The Lines

Dánial Hoydal

Annika Øyrabø

Bókadeild Føroya Lærarafelags

The next days there is a big fuss. The phone rings all the time, and lots of people come knocking on the door. People who I don’t know.They come to talk to mum.They don’t come to talk to me.

The lines are dangerous. Everything changes when you cross a line.You have to be very brave to cross them. But they are good too. Because if you step over a line four times, then everything goes back to the way it was before. So all you have to do is remember to always cross four times, then everything will be ok. Four times. Every time.

When I walk home from school with Høgni, he asks me why I walk funny.Why I always have to walk the same way over and over. I pretend that I don’t know what he is talking about. Høgni doesn’t know the lines. He doesn’t know what they can do. He just walks. Like nothing has happened.

It is tomorrow now and mum is baking waffles. And we talk about all sorts of nice things.We talk about all the fun we used to have with granddad.

Then we go out for a walk. Down to the beach, which is my favourite place.We catch sticklebacks and tiny scuds with our dip nets. I forget all about the lines.