That’s the thing about this hamlet; it always snows. If I could go back three generations, I would beat up my great-grandpa. Does that sound rough? Trying living in the frickin Lyngen Alps. Never heard of it? I am not surprised. It’s a mountain range northeast of Finnmark County in Norway. The gods cursed this place to be constantly icy, snowy, and did I mention COLD? A wasted existence. -Best of times.
My great-grandpa Leif had the ‘brilliant’ idea of setting up back-country skiing adventures. Do you know what Leif means? “Loved ancestor.” I have never met Leif, but I hate him. Why did he drag my family to a wonderland of frozen hell? Are you kidding? Why didn’t any of my proceeding ancestors leave? How did the Kristiansen men find women to move here with them? Grandpa says he formed Grandma out of snow, and she came to life. I believe it because no sane woman would willingly move to this frozen tundra. If I make a jet plane out of snow, will it come to life as Grandma had?
The Lyngen Fjord is a warden, trapping me in the Alps. The only thing I know about the outside world is what the extreme skiers bring to us. During our downtime, skiers will share their world through electronic devices. Our repeat customers usually return with books and magazines for me to read. I learned that I live in the worst part of the world. Sometimes the information they share with me is…what is that word, taken too far? Maybe life with its frozen finger and dull living wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t know there was better out there.
“I would give anything to live here,” sometimes clients say, but that is bull. We offer nothing special. If they love it so much, why do they only spend a few days here? I would swap my life with them in a second, even if they lived on the street.
Around the world, kids go to school, have friends, play video games, and have phones that can access any movies or information they want. We don’t have electricity or electronics. A lady who lives with technology visits almost weekly to keep us updated on our bookings or bring supplies. Then lucky her, she leaves.
I need more than this life. Perhaps life wouldn’t be so bad if we had heaters or cars. Of course, where would I go around here with a car? That’s right. Nowhere! I want one of those phones people have. I would even settle for a TV. One year for my birthday I asked Dad for a TV. He made me one out of snow.
I will leave. I promise my future generations this.
I just don’t know how.
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Always Cold
by Stephanie Daich
