The Rebirth of Pan | Page 7

over the fire.
On the day of Yanni's meal, half a pig was crackling over the fire and all the tables were arranged in a semi-circle. Every place was filled but one. There was an air of hushed expectation. Pappa Andros slid into the empty place, looking about him to see who was there. Before he could begin to talk to his neighbours, Yanni stood up and began to fill glasses from a wineskin. The wine was dark red, not the usual thin yellow pine-flavoured retsina Stellio served. Yanni filled each glass almost full, and gave them to Stellio's daughter Katerina who carried them round to the guests.
When he started there was the usual cheerful hum and chatter of a roomful of people, but as he continued the taverna grew quieter and quieter until before half the people were served the room was so quiet that Pappa Andros could hear each footfall on the wooden boards as the girl crossed to the tables. It wasn't until Yanni filled the last glass with the last drops from the now empty skin and sat down again that Pappa Andros realised what it was that was strange. He had seen the shoemaker fill glasses for more than sixty people from a wineskin that should hold no more than half a bottle of wine. A whole bottle would fill only five or six of the fluted but chunky glasses Stellio favoured for their solidity. Pappa Andros glanced at his neighbour, Yanni's cousin the shoemaker Kosta. He was about to open his mouth to say something when Yanni again stood up. He drew breath as if to make a speech, looking awkward and uncomfortable.
"Colleagues, friends and neighbours," he began, in a rehearsed, formal and stilted tone. "I have invited you here tonight to explain something that someone told me and to ask for your help." He shuffled from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. "As you all know, since the death of my grandfather, Elias, I have had the privilege and responsibility of making sandals for the holy ones." Yanni hesitated, looking round, and catching Pappa Andros' eye. The priest smiled encouragingly. Yanni had said no more than everybody already knew, but it was more than he had ever said before. The priest leaned forward, consumed with curiosity as to what the shoemaker would say next.
"Last week I had a visitor. It was--it was Ag. Dionysos." Yanni looked acutely uncomfortable, and twisted his glass in his fingers. "He wanted sandals. But that wasn't why he'd come. He stood in my shop, leaning on the bags, by the door, his face half in sunlight and half in shadow, smiling, like he does. I couldn't help noticing he's as golden as the cured leather I use for bags. He told me that we were going to need a lot more shoes. As many shoes as it would take me a year to make, doing nothing else. More shoes than I can make. Children's shoes, too, especially. Shoes all sizes. And other things too, food, clothes. He said we'd need them whatever happened and we should start now to have a store of them when they were needed. I said I couldn't do all that, and he told me to ask you all to help. If we all gave one day a week to making things for when they're needed, there'd be enough. He said there'll be a lot of children coming to the island. A lot of them, and a lot of people coming. Because--because Great Pan's going to be reborn." Yanni's eyes returned guiltily to the priest.
Pappa Andros felt a weight of gazes on him. He sat still for a moment, wishing clever Pappa Thomas were here to set these people right. But Pappa Thomas wouldn't believe Yanni, wouldn't even believe the evidence of the wineskin. Pappa Thomas thought that there was a new world coming. What if he was right, but not in the way he expected? The silence lengthened as Pappa Andros thought his slow way through it. There was a clatter and a hiss from behind him as Stellio began carving the pig. Yanni bit his lip.
"Go on, Yanni," Pappa Andros said, at last.
"That's all, really, Pappa," Yanni smiled a little. "Great Pan's to be reborn, and we're to get shoes ready."
"How many shoes?" asked Spiro, his gold tooth catching the light as he spoke.
"A lot. All sizes." said Yanni. "He said we should all start work on them straight away so we'd be ready."
"Why shoes? Doesn't Pan have goat's hooves?" asked Lambros the baker. There was a gust of nervous laughter at this. Pappa Andros looked down into his dark wine, and saw the reflection of his own face, his dark eyes, his greying beard. He did not hear what