S2E13 Beyond The North Wind Chapter 13

Anna talks to Tomas, a journalist she meets in the hiker's hut. Tomas tells her about the people who meet at a villa at Uektefjord.

Please leave a review at podchaser.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-joy-of-writing-1148760

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Beyond the North Wind Chapter thirteen It's open, called a voice from inside. A man appeared at the door of the cabin. He was younger than her, about forty, she guessed, with dark brown, almost black hair flecked with some grey around the edges. He had wide, slightly puffy eyes and an engaging smile. His chest was broad under a red and black t shirt. I hoped I'd see someone up here. I've been here for a night. Wondered if anybody else would be about. She entered the hiking cabin, a warm and clean space, panelled throughout and pine wood. The bathroom had a plastic toilet, metal sink, a pitcher of water, rooms full of bunk beds that slept forty. Suddenly she felt tired. I'm Thomas, the man said. I'm making some hot chocolate. Would you like some? Thank you. Are you hungry? I'm starving. She nodded. Yes, I am. I'll fix something, he said. He returned to the stove and stirred milk and chocolate powder into a pan. In two other pans he poured pasta shells into boiling water, and into another he emptied a tin of pasta sauce. The list of foods used were noted on a piece of paper with his name and membership number and placed in the payments box. She was resting on a seat when he brought her a white mug of hot chocolate and sat down opposite her. She cradled the mug in her hands and tasted the sweet liquid. Wonderful, she said. There was a doll on the table a troll with wild grey hair, red jacket, a striped skirt, and large gypsy earrings. She picked it up. The troll had three eyes, four fingers on each hand and a long, crooked nose. A red walking stick in one hand reminded travellers who they might meet on their journeys. Anna smoothed the skirt and replaced the troll on the table. Thomas smiled and drank from his cup. Where are you headed? The glacier and then the coast to Uctafjord. Ucterfjord, you say. Anna nodded. Do you know it? I've just come from there on an assignment. I'm a journalist working for Fokblu. You went over the glacier? Yes, I had a good guide. His name was Lars, a young man straight out of the glacier school, but very competent. I remember that school. It took two weeks to pass as a glacier's guide. It's one week now, I hear. Thomas smiled and the lines creased around his eyes. Lars was good company, we had no trouble. How long did it take? A long day I was tired at the end, but happy. He drained his drink. You're going to Tefure, that's interesting. To meet the Guru? She held the mug of hot chocolate to her lips. Who? Tomas laughed. Well, that's my name for him. He's not really a guru, but some people call him that. Who is this person? I'm intrigued. He's an English philosopher, a bit of a celebrity. The funny thing is I never got to meet him. He's got a second in command, a man called Martin who was helpful. What were his followers like? Were they academics? No, most of his audience were tourists, hopping off the boats they go up and down the coast, but many stay a week at the hotel. Well it looks like a hotel, it's a private villa really. Tomas shook his head. They're so funny. They say they have invented a utopia for themselves. A utopia she considered the word. If only or at least a beautiful place. People go there to watch the sunset, to sit and think and talk. So much talking. Anna sat up. Emil would have loved such a place. Thomas suddenly remembered his cooking and darted back to the kitchen. Anna heard him removing pans from the stove and the clink clink of plating up food. So they're like summer people, with the second home in the country. Exactly. They meet in a place of natural wonder which fits their ideals perfectly. Thomas presented her with a steaming bowl of pasta and tomato sauce. They call the place hyperborea after the Greek myth. A land of plenty and harmony situated beyond Boreas, the North Wind. Anna tasted her pasta which was delicious and too hot. It's true that it's warmer here now, even on the coast. But what do they do there apart from talk? They say they're looking for the good with a capital G and draw inspiration from people who do good. They meet throughout the year. Ah, she said, and she looked at the doll on the table, and do they also worship crystals or hide from trolls? I went looking for all of that but found nothing. No objects were worshipped. They had no services as you would in a church, just group meetings. I was there four days and waited for