Frozen 3

Chapter 18

Yelena

"Silja!" I shouted as I suddenly entered her tent.

The old woman did not move an inch, lying on her little bed. She didn't seem surprised by my sudden visit. Her tent was one of the few still standing, despite the storm. There was something magical, supernatural about entering it. Nature itself did not seem to want to destroy it, as if it were a venerable place that could not be swept away by a simple gust of wind. Mine had only lasted a few minutes before collapsing under the violence of the gusts. I didn't fight to keep it upright at all costs. It would have been useless. It would have been destroyed again a few seconds later. I planned to put it back in place when the wind died down. I took a few steps forward in the darkness. Objects were strewn about the floor. Silja had probably knocked them over without realizing it. I had been used to this mess for a long time. However, as always, my obsession took over and forced me to put everything back in its place. And so I did, once again.

"The giants of the earth have disappeared," I announced while straightening an earthenware jar. "Oh, but I know that, darling," Silja retorted.

Her nicknames for me were never affectionate. She did this with everyone, not differentiating me from the rest of the Northuldras. She always said it with a hint of mockery in her voice, reminding us that we were inferior to her in every way. The little smile on the corner of her mouth that accompanied it was just as characteristic of her teasing nature.

"In that case, do you also know where they are?" I said almost defiantly.

Silja straightened up and moved to a sitting position, still not leaving her bed.

"Hmmm... Pass me the bowl on the cabinet next to the entrance Yelena.

I complied and grabbed the container containing a dark liquid. I handed it to the old woman who immediately grabbed it.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, intrigued. "Drink.""Drink?! But...""It's only tea, darling... Don't think that everything in this tent necessarily plays an important role in shamanism..." she said, bringing the bowl to her lips.

I watched her, not knowing what to say. It was perhaps the first time I had seen this woman do something ordinary, she who had so often accustomed me to exceptional events in her presence.

"You haven't noticed anything... strange lately?" she said.

I didn't understand what she was getting at.

"No, nothing in particular.""Well, you should ! I see a lot of changes, Yelena. Everything around us is changing. Whether it's your people or nature. But you seem to be too preoccupied with this young woman to realize it.""What do you mean?"

Silja did not answer. She just sighed and handed me the empty bowl.

"Fill it up for me.""With what?""With tea, of course!""But there's no more...""Yelena... Why do you always have to be so slow-witted?" she interrupted me.

The old woman got up and went to the back of her tent, where there was the rest of a wood fire surrounded by stones. There was nothing left but ashes and a few pieces of charred logs. She grabbed a pot of water and hung it just above the fire. Silja returned to sit on her bed opposite me.