Yrsa Sigurdardóttir - The Day Is Dark

‘People need to live,’ Thóra replied. ‘That’s a fact of life, there’s not much point fighting against it. I can imagine plenty of worse things than surrendering that kind of principle.’ Thóra’s own wages would have to be increased significantly before she could be compelled to come back here. ‘Quite apart from the fact that no one could have foreseen what awaited us here – I have to say, I didn’t expect anything like this. The worst I imagined was that we’d find the two men frozen in a snowdrift. I doubt you would have considered returning here if you could have seen the future.’

‘No, that’s for sure,’ said Friðrikka fervently. ‘Actually, I always had a bad feeling about this place, so maybe deep down I knew how this would turn out.’ She turned her head abruptly to the side to look directly at Thóra. ‘I don’t believe in the supernatural or anything like that. I just mean that I’ve had a feeling simmering inside me without fully realizing what it was. When I think back, I know I never felt good about it, to say the least.’

‘So how did you feel, exactly?’

‘I don’t know, maybe it was the atmosphere of the group – something wasn’t quite right. Most of the men had worked out here, together in isolation, for years, and it was like their moods were collective. It can be unhealthy living and working so close together. It’s also a disadvantage to be a woman in this kind of group, it never feels cosy like a proper community. And it’s not just the lack of women, there are no older people or children, either. I don’t know what it’s like to be at sea but I can imagine that it’s similar.’

‘Are you talking about how Arnar was treated?’

‘That was part of it, but it’s certainly not the whole story. Although it pains me to admit it, Eyjólfur was right about him to a certain extent. He was too single-minded in his sobriety and quite hard on us, since we weren’t as virtuous. But that doesn’t really justify how they treated him. As I said, it’s difficult to describe the atmosphere. It was subtle stuff, talking behind the guy’s back, that sort of thing.’ She paused for a moment. ‘I know it sounds strange but that’s how it was. I can’t explain it more clearly, unfortunately. The actual harassment was almost better, because at least it was out in the open. Most people didn’t like him and made it obvious. They made fun of everything he said. If they went anywhere in their free time, there was never any room for him. Taking more cars was out of the question, and the few times that Arnar settled for driving on his own behind the others, they ignored him completely. So he started going off by himself on his days off.’

‘That sounds pretty cold.’ Thóra had heard many ugly stories of bullying by children, but fewer involving adults. ‘Was it like that from day one?’

‘No; he was never exactly popular, but it wasn’t too bad at first. But isolation didn’t have a good effect on anyone and it got progressively worse. At first it was just dirty looks when Arnar said or did something the others disliked, but in the end the persecution was obvious to everyone. He always ate alone in the cafeteria. If he sat down with the group who couldn’t stand him, they moved to another table. The rest of us didn’t want to end up in the same situation, so we did what cowards do and avoided sitting near him too. Oddný Hildur was the only one who seemed not to care. She actively chose to sit with him, if only because she couldn’t bear to see what was going on. I wasn’t so kind and I only thought about myself, although I tried to be as friendly to him as I could. I never took part in any of the bullying, but I was a silent witness, which is hardly better. I deeply regret it now but it’s too late to say sorry, as is so often the way.’

‘She informed the managing director about it,’ said Thóra. ‘Just before she disappeared, she got in contact with him and asked him to do something about it. Did that have anything to do with what happened later?’

‘Not while I was there. I resigned just over a month after Oddný Hildur went missing and nothing was done during that time. Actually the group was quite despondent after that, as you can imagine, so the harassment came down a notch or two.’

‘Could Oddný Hildur have been harmed because she let the MD know about it?’ Thóra tried to put this gently so as not to upset Friðrikka. Although she appeared calm at the moment, she clearly didn’t have her emotions completely under control. ‘Could some of the perpetrators have found out about the e-mails and wanted to play a nasty trick on her? Maybe not intending to make her disappear, but somehow it accidentally turned out that way?’

‘What do you mean?’ Friðrikka’s pale cheeks turned red. ‘That she was killed?’

‘No, that’s not really what I’m saying.’ Thóra deeply regretted her last remark. ‘More like whether this might have been a prank that got out of control.’

Friðrikka took her time responding. ‘No. That can’t be what happened. I remember it as if it were yesterday, and they were all just as stunned as I was. None of them was a good enough actor to feign ignorance if they were involved.’ She was quiet again. ‘I did wonder if someone from the village might have harmed her. You know that violence against women is relatively common in Greenland.’

Thóra didn’t know what to say to this. It could very well be that locals had played a part in Oddný Hildur’s disappearance; however, it was more likely that the woman had simply got lost in a snowstorm or been killed by someone closer to her. There was just something implausible about the idea of people journeying from the village to the camp in the hope of meeting a woman who was out alone. There would have been a much higher chance of them coming across a man. ‘Isn’t it the same here as elsewhere, that it’s mainly wives and girlfriends who are being abused?’ Thóra looked enquiringly at Friðrikka. ‘Did you know that Oddný Hildur had complained to the director?’

‘Yes, she told me about it. We were friends. I doubt anyone else knew, though. She obviously didn’t broadcast it, and I doubt the MD told anyone about it without her knowledge.’

‘How did she take it when he did nothing in response to her reports?’

‘She was angry, clearly, but she didn’t let it get to her too much.’

‘Do you know why she didn’t do anything about it earlier? You’d been here for over a year before she reported it.’

‘The harassment got worse, as I said; and another factor was that we were facing a longer winter residency than we’d originally expected. Instead of going home for several months for the Christmas holiday, we suddenly had to return in mid-January and be here at the worst time of the year. She thought that made matters worse, and she was probably right. I actually believed at the time that the decision would be revoked but that’s not what happened, unfortunately.’

Thóra lay her head back onto her pillow. She was finally feeling sleepy and the cold that came up from the floor had become bearable, since it had grown quite warm beneath the covers. ‘I’m sure this will all be explained,’ she declared, thought it wasn’t what she actually believed, ‘and then we’ll be home before we know it.’ She said good night and waited, in the hope that Friðrikka would suggest they turn off the light. Her wish was not granted.

‘How did that man end up in the freezer?’ Friðrikka’s voice was shaky again.

‘I have no idea, any more than I know how human bones could have ended up in the desk drawers. Maybe he wandered in there by accident and died of the cold. That would be a bit weird, though, since it’s easy to open the door from the inside.’