by Tia Wilson
I pulled the plastic shutter down on the window, I didn't want to watch the raging storm anymore. “Can I take alternative roads out? What about the highway?”
Gunna gave me a gentle smile and said, “Have you seen a map of the country?”
I had, in one of the inflight magazines. I nodded my head.
“If you imagine the country looking like a ducks body, then we are landing in the head area. Its the most remote part of the country. There is only one road in and one road out connecting to the rest of Iceland. In a blizzard like this the road will be closed, I’m really sorry.”
I was about to ask her another question when the plane banked hard and dropped below the cloud line. Gunna gripped my hand tight and I let out a panicked moan. The whole plane was shaking and it sounded like it was tearing itself apart. Metal whined under the stress of the storm and the engines increased in volume to a high pitched whine. I pulled up the shutter on the window. I had to see outside one last time if we were going down.
It was snowing heavily and off in the distance I could see a tiny town on a small piece of land jutting out into the water. The town was in a deep fjord with steeply banked mountains on either side. At the far end of the fjord was a steep snow capped mountain and from this angle it looked like we where heading straight for it.
I couldn't take my eyes off the looming mountain as it expanded in my view. This is it I thought as the heaviness of dread weighed down on me. I’m going to die on this plane, its going to crash right into the mountain side. I know it I’m about to die. My knuckles popped as I squeezed on tight to Gunna's hand.
As the plane lowered its altitude we were shook by strong cross winds and some over head compartments flung open. A bag spilled out onto the ground and an air steward got out of her seat, swaying back and forth as she navigated the aisle and finally closed it on her second attempt. Her face was taut and betrayed no emotions. She knows we are going to crash I thought as I looked back out at the mountain filling my view.
As the plane banked hard the view from my window was replaced and filled with the sight of grey choppy water. I could feel panic rise as it looked like we had dodged the mountain only to crash into the sea. I screwed my eyes shut ready to feel the final moment of impact. It didn't come and within a few seconds I could feel the plane right itself and then we touched down softly on the run way with one final hop before the wheels connected to the earth again.
I unselfconsciously let out a loud whoop of joy and then felt a little sheepish looking around at the very reserved faces of the all Icelandic passengers. Gunna saw my sheepish look and gave a whoop of her own. This set off a chain reaction across the cabin and everyone then joined in with their own triumphant shout.
“That was intense,” Gunna said.
I sighed as relief filled my body. “Thats an understatement.”
We still had our fingers laced together and Gunna lifted our hands up and kissed the back of my hand. Her lips were soft and warm and what should of been a strange moment of intimacy, felt completely natural after what we had been through.
“I think we shared a moment,” Gunna said smiling and letting my hand go, “I can see us becoming firm friends.”
“Agreed. Are you still up for a drink?” I asked.
“Sure thing. There is not going to be too many options for accommodation. Once we get that sorted I think we should hit the town. I’ll show you how an Icelandic woman likes to party,” Gunna said with a wicked smile.
I remembered the promise I had made to myself when I was at my most frightened. I was going to get back to living a full life and take more chances. The days of letting Craig's words hurt me are over. It was time to open up my heart again and allow people to get close to me. Now was the time to stand in the crushing wind and the blowing snow and to shout at the top of my lungs, “Screw you Craig. You no longer have any power over me.”
“Tell me,” Gunna said, “you have a big smile on your face.”
“I think I finally moved past something that was holding me back,” I said.
“Seeing your life flash before you will tend to do that, “Gunna said and leaned in to me and whispered.
We both burst out laughing at the dirty pledge Gunna told me she was going to fulfil tonight.
The plane taxied up to a small terminal and within a few minutes we were all off and relieved to be stepping onto the concrete of the runway. Snow battered us and Gunna hooked arms with me as we crossed the short walk to the inviting and brightly lit building. It was only mid afternoon but the sun was already setting and the rapidly fading light made it feel like much later.
Once inside the terminal, people rushed the one small information desk as they waited for the bags to be taken off the plane.
“You take a seat and I’ll sort out a place to stay and a taxi into town,” Gunna said.
I found a seat in the corner and took out my computer to immediately start emailing people to try to reschedule my meetings. The intercom in the small airport crackled to life and a message in Icelandic and then English confirmed that the plane was grounded for the night and that there was a good chance that it would be grounded all of tomorrow as well. The voice continued and alerted us that due to an incoming snow storm all roads out would be closed for at least twenty four hours.
