Fog Island. Mariette Lindstein

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СКАЧАТЬ is where we study the theses,’ Oswald said.

      Sofia had comments and questions on the tip of her tongue, but Oswald looked at his watch and suddenly seemed to be in a rush.

      ‘You can see the farm and the greenhouse next time,’ he said. ‘But there is something I’d like to show you before you head home.’

      He took them to a freestanding building alongside the guesthouses — a wooden structure with a porch; it might have originally been a servants’ quarters. Sofia was expecting more hypermodern design inside, but this house was completely empty: just floors, walls, and endless bookshelves. It smelled pleasantly of wood and polish, and the afternoon sun had just found its way through the windows to form a golden streak on the floor.

      ‘This is going to be our library,’ Oswald said, giving her a meaningful look.

      ‘I see . . .’ she said hesitantly.

      ‘I’ve heard you’re a whiz at literature, that you love books.’

      ‘Where’d you hear that?’

      ‘It said on the form you filled out after the lecture that you just received your bachelor’s degree in literature.’ He was giving her that significant look again. ‘I need someone who can create a real library here. With books that fit in with our philosophy. There are no limits, financially. All that matters is that it’s done right.’

      ‘So you need a librarian?’

      ‘No, what I don’t need is a librarian, with old-fashioned ideas about what should be in a library. I need someone who can think independently. So when I saw your form, I thought of you. And then I noticed that Wilma studied literature too, and I thought maybe I had found the right people for the job.’

      Sofia was astounded. He had just offered them a job.

      ‘What’s the catch?’

      ‘You’d have to become part of the staff, of course. We work on contract. Two years at a time. And I’m not sure whether you two have boyfriends . . .’

      ‘We don’t have boyfriends, but I’m not signing any contract,’ Sofia said firmly. ‘No matter how interesting it sounds.’

      Wilma cleared her throat. A small warning, to let Sofia know she was about to cross a line into rudeness again. But Oswald didn’t look defeated; if anything, he was amused.

      ‘I thought as much. But I have a suggestion. Come for two weeks and go through the program, like our guests do. No cost to you, no commitment. If you still don’t want to take over the library when you’re done, you can go right back home again.’

      Sofia and Wilma looked at each other, speechless. Wilma was just about to open her mouth, and Sofia knew what would come out. The trip to Rhodes with her mother, the internship she’d arranged at a newspaper, blah blah blah. But Wilma closed her mouth again and smiled at Oswald.

      ‘Can we talk it over in private and let you know?’

      ‘Of course! It was nice to have you here. Let me know when you decide. I’ll tell Madde to meet you in the dining room for afternoon coffee before you leave.’

      He was already walking off, but then he turned around and looked directly at Sofia.

      ‘You seem clear-sighted. I’m sure you can tell that this place is something very special.’

      Then he winked at her, turned on his heel, and vanished.

       *

      Everything was silent on the ferry home. She hardly heard the shrieking of the gulls, the lapping of the waves, or the pleasant hum of the engine. Her thoughts were torn, bouncing around inside her head like tiny demons. The peaceful, well-organized atmosphere of the manor clashed with her own chaotic life. And the thought of working with books was a tempting one.

      Wilma was also noticeably quiet; she was staring down at the foam where the keel of the ferry broke the surface.

      ‘Jesus, what a place!’ she said.

      Sofia laughed.

      ‘Like a different universe, right?’

      ‘I think you should try out the program.’

      ‘Without you?’

      ‘I promised to go to Rhodes with my mom, and I can’t blow off this new job. And you were obviously the one he was into. The air practically crackled when he looked at you.’

      Sofia’s cheeks grew warm.

      ‘Oh, quit it. But who knows, maybe I’ll do it. No way I’m signing any contract, though.’

      ‘Of course not,’ Wilma said.

      Sofia was dragged back into the roiling sea of thoughts in her mind. But then the mainland came into sight on the horizon and the sound of the sea and the ferry engine returned. It was as if the sea was a bridge between two worlds — the real world, where they were headed, and the strange, dreamlike world they had just left.

      She didn’t know whether this new world, the one she had just discovered, was a new adventure awaiting her, or just a creepy illusion.

      I’m practically right next to him before he notices me.

      He’s fixing the chicken wire, on his knees in the dirt. He has put his garden gloves on the ground and is holding the barbed wire with his bare hands.

      His entire being disgusts me. The start of a bald patch on the top of his head, the sweat gathering in beads on his neck, and the pungent odour of grime, earth, and grass pouring off him.

       I lean down, place my mouth near his ear, and say ‘Hello, Doctor!’

      Loudly.

      He jumps and seems relieved once he realizes it’s me. He looks like a little piglet, lying there in the dirt.

       ‘Well hello there, Fredrik! Nice to see you.’

      ‘Not that nice,’ I say.

       ‘What do you mean?’

       ‘I mean it’s not so nice, what you do to Lily.’

      Sudden, naked fear appears on his face and he readies his fat, protruding lips. But I cut him off before he can say a word.

       ‘You don’t need to say anything. I know everything, do you understand me? She told me the whole damn thing, but I’m not going to tattle. Why would I?’

      He starts to speak again but I put up my hand, and then I feel the rush, that intoxicating mixture of power and strength.

      He squints up at me; the sun is at my back. I want him to see me like this, like a backlit angel of justice.

       ‘All I want is for you to leave СКАЧАТЬ