More Beautiful Than Any Statue by Apostolos Angelakis

She didn’t have any photos of her face on her profile. Probably a scar, or a deformity, I thought. Or maybe just not good-looking. But I was new to the city and needed to do something different from spending all my time silent and alone in museums, so I agreed to meet her anyway. When I first saw her, I couldn’t believe it: she was gorgeous. She told me I had made an impression by not asking to see her face, so that’s why she met with me. When I told my father about her, the first thing he said was: “What does she look like, my boy? I need to see her! Send me a photo!” He would have failed the test.

On our second date, we went for a “hike,” which was really sitting at a beauty spot. When I got into the car, she immediately started making jokes: she’s a woman, she’s a Greek, she is bound to be a bad driver! She stopped on the way for us to pick up beers. I grabbed two cans. She told me to get more. We ended up with five. She continued with the “Greek” and “Woman” bad driver jokes. No mention of the beers. I smiled nervously: she’s so Greek that she doesn’t think drinking affects her driving. I was already picking up her humour… And at that beauty spot on the mountain, I was scared. What if trying to kiss her so soon is an insult in Greece? What if she abandons me here? But I kissed her, and it was good.

All I could think as we went down the winding roads from the mountain was what a beautiful death this would be! To die next to someone not quite a stranger but not yet your lover. I had plans to go out that night with an Italian girl, but as she drove I asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner. She paused, and then said yes. I never messaged that Italian girl again. And that night, she came back to my apartment. We stood naked on my balcony at three AM, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine, and the way the lights of the city lit up her body ‒ she looked more beautiful than any statue in any museum in this city.

A few months later, I told her about abandoning the Italian girl to stay with her that night. She smiled and said that at the restaurant she had secretly cancelled a date with a man on her phone… because she was the same.

Apostolos Angelakis was born in Belfast and grew up in Ireland, also spending time in Greece and Belgium.

Photo courtesy of Apostolos Angelakis