You built it, Asle says
and Kristoffer says yes he did build it, because when he was young, a long time ago, he studied with a boat-builder, and even if he didn’t build that many boats with him he did learn how to build boats, yes, he says and then Kristoffer goes over to Asle, who is looking and looking at the boat, and Kristoffer puts his arms around Asle’s shoulders
I have to go try out the boat right now, Asle says
Yes, the waves probably aren’t too high, Kristoffer says
But be careful now, Brita says
Yes, you have to be careful, she says
Asle is careful, you know he is, Kristoffer says and Asle stands there and looks and looks at the boat and then he goes out the hall door and Kristoffer nods to Brita and she smiles at him and then she sees, lying there on the bench, Brita go through the door to the kitchen and Kristoffer go through it after her and shut the door after him and then she sees herself come in through the open hall door with a raincoat on and she sees herself stop in the doorway and look into the room and then she sees herself go out and shut the door after her and she thinks, standing there in the hall, that now, no, she can’t remember him ever being this late before, it’s almost nighttime and he hasn’t come home, she has to go look for him, she has to go down to the boathouse, to the pier, she has to go look for him, because this, this wind, this rain, this darkness, and can’t he come home soon, she thinks and she goes out the front door and the wind is blowing, it’s raining, and the darkness is black, and it’s so cold, and she has to lean against the front door to get it closed, the wind is blowing so hard, and she leans against it, gets the door closed, and then she is standing there in the light outside, on the front step, and she hears the waves, the rain, and then the waves, and it’s so cold, and she can’t just stay standing like that, she thinks, since she went out in the first place because she wanted to go down to the shore and look for him, maybe call his name, but she can’t just stand there in the evening darkness and call his name? can she? no she probably can’t do that, she can’t, no, she thinks and she goes out into the yard and she goes around the corner, stops and stands there and looks down the little road, and isn’t that him coming walking up the little road, in this black darkness she can see him, she really can, no, that’s good, she thinks, but there, on the little road, no that isn’t him who’s coming, it’s a woman coming, hurrying, and she’s carrying a child in her arms, and the child is so big in her arms, no what is this? she thinks, what’s happening? and she can see everything so clearly, as though it was the middle of the day, no she doesn’t understand this, she thinks and she sees the woman come hurrying toward her and she really is carrying a boy in her arms and she’s pressing the boy to her chest, and the woman is going so fast, and the boy, is he alive? because the woman who’s coming toward her is carrying a boy in her arms and the boy looks lifeless, his clothes are wet, his hair is wet, and in the woman’s eyes, her big eyes, there is something like a yellow sunbeam of despair, but what’s going on, what is this? she thinks and the woman, she has thick black long hair, stops there on the little road and then she stands there and presses the boy to her chest and the woman just stands there, in the middle of the little road, head bent, with a boy in her arms, and she looks at the woman, who’s standing there, completely motionless, and then she hears a voice call out what is it? and she looks down at the fjord and there, on the path to the boathouse, she sees a man, tall and slim, lanky, and with long black hair, with a thin black beard, come running up the hill and he has a string with fish on it in one hand and one side of his long hair has fallen in front of his face
What is it Brita? the man calls out
What’s happened, what’s wrong with Asle, he calls out and the man runs up and she sees that Brita’s black hair, her thick black hair, is hanging down and covering Asle the boy she is holding in her arms and then Brita starts to rock herself and Asle back and forth and the man is in front of Brita and Asle and then he stands there and puts his arms around them and behind Asle’s back the fish that the man has on the string hang down to the ground and the man’s long black hair falls down over Brita’s hair and down over Asle and they just stand there, motionless, while time just passes, she thinks, they stand there, just stand there, and Kristoffer lets go of Brita, goes a little way away from her
What happened? he says
Asle fell in the water, Brita says
Is he still alive, the man says
Yes Kristoffer, Brita says
It’s his seventh birthday, it’s Asle’s seventh birthday, Kristoffer says
Asle’s dead, Brita, he says
No he’s not dead, you can’t say that, don’t say that Kristoffer, Brita says
Asle’s dead, Kristoffer says
He turned seven years old and then he died, he says
No he’s still alive, Brita says
Look, don’t you see, he’s dead, Kristoffer says
and Brita stands there with Asle in her arms and Asle’s arms hang straight down, and his head hangs down, and his eyes are open and empty
You weren’t grown up yet, you were just seven, you should have lived such a long life, not a short one like this, Kristoffer says and Brita stands there, bent forward, with her long thick black hair hanging down over Asle
He’s still alive, Brita says
and Brita looks up through her hair at Kristoffer
No he’s dead, Kristoffer says
and Kristoffer goes a little farther away from Brita, and he stops, looks at her
Brita, Kristoffer says
and Brita doesn’t answer, just stays standing there like before, with that long black hair hanging down over her eyes
Asle is dead, Kristoffer says
Asle’s alive, Brita says
Don’t say that, Kristoffer, don’t say that he’s dead, she says
Asle’s gone, Kristoffer says
He’s dead, he says
and Kristoffer starts to walk up the little road, he goes around the corner, he walks across the yard, slowly, step by step, and the fish on the string swing from side to side, and it is as if Kristoffer will collapse before he takes half a step and turn into the earth that he walks on, she thinks and she sees Kristoffer stop and stand and look down, he stands there with a string with fish on it in one hand and he looks down and she turns around and then she starts to go down the little road and she stops next to Brita and then she lifts her hand and then she lightly smoothes down Brita’s hair, she strokes and strokes and smoothes down her hair and then she hears footsteps and then she sees Kristoffer come walking down the little road and the fish on the string are swinging from side to side and Kristoffer stops too and then he also smoothes down Brita’s hair
Come inside now, Brita, Kristoffer says
You can’t just stand here, he says
We have to go inside, he says
We have to take Asle inside, he says
and Brita looks up and through her long hair she looks at Kristoffer
It’s November 17 today, Brita says
November 17, 1897, Kristoffer says
November 17, 1897, Brita says
and Kristoffer puts his arm around Brita’s shoulders and Kristoffer and Brita, and Brita with Asle in her arms, slowly walk up the little road
On November 17, 1897, Asle died, Brita says
And he was born on November 17, 1890, she says
and Kristoffer stops, and Brita stops, and then they stand there and look down at the brown earth and then the front door of the old house opens and an old woman comes out and stops on the front step and Kristoffer looks at her
He’s gone, Asle’s gone, Old Aliss, Kristoffer says
Don’t just stand there like that, Old Aliss says
The Lord moves in mysterious ways, she says