The Magic of Northern Lights
Norway has always been her home. Wooden houses interspersed with rushing rivers, lots of huge trees, waterfalls, and winding mountain roads. The long tunnels were scary, but also comforting. Karin felt as she was delving into some hidden, safe place where she could hide from the trolls. Mummy always said there are good trolls too.
Their home was the best haven against all the evil in the world. Neighbours’ daughter went once on the trip to huge Oslo and never returned. Karin’s parents have never been there. They thought that an insensitive and cold metropolis with only a small number of trees, was not a good place to live. They enjoyed their secret haven, their perhaps simple and predictable but safe family life.
She saw different places in the world only on National Geographic Travel, which her dad watched in the evening. Once she asked him if he would like to visit these beautiful places somewhere far away. He replied that it was enough to watch it on the screen, because God blessed them to live in such a peaceful and amazing country.
She also knew that there were wars far away, people did not have home. They had nowhere to go, they were so poor and could not afford even a slice of bread. How is it possible? Her mum used to bake bread in the kitchen every day at 6am, the smell spread throughout their beautiful home.
They lived between Agedal and Foss, around 60 kilometres from Kristiansand where huge ships took people to the continent. She knew that Norway wasn’t an island, but Daddy always said so. She imagined the country as a small island, far away from all the troubles of the wide world. A small family island surrounded by love.
So…how she found herself in that dirty shithole in Mexico? Excessive drug use made her fantasies. She could see the same trolls straight from Natalie Foss drawings, wondering if the painter was born in Foss or was it just coincidence? Karin’s life twisted and took very wrong turn. Only if she could remember how that happened…
The Fortune Teller
Karin walked up the steps with confusion in her heart. She could not remember when the last time she saw him. He was her first love in Ungdomsskole (Secondary School) and best friend right after it. They visited a piece of Europe together; he took her to Germany.
She remembers a wonderful town in Rhineland with small streets of old German cobbled alleys. A picturesque river interspersed with hills where castles were standing elegantly and peacefully. They stayed in the Gasthaus, owned by Emi, a very nice old woman full of life and energy. Karin always said that she would live the same way, until the end of her days.
What else did she remember? Olaf appeared very blurry in her head, but he was a significant part of her youthful life. She did not understand. She heard a familiar voice behind her, turned on her heel and saw him. Now everything flashed through her mind. It was him. It was he who destroyed her life. It was he who made her leave that safe haven in Norway. He was the worst thing that ever happened to her.
Suddenly she recollected everything in her mind. They lived together for 3 beautiful years in Stavanger. She fulfilled the dream of his life, he always wanted to open his own business. She found a store on the corner on Øvre Holmegate Street. It presented itself magnificent, the place was at the heart of town life. Everyone knew the street; everyone was there at least once. It was the best place she could find for Olaf’s dream company.
They opened it together, renovated in the summer in the sweat of their foreheads. She was so proud of herself and happy to be such a support for her man. Beautiful feeling. She did everything to make his dream come true. She was naive, in love.
She believed in fairy tales, until the first time he acted badly towards her. He apologized for almost a whole week, he explained it due to the stress in the company, the lack of clients, equipment, money. She was shattered but still loved him.
Once her sister came to visit and took her to a fortune teller. Karin did not want to; she was afraid that the truth would come out. Her family had a wonderful idea of their relationship. She didn’t want to worry her parents.
This older woman was originally from Ukraine. She had very dark and penetrating eyes. When Karin’s sister turned away, she quickly wrote on a napkin, “I won’t say anything in front of her.” Karin freaked out. She never believed in fortune telling and magic, or even in trolls. The Ukrainian woman only said what Karin wanted her sister to hear. In the end, she put the same napkin in her hand, on the back of which she wrote: ‘Run away from him as soon as possible’.
