Margit Sandemo - The Ice People 12 - Yearning

Now, did I just carry out that abominable act out of sheer kindness, only to let him travel on without me? Never upon my life! That isn’t Villemo’s way of dealing with things. Sol wasn’t like that and neither is Grandma Cecilie. We’re the black sheep of the Ice People. Nevertheless, we also carry out many good deeds,’ she chuckled to herself.

She reached the harbour. Because it was summer, the night was only semi-dark. Everything was quiet at this time of night, but some men were walking in small groups down by the quay. Their voices sounded hushed and hollow in the silent town. A town that was gloomily apprehensive of the war. Villemo plucked up her courage and approached them.

“Excuse me ... the boat for Sweden?”

They turned round slowly towards the entrance of the harbour.

“It’s on its way out there,” one of them replied.

It was as if Villemo’s whole world collapsed right there and then.

“Oh, dear. I was supposed to have been onboard!”

“What a shame, Miss. Then you’ll probably have to stay in Denmark because this boat service will now cease.”

The men continued walking.

Villemo stood there, looking at the tiny dot that was slowly disappearing into the darkness of night out towards the sea.

Dominic was onboard that ship, which was a consolation. He was in safety thanks to her. Only now she was cut off from him.

‘Oh, Dominic, my beloved, how could you do this to me? You didn’t allow yourself to say good-bye to me properly. Weren’t you aware how much I yearned for it? What am I to do in Denmark now that you aren’t here? What on earth am I actually doing here?’

Villemo knew that the postal service was delayed and it would take forever before her parents got to know that she wasn’t at Gabrielshus. It would be a long time before Grandma Cecilie and the others would start to worry, once they discovered that she had intended to return there and never turned up.

So Villemo had plenty of time. She could reach home or travel over to her grandmother’s, whatever suited her best, before anybody would start wondering where she was.

Because she didn’t intend to hurt anybody. She wasn’t out to trick anybody. Even though she did sometimes tell a lie. A white lie. Very white lies. White as chalk! Oh alright, maybe grey-white then! But it was for a good cause. That was what the white – or grey – lies were for, weren’t they?

And there was the sea, shimmering teasingly. The boat was no longer to be seen but she knew that it was there. The night enveloped her beloved Dominic in a mystical, blue-grey sheen. It cajoled and called, yet he was unattainable now.

Was their love story really to end so miserably? Before it had even begun? If you believed all the wise people, then it was better off never getting started.

“Hello,” she shouted after the men.

They were far away now. They turned slowly and she hurried up to them.

“Where’s the fishing harbour?”

“The fishing harbour? I suppose you mean the fishing villages?”

“Yes, anything as long as there are fishing boats.”

One of them walked up to her. “I see. Well, then you can ... Let’s see... Surely there are bound to be some fishing boats near the Copenhagen Stock Exchange?”

“Bound to be,” the others said.

“You’ll need to enquire there, Miss. It’s not so far away. You just need to go round that corner and you’re there.”

“Thanks. Thank you very much.”

They were right. It wasn’t very far. She admittedly caused a bit of a stir among the night wanderers on the quay, among the harbour labourers that hadn’t gone home and among those with more shady businesses. But Villemo could be as swift as the wind if she put her mind to it. And right now she was determined!

She approached three fishing boats before she got lucky. They would all be setting off to sea at the last hours of the night, but not all were willing to get close to the Swedish coast, definitely not!

The first to raise to the bait was a very young fisherman with a sly look in his eye. However, the way in which he repeated several times “We’ll figure out the payment between ourselves,” while giving Villemo a telling wink, caused a shiver to run down her spine. None of that, thank you! If he wasn’t willing to take cash and only cash, then she wasn’t interested.

Finally, she came across the right people. A married couple with a young son. They seemed like earnest, solid fishermen and they promised to sail her across to Sweden.

“But we can’t dock,” the man said. “Swedish boats, war ships and soldiers are everywhere over there.”

“You don’t have to. I’m willing to swim to the shore, if necessary,” Villemo answered.

“We’ll head for Klagshamn. Just south of there is a desolate bay. We can try there.”

“Fine.”

“Then we’ll set off to sea immediately if that suits you, Miss. The voyage is bound to take most of the night.”

Relieved, she jumped on board just like a boy would have done and they stared at her in surprise. “I’m ready,” she announced.

The other fishermen followed the boat with their eyes as it headed out, and they shook their heads worriedly.

It wasn’t long before they were out in the open sea.

“I want to find my cousin,” Villemo explained to the fisherman’s wife. “He’s in the Swedish army in Malmö and his father is on his deathbed. It’s of the utmost importance that he meets his father; they haven’t seen each other for many years and his father must meet and speak with him. I was the only one able to leave in search of him.“

The fisherman and his wife made the sign of the cross. “In the Swedish army?” the wife exclaimed in surprise. “But, Miss, you can’t move about like this. The Swedish soldiers are brutal!”

Although there probably was a good deal of patriotism in this remark, Villemo agreed with the wife that it might be difficult to trace Dominic. She didn’t have a real plan of action.

“And how do you intend to swim in those clothes, Miss?”

That was a good question. Villemo thought for a long while. Slowly an idea began to take shape in her mind. It required a great sacrifice – but hadn’t she already sacrificed quite a lot for Dominic’s sake?

“About a year ago ...” she began. “About a year ago, no, almost two, I was assaulted. The thugs cut off all my hair to humiliate me, just because I wouldn’t do as they said. My short hair looked awful ... Maybe I should let my hair be cut short once again because I’m willing to go to great lengths to find my cousin, it’s so crucial for me, you see. And if it was possible for me to borrow some clothes from your son, if you have some spare, I’m sure that I could pass for a boy.”

They rolled their eyes. A young Miss couldn’t just ...

“Many people told me at the time that I almost looked like a boy with that short hair.”

“But you can’t do that!”

“There’s a lot I’m willing to sacrifice but not my virtue. And I agree with you that for a single woman among such uncivilised people, my virtue might be seriously threatened.”

That was a reason they could agree on, so with a lot of sighs they began to cut her hair and lent her some clothes.

So, while the fishing boat glided across the Sound in the summer night, Villemo underwent a major transformation. When she was finished, they all agreed that she could well pass for a boy. Her hair was supposed to have been cut straight across her forehead and straight under her ears but Villemo’s hair curled so much in the humid air from the sea that her head was covered in curls. Fortunately, it was warm so she didn’t need many clothes. A horsehair shirt with wide arms, trousers to tie under the knee and a jacket without sleeves to hide that she was actually quite feminine across her bosom. She declined shoes and stockings – the shoes would be far too heavy in the water. Instead she was given a broad-brimmed hat to protect her against sun and rain.