The Boat in the Evening by Tarjei Vesaas Read Free Book Online

said.
    All she said was, ‘That’s good.’
    He stood looking at her. Everything seemed to be standing on its head. And it was so incredibly mild.
    â€˜The snow’s quite wet,’ she said confused.
    â€˜Oh yes,’ he answered, almost as an aside.
    But would he go now? She had been a little abrupt with him. So he would probably go.
    She stammered, ‘Are you going?’
    He muttered something and there was an embarrassed silence. He mustn’t go. She stammered again, ‘What about those cold fingers of yours?’
    He brightened a little and asked, ‘What about them?’
    â€˜Nothing.’
    â€˜If they really are so cold,’ she said again.
    â€˜Oh no. They’re not so cold really. They’ve been colder.’
    â€˜Yes, I expect they have.’
    Everything was standing on its head.
    â€˜Why don’t you feel them?’ he asked.
    It was incredibly mild. She let the hands come. The hands, cold as ice, held her close. They made her burning hot. Neither of them could feel cold now.
    He said softly: ‘Awfully good to hold in your hands.’
    â€˜Yes,’ she replied, in scarcely a whisper.

4
    Daybreak with Shining Horses
    We met unexpectedly, at daybreak one morning. Two young men. The other was called Per. We were acquainted, but not close friends. Now we met on the grass one warm, fine summer morning, before anyone else was up.
    Was there something different about Per? As soon as I saw his face, I thought: What is it?
    I saw he thought: What is it? when he saw me.
    Then one of us said aloud: ‘What is it!’
    It was Per who said it. As if it had nothing to do with him. Perhaps that’s how it was. Perhaps my impression of him was distorted.
    In any case I could not answer his question. But why was he out of bed at such an unusual time if nothing was the matter?
    Neither of us asked again.
    *
    For my part I had got up for reasons that I cannot explain. I had simply done so—as one does when desperately waiting for something.
    We looked about us. A warm summer morning. Early, early! was the feeling inside us; it’s the only way to describe it. We knew in advance that something was going to happen; it came to us the moment we met and thought we looked alike. Then we felt this early, early! that there was no other name for.
    The landscape had just taken on its distinct solid day-shape with everything in its place—it wasn’t because of that .
    *
    Everything as it should be—but was it? We didn’t have to look about us to answer no. It was earlier than early inside us. We were wide open. The one looked at the other and realized that our ordinary everyday life had vanished for the time being. If this had been true of only one of us at first, now it was true of both. It had leaped across like lightning.
    Suddenly there was a strange shimmer in the air.
    I wished he would say: I can see it on you.
    He looked at me and said, beyond all reason: ‘I can see it on you.’
    I felt myself burn. Don’t say any more, I wished, and he didn’t.
    What was to come of this?
    Something is approaching.
    Per was no longer his usual self. What had we done to each other?
    Without saying anything more, we knew: It is today.
    *
    And it happened.
    In the first place it came facing the sun, which was odd.
    A shining aura settled above the hill, facing the sun, before the sun rose in the opposite direction. We were out as early as that. Whatever else we might have wanted to look at, our eyes turned towards this.
    We could not help but believe that what was approaching had its own sources of power. We had a premonition, too, of incredibly long distances to travel across unknown tracts, and of terrific speed—and first and foremost of fascinating things.
    Our bodies were buoyant. At the same time we were nudged by a kind of absurd anxiety: the kind that prepares the way for sudden involvement and happiness. Meanwhile the light