A Tragedy of Tides
"I don't know what I want to know," said Trouble. "Not anymore."
The three, Ingunn and Vladis and the man they called Trouble, were on the bridge at the mouth of Svartifoss Canyon. At the head of the canyon was a waterfall. The water flowed in curling ribbons through the canyon, beneath the bridge and onward to the sea. The canyon was verdant with mossy growth. The glaciers with their teeth of snowy peaks could still be seen in the distance but here nothing was frozen at all. The next stop was Reykjavik, where they would fly out of the country together.
"You're having doubts?" Vladis asked. "We agreed to everything you stipulated. Two goddesses to bless you with their company and make you famous with their story. All you have to do is ask the questions."
Warmth was still little more than something implied by the greenery. Nevertheless there was a thawing between them that Trouble found troubling. It was making him sweat. He had what he wanted. He had fame in his hands. Why was he freaking out?
"Well," he said, "I might write the whole story and then you might disavow it."
"We might," agreed Ingunn. "There are no guarantees. But you knew that already."
"I've never had a miracle before," said Trouble. "That's what it is. Perhaps I'm just losing my mind."
"And you're afraid of that?" said Vladis. "Can you imagine how we feel, stripped of our powers, hanging out with mere mortals?"
"Okay listen," said Trouble. "I'll ask you one question for a start and then I'm going to leave you for a while before I faint or have a heart attack. I'll go up to the waterfall and come back. Then I'll either have more questions or I'll admit I'm scared to death and cut you loose."
"Ask away then," said Ingunn, laughing. "Or forever hold your peace."
"Why in the name of all that's holy," Trouble blurted out then, "would you do such a thing? If I was a god I would just be a god and hope to be so forever."
Ingunn kept laughing only even harder. Vladis joined in. From time to time they would try to answer but start laughing again before they could finish a sentence. Finally Trouble lost patience and went for his walk to the waterfall. He took his time and took plenty of pictures as a way to calm down. The waterfall was nice and had a rainbow adorning it. He thought maybe that was a sign that miracles were not so threatening after all.
When he got back, the goddesses were gone.
He waited on the bridge, shooting more photos, of anything and everything, till his camera card was full. Then in the gloaming he got back in his car and drove on to Reykjavik.
Threatening or not, the next morning he felt so relieved he gave the agent at the rental car counter, as a tip, all of his remaining Icelandic money, which amounted to over two hundred dollars of his own currency.
Relieved or not, as he settled into his seat on the plane and fastened the seat belt, he felt like a sailor of old that he had missed his tide, and that it would haunt him forever.
6 January 2023
Texas Jim
Svartifoss Canyon, Iceland
www.granitecoast.ca