In the centre of the city, among sites of ancient ruins and big commercial streets there are also areas with smaller shops hidden in narrow alleys and stoas that one cannot easily find. The other day, I decided to visit such an area and explore it. After visiting some shops with spices, herbs and nuts, I found myself in a penumbral portico with small stores of antique paintings, old books and blackened silverware. Among all these, there was a dark passage with a yellow light coming out of the only shop at its end. I decided to get deeper in the labyrinth to find out what kind of shop was squeezed in there.
The light was coming out of a corridor with walls covered with shoes. The odor of leather and closed space was everywhere. After moving forward in the corridor for about 5 meters I got into a bigger room and I saw him. He was a traditional shoemaker, with messy hair, long whiskers, and moustache. He gave me a look and continued his work without talking. I noticed all the materials and tools mixed everywhere around me and I sought for a neat place to rest my eyes. I found it! A stand, alone in the chaos, with ready to wear shoes carefully placed on it, shining and magnetizing the glance; About 12 pairs, not of the same kind – some for walking, some ballroom, even a not fitting well in the picture running pair of shoes.
“- Will you buy anything”, he asked me and went on “although I only give them to special ones; for the rest those in the corridor may fit.”
“-What makes someone a special one?”
“-Well, you tell me, since you are not a smiling beautiful sweet lady”.
[-Hmm, that is why the shoes are gathered on the stand. How could such a lady discover them in this fearful place], I thought.
“- And yet there are brave explorer smiling beautiful sweet ladies that discover me” he said, guessing my thought and giving out a loud laughter. “- It is only your imagination that may help you in here young man and give you a chance to get something of that stand. Go on and tell me a story”.
I didn’t really know if I wanted any pair of those shoes, but I went on and told him a story about “when yellow left red…”. (you may find it in my blog). At the end he clapped his hands once, looked at me above his small glasses and said “Your story makes you equivalent to the ladies, I mean deserving a pair of my shoes” and laughed loudly again.
“-Before advising you on the best shoes to take I will tell you a story too. Take a seat..” and he offered me a small stool to sit on. Without waiting me to agree and sit down he started with his story.
“-Hundreds of years ago, a shoemaker was living in the north-east area of the country. The shoemaker liked the forests, taking long walks, exploring them and gathering herbs and mushrooms. Sometimes he night-stopped in them and had no fear of what could possibly happen to him.
At some point he decided to explore the oldest virgin forest of the continent. Nobody dared to get in that wood, it was scary and dark. Population on earth was increasing; villages and towns bursting out everywhere with their lights and fire glowing around while ancient forests were waning. Yet, that forest even today as we are speaking stands less impacted than any other forest in the country.
He got in there, believing he was well prepared, and went deeper and deeper exploring the forest. He slept two nights under the trees; he saw many strange animals, insects and plants and went on deeper until he lost his way. Initially, he believed that it would be easy to find the way back, he tried with the stars, but no luck; the trees were too tall, he tried with the inclination of the trees but didn't make it; all the experience he had wouldn't help him.
In the middle of the third night something waked him up. There were some small lights flying around him and he heard voices directly into his head. He thought that some of the mushrooms he consumed were to blame for the delusions he had. But the lights and the voices insisted. They were whispering to him in his language. He thought he was dreaming but he could not wake up.
They told him that they were ancient spirits of the forest, what people called nymphs or fairies from the ancient times".
At this point I was thinking of leaving the place. The story was a little childish, reminding me Grims' stories. He just said "stay, a pair of my shoes is wating for you".
"They had less and less space in the forest. They could not stay there for ever. They had to move. They had to migrate among the people and coexist with them. They offered him an exchange. They would help him to find his way back and he would find the way to bring them into the human civilization. They would let him think over their offer for a day. They provided him with nutritious nuts and berries and left him while the sun was going up.
The following night he presented them his idea. He could hide them in shoes! They had told him that they were almost immortal and they had no need for food but only for movement; that was their energy. Time had no meaning for them. Therefore being enclosed in shoes would make them invisible to people, provide them with "moving energy" and a variety of life since they would ...move around.
So, the deal was closed and everything started... The family of the shoemaker from father to son or daughter passed on the secret together with the art of shoemaking. Thousands of those small light creatures were transfered among people. Apart from the shoemaker family the secret wad shared with some other special people. New ways of transfering them among us were invented. During the following years, the shoemakers and the others of the secret society learned many things about that ancient species of spirits of the woods. There were families of them and each family had a special power. One had the gift of rythm and dance, another had the good omen wherever they were, others were durable and quick."
The strange shoemaker looked at me and said "now I suggest that you chose that pair of walking shoes".
[-In which part of the shoes do they hide] I thought smiling at him while turning towards the stand.
"-The shoemakers put them in the heels or the soles. It depends on the shoe" he replied. I got a little scared, could he read my mind? I grasped the shoes and I saw the repoussé on the running shoes - f/air/y sole.
"Hahaha, I didn't tell you that the family of shoemakers kept for their own shoes the most valuable family of the kind... those reading minds". He stopped laughing only when I asked him about the price of the pair. It was my size and I liked it.
"-Well, it is a gift, and the story was a calling, if you understand what I mean".
I thanked him for everything and told him I was hoping to see him again. I crossed with a young guy holding a well packed parcel in my way out of the corridor. As I was leaving I heard him saying "Father I bring seven of them, the whole community is very anxious".
I got out, back to the sun, took a breath and went for a coffee.
The following days I wore the pair of shoes I had bought. I walked in the market. Whichever shop I visited within minutes was full of people. A store owner told me " Good omen you have brought to my business". I smiled and thought I should visit again the strange shoemaker - I wonder if he already knows.