winter in greenland

2023, late February and early March, Helsingoer, pier.

The breeze in early spring carries the breath of the ocean, and this small town next to the Øresund Strait has ushered in this year's tourist season one after another.

At around ten o'clock in the morning, the ferry from Helsingborg on the opposite side of the strait came into the port, and the passengers waiting to board consciously lined up in a row for ticket inspection.

At the end of the line stood a tall and slender young man, he only carried a simple travel bag, his face was a little pale, his eyes were half hidden under the brown bangs, making it difficult to see his expression clearly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Behind him, an old woman with a slightly bloated figure stumbled and almost lost her footing.

The young man reached out to support her and showed a friendly smile: "It's okay." His eyes shone with a nice light green luster in the sun.

"Are you going to Helsingborg too?" The old woman was a little curious.

The young man nodded: "That's right."

"Hey, then you don't wear much. I just heard from my sister last night—she lives in Helsingborg, and she said that the temperature is going to cool down there these days."

"Are you going to visit your sister?"

"To see my little niece, today is her 6th birthday." A happy smile appeared on the old woman's face.

The young man also smiled: "That's great."

The old woman looked at him for a while, and said worriedly: "I don't think your complexion is very good, is there any discomfort?"

The young man's tone was still very gentle: "Thank you, I probably didn't have a good rest a few days ago."

The voice of the ticket inspector came from the loudspeaker at the front of the line. The young man looked at the luggage in the old woman's hand and said, "Let me carry it for you." He then took a brown paper bag from her hand.

The old woman smiled: "Thank you very much."

……

Port Ferringe Base.

"August, everyone has assembled." Heath pushed the door of August's office open a crack, and said with his head inside.

"Understood." A tired voice came from among the smoke.

Heath frowned, but didn't say anything after all, and backed out.

Half an hour later, the training ground.

August frowned, his eyes fell on the list in his hand, then he scanned the players in front of him one by one, and turned to Heath next to him: "I remember that there should be 27 people in all?"

Heath coughed and clicked on the list in his hand: "26, Dan has already left."

The expression on August's face was blank for a moment, he paused for a few seconds, and put away the list: "Let's go when you are ready, this training will last for two weeks, I hope your performance can satisfy me .”

……

Late March, 2023, in the evening, on the west coast of Sweden, along the Kattegat, Gothenburg.

In a car rental shop on the outskirts of the city, the boss took a two-page leaflet to the young man in front of him and said, "You are absolutely right, this car is the most popular car for self-driving tours these years, whether you are alone or a family , in terms of comfort and safety, it is your ideal choice, and its fuel consumption is the lowest among all models!"

The young man flipped through another leaflet in his hand, a little absent-minded.

"Also, you said that your plan is to go all the way north along the coastline. Our car has 4S stores in almost all major cities in Norway, which is really convenient."

The young man seemed to have finally made a decision, raised his eyes to look at him, and showed a nice smile: "Is that so? Then it's settled, I want a horseman."

The boss was speechless: "So you haven't listened to me for a long time?"

The green eyes of the young man bent: "No, I promise I listened carefully, but I still like to make my own decisions. Don't worry, I have cleared up all the risks you mentioned, and sign the contract now. "

Half an hour later, watching the gray-blue Rubicon pass away from the store, the boss sighed and finally stopped hiding his pained expression.

……

"It's hard to finish the training, give them two days off, and go out for a drink at night?" Heath hooked August's shoulder.

The sun was setting, and there was an endless ice shelf in front of them. A transport plane was parked a few hundred meters in front of them. The team members who were exhausted by the training were getting on the plane one by one and preparing to return to the base.

"No. Tell the pilot to stop for a while at the Ilulissat Icefjord." August's voice was also a little tired.

"Okay. Wait!" Heath turned around at first, but turned around in response, his eyes widened: "Ilulissat Icefjord? What are you doing there?"

August didn't answer, and passed him onto the transport plane.

……

Northern Europe is sparsely populated, and the self-driving route he chose is even less crowded this season.According to the plan, he would cross the border into Norway tomorrow, and near midnight, he stopped the car near the Kostjave National Forest Park.

There is no hotel nearby, so he simply took out the sleeping bag from the trunk and spread it on the ground in the open air.

The moonlight above the head is clear, and the nearby trees are clearly outlined under the moonlight. Except for the occasional bird call or two, the surrounding area is quiet.

He rested one hand behind his head, his beautiful green eyes looking at the starry sky above his head in a daze.

"3000 kilometers..." After a long time, he murmured a number.

"Are you looking at this starry sky too..." There was a wry smile on the corner of his mouth, and he closed his eyes as if sighing.

……

When the transport plane wobbled closer to the ice fjord, Hiss still had an expression of disbelief. He looked at August's expressionless side face, hesitated for a while, and then lowered his voice and said, "What are you going crazy about?"

