Fog Island. Mariette Lindstein

But it looked like a regular person. At least I think it did.’

      ‘We used to jump off Devil’s Rock when I was little,’ he said. ‘But then there was an accident. One guy who jumped died. The current dragged him out to sea.’

      ‘Did you know him?’

      ‘A little, he was a few years older than me. But I remember how scared we were when we found out. His mom worked at the manor. A doctor lived there back then. I don’t remember him, but I do remember his daughter, Lily. She was older than us too. Pretty girl — she had long red hair and she was thin as a rail. We used to spy on her when she was sunbathing. But she died in a fire in the barn. It all happened around the same time. It was awful.’

      ‘Maybe it’s true, then, about the curse on the manor?’

      ‘No, I don’t believe in ghosts like that. But I do believe some souls have trouble finding peace. That they can stick around, sort of.’

      She looked out at the cliff and could almost see a figure there.

      ‘Ooh, now you’re scaring me.’

      He laughed and put his arm around her shoulders.

      ‘Let’s climb down the rocks,’ he said, looking at her rubber boots with concern. ‘Be careful so you don’t slip.’

      They cautiously made their way down the steep rock face. Sofia did lose her footing a few times, but managed to steady herself and tried to keep up with Benjamin.

      They came to a small grassy slope between the boulders, and he stopped there. They were directly underneath Devil’s Rock, and the cliff hung over them like a huge ceiling. The waves crashed, roaring and splashing. Benjamin pointed up at the ledge. At first she couldn’t tell what he was pointing at, but then she saw a big dark spot among all the rocks. It could have been a black rock, but she realized it was a hole.

      He came over to her and took her lightly by the shoulders.

      ‘You have to swear not to tell anyone about the cave. Promise?’

      ‘Of course.’

      ‘Good, let’s go in.’

      The cave was about four metres deep and one and a half metres in height. It was cool and damp inside, but the floor was dry. She had the strange sensation as she gazed out at the waves, as if she were in a house floating above the sea.

      Benjamin emptied his backpack. Some kindling, a frying pan, and matches, as well as some cheese, bread, and fruit he’d begged from the kitchen. They got a fire going and grilled chanterelle sandwiches over the fire. They had to eat with their fingers — he’d forgotten cutlery. They chatted nonstop, then sat quietly for a while and gazed out at the sea and the sky, which still hadn’t cleared. Then the fire died out and the cave grew chilly.

      ‘Now we’re going to eat dinner in the village,’ he said. ‘We’re going to Fritjof’s. It’s crab season, and theirs is the best.’

      It was starting to get dark, so they went to the village by the road.

      For a while, they didn’t say anything as they walked. She could hardly make out his face in the dim twilight, but she got the sense that he was brooding about something. His arm had been around her, but he let it slide off her shoulders. She was just about to ask what was on his mind when they arrived at the pub.

      Inside, in the warm light, he seemed normal again. He laughed at her cold, blue fingers and warmed them for her. He joked with the waitress and ordered so much crab and so many sides that there was hardly room on the table. His hair glowed in the light from the candle; it almost looked like it had caught fire.

      She asked about the renovations and their lack of sleep, what he thought of it all.

      ‘We wouldn’t have completed the renovations if Franz hadn’t put his foot down,’ he said firmly.

      ‘So you’re a fanatical follower?’

      ‘Maybe. I mean, ViaTerra is my family. The only family I have.’

      ‘But that doesn’t mean everything about it is perfect, does it?’

      ‘You’re so new, Sofia. You’ll get used to it. The purpose is what matters.’

      That same shadow fell across his face again.

      ‘What are you thinking about?’

      ‘Nothing.’

      ‘Come on, out with it. I can tell something’s up.’

      He cleared his throat, looking embarrassed.

      ‘Well, it’s just, you know . . . if you’re a couple, at ViaTerra, the expectation is that you’ll, um, move in together.’

      ‘Move in together?’

      ‘I just want to make sure you know the rules before we start anything. It seems like no one explained them to you.’

      ‘What rules?’

      ‘You can only have sex if you live together or you’re married.’

      ‘Who said anything about sex?’

      ‘Don’t make this even harder for me.’

      ‘What kind of moron thought up that rule?’

      Benjamin laughed.

      ‘Franz, probably. But don’t you see what it would be like in such a small group, if everyone was sleeping with everyone else all the time?’

      She considered it for a moment. This was all so exciting. It was new and unusual and a little titillating, and for some strange reason she liked it.

      ‘But just because there are rules doesn’t mean you can’t bend them a little sometimes, right?’

      He nodded in agreement as if they had just made a pact.

       *

      It was totally dark when they left the pub. A half-moon shined down on them from the clear sky. They could see their breath, and the chilly air nipped at their cheeks. She flipped up her collar and buried her hands in her jacket pockets. Benjamin put his arm around her shoulders again.

      The walk to ViaTerra was long, but it passed quickly. She leaned against him, snuggling into his chest now and then.

      Sten was on guard at the gate, and he waved them in distractedly. The wind was still beyond the thick walls.

      The windows of the manor house were bright in the darkness. When Sofia looked up, she thought she could see a light on in the attic — then she remembered that the attic was unfit for use. A moment later the light had vanished and she decided she must have been seeing things.

       *

      They bent the rules just a few weeks later. They never discussed it, but the tension between them had risen until his visits to the library became unbearable.

      It was their day off, and he met her by the gate. They didn’t even talk about where to go — their feet just carried them to the cottage and their hands were linked as if frozen by a constant electric current. She moved right up next to him for the last little bit of the journey and noticed that his breathing was already faintly erratic and heavy.

      She’d had good and bad sex before, but never forbidden sex, so this was something new. She walked ahead of him into the cottage and right away he grabbed her from behind, lifting her loose hair and kissing her tenderly on the back of the neck. He nibbled at her earlobe and tried to get his hands in under her clothes, but one hand got stuck between the buttons. She pulled him to the kitchen bench and they collapsed onto it, eager but awkward in all their outerwear. They rolled onto the rag rug on the floor. On the way down she accidentally grabbed hold of the lace tablecloth and a candlestick came flying by, narrowly missing Benjamin’s head. They burst into laughter but managed to pull off each other’s clothing: jackets, boots, gloves, pants, and sweaters ended up in one big pile