I looked up from my laptop screen and there was a large man sitting across from me. If you told me that he could wrench trees from the ground bare handed I would have believed you. He looked like an illustration of a Viking ripped straight from a history book. He had shaggy sandy blonde hair and a couple of days stubble dusted his square chin. His eyes were a piercing blue the colour of the famed Icelandic glaciers I had read about. He looked strong and imposing and had an easy smile on his face. The next thing that struck me about him was his goofy sweater he wore. It was knitted in chunky wool and had a band of reindeer looping around the neck and a band of elves around the waist. It was bright and garish and not completely fitting with his whole Viking vibe, but I liked it. It gave him a whimsical edge that I found charming.
“Is there somewhere I can rent a car from? I need to get to Akureyri for tomorrow” I said to this handsome Viking. It wasn't the smoothest opening line but it did the job of striking up a conversation, even if I already knew the answer.
“I’m sorry all roads out of town are closed because of avalanche warnings, they could take a few days to clear” he said in perfect English and in a deep gravelly voice. Images of waterfalls surging through snow covered valleys and a viking on a horse charging across the landscape filled my imagination.
I tried to keep my cool but inside I was panicking a little. He had now confirmed that the meeting was a bust and if I was trapped in this town for a few days I could miss my flight back home. Things just kept getting worse I told myself and then mentally back peddled. Grab on to new situations and adventures I thought.
“Do you have somewhere to stay” he asked me. His eyes had a friendly twinkle and I felt a fizzle of pleasure in my stomach when he smiled at me.
“My friend is at the information desk now. I’ll know when she gets back,” I said.
The Viking mans cheeks reddened a little before he spoke again. “I hope I am not being too forward. I have a small place on the edge of town. You could have the spare bedroom if you want. There are two beds for you and your friend. It could save you having to spend any Kronur on the hotel in town. The town only has one and they might increase the prices knowing they have a plane full of trapped passengers.”
“I don't even know your name” I said, quickly weighing up my options.
He put out a large meaty hand and said “I’m Jonas Danielsson”. I reached out and shook it and my hand was engulfed in the large expanse of his. His hand emanated a dry warmth and felt course against the softness of mine. I could feel that he was a man who worked with his hands. I was so used to working and dating men who only ever used there hands for typing in code for programming our software. The tech industry was pa
cked with soft palmed hands and feeling his rough hand against mine sent off another pleasurable firework in my belly.
“I’m Sasha Lee, nice to meet you Jonas” I said. Our eyes locked and I felt a tingle run down my spine. I sat back in my chair and said “Are you from this town?”.
Jonas looked down and ran his hand along the back of his neck. For the briefest of seconds he seemed like a little boy who was lost and scared. As quickly as I noticed it, it flitted away and the strong man was in front of me again.
“I used to live here. I moved away three or four years ago. I still have a place. I haven't been back for a few years.” he said.
I don't know why but I trusted this man. He exuded a warmth and yet there was a quality to him that maybe I was only picking up because my memories of it were so recent, he looked like he had been hurt as well.
“Making friends already,” Gunna said dropping her bag at my feet. Her back was to Jonas and she gave me a little wink before turning around to shake his hand.
After they greeted each other Gunna turned to me and said, “Well I have some bad news.”
I glanced over at Jonas and he was looking at Gunna with a smile on his face. I felt a ball of tension in my chest and thought of course he's going to be checking out the blonde model, don't let it get to you. .
“All rooms are sold out in the hotel. The guy at the desk told me they are opening a sports hall at the school and setting up beds for anyone who cant get a room,” Gunna said.
“I can do you one better,” I said smiling and returning the wink when Jonas wasn't looking, “Jonas has offered to put us up for the night if we are stuck.”
“You Americans are fast movers,” Gunna said and then turned to Jonas. She spoke to him in Icelandic and I watched as red spread from the neck of his sweater and up his cheeks until they both started to laugh.
Jonas stood up as a broad smile spread across his face and said, “Thats great, let me go and arrange a taxi. My place is not too far from here.”
“What did you say to him?” I asked Gunna as she sat down beside me.
“I was making sure he wasn't some kind of weirdo. Told him about a couple of the fishermen that I know and if anything happened to me they would come and get him. I could tell he’s a good guy,” Gunna replied.
“I think he was checking you out,” I said, hoping I didn't sound jealous.
Gunna shook her head and said, “He’s not my type. I work with men like him everyday. Guys who still think they are vikings. I am more into up here,” she said pointing to her head, “then the muscly outdoors man.”
