Today is the day Lincoln was shot, the day the Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks down into the depths.

Sitting with the feet out the window, fresh air leak around the toes and cool, refreshing wind tickles my legs. The horizon is pale pink, and all the windows glow, they are strong orange and you can’t look at them for too long at a time. In through the open window seeps the smell of barbeque. It is really delicious, it smells just like summer being spent at the cabin.

The black branches of trees stretch out towards the sky, some bushes have small green sprouts, soon to become leaves. Everything seems quiet, some drunken teenagers pass by the window – they look happy. The roads are dry and pallid and in the distance I can see the town, it looks like it’s made of tiny bits of rubble spread out on the blue hill behind it. The smell of crackling fat on spareribs and little, burnt corners of steak is still tentatively creeping into my nostrils. As the tram passes it emits screeching sounds. When we first bought the house we thought it would bother us, but honestly I don’t notice it at all unless I’m listening closely. Leaning against the pillows I can smell the washing powder and the barbeque at once – which reminds me of summer too.

We really can’t stop waiting for summer now that it is so close. Lines and streaks of fluffed purple are curling their way around the pink of the horizon, and it still smells like a summer barbeque, and laughing people and cheap wine. It smells of sticky marshmallows and soggy, picnic salads, of salt water and silent sea, of long evenings in the mild – freshness of Norwegian summer. You can say all you want, it’s not long, and most of the time it is cold too, but it’s never too hot –you know what I mean? It’s never uncomfortable, it’s always so welcome, I suppose even if it was horrible we’d love it anyway, summer is so important here. Summer is so important since we get it in small rations. Strawberries!

As it is getting darker I decide to walk the dog, and so I do. And we walk around the dark streets together with Liv-Elin, and we walk so far, that in the end Cleo wants to go home.