igsung so
the main floor and the porch
the lower floor and the pool
22
She keeps asking her brother to visit the house house with two roofs with her. To Malin’s disappointment, each time he chooses to watch TV instead. She steps out of her house in search of some company. The girls next door are skipping along the road. She approaches with a smile and a hello. They don’t speak much English but they make efforts to communicate with her. She likes that. She has been lonely. To her slight surprise, it appears that the girls have the same strange house in mind as well. They invite Malin to a party hosted at the double house coming Saturday. What is more, there is a large pool. Malin has never swum in a pool before, only the salty ocean off the rocky shores of Amherst.That Saturday, Malin walks down the street in her bathing suit, eager for a swim. At the foot of the property is a field of flagstones. Hopping along the stones she goes, winding her way towards the house with the double roof. She arrives at the exact centre of the house. Two choices. On the right, a door. On the left, a covered walkway. She hears a general murmuring at its end. She takes the walkway to a large square porch covered by a laminated beam roof. The crisp edges of its floating beams frame the view of the mountains beyond and a fresh breeze blows through. Along the edge of the porch is a queue of girls from the village, all clothed in traditional Norwegian Bunad. It’s Norway Day, May 17. She sees her two neighbours and shyly approaches. She is the only one wearing a bathing suit.“O we are going to swim right now.” She is relieved.
Following her friends’ lead, Malin walks back out to the front and the flagstone path. It leads her down the hill, along the southwest wall of the house. She runs her fingers along the smooth warm concrete wall. The sun is perfect today. As she turns the corner, she can already hear the splashes of the pool.The two girls run into the building to change out of their Bunad. Malin stands still. She doesn’t know what to do. She inches towards the pool and stands along the edge with two other girls.They raise their head to acknowledge her approach then continue to gaze at the pool. A gentle breeze. Shimmering surface of the water. Not much talk. Malin stands with them in silence, watching the pool. A lady with a white bathing cap. She notices the familiar warmth of the concrete wall on her back. A warm silence.
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