She was looking at him as if she was waiting for him to contradict her. He could. With more than enough reasons why he was only a prop guy, not a leading man, in his life. He was always now a reactor to situations, not a controller of them.
Instead of answering, he pointed to the sky. ‘Look. Any minute now theaurora borealiswill begin.’
13
Chloe was lost for words, eyes on the sky, wrapped up in the wonder of the light show above her. It was indescribable and just couldn’t be picked up accurately on a photograph. She’d tried to capture it, after Gunnar had been radioed to go to the upper deck, but all that had come out was grainy grey pixelated nothingness. OK, it was only a camera phone, but to get nothing at all was horrendously disappointing. In the end she had given up, decided to look with only her eyes and just indulge and enjoy this precious possibly-once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
‘Have you taken photos?’
It was Gunnar, back at her side again.
‘No.’
‘No?’ he queried, looking at her like her answer made her immediately suspicious. ‘That is all anyone is doing on the upper deck.’
‘Well, I tried but you can’t really capture how beautiful it is.’
‘Give me your phone,’ Gunnar said, taking off his gloves and holding out his hand.
‘I did try. Nothing worked.’
‘I heard you. So, give your phone to me.’
‘You think you can make it work?’
‘Shall I say it again for your voice notes?’
He was still holding out his hand, so she unlocked her mobile and passed it to him.
‘OK, so you have to turn your light settings right the way down.’ He pressed on the screen of her phone then held it up to the sky.
‘But that looks too dark,’ Chloe said. ‘Nothing will come out.’
‘Do you not trust me? This very capable main character crewing the boat?’
She laughed. ‘OK.’
He snapped a few pictures then turned the screen to show her. What she saw was a vast difference to anything she had captured.
‘They are not perfect. They would be better with a good quality camera but?—’
‘No!’ Chloe said straight off. ‘No, these are great!’ She swiped to view the others. ‘So good.’
‘But, now you have something to show with your notes, you should just look. Because the lights, they change quickly.’
He was absolutely right about that. In the time she had been observing the sky she had seen so many different colours – green, white and even the brightest fiery red. The direction of the light show varied also – parts horizontal, others vertical, strips like a rainbow waterfall.
‘It is said that if you make a wish on the lights, it will come true,’ Gunnar told her.
Chloe laughed. ‘I am sure they say that at every single tourist site the whole world over.’
‘You do not believe that parts of the world can be more enchanted than others?’
‘Enchanted? I don’t think I’ve heard that word since I got read a bedtime story.’
‘Ah, that is because you do not believe,’ Gunnar said, leaning his back against the railing as the boat continued to sail gently forward. ‘And if you do not believe then there is no point making a wish.’
‘Wait,’ Chloe said. ‘I didn’t say I didn’t believe.’
