My Island In The Sun

My island in the sun Ch.1

A man finds his Greek roots and his dream island

This is my first foray into fiction, as my background is primarily in technical writing. I would greatly appreciate honest feedback to help me improve my writing style. There is no sex in this first chapter, so if that's not what you're looking for, just scroll past.

This is self edited, so any mistakes are exactly where I want them to be!

AJ had boarded the plane and found his seat for the final flight connection of his journey. This would take him to the small island of Skiathos that is part of the Sporades group, in the Aegean Sea. This was not to be his final destination, he would still have to make his way to the port at Chora, the main town of the Island, and if there were no delays, he could manage to catch one of the fast ferries, leaving that afternoon.

As he leaned back into his seat, and began to relax his mind took him back to the far distant memory of his past, those memories were now just fleeting glimpses into a time he only had brief recollections of. It was as if his life started at the age of four, when he came to live with, who he knew as his uncle and Aunt, Dimitri and Larissa in a small village in Buckinghamshire, England. This was far from his roots in Greece, the only knowledge of which had been told to him over the years by his uncle Dimitri.

There was little to nothing for children to do in the small, sleepy village that would turn out to be his home for the next fourteen years or so, but at least he had a companion in Aella, the only daughter and child of his Aunt and Uncle. Aella was one year younger than him and as they grew up, the headstrong and fiery nature of her Greek heritage and character would come to the fore. Aella would prove to be an unstoppable force when it came to her stubbornness, and determined mindset. However, that was something he would not find out about for many years to come though!

As they both grew older, AJ's body grew in size and strength, and he was bigger and stronger than many of their peers. It was then that Aella would rush headlong into a situation, knowing that AJ would be there as her protector and constant companion. They would spend summer evenings and weekends together exploring the countryside, and on one particular afternoon, not long after AJ turned 14, they came upon a group of 5 boys that they did not recognise as being from their village or school. One of the boys puffed out his chest and gestured to the others to spread out in a semi-circle, in an attempt to dominate the situation and intimidate Aella and AJ.

"Why are you two wandering around here, you should know you've strayed on to our patch and now you will have to pay the price" said the boy who seemed to be the leader of the group. For some unknown reason, AJ wasn't at all afraid of this boy, "we can go wherever we like" he snarled back, "and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it". "Hey Tommy, you need to teach him a lesson, he needs to learn some respect" one of the lads at the side said, to the ringleader.

Being outnumbered five to one, and with an inbuilt need to protect Aella, AJ suddenly realised he would have to react quickly before the situation became more desperate than it seemed at that very moment. Without even a second thought and two quick strides towards Tommy, he dropped down low and swept Tommy's legs away from him and followed up with a quick strike to his solar plexus. Tommy went still, then AJ turned to face the others who were stunned at how quick AJ had moved and witnessing his lightning reactions they started to back off, then turned and ran away, and in their fright left Tommy behind them, who was now starting to breathe more evenly once again, after being dealt such a humiliating put down in front of his friends.

Tommy, looking around and seeing he was now alone, his friends having abandoned him he quickly backpedalled, trying to retain some dignity "we were only having laughs, my bad. I didn't mean to push you too far" AJ just shouted out to "keep out of our way in the future", and together they sauntered away.

Once they had moved much further away and were walking in the direction of home, Aella spoke up, "where did you learn to fight like that, I've never seen you do something like that ever!"

"I don't know, it just seemed to happen instinctively, like an automatic reaction"

"Well, however it happened I was certain it was turning into a nightmare situation, honestly, I was starting to panic, I don't ever want to go through something like that ever again" said Aella.

"I'll always protect you as long as I'm around, you know that Aella, you're my best friend"

"Your mine too AJ, I don't know what I'd do without you by my side"

"Well, Aella hopefully we'll never find out. But I think it's time to be getting home now. I think we've had enough excitement for one day, don't you?"

Later at home neither of them mentioned the incident that afternoon, and Aella soon forgot about AJ's responsive reaction to the threat they had faced, in time AJ also forgot all about it.

Nearly a year later, Dimitri called a family meeting, and together with Larissa, they explained that His mother, Aellas' grandmother Eleni had had a bad fall. With only Kostas, Dimitris' brother at home at the moment, and he had his work at sea, spending his days fishing, or offering boat tours to tourists during the busy season. It had been decided that Aella would travel back to Greece to help in her care. Dimitri had his work in England, which he could not leave,

Both AJ and Aella were devastated at this news, but being young they had no option but to accept the decision that had already been made. With that, it was only a few days that AJ and Aella had a tearful and emotional goodbye, as Larissa took her away to make the journey back to Greece. Larissa returned home, alone a few weeks later. Dimitri was glad to have her back by his side. AJ however, was still bereft, feeling abandoned and alone without his best friend.

