She was furious. With Michael. With the world. With herself for letting this news hit her so hard. And then she came to a very abrupt halt. It was like walking straight into a mountain. A mountain with arms that were forcefully holding her in place. She tried to move, wriggle, just breathe, but nothing was working.
‘Everything is OK,’ Gunnar said, the timbre of his voice low, vibrating through her.
She went to speak, opened her mouth but nothing was coming out. Instead she found herself struggling to breathe, emotion clawing.
‘Do not cry.’
It took the words to make her realise that she was actually crying. How could she be crying and not know? What was happening here?
‘Be still. For a moment,’ Gunnar continued, holding tight.
Be still. Think. Don’t think.
It took a few moments before her heart stopped racing and her mind started fighting with the emotional response and winning. She took a deep breath in, solidified her stance, let the chill breeze hit her cheeks.
‘OK?’ he asked, loosening his hold just a little.
‘Yes.’ She wasn’t. But she was better.
‘OK, so, you need to lean forward now,’ he said.
‘What?’ She went to move and then she rocked on her heels.
‘Slowly, Chloe.’ His hand was at her back fast.
It was then she realised just how close to the edge of the path she was, only a short distance away from the steepest drop. Then she shook and he didn’t wait a second longer, he pulled her towards him harder.
‘Breathe,’ he ordered. ‘Look at me.’
She took a deep breath, and met his intense eyes.
‘You want to talk about it?’ he asked her, his words more of a whisper of a suggestion. Supportive, encouraging, yet unpressured.
‘No,’ she answered, shaking her head.
He nodded, accepting. ‘You are OK,krúttio mitt. Safe now.’
Safe. Mind over heart. Focus.
‘I know,’ she answered with as much determination as she could muster.
‘Good,’ he said. ‘Very good.’
And still he was holding her… until…
‘So, slowly up the steps, yes?’ He let go. ‘I have to make sure everyone is leaving now so we are on time for the next stop.’
‘OK,’ she answered. ‘Good.’
He nodded. ‘Good.’
Without saying anything else she watched him start to make his way back down the incline.
27
SÓLHEIMAJÖKULL GLACIER
If there was one place on his island that helped put life into perspective, it was here at that glacier. Gunnar looked out over the lake at its base, admiring the almost surreal-looking ice formations sadly retreating from what they once were. Yet the view was still as captivating to him now as it had been on his very first visit here with his mother. They had brought a picnic and she had likened the changes of this landscape to life itself.It seems so immovable, Gunnar, yet it is always moving in some way. Never forget that. No truer words had ever been spoken.