August turned his head: "What?"

Heath pointed down: "What are you doing here?"

August did not answer.

"If you don't give me a reason to convince me, I won't let the driver drop you here."

August was silent for a while, then sighed: "I will return to the base safely, so stop being such a mother-in-law."

Heath rolled his eyes and didn't budge: "Unless you let me be with you."

August's tone was a little impatient: "Don't join in the fun here. All the staff will rest tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and I will be back before the night after tomorrow."

The transport plane finally put August down in the ice fjord.Heath stood at the cabin door with a worried expression on his face, but August just waved his hand at him, and walked towards the glacier without looking back.

It was almost midnight, the stars were shining overhead, and the plank road seemed to be covered with a layer of silver like water under the moonlight.August did not go forward along the plank road, but stood at a headland extending into the glacier.

It was dark all around, only the glaciers in the distance showed a icy color, and occasionally there was a sound of ice cubes sinking into the water breaking the silence, like the end of the world.

August raised his head slightly to look at the starry sky above his head, and said to himself, "If...we really meet here, I will save you from the snowstorm...if there is only ...the two of us..."

His bitter voice gradually drifted away in the wind, as if melting into the cold sea water.

……

October 2023, Tromso, Northern Norway.

In a car rental agency on the outskirts of the city, a young man with green eyes is filling out a registration form.

A brunette girl came in from the door, carrying a toolbox in her hand: "The gray-blue Rubicon has been inspected, and there is no problem."

The shop owner nodded at her, and turned to the young man in front of him: "Did you drive all the way from Gothenburg?"

The young man kept his subordinates and said "hmm".

"Wow, were you alone all the way?" The black-haired girl looked envious.

The young man turned his head and smiled at her: "There is nothing to envy. In fact, the journey is very boring. It's just that what I have left now...is probably time."

The boss and the girl exchanged glances, and the black-haired girl said excitedly: "What's next, where are you going?"

"Iceland, I bought a ticket to Reykjavik tonight."

The girl curled her lips: "I thought you would stay in Tromso for a few more days. You can see beautiful auroras here in winter."

The movement of the young man's hands stopped, and he looked up out of the window, seemingly in a daze for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, he showed a gentle smile: "Aurora... I'm not particularly interested."

"How come? People from all over the world come here in winter just to try their luck and see the aurora." The girl was a little surprised.

The smile on the young man's face remained undiminished. He signed his name at the bottom of the form and handed it back to the shop owner: "For some people, seeing the aurora may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but for me, if only I Alone, I'd rather not look at it."

The girl keenly heard other meanings from his words: "You can watch it with your lover. Or are you going to Iceland to find her...or him?"

The young man paused: "Lover? Maybe I won't see him again." Although his tone was calm, it made people feel inexplicably sad.

"Ah... I'm sorry..." The girl realized that she had said something wrong, and she was a little hesitant for a while.

"It's okay. I went to Iceland just because I'm stupid. Even though I've already... I still want to stay in a place closer to him, huh." He took out his wallet from his pocket and handed the money he should pay to the boss: " I'm leaving, thank you."

……

"Are you really not going tonight? You will go on patrol the day after tomorrow."

"Actually, I'm thinking... You should lead the patrol this year."

"What? All the reports have been handed over to the headquarters, are you going to change them now?" Heath had a terrified expression on his face.

August did not answer.

"Hey, you're not serious, are you?"

The man smiled faintly: "Of course it's a joke."

Heath stood there and thought for a while, then approached him: "August, you really should take a break for yourself, you have... been too tense this year."

August stared at the flickering cigarette butt between his fingers, without saying a word.

"When this patrol is over, I'll report to the headquarters. You can go anywhere to rest for a while. If this continues, I'm afraid you won't be able to survive."

"Where? Where can I go... Besides here, I don't seem to have anywhere else to go."

Heath seldom heard some sadness in his voice, and thought for a while: "Wait for me for a while."

Ten minutes later, he trotted all the way back to August's dorm and knocked open the door.

August looked surprised at the two wine bottles in his hand.

"This is my last private possession. I'll give you a taste. It will save you from getting sick in the dormitory alone. Don't tell me." He said and threw the wine bottle on August's table.

August looked at the label of the liquor and couldn't laugh or cry: "Aren't you going out?"

"Seeing you like this, I don't feel relieved." Heath said earnestly, with the appearance of an old father.

He took out two mouthwash cups from the cabinet familiarly, poured half a cup for himself and August, and said meaningfully: "Listen to me, the past is past, don't go to Think about it, don’t torture yourself. In life, you always have to look forward. Maybe someday you can meet again somewhere?”

August raised his eyelids and glanced at him, but didn't answer, took the cup and drank it up.

The author says:

Supplement: About the Ilulissat Icefjord~ Cuties can review the content of Chapter 9~