At the edge of the world

by Marharyta Hanhalo (Ukraine)

I didn't expect to find Norway

Norway, New Year's Eve. I stayed in the house alone. The feeling was as if I was alone in the whole world. There was not a single soul around, not a single person. Only seagulls and a couple of eagles hovering above the mountains. The house was staggering from a strong wind, a surf of waves was heard beneath. It surprises me how strong and warm houses in Norway turned out to be. City of Tind, the Lofoten Islands. Further only the boundless Norwegian Sea and somewhere far beyond the horizon - Greenland. But this is not the very edge. Looking at the map, I determined that I was only 20 minutes away on foot to the nearest city called O. Never before have I seen the name of a city consisting of just one letter. Amazed enough to sit still, I told myself to go. At this period in the Northern Norway - where I was – it is a polar night and it starts getting dark around 2pm. With the group, we had no more than 5 hours on hiking in the mountains, 2 hours of which were thick twilight. Truly magical time. That day our group went to the city of Senja to climb a mountain from which a view of the entire coastal zone opens. But in the morning something kept me away from this walk. This “something” made me stay on my own today. As it turned out later – with a reason. I was walking along the highway. The road was very narrow, but I did not meet a single car on the road. Being alone I stayed with the whole world on my own. I was surrounded by formidable mountains on which clouds lay as a white blanket, and stormy waves beating against the coastal cliffs. The city of O was empty as well. Houses were quietly located among the gorge of the mountains. One of these houses in the courtyard had a real waterfall. Could you imagine living in a house with a waterfall in the backyard? There was complete silence and tranquility around. My legs led me on, I walked in one direction as if was led by the hand. I felt power ahead and my lungs seemed to be filled with it. The weather was very windy. I went on a neat path among large stones covered with thick, soft like a pillow moss. I turned and, passed between tree branches, saw a huge gorge of rocks. At the end of this gorge, a huge boulder was stuck, just 3 meters before reaching the water. If you have ever seen Kjeragbolten in Norway, then you understand how it looks. Only under this stone there was no hundreds of meters abyss. The crests of the waves were drawn to reach him, and a whirlpool was forming in the water from the fact that the water was beating the rocks from all sides. The whirlpool completely absorbed my attention, so hypnotized that I could not tear my eyes away and make my legs move on. The further way looked as if I had come to the end of the world. In my eyes an endless raging sea opened, from which huge mountains grow up to a kilometer high. There I felt a real strength and power of nature. Freedom was filling my chest with every breath of this cold sea air. I stood rooted to the spot and could not force myself to move. In such places you can really believe in fairy trolls - a symbol of Norway. After all, how else could landscapes acquire such intricate forms, if not with the help of these mysterious giants? Even when it was time to go, this place did not let me go. I stood and absorbed this view, trying to remember every detail, so that my thoughts could return here again and again. It was a beautiful day when I unexpectedly found a place where I felt absolutely happy and free. If someday I will be asked “where is your place of power” I will definitely say that this is a small town O, far in the North of Norway, at the very edge of the world.