7
My plane was full. Nobody else seemed the least perturbed by the fact that there must have been a couple of hundred of us packed inside that metal tube. Settled in her seat at my elbow sat a young woman reading what looked like a medical digest and out of the corner of my eye I could see her book had labelled diagrams of the human body and the text was all in Greek. At my other elbow, in the seat next to the aisle, was a man with a long white beard and his hair in a bun. He sat with his eyes closed, although he nodded and leaned to one side so I could get into my seat when I'd approached. Carefully, I eased into my space hoping not to disturb either of them. My knees almost touching the seat in front, I tried to make myself as narrow as possible so as not to disturb either of them. I hadn't been this intimate with a young woman since my wedding night.
Sneakily, I watched her read. I seemed to recognise her calm face but then realised I knew her only from my books. She had the quiet beauty of Artemis who, according to my friend Homer, was venerated as Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals. I think she must have been aware of my prying but she didn't seem to mind. She turned to me and smiled 'Hello'. I was stricken. I grinned and tried to unclench my fists. What was it Auntie Agnes had said? Every now and then get up out of your seat and have a good stretch? Trouble was I'd only just sat down and now I was far too embarrassed to make a fuss. After all, the flight was only four hours. Four hours? It might well have been four days. On the other hand, if I stayed where I was I might look more experienced. If necessary, I could concentrate on the bald spot on the head of the lady in front of me and pretend it was a new planet.
'Would you like a sweet? It'll keep your ears clear.'
Again, a huge smile and I thanked the young lady as I helped myself from a large bag of Barley Sugars. What on earth was she talking about? I needed something for a belly full of snakes. As we waited for take-off she returned to her book but was interrupted by the various announcements in Greek and English. She gave up and watched the flock of iron birds on the tarmac waiting for permission to take off and crowd out the skies and fill the air with toxic fumes. She smelled like heaven.
'Have you got enough room?' I squashed myself even closer into the armrest.
'Oh, yes. I'm fine. You OK?'
I relaxed. 'Oh, I’m sorry, my name is Godfrey. Godfrey Ash. I'm...er...flying...to, er...Athens.'
She laughed. 'I think we all are...on this flight...going to Athens, I mean. My name is Pandora. How do you do?'
I appreciated her friendliness but it made me incredibly shy. I tried to turn my mind off the impending take-off with some casual conversation about the library but, 'This is my first flight and...'
'...you're a little nervous?'
'Er, yes. I suppose I am.'
'That's perfectly natural. I used to be like you but you get over it in time.'
'Do you think?'
'Oh yes. Why not try some deep breaths and maybe get some sleep. And if your ears get blocked...'
'...hold my nose and blow. My auntie told me,' I realised how pathetic I sounded and wondered if I should get my mouth sewn up.
'Yes. It equalises the pressure,' she said.
'I suppose you're used to it - coming from Greece. I mean, you must have flown to get here. Have you been on holiday in England?'
'No. I'm a trainee doctor. I am from Volos, in Thessaly. Are you staying in Athens?'
'Stephanos. A funeral.'
'Oh, I'm sorry. Someone close?'
'Yes, my uncle. He was Greek. Pantelis Lambrakis.'
'I think I've heard of him. Wasn't he a musician?'
'That's right and quite well known in your country.'
There was a slight bump and when I looked through the window we were taxiing along the runway. I gulped. Pandora rested her hand on my arm, 'Don't worry. You'll be fine.'
Our jet was screaming along by now and just when I thought I'd rip the armrests off the seat, we tilted backward and upward and then, without a doubt, we were flying softly through the sky.
'You can open your eyes now. See? It's easy.'
My heart was still in my mouth so I didn't try to answer. We fell silent for a little while. Pandora looked sleepy and snuggled down to look out of the window. I resented the carefree way two children across the aisle were casually playing a DVD and giggling without fear. After a while, I realised that if you stare straight down the tube taking in the angle of the luggage racks without actually focusing on anything in particular at the other end, you get a real sense of the slant of the aircraft moving through the air. I found it strangely calming and gradually, felt quite light.
My other neighbour, the old man, shifted and looked past us through the window. He glanced and smiled at the sleeping Pandora and whispered to me, 'The sleep of the innocents. Having a good journey?'
'Why, yes thanks. I think I am. You?'
'Oh, I love flying. Always have. There's no need to be afraid you know.'
'Oh, you heard.'
'Well, yes. Anyone with imagination would be wary but when you really look into it, if we didn't take risks, life wouldn't be worth living.'
'I suppose so. Are you Greek?'
'Yes, I am. A priest. You are English?'
'Well, sort of...Cornish by birth.'
'We have a lot in common.'
'Oh? How do you mean?'
'The Cornish and the Greeks - we both respect the power of the earth. It's true. Many, many years ago, we shared the same beliefs and even lived in each other's countries. My name is Papa Nero. How do you do?'
'Godfrey Ash. Hello.'
'And are you?'
'Am I what?'
'God free?' But before I could hide my embarrassment the priest gave a happy laugh. 'I'm sorry. I have a weird sense of humour. I don't mean to offend. Godfrey is a good name. I like it.'
'Well, if you don't mind me saying, you look like Socrates with your magnificent white beard.'
‘So they say. So they say.'
A little silence, then after some thought, the priest spoke again, 'Aahh, this is good. I love to travel. It's impossible to think in modern Athens. Too busy. I visit islands whenever possible. There's a huge difference between the world of nature and the world of man and yet man is one with nature. You haven't been to Greece before?'
'No, this is my first time.'
'Greece was the melting pot of civilization. And though we Greeks have many faults, in our time we have produced extraordinary and still potent achievements. We are quite a people and Greece is quite a place. Once, it was the centre of the centre of all the centres in the world, but I think our golden moment has passed and now we just give advice. A little like me really,' he nodded and smiled to himself, 'Please excuse me. I have to stretch my legs.'
Again I felt different - accepted and reassured somehow. I had been talking with complete strangers like we were old friends and it felt great. Through the window, I could just make out some lights, orange, so still in what must have been sports arenas and motorways. I even saw some cars. People on the move just like us. The world never sleeps; it's awake in different parts. All lit up and tiny down below. To think that all those light bulbs with their tiny filaments changed our lives. Life must have been much more simple when we had none of this, when things were less sophisticated. Pandora shifted in her seat and turned her back. I gazed beyond her into the darkness for a second, and then closed my eyes. I felt the weight of Papa Nero settle in his seat. And all was still in the tube. I took a deep breath and as I exhaled I knew that for the first time in my life I was flying.
I was woken from my doze by the reassuring voice of the captain telling us that we would soon be making our descent over the timeless city and by Pandora excitedly looking through the window, waving and saying, 'Hello mama, yassas papa. I'm home.'
And from the moment our plane began its dawn descent over the time-honoured city of Athens, and my eyes focused on the floodlit, incandescent, honey-coloured centre of the centre of all the centres in the world, something awoke inside me and I tingled. Coming in to land through the lightening darkness, I gasped at all the glittering glory of that awesome city, lying like a Milky Way below me on a huge plain between the all-knowing mountains of Attica, and I felt like I was coming home too. At last I was in Greece, the land of gods and heroes. The land of Pantelis Lambrakis.