The boy – his future, once the magic of this summer was over, was to go to the university in Aberdeen and there study to be a man of importance and riches, far from the simple life of a croft.
No door like that would open for Sigrid. Her future was the small family croft, the digging of peat, the making of butter and cheese. But for a short time only. Her place would be beside the young man shoes heartbeats she lived on, when he had finished his studies and become a teacher. They walked day after day beside the shining waters.
But one evening, at the cave, towards the end of that summer, when the fields were turning golden, she had something to tell him – a frightened, dangerous, secret thing. And at once the summertime magic was broken. He shook his head. He looked away. He looked at her again as a stranger, a cruel hateful look. She put out her hand to him, shaking a little. He pushed her away. He turned. He ran up the beach and along the path to the road above; and the golden fields closed round him and hid him from her.
And the girl was left alone at the mouth of the cave, with an even greater loneliness in the mystery ahead of her.
The young man did not go to any university. That same day he was in Hamnavoe, asking for an immediate ticket on a ship to Canada, Australia, South Africa – anywhere.
The boy – his future, once the magic of this summer was over, was to go to the university in Aberdeen and there study to be a man of importance and riches, far from the simple life of a croft. No door like that would open for Sigrid. Her future was the small family croft, the digging of peat, the making of butter and cheese. But for a short time only. Her place would be beside the young man shoes heartbeats she lived on, when he had finished his studies and become a teacher. They walked day after day beside the shining waters. But one evening, at the cave, towards the end of that summer, when the fields were turning golden, she had something to tell him – a frightened, dangerous, secret thing. And at once the summertime magic was broken. He shook his head. He looked away. He looked at her again as a stranger, a cruel hateful look. She put out her hand to him, shaking a little. He pushed her away. He turned. He ran up the beach and along the path to the road above; and the golden fields closed round him and hid him from her. And the girl was left alone at the mouth of the cave, with an even greater loneliness in the mystery ahead of her. The young man did not go to any university. That same day he was in Hamnavoe, asking for an immediate ticket on a ship to Canada, Australia, South Africa – anywhere.
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