Status: updates are kind of slow. sorry.
Hard Water
iii
Somewhere along the way I must have fallen asleep: when I awoke we had arrived at Fallegur. It was difficult to see clearly through the thin layer of fog that surrounded the island even when I had rubbed my eyes, although it didn't look like there was much to see. One sloping expanse of green, much like the Scottish highlands, in the centre of which, in the near distance, perched a small settlement. I could see wisps of smoke rolling up then disappearing into the blank sky. Beyond that, there was nothing except a few lonely-looking sheep grazing in the fields. To my left a couple of fishing boats were docked on the old wooden pier; I could faintly hear male voices drifting up from inside them.
We got off the boat and began to make our way to the small town, walking down the path past the fishing boats. It was eerily quiet. The voices from the boats seemed to have stopped; I shivered and turned to observe them.
Two young men, perhaps the same age as Callum and I, stood on the rickety old deck of one of the vessels facing us, completely devoid of movement. I was suddenly nervous, but Callum didn't seem to notice them.
Not knowing what else to do, I smiled and waved at them. "Hi."
The revulsion in their eyes was unmistakable.
I immediately drew back when I saw their intense glares, grabbing Callum's arm and pulling him close to me. "What's wrong?" he asked, and I nodded my head at the men. He turned to observe them, but they kept their cold gazes fixed firmly on myself. They were both tall, and lean; one was fair-haired, tanned and severe-faced, the other dark-haired and paler. I was too far away to properly make out their features.
"Get out," sneered the fair one directly to me, "go home. We don't want you here." His accent was thick, but not Scottish: in fact, it sounded more European of some sort. I couldn't put my finger on it.
"And who the hell are you?" Callum barked back. "What's your problem?"
"He's right," the other man spoke up, this time in a broad Shaetlan accent, "your kind are not welcome here."
"My kind?" I said almost hysterically. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You on some kind of racist shit now? Is that your problem?" Callum asked angrily, putting his arm round my shoulder. The men glanced at each other in creepy synchronisation.
"It's not just that," the first one said flatly, giving me and odd, empty look, "we dislike outsiders in general. Go home. There's nothing for you here."
Callum scoffed at this, then rolled his eyes and picked up our suitcases. "Let's go, Mona," he muttered, "leave the lunatics to their psycho shit." I gladly obliged, gripping his arm tightly as we hurried up to the main road. I didn't dare look back.
-
The rest of our walk to the Ross Inn was spent in a thoughtful and confused daze. The route wasn't difficult: one straight road all the way to the top of the hill, past a few stone cottages, until we arrived at a pleasant rustic-style building and heaved our bags up the steps. The red-brick, thatch roof B&B was a reasonable size, about twice that of the small grey houses scattered either side of the main road. It had a real country feel- there was even a little garden at the front. We ducked through the entrance one-by-one and shuffled into the downstairs room.
"Great place you picked here," I huffed as we stepped inside, "an island inhabited by extras from The Hills Have Eyes. Nowhere to run. I'm officially creeped out."
"Look, it's just bad luck that we happened to run into those two. I'm sure everyone else is very friendly. It's Shetland, people are nice. Calm down." Callum rang the bell at the empty front desk. The front room seemed to be some kind of small dining area, kitsch-style and homely in atmosphere. Paintings adorned the walls: scribblings of flowerpots, and views of the sea. A fire blazed in an impressive hearth at the other end of the room. The warmth radiating from the embers made me feel a little better, even if the place was completely deserted. I could feel my fingers and cheeks beginning to thaw out.
"Hello?" called Callum impatiently when there was no sign of movement to the bell's ringing. "Anyone here?" We waited in silence for ten seconds, then Callum tentatively rang the bell again.
A small, blonde-ponytailed woman burst in from a door behind the wooden counter after the second ring. "Sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes lighting up when she saw us. She turned to shout up the winding staircase, "Luke! They're here!"
The man I assumed was Luke arrived from upstairs and greeted us, and the woman introduced herself as Holly. They were married, looked to be in their late twenties to early thirties, and ran the inn together. Luke's infectious grin caught my eye, and I noticed his reddish-blond hair, faint freckles and checked shirt rolled up to the elbow. His gaze locked with mine briefly. I quickly glanced down at my feet, suddenly feeling very shy. I couldn't deny that he was attractive, even if he was about ten years older than me. "I'll carry your bag up to your room." he said, smiling at me warmly.
