. On the train, Samantha has a problem with her seat and ends up sitting near an elderly woman. She thinks about her relationship with Nikos and his family and about her son Alexander, whom she had to leave behind.

Samantha met Nikos when she was seventeen, and soon afterwards moved to Greece for him, where they married and had a child. Because Nikos lost various jobs, the couple moved with Nikos’ mother and his brother Yiannis. Gradually, Samantha began feeling like a prisoner with Nikos’ family, so she decided to return ...