The way we used to be

Chapter 4 / The journey

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Thorfinn felt his bones go stiff after two days of sleeping on the ship, and he suffered when thinking that it would be like that for a long time. However, it was a small price to pay, and he was sure he would get used to it.

They were up early, preparing the ship to leave, and the sun was too high in the sky. It would be a longer journey from Greenland to Norway than it had been from Iceland to Greenland. It would be at least 12 days on the open ocean, is what Leif said, and when he had, Thorfinn had merely nodded.

Now it was time to leave, and Gudrid's family was all bidding them goodbye. They, of course, ended up talking for a while on the shore. The weather was good, ideal for the start of their journey across the ocean, but it was still cold, and Thorfinn shivered when the wind hit him, so he tried to keep moving, busying himself with tying the boxes and other cargo tightly to the ship so it wouldn't fly out if they were hit by a stray wave.

He heard the sound of steps approaching him on the dock and looked up to see Gudrid; of course, it was always her. He narrowed his eyes as she stepped onto the ship. "Trying to stow away?"

He hadn't actually expected her to stiffen and look away, ashamed. Was she really? Of course she wouldn't; he was after all right there, but if Thorfinn hadn't decided to sleep on the ship that night, she might have woken up earlier than anyone else and tried to stow away, but she wouldn't tell him that, of course. She wouldn't tell anyone, maybe except her youngest sister, but that was because she couldn't tell her parents. Just like Leif, her parents didn't want her to travel.

"No, stop it," she told him, and he shrugged, going back to tighten the rope. "Listen," she started, and Thorfinn stopped. "If I upset you yesterday, I'm sorry. I don't understand how I did it, but still, sorry."

He wasn't sure she meant it entirely, but she meant it enough. Still, she really didn't have a reason to apologize. She was annoying, but she wasn't annoying him on purpose.

"It's okay..."

"You mean that?"

He nodded, and she kept standing there behind him, saying nothing more. She twiddled her fingers around one of her braids. He had been mean, but she was a little sad to see him go. Maybe it was also the reason she hadn't wanted to leave him alone, because there weren't a lot of children her age to talk to, and he had been interesting traveling with Leif, even if it had also made her jealous of him.

"I still don't understand you, but good luck." Gudrid said she didn't look particularly happy, but Thorfinn could still tell that she meant it. He almost wanted to just scoff and walk away without saying anything, but he hesitated, remembering how Leif had scolded him. He still didn't want to be her friend, but he could maybe be a little nicer; after all, he did know that she hadn't been annoying on purpose.

"Thank you," he muttered.

"Next time we see each other, I hope we can get along. Maybe you can tell me about your journey."

He looked up at her. "Why do you think I'll have something to say?"

"Why wouldn't you have?" She scoffed. "You're going on an adventure; you're going to meet new people and hear all sorts of things."

"Hm..."

"Jeez, you really don't care," she mumbled and shook her head. "But maybe you will when you get there."

"Who knows..." Thorfinn stood up. He doubted it. He didn't have the same yearning for adventure as she did anymore. He had only one goal on this journey.

"Oh, well... bye," Gudrid called as he walked away from her, and again he turned and looked at her, quickly lowering his eyes when they connected with hers.