Beasts Bounding Through Time

Night time in Lapland made the earth so dark that I felt like Ville and I were the only ones on the planet. It was like we drove through time before humanity produced synthetic light. Driving my car down the back roads to get to the cabin in the middle of the forest was a little nerve wracking. My body hunched over the stearing wheel, chin touching the top of it, my knuckles turned white from clutching the wheel unnecessarily hard. Ville laughed at me, claiming I was just afraid of some mystic forest being that was going to come out at us.

The last conversation we had was about Pagan culture. It was not because of that though, it was indeed because of how dark it was. I was afraid of driving off the road and getting my car stuck in the deep wet snow. There was maybe a slight fear inside of me, but I wouldn’t have let Ville get the satisfaction he wanted.

My car eased up the cleared drive that had been carefully tended to by Jaska, a local I had been lucky to contact before leaving. He was the owner of the small pub I frequently dwelled at. He was always kind to me, doing a few chores every now and then because he worried about how much time I spent caught up in my head. He would cut wood for the fireplace, clear the drive, and occasionally bring my supplies if he heard from the shop owner that I had been far over due my annual stock date. I was lucky that he still held a fondness towards me because the last time I saw him I was in a bad state of mind and made myself embarrassed.

Ville and I stepped out of the car and stood for a minute just starring at our little secluded area. The cabin was a two story log cabin that had a small pyramid like roof. There was a pyramid knob at the top of the roof, making it look like it could easily be pulled off by a giant. The layout was a perfect square and rectangle that merged together with a little porch attached to it. The cabin was simple looking on the outside, but the interior was far from the average cabin. I chuckled, imagining the changes my parents had done to it. It was quite modern and luxurious for a cabin located in the middle of nowhere. My parents just knew how to spend wealth after not having a large surplus of their own.

An airy, “Wow,” escaped Ville’s lips as he admired the trees covered with slick snow that tinted them a grey blue from the moon light. There was a rustle from the trees and a little chatter that made him turn his head, searching for the hidden creature who’s home we invaded. “It’s a bit...eerie.”

“Oh Ville, are you scared?” I made my way up to the front door, unlocking it. I peered over my shoulder to look at Ville who was rooted in place still starring out into the dark that merged the trees together. He had his head tilted, listening still.

Dismissing my taunting he spoke, “Do you think we’ll hear owls?” He turned his head towards me, showing a child-like grin.

“I don’t doubt it. You’re not allowed to murder it and stuff it though.”

His eyes went wide, “I wouldn’t do such a thing! I just like owls.”

I laughed, remembering him telling me about his collection of taxidermy owls he had around his home. Hopefully, the woodland critters would be safe from this crazed death displaying man I was welcoming into their and my home. I’m sure he’d like to see some of the local’s hunting trophies, even if he didn’t admire the sport that caused them.

We made our way inside, and before he could really take in the exterior I shuffled him into his new bedroom. “I haven’t been this far north in a while,” Ville said as he heaved his last guitar onto his new bed from the duration.

I smiled and opened the door to the on joining bathroom, “This is your own little shower, theres a sauna thats just off the living room that looks across the lake. It'll be frozen over by now. It’s a good place to find inspiration, I believe.” I looked to Ville with a smile, “I'll make dinner if you want, you can't really order in here, we're too isolated but I brought up some things so I'll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, I'm in need of something, that weed was pretty strong. Plus, I haven’t smoked it in a long time.” He laughed, his smile taring across his cheeks.

“I'm going to go and unpack and start dinner.” I nodded to him and left.

I left down the hall and up to my loft that had a wonderful view across the landscape. As I stood there, basking in the pristine landscape that lay in front of my eyes just outside my window, I felt that I had finally time to think. However what was on my mind was not how I thought I would feel.

We had never spent that much time together. Now down from our high it was becoming awkward, as if there was some elephant in the room. I didn't know exactly what that elephant was, or who had even put it there. This could be a bit of a distraction. I could have just been paranoid, but when I stood in the guest room with him I felt the heavy mass of something in the room that made me feel tense.

I sighed and pulled out my journal from my hand bag and hoped that something would come out, and as I took a deep breath the first line came to mind. I began to scribble like a man possessed.

It wasn't till Ville called my name that I was knocked from my trance. I stood up quickly and threw my journal to the floor. I looked over the banister. Ville smiled up at me and waved.

“Sorry, I got involved with something,” I laughed uneasily. I climbed down the ladder carefully. “That’s my room up there.” I pointed to it once my feet had hit the hard wood.

“I was just checking that some rouge wolf hadn't had you for supper love,” he chuckled, “talking about supper....”

“I've got tins of soup here. We can go shopping tomorrow or I can go myself if you don't want to, of course.”

“Soup is fine, and I'll keep you company. I’d like to see what's in this area; plus, I don't want to leave you alone,” he said, reassuringly. He followed me into the kitchen.

“Why, because of I’m little red that’s going to get in a predicament with the rascally wolf?”

“Possibly. I just, ya know, figured it’d be nice if I went with you.” He shuffled his feet so he wasn’t in my way as I moved throughout the kitchen, trying to get our little dinner ready.

“Ville, that’s kind of you, but I’ve been coming here since I was a child. I may not live here, but the locals know me well enough and I know them well enough.” I turned to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. “You’re quite the gent.”

“Well, I dunno about that.” His gaze focused on his sock covered feet. I chucked at the sudden surprisingly bashful rockstar. I patted his shoulder before I continued my quest to make dinner.

I ripped off a piece of bread to dip into the tomato soup, before savouring the flavour. It was a welcome break from the deafening silence between us. I caught his gaze by mistake and we shared a pathetic exchange of grins. The disjointed sound of spoons clanking against china was unbearable.

“So you said you've been up this way before?” I piped up, my voice failing me in it's usual confidence.

“Yeah, I was going through a bit of a dark spot in my life, and I came up here for a month just to detox I suppose. It worked and Venus Doom was created.”

I nodded, “Is that when you and Jonna split?”

“It was, I'm afraid. She was a wonderful lady, but it wasn't meant to be and you know what they say, 'If you love them, let them go.' It was hard to do but I feel it was for the best, looking back on it now anyway.”

Piercing my lips, I ran a tune of one of the songs off the album in my head. “It's a pretty dark album you came up with.”

“It reflected what I was going through I suppose. You on the other hand.” His smile challenged me, turning the tables onto me. His eyes burned into mines for a second.

“What about me?” I laughed nervously.

“You and your chirpy self is a bit of a long way from those pretty little words you scowl down on paper love. You’re a bit of a closed book if you don't mind me saying.”

I took the last mouthful of soup and thought carefully about my answer, “Everyone has a darker side to them. I like to vent it through words.” I shrugged, trying to divert the topic.

“Well, there's always some sort of personal experience behind it. You have to have felt it before you can write about it, otherwise people don't buy it. They wouldn't be able to feel your heart in those pages.”

I coughed as a nervous reaction, “Of course I have a story to tell but so does everyone I know.”

“Forgive me, I didn't mean to offend. Your poetry leaves a lot of ends to tie up; a lot of questions unanswered,” he looked at me for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for my retort.

“I don't think you should look too much into it, Valo” I smiled, dashing away from where the conversation was going, and stood up to gathered our empty dishes into my hands. “Get some sleep my friend. Tomorrow after we shop we'll go for dinner in the city if you want. I know a nice little place that does a great veal stew.”

“Goodnight,” he said with a simple nod.