excerpt
The Arctic
Ken wanted to confront one last situation before leaving for the Arctic.
He and Marsha had grown apart and scrapped constantly. There was
also the matter of Karen Wristen. The first sight of her had attracted him
immensely and the attraction grew every time he saw her. But he could
never find the right time to talk to Marsha and decided to put it off until
his return.
Karen Wristen and her friend had left two weeks previously and met
them in the baggage area at the airport in Rankin Inlet. To Ken’s surprise
he felt his body vibrate as he hugged Karen. This was a new phenomenon
for him, and he realized, in that instant, that she was a magnet he could
not escape.
They tossed their luggage into the twin otter that was already loaded
down with provisions for the lodge. Keith had finished the building
since Ken’s last visit and the accommodations were new and clean and
the rooms furnished. They arrived in bright daylight at 1 a.m. and a temperature
of one hundred and one degrees Fahrenheit, without a hint of a
breeze. Swarms of mosquitoes attacked them. One unfortunate traveller
drew them like honey and his face was swollen within minutes. Bailey,
oblivious of the murderous insects, set up his camera the instant he hit
the ground, and filmed everything that moved.
Ken wanted them to learn something about the North and to enjoy themselves
in the process. He gave them each a four-foot length of string with
instructions to walk across the tundra and choose a one-foot square section,
which they would outline with the string. “Choose your square carefully,” he
said. “There are hundreds of millions of acres here but take time to choose
your very small section. When you’ve outlined it, come back.”
When they returned he gave them each a small spyglass. “I recommend
that you get down on the ground on your knees and look at what’s in that
square foot – and I mean really look. I’ll be back in an hour or so and then
we can all go in and have coffee and talk about what you saw. Oh – one
last thing – while you’re looking at your square foot, keep your mind’s eye
on the horizon – it’s the most giant horizon on earth.”
“What are you doing?” Keith whispered.
Libros Libertad 