them to do something crazy, something to titillate my readers, but they turned out to be very hospitable, even charming. He laughed again. You know, when I first met them I did think that I'd walked into a church meeting. There were so many old couples there, grey heads, men and women together, some older women on their own, but also some youngsters, some clever looking men and women, university types. They don't sound so bad. They were fine, absolutely okay, completely benign, many different nationalities, not exactly a rainbow coalition, but close. They continued to eat their meal together, Anna feeling more and more relaxed. If they're tourists, she said, they must be careful not to outstay their welcome, even in our relaxed country. They stay only for a week or two in the summer, until the midnight sun disappears. Thomas put down his fork, leaving a cleared plate. They call themselves the Assembly. Now Anna laughed. I can relate to that. I'm a school teacher. In our assemblies we all sit together, children with teachers. It's a nice way of doing things. If not the assembly, then, what takes you to Uctafjord? Thomas cleared away the plates, and Anna was pleased to have some space to herself while he busied away in the kitchen. I'm visiting family. She tensed as she said the lie, not because she thought Thomas needed to know the truth, but it occurred to her she was not even sure where she would stay tonight. Well, maybe you'll meet some of these guys. They live in a beautiful villa built by Ritz, evidently a rich man. Maybe they can help all of us to live well together. Anna stood up and looked out through the windows. Now she was mindful of the time and of her arrangement to meet the guide. We live well, don't we, in the Finmark? Look at our toll payments for the roads or how the DNT organised these huts, all based on honesty. And then there are the Sami who we let live their traditional ways or join us in modern society as they please. Thomas came back out of the kitchen. Perhaps that's why the tourists chose Uctafjord for their spot. It's warm and peaceful, and the fjord is beautiful. He opened a notebook. Let me see. Hyperborea was a place of beauty, with two harvests a year and people living in harmony beyond the north wind. It was the furthest place north on the map. But a myth, you said. Of course, a myth, an ideal, an escape. A place away from it all, no intruders, no attackers to invade your country, like the Elisian fields, except of course that everyone is alive. Thomas started to slice a pear in pieces. Would you like some? She shook her head. It's like the Norse invasions again, except in reverse, with the English having their turn at trying out some new philosophy in a new land. That's a good idea, said Thomas, and he wrote in his notebook. I hadn't thought of that. They meet in the coal pure north and by all accounts live to help others. It's a human rights organisation, I suppose. You'll be able to read all about it when I get back to Tromps. Are you sure you don't want some pear or an apple? It would be so easy to stay, she thought, stay and talk to this interesting man, choose a bunk and a duvet from the stores, take out the cotton sleeping bag she had packed and stay the night. But she had booked the guide and she needed to get going. Thank you, no, I've a long way to go, but I will take some chocolate bars if there are any, and some raisins. Of course. Thomas got up and found three chocolate bars in the store cupboard and placed them on the table. Look, have these as well. I made some for myself and I have much too much to carry. Thomas placed some sandwiches wrapped in grease proof paper in her bag. It was nice to meet you. You two. She struggled on with her backpack. What route did you take? Over Stuart Fell and Lightfjord, and down a valley to Fjord. Watch out for the weather, it can be good one moment and bad the next. It's okay, I'm used to it. Thomas looked out of the window. I'll have to get a move on when I've written my piece up. He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he inspected the clouds. You may get some raindrops on your hike. It's nothing. She left Thomas with a wave goodbye at the door of the hut, and with a promise to read his article. The trail took her up into the mountain plains where the sky was grey and dimly lit on the horizon. She made a call to a number that had remained in her phone for three years. The proprietor of the hotel in Uctorfjord answered. They had a room available. She made the reservation for tonight. With her imagination racing, she imagined Emile in a room on a villa set on a beach, camera pointed at the sun. Her legs ceased to ache, and she strode on.