Over time, AJ found that he could cope with Aellas' absence by spending all his free time exercising, and lifting weights in the barn by the side of the house. This had the double benefit of tiring his body to the point of exhaustion, which enabled him to sleep without feeling the loneliness of missing Aella. Also by the time he was just past seventeen he had also grow to 6 feet 5 inches and weighed 220 lbs, there was not an ounce of fat on his body, this was raw hardened muscle, which was honed further from the workouts he got from his job on the nearby farm.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

over time

AJ felt that something inside him was unfulfilled and he started to dream about adventure something that would take him beyond the horizon of the surrounding fields and quiet village, that without Aella, had become more of a prison than a home, and one day while in the nearby town, as he passed an Armed Forces careers office, he stopped and stood looking at a large poster of a soldier abseiling from a helicopter onto a warship. The Royal Marine Colour Sergeant that was posted there as a career advisor stood observing the young man outside, and noticed he seemed absorbed in all the posters and information displayed. Finally after a few minutes he caught AJs' attention and motioned for him to enter inside. It was rare that he saw anyone so engrossed and utterly taken by anything, which made him want to engage with this young man, as he had an inherent feeling that this was a person who would excel in the world of the Royal marines.

AJ became so entranced in all the information the career advisor shared, it was a simple decision for him to decide a career in the armed forces, and in particular the Royal Marines would sate his hunger for adventure and a chance to broaden his horizons. Six months later, he arrived at the Royal Marines Commando Training Centre at Lympstone in Devon, having sailed through both the mental and physical tests. During the next 32 weeks, AJ pushed his body further that he ever had before, he found that the harder he worked, the more energy he seemed to have. The instructors were all amazed at his dedication to any task or target they set. He was achieving standards rarely seen in raw recruits and the trials that challenged them. AJ found time to help his fellow recruits, pushing them to carry on at times, when all they wanted to do was drop from exhaustion. AJ knew that only by supporting one another and working as a team would they be able to meet the punishing schedule of basic training.

At the passing out Parade when the Prince of Wales- now King Charles -presented AJ with his Green Beret, he was overcome with emotion. To his surprise, he was also awarded the King's Badge, given to the best all-around recruit of the King's Squad upon completing their Commando Training. However, this was a bitter sweet moment, as although his aunt and Uncle were there to share in one of his proudest moments, the cloud that descended on him when he could not share these achievements with his best friend Aella, it was something that over time, he simply had to come to terms with.

He posted a vast amount of photos of the day to her, there were far too many to send by email. AJ was overcome with emotion when Aella expressed her pride and happiness in his achievements, when he got an email back from her.

AJ once again excelled over the next few years while serving with 42 Commando, where he specialized in Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIOps)--tactics focused on preventing, delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies as they moved toward the battle area. He stood out clearly, as his ease in everything he did shone like a beacon of light and was noticed by all around him. As a result, over the next three years, he quickly rose through the ranks, many of the younger soldiers now looked up to him as an example of how behave and react, in what were often life threatening situations. He had, by then reached the rank of Staff Sergeant.

During his leave, he would often return home to spend time with his Uncle Dimitri, he felt a deep shame over his absence in a time of need. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had failed to support Dimitri when Larissa had been given her cancer diagnosis and furthermore, the devastating news that it was stage 4 and incurable. He hadn't been there to support Dimitri, in his time of need, had been unable to help in any way through the agonizingly swift decline of the woman Dimitri loved, and three short months later Larissa was gone from all their lives.

Through that agonising time, AJ had been sent on operations to South Korea for six months which through further tensions was extended to a year, officially, this was to strengthen the growing ties between the two nations. But there were other, deniable high risk interdiction operations, details of which would be hidden from the public domain for all time. It was because of this covert mission that AJ found himself unable to return home for the funeral. Again he was left feeling helpless, unable to share in the grief with his family. He felt stranded and alone, at the same time he also knew Aella had returned, as other family could now help with Eleni, giving her the time to comfort and guide her father through this dark cloud that had descended over him.

Not two months later as he was completing his last month on tour, and doing the hand over to his replacement in South Korea, he received one of his regular emails from Aella, and sat down to take in the family news that she would often share with him and as his link to what was happening beyond the periphery of his operational area. The major part of the email laid out the facts of what Aella was trying to tell him as gently as possible. That revelation was that when she returned back home to Greece, Dimitri would be returning with her,as he felt without Larissa by his side he no longer had the strength or wish to remain living in England. AJ was upset at the news, but also felt and fully understood the need for Dimitri to be surrounded by a supportive network as he continued to work through his grief. However it didn't make it easier to accept the fact that Dimitri would no longer be in the little village he had called home for the past twenty or so years.

It made AJ take a step back to consider his future, his direction in life and where his military life would take him, and who he was doing it all for. Over the past few years he had concentrated on advancing in his career, but soon realised that he had singularly focused on that, with detriment to anything outside of it.

At the end of his tour when he returned to the UK base he quickly came to realise, that he had built a wall around himself, with only his uncle and his friendship with Aella to show for his life outside of military service. So he made a decision that things needed to change and went to see his commanding officer.

Some 18 months later, AJ had received his military discharge with honours, and was more than ready to see where his life would now take him.

As AJ looked down upon the Aegean below as the plane swooped down to its approach for landing, the blue water appeared so clear, it was as if the boats he could see along the shoreline were floating on air, and he had never seen anything so extraordinary. His thoughts now turned to what lay ahead for him, and he felt a rush of anticipation envelop his whole being.

This is the end of the first chapter, please leave comments and scores, that will help me decide whether to write further chapters and any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.

Unhelpful and unnecessary comments will be deleted.