Night Ferry to Gotland – Part 1: Deck Four

The night ferry to Gotland left Nynäshamn at eleven, and by midnight most of the passengers were asleep in their cabins. Axel was not one of them. He sat in the empty cafeteria on deck four with a cold coffee and a notebook he had not written in all week, watching the black water slide past the windows.

"Is this seat taken?"

He looked up. A man stood by the table, tall and a little rumpled, in a dark wool coat and a scarf that looked hand-knitted. He had tired eyes, a short beard and a paper bag in his hand.

"No," said Axel. "Take it."

"Thank you. I am Mikael. I cannot sleep on boats." He sat and opened the bag. Inside was a cinnamon bun, swirled and sticky. He tore it in two and pushed half across the table. "For solidarity."

Axel laughed, quietly, and took it. It was warm and sweet and slightly squashed.

"I am Axel," he said. "I cannot sleep anywhere this week."

"Bad week?"

"Terrible. I lost a job, a flat and a very good plant."

"That is a lot to lose in one week."

"The plant was the hardest," said Axel, and Mikael laughed, a low, surprised sound that made the cafeteria feel warmer.

They talked until the engine hummed itself into a low drone. Mikael was a ferry mechanic, heading home to Visby for his grandmother's ninetieth birthday. He loved old engines and bad weather and the long, slow hours between ports. Axel had been a graphic designer in Stockholm, until the company folded.

"What will you do?" asked Mikael.

"Sleep on my cousin's sofa and think," said Axel. "I have always been better at thinking on islands."

"Then Gotland is the right place."

"Can I ask you something?" said Axel.

"Yes."

"Why are you so kind to strangers on boats?"

Mikael looked out at the dark water. "Because I spent three years on this ferry being very lonely," he said. "And one night, a stranger gave me half his sandwich. I never forgot it."

Axel's throat tightened. "Did you see him again?"

"No. I am still hoping."

Axel smiled, a little shyly. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Yes."

"Would you show me the deck at dawn? Only if it is not too cold."

"Yes," said Mikael. "It is always too cold. But the sunrise is worth it. Green?"

"Green," said Axel. "Very green. Pass me the other half of the bun."

Continue the story: Part 2 – Sunrise on the Baltic.