Page 85 of The Secret to Belonging

and everyone roars with laughter

look up, Espen whispers

you look

and

the sky is alive

bright fuchsia streaks like a comet across the black night

vivid purple swirls into zigzagging electric green

below, the sea mirrors the nordlys in a dazzling display

rolling to the horizon and leaping back into the sky

Popsicles, says Alison, breathless

psychedelic Popsicles

a spinning canvas of grape and raspberry and lime

you don’t want to blink

Espen smiles

you like our surprise?

they move? you gasp

in all the photos, i never knew they moved!

he laughs

folklore says they reflect the Valkyries’ armor

ready for war

nei nei, you say

they have to be about love, not war

you gaze at the sky

i want them to be about happily ever after

you feel the warmth of the bonfire on your face

and the warmth of the cocoa in your belly

but it’s the warmth in his eyes that melts you

tusen takk, you say, leaning close

tusen takk for alt

SYV (SEVEN)