Apollonia was angelic from birth. She shone into the world on a ray from the Sicilian sun, but with the graceful charm of a true Greek woman. She was chaste until marriage, obedient, and loyal to her family. We loved her very dearly.
I remember the announcement of her birth, how joyful we all were. And, then, that smiling face! Ah! Such a bright and beautiful baby. We knew that she had come from the sky, such a radiant, precious girl. So, we named her Apollonia.
She was always a helpful one, or she tried to be. If it weren't for her we might have twice as many pots as we do now. But that was her nature, and when she looked up from the shards, all broken at her feet, how could you not smile?
She never said anything mean, and really, she didn't say much until you opened her up. If you knew her, if you really knew her, then you knew she was excitable. Energetic. She drank in the light and saved it for later.
And such curiosity. Curiosity like you’d never seen. She was fascinated by the new technologies that visitors brought. She longed to explore, to drive, to learn, and she did. Apollonia learned and then she taught. She taught the children about the leaves and why they change color, and about the earth, and how tires move. She taught them, and they loved her. She could make a bull sit and listen to her teach. With such a melodic voice, how could you not stop and enjoy her? Even for just a while.
And then she met Michael, who loved her more fully than we ever could. He took our girl into his home and heart. It was obvious how much they loved each other from the very start. you could see the way he fed her grapes, so delicately, that he respected her. Our family would have had nothing but the best for our dear Apollonia. When we saw that she loved him, it was set. He was an American, this Michael, and he could provide for her in a way that we couldn't. She would not have to carry water up from the well anymore. She would not have to lift a finger. She would only have to be with him, and love him.
Michael had cars and fancy ideas. He could teach her all that she wanted to know: about the sky, and America, and English. She told me once in confidence that the first time she saw him, she was so badly stricken with desire, that she ran from him. What a good girl she was. And boy, did she love him.
It is an unfortunate thing that we did not know of her ailment. If only Michael had told us just how sick she was. But Apollonia, compassionate as she was, begged him not to tell us, for fear that we would worry. He tells me she cried. She cried, because she did not want us to hurt. It is a miracle that Michael is still here today. The doctors had to burn her body, so that she would not infect any other person.
Apollonia died in a blaze of love for her family. She left the world as she entered it: on a ray of the Sicilian sun, but with the undying grace and charm of a true Greek woman. God be with you,
Apollonia.
(*Eulogy based on Apollonia from the Godfather. I imagined that, though she was blown up in a car bomb, Michael would have lied to protect her family from the harsh truth.)
