2. Forgot the keys...

Ilva's POV

On my way through the swamp to the tiny shed where Silvie sorta lives, I spot a lot of animals.

I saw a red fox, a musk ox and squirrels.

I thought I saw a Grant's Caribou too, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, I am almost at the bridge that allows human people to cross a wild river.

The bridge isn't that big, or strong, but it's good enough for two people to walk on it on a daily basis.

I step on the bridge but my shoelaces snag behind a nail and I trip.

I try to catch myself by grabbing the bridge's edge but as I said, the bridge isn't very strong, and with my weight and the speed I have falling down, it breaks.

I fall into the river which pushes me underwater and pulls me away from the bridge.

I do whatever I can to get to the shore.

The river pushes me down and I hit a big rock under the water.

Although my legs hurt now, I try to clamp them around the stone.

The river is still trying to push me away but I manage to hold on to the stone.

I suddenly get an idea.

I take a deep breath and dive underwater, still holding on to the stone.

Without opening my eyes I use my hands to search for a steady rock to grab. After I find one, I let go of the first rock and hold on to the second one.

I repeat this a couple of times until I can touch the shore. I put my right foot in a small hole at the bottom of the river and try to keep my head above the water.

It's not a deep river, just wild.

As I'm yearning for air I look at the riverside and search for something to grab.

I reach out my hand to grab some plants and my foot slips out of the hole.

Before I get pulled away again I grab the plants and pull myself up on the riverside.

I'm sitting in the mud, panting from the struggle.

I guess I've been lucky, I could've drowned.

I climb my way up the steep and muddy slope and I start walking again.

The river pulled me a long way from the bridge and I have to walk all the way back.

I'm exhausted as I reach the bridge.

A few planks broke when I tried to catch myself in the fall.

I put my backpack on the ground and sit on my knees. From my backpack, I grab a rope. I search for some sticks on the ground and tie them to the rope. I put the sticks around the hole in the bridge and tie the outer ends of the rope to the wooden railing of the bridge. I cover the sticks and the rope with mud and sand so they'll last longer.

This way, we won't accidentally step in the hole.

I grab my bag and continue to the shed.

After I cross the bridge I turn left.

When Sanne and I make our daily routine through the area we always go straight ahead after the bridge, through the highlands.

I walk along the side of the river which is a tiny cliff on this side.

On the other side, it's a muddy and steep slope because of the swamp part.

On this side, there are wide open fields with a few big, majestic trees. We planted those so we could climb in them and get a larger view of the area.

As I walk along I hear wolves howl. They're probably hunting, but they're not very close.

Well, at least not close enough to be hunting me.

The sun is almost all the way down, so I need to be fast.

I start running a little bit and after twenty minutes I'm finally at the shed.

I knock on the door and Silvie opens up.

"Hi, Ilva! What's up? What happened to you?!" She asks. "Oh it's nothing, don't worry." I shrug.

"Sanne and I wondered if you felt that earthquake too."

"As a matter of fact, I did! I thought that earthquakes didn't take place here." Silvie answers.

"Me neither." I shake my head.

There have been some earthquakes in Yukon, but none of them ever reached our island.

"Well, I guess I should go again." I say.

"What? Already? You really have to come in and dry up a bit before you catch a cold." Silvie responds.

I shrug.

"Okay then."

I get inside and Silvie offers me tea and dry clothes.

After I took a shower I grab my phone to send a message to Sanne, telling her that I'll be gone for a little bit longer because I'll spend the night at Silvie's.

The walk from the base to Silvie's shed takes about half a day, and it's already dark so Sanne would feel better if I'd stay here.

I really like travelling in the dark because it won't give me a headache and I get to see bats, but Sanne thinks it's too dangerous.

'Because you're deaf, idiot!' I can hear her say already.

It's because I have hearing aids and sometimes I forget to turn them on.

Due to the side effects of my medication for ADD, my hearing got worse and worse, it disappeared.

Also, maybe the fact that I always listen to music on the highest volume didn't help...Or me drumming all the time.

I think there is a lot I could've done to prevent becoming deaf.

I'm not sure though, maybe it was the medication alone... Anyway, I had signed up to be an examinee for the new medication. Of course, they warned me for possible side-effects, but I wanted them to make a good medication against my ADD and to do that, they need examinees.

The Dutch word for that is way funnier; Proefkonijnen, which means 'tastebunnies' if you translate it to the letter.

Hmmm, sounds like candyyyyy...

Anyway, I put my phone down and walk towards the living room where Silvie is zapping the tv to different channels.

"Why don't you watch National Geographic?" I ask.

"Because they're broadcasting a documentary about how fish do 'IT' and I really don't feel like watching that." Silvie responds.

My mind takes the sentence in, scans it for possible awkwardness and possible following jokes and I immediately make it my mission to weird Silvie out.

"Wait, are they 'Doing 'IT'' as in fucking a horror clown or are they 'Doing IT' as in fucking each other?" I ask.

I have the kind of brain that cannot take things seriously.

"Wait, what?"

"What-what?"

"Ilva what the heck do you mean by that?!" Silvie asks.

"HoW dO FiSh FuCk mOviEs?!!" I whisper.

"......."

"............"

"Ilva sit down, drink your tea and shut up." Silvie finally says and I smirk.

Mission accomplished.