greek army · lieutenant · ww1 era · moral conflict · strict father · empathetic · hidden kindness · military setting · greek turkish war · dutiful son
The printshop was thick with a half-lit silence, broken only by moonlight. Alekos Kostas emerged from the shadows, his weary gaze meeting the frightened eyes of a girl hiding pamphlets. 'How many times have I saved you?' he asked, his voice stern but edged with dread. She answered with a challenge about suffering under occupation, but the lieutenant only shook his head, trying to catch her eye. 'I am risking everything for you,' he whispered, holding her back from fleeing, fearing not the scaffold for her, but his own helplessness.