The Caller by Karin Fossum

nearby. What do you have on your feet? Sandals, I see. Well, sandals aren’t the smartest thing to wear. Lars Monsen wouldn’t approve. Do you think Lars Monsen walks across Canada in sandals? But let’s go. The sun will set soon, and if we’re lucky the moose will come out.’
    With his clear blue eyes Theo looked up at his father. ‘The moose,’ he repeated. ‘I bet he runs when he sees us.’ He laughed loudly and looked at his father for reassurance.
    ‘Of course he’ll run,’ Hannes said confidently. ‘He’s probably hiding behind the trees watching us right now. After all, we’re in his territory. That’s how he views it anyway, wouldn’t you say? So we should be on our best behaviour, not scream and yell. We must respect nature. Everyone who walks on Glenna should be humble and tread lightly.’
    Suddenly he veered off the trail and took a few steps into the woods. Theo followed cautiously, glancing around before each step. He thought he heard a rattling sound. Sitting on a fallen tree, he watched as his father pulled the knife from his belt.
    ‘Anyone who enters the woods needs a walking stick,’ he said. ‘A big one for me and a little one for you. To support us. And so we have something to fence with should we run into any mad cows. You shouldn’t underestimate cows. They’re very stupid, but they weigh a ton.’
    He snapped a branch from a tree and began tearing off leaves and twigs. When he was done, the stick had a chalk-white tip.
    ‘You can spear perch with this when we reach the water,’ he said. He thrust the stick at Theo.
    Theo sniffed it and found that it smelled good.
    ‘Everything we need is in the woods,’ Hannes said. ‘Do you realise that? Food and water. Sun and warmth. We could live and work here, hunt, fell trees. Build a house. That’s what people did in the olden days. What a great life it must have been, Theo. Wake at dawn, sleep at nightfall. All the bird calls and animal sounds.’
    Theo nodded. His father’s words transported him to a magical place.
    Then Hannes made a walking stick for himself, one that was longer and thicker. They returned to the trail, like two goatherds at work. Theo couldn’t restrain himself; he hopped and danced, his blue eyes fastened on his father’s broad back. After fifteen minutes they came to a crossroads where there was a sign with several maps and a request from the county.
    The forest is a pasture for animals.
    It is a workplace for loggers,
    hunters and fishermen.
    The forest is for recreation and pleasure.
    Please be considerate of others.
    Theo read the request with a clear and cheerful voice. Father and son nodded at each other, then walked on. In a short while they passed St Olav’s Spring, and both drank gulps of the fresh water. From there it took forty minutes to get to Snellevann. They sat on a rock near the water and looked across.
    Hannes put an arm on Theo’s shoulder and pulled him close. ‘We’re lucky, you and me.’
    Theo was in complete agreement. He could feel the strength in his father’s body, could hear the whisper from the big woods and the life all around them.
    ‘I brought us drinks,’ Hannes said. ‘Let’s see.’ He dug around in his small rucksack. ‘You can choose between Solo and Sprite.’
    Theo chose Solo. He put the bottle to his mouth and drank. The fizz made his eyes water.
    Hannes rummaged in his rucksack once more, searching for binoculars. He put them up to his eyes, moving the binoculars slowly back and forth across the water, then to the ridges beyond.
    ‘Do you see anything?’ Theo asked.
    ‘Sheep,’ Hannes reported. ‘Up in the fields. Do you want to see?’
    He handed the binoculars to Theo, and Theo tried to find the sheep, but it took a while. The image swayed before his eyes, and almost made him dizzy. At first he just saw some bushes and a stone dyke; because he couldn’t hold the binoculars steady, the dyke floated up and down. Suddenly, it was as if the sheep tumbled