“You would be fighting them off in the circles I mix in,” I said and if I was honest a little bit relieved.
“Is that an invitation?” Gunna said and winked at me.
In the centre of the small terminal was the luggage carousel and I saw my bag go by for the second time. I got up and grabbed it before it headed back out the swinging plastic door. Ruddy faced locals were milling about collecting their bags and then pulling up the collars of their jackets before heading out to brave the storm. I sat back down beside Gunna and within a few minutes Jonas was back and we headed outside to an awaiting taxi. Before we got into the cab I caught Jonas looking at Gunna again with the same half smile on his face. My heart sank again, she might not be interested in him but it was obvious that he had a barely concealed interest in her. Why wouldn't he be after a woman that looked like a model, you’re too ugly a voice that sounded like Craigs cruel tones bubbled up in my mind. I had to stop thinking like this and move on I thought as I got into the back of the cab with Gunna. Jonas slammed the trunk of the cab shut and squeezed his big frame into the front seat of the car.
We drove along a thin one lane road that looped around the edge of a wide mouthed fjord. At the far end of the fjord was a high imposing mountain capped with snow. It was the same mountain that it looked like we would crash into as the plane banked hard towards the airport.
As the road curved around the fjord, putting the mountain behind us we headed towards a thin strip of lights which looked like it floated above the choppy waves. Jonas pointed and said “Thats Isafjordur town. It juts out into the sea on a very thin piece of land. Much of it has been reclaimed from the sea over the couple of hundred years that settlers have been here.”
“Is it a fishing town” I asked.
“At one point that was the main industry here, but times change and fishing is currently dying out. The towns population is slowly dwindling.” he said with a soft melancholic tone.
Gunna pointed across the bay and said, “Do you see that tiny strip of land across there.”
I looked across the crashing waves and through the blizzard I could just about make out a dim line of lights. “I see it.”
“Thats where we landed. I’m glad I couldn't see it when we were coming in. A friend sent me a video of it and even when the conditions are perfect it looks scary. I think I’ll be driving back out of the fjords when the snow clears. When is your flight back to the states?”
“I have four days. Do you think the storm will be cleared by then?”
Jonas turned around in his seat and said, “The news is saying its going to be a big one. I can go into town tomorrow and see if I can get someone with a jeep to get you where you need to be going.”
Jonas turned back and started to talk to the driver in Icelandic. Gunna reached over and squeezed my leg right above my knee and I slapped her hand away and suppressed a laugh from escaping. Still I thought, if Jonas made a move on Gunna it would not surprise me at all.
Within a few minutes we had passed the town and where headed out past the last street lights and plunged into a pressing darkness as we followed the thin snaking road as it followed the curve of the coast. The only lights now were the ones coming from our cab as we cut through the blowing storm.
The taxi turned off the road and we bumped along a pitted gravel road for a few minutes. While Jonas was taking out his wallet to pay, the driver looked back at me and said something in Icelandic to Jonas. Gunna’s mouth fell open in surprise and she let out a high speed garble of Icelandic words. Jonas’s face reddened and he raised his voice at the driver and in a quick burst of speech said something angrily to the man, then he paid him quickly and we got out. The driver stared at me with a sour face and he looked away when Jonas gave him a threatening look.
A harsh wind whipped across us as we stood before a small wooden house. Jonas quickly fished out his keys and thankfully we where inside with the door shut tightly behind us within a few seconds. Jonas face was still a little red from his encounter with the taxi driver. “What was that all about?” I said.
“That guy was a jerk,” Gunna said and averted her eyes from me.
“Tell me,” I said. The taxi driver couldn't of said anything that I hadn't heard a hundred times before as a woman, or as a woman of colour.
“He tried to make a joke,” Gunna said.
“He’s a racist asshole,” Jonas said with anger, “he said some things about you that were out of line. I was ready to punch him for being so rude to you.”
Gunna reached out and patted Jonas on his thick bicep. I pretended not to notice this gesture. It always start with the little things. A touch of the arm. Brushing against one another. Eye contact that lasted a beat too long. It was obvious to me that Gunna liked him.
“I guess you get them everywhere,” I said hoping to move on from the subject.
“It’s the older generation. They cant handle change. The young are leaving the rural areas in droves and foreigners are moving in to take the jobs no one else wants to do,” Gunna said.
“Its no excuse. If it makes you feel any better he is an asshole to everyone,” Jonas said to me.
“I think the only thing that would make me feel better is a stiff drink,” I said wanting to change the subject.