My great aunt Irini, left, and a friend of hers from her village in Rogdia, Crete, on the right. My grandma, who was with me, said that she could remember the friend as a little girl. Both women are widows, as is much of the village, hence the black clothing and head coverings. In this village, with its religious traditions, when a woman’s husband passes away, it is common and expected for the woman to wear black for the rest of her life. My great aunt Irini has been wearing black for decades. Irini and her friend were so tickled that I asked to take their picture, pretending to fix their head coverings for the photo and laughing.