CHAPTER 71 - A SILENT FAREWELL ---- CAPÍTULO 71 - DESPEDIDA EN SILENCIO
The routine procedure for boarding passengers and luggage was completed fairly quickly. There were barely ten minutes left before departure when the Hopkins were already on the deck of the SS Ankara , admiring the view of Istanbul. On board, the mix of passengers was rather curious: Turkish families burdened with luggage far bulkier than the Hopkins’, Greek traders who would disembark in Piraeus, and a handful of French and British travellers —among them the Hopkins— who would be getting off in Marseille. Judging by their appearance and the languages they spoke, there were also a few Lebanese, Egyptians and… Spaniards! They were a young couple, in their early thirties, with two small children, a boy and a girl. Young Claire, hearing the children speaking Spanish, approached them. “Hello. What are your names?” “I’m Javier,” replied the boy, glancing in surprise at his parents. “And I’m María,” said the girl, lowering her gaze shyly and playing with her hands, almost covering her m...