Callum and Luke hauled our bags up the narrow flight of stairs and he gave us our room key as soon as we got to the door. We thanked him and he told us to enjoy our stay, then winked at me and left. I blushed and hoped Callum didn't notice-he hated it when men even looked at me-but he was too busy fiddling with the key. "Goddamn hotels." he grumbled.
I just smiled, feeling oddly like I'd got away with something.
We got off the boat and began to make our way to the small town, walking down the path past the fishing boats. It was eerily quiet. The voices from the boats seemed to have stopped; I shivered and turned to observe them.
Two young men, perhaps the same age as Callum and I, stood on the rickety old deck of one of the vessels facing us, completely devoid of movement. I was suddenly nervous, but Callum didn't seem to notice them.
Not knowing what else to do, I smiled and waved at them. "Hi."
The revulsion in their eyes was unmistakable.
I immediately drew back when I saw their intense glares, grabbing Callum's arm and pulling him close to me. "What's wrong?" he asked, and I nodded my head at the men. He turned to observe them, but they kept their cold gazes fixed firmly on myself. They were both tall, and lean; one was fair-haired, tanned and severe-faced, the other dark-haired and paler. I was too far away to properly make out their features.
"Get out," sneered the fair one directly to me, "go home. We don't want you here." His accent was thick, but not Scottish: in fact, it sounded more European of some sort. I couldn't put my finger on it.
"And who the hell are you?" Callum barked back. "What's your problem?"
"He's right," the other man spoke up, this time in a broad Shaetlan accent, "your kind are not welcome here."
"My kind?" I said almost hysterically. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You on some kind of racist shit now? Is that your problem?" Callum asked angrily, putting his arm round my shoulder. The men glanced at each other in creepy synchronisation.
"It's not just that," the first one said flatly, giving me and odd, empty look, "we dislike outsiders in general. Go home. There's nothing for you here."
Callum scoffed at this, then rolled his eyes and picked up our suitcases. "Let's go, Mona," he muttered, "leave the lunatics to their psycho shit." I gladly obliged, gripping his arm tightly as we hurried up to the main road. I didn't dare look back.
-
The rest of our walk to the Ross Inn was spent in a thoughtful and confused daze. The route wasn't difficult: one straight road all the way to the top of the hill, past a few stone cottages, until we arrived at a pleasant rustic-style building and heaved our bags up the steps. The red-brick, thatch roof B&B was a reasonable size, about twice that of the small grey houses scattered either side of the main road. It had a real country feel- there was even a little garden at the front. We ducked through the entrance one-by-one and shuffled into the downstairs room.
"Great place you picked here," I huffed as we stepped inside, "an island inhabited by extras from The Hills Have Eyes. Nowhere to run. I'm officially creeped out."
"Look, it's just bad luck that we happened to run into those two. I'm sure everyone else is very friendly. It's Shetland, people are nice. Calm down." Callum rang the bell at the empty front desk. The front room seemed to be some kind of small dining area, kitsch-style and homely in atmosphere. Paintings adorned the walls: scribblings of flowerpots, and views of the sea. A fire blazed in an impressive hearth at the other end of the room. The warmth radiating from the embers made me feel a little better, even if the place was completely deserted. I could feel my fingers and cheeks beginning to thaw out.
"Hello?" called Callum impatiently when there was no sign of movement to the bell's ringing. "Anyone here?" We waited in silence for ten seconds, then Callum tentatively rang the bell again.
A small, blonde-ponytailed woman burst in from a door behind the wooden counter after the second ring. "Sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes lighting up when she saw us. She turned to shout up the winding staircase, "Luke! They're here!"
The man I assumed was Luke arrived from upstairs and greeted us, and the woman introduced herself as Holly. They were married, looked to be in their late twenties to early thirties, and ran the inn together. Luke's infectious grin caught my eye, and I noticed his reddish-blond hair, faint freckles and checked shirt rolled up to the elbow. His gaze locked with mine briefly. I quickly glanced down at my feet, suddenly feeling very shy. I couldn't deny that he was attractive, even if he was about ten years older than me. "I'll carry your bag up to your room." he said, smiling at me warmly.
Callum and Luke hauled our bags up the narrow flight of stairs and he gave us our room key as soon as we got to the door. We thanked him and he told us to enjoy our stay, then winked at me and left. I blushed and hoped Callum didn't notice-he hated it when men even looked at me-but he was too busy fiddling with the key. "Goddamn hotels." he grumbled.
I just smiled, feeling oddly like I'd got away with something.