Dag 968: Snowblind

I awoke with a start and waited in silence for a few moments to see if I could sense what had caused me to awake in such a fashion. I heard nothing, so I rolled out of bed and looked out of the window. Although the sun was not yet fully up, I could see that the snow was thick all around and all that I could see was white; covered by the heavy fall during the night. It must have been at least minus 12 outside, but thanks to the triple glazing on the window, I was warm enough inside.

I looked at my watch, it was after 10:00 am and I had slept in. After a quick shower and a breakfast of knäckebröd with cheese, ham and tomato, I got dressed in my thermals, put on my outdoor snow suit and stepped outside into the virgin snow. The first thing that struck me was the silence. This was the third day since I had arrived at this house in a remote part of Sweden and I still wasn't used to the absolute lack of noise. The house was 7 miles from the nearest neighbour and the silence was so complete that it is not possible to imagine what it is like without experiencing it for oneself. It is said that the silence can drive some people to the edge of madness.

I checked that the packing I had done the day before was complete and tied securely to my skidoo. There was no need to lock up the house, so I started the skidoo up and rode due north. After 3 hours of travelling I stopped for a quick lunch and then set off again. I should really have left an hour earlier so I needed to try and make up some time.

I arrived at my final destination at 21:15, tired and hungry. I parked the skidoo and took the cases into the cabin that was to be my home for the next week. My first task was to get the fire going, and then I could think about getting some food ready. I decided to prepare a quick meal of pytt i panna with some beetroot, which I washed down with a single small glass of ice cold O.P Andersson Akvavit.

I now had 7 days in which to solve the puzzle that was the whole reason for my being sent here. It is a puzzle of immense proportions, which one cannot even begin to describe. I had first been told about it 11 years before and I had spent all that time preparing myself for the time that had now arrived. For the puzzle is of such a complex nature that it can only be solved within the Arctic Circle by someone born on the exact date of my birth. A few others had tried and failed and I knew the ramifications could be far reaching if I were to follow in their footsteps, but as I sat by the fire all I could wonder was what dark mysteries fate would bring to my door that night.