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“This one is Kulta and this one is Muru. They are very excited to take you on this adventure. You’ll ride two per sledge.”
“Sledge?” I asked.
“The sleds are called sledges. Two per sledge, and I’ll be in front pulling you all along.”
“So, we don’t have to steer?” Doris asked.
“No. I drive Rakas, and the others are hooked up to these lines and follow along. You just have to kick back and enjoy the ride.”
“Thank God Doris isn’t driving anything,” Alice said.
“Sorry.” Doris shrunk.
I chuckled. “Stop apologizing, Doris. We’re all alive.”
“Okay, so two in each sledge. The blanket goes over your legs, and if you need any warmer clothes, I have a bin in my sledge with all sorts of thermal gear.”
“Mittens?” I asked. “Doris doesn’t have any.”
“Of course.” He reached into the bin and pulled out some mittens, handing them to Doris.
“Thank you!” she said, then she hurried to the first sledge. “Can I ride in this one? I like Muru the best.”
She stroked a hand down the reindeer’s neck, and he leaned into the scratches.
“I’ll ride with you, Doris,” I said, moving to her side.
“Guess it’s me and your muff.” Marge grinned at Alice.
Alice ignored her and climbed into the back sledge. “Don’t sit on me.”
“You’re two inches wide. I’ll have plenty of room.”
Marge climbed in beside Alice, then Doris and I got into our sledge. After we got the blankets pulled up tight around us, Olavi did a quick check of his reindeer before getting into his sledge.
“Okay, ladies! Here we go!”
He spoke some Finnish words to Rakas, and the beautiful deer took off trotting. Kulta and Muru followed right behind him, and soon we were sliding across the snow.
“So cool!” I said as I watched the snow-covered trees pass by when we turned down a small, wooded trail. “This is so much better than I expected!”
“Loving it!” Marge called from behind us. “Totally awesome!”
“Our reindeer better not have gas,” Alice said. “I had a very unfortunate carriage ride in New York once, and I’d rather not have a repeat.”
I laughed, then went quiet and just enjoyed the beautiful sights of Finland’s snowy landscape. We rode that way for almost an hour, the darkness settling around us as we slipped silently along. Solar lights every few dozen feet marked the trail the reindeer seemed to know well, and Olavi told us about polar nights where they had darkness here for weeks on end with no sunrise at all.
“So, you see. We have to manage well in the darkness, or we wouldn’t leave our house for weeks at a time. But then, in the summer, the sun doesn’t set for months. It’s daylight twenty-four hours a day.”
“I couldn’t handle no sunlight,” I answered. “The no night I could deal with, but not endless darkness.”
“Yes, but we have these to make the nights better,” Olavi said as we emerged from the thick woods. He pulled his reindeer to a stop at the top of the hill overlooking the icy world below us.
With a gasp, I clutched my chest when I looked up and saw the Northern Lights. The sky danced in a carousel of greens, reds, and pinks swirling above us and illuminating the white snow with the colors. The way the light moved mesmerized me, and I couldn’t form a single word while I took it in.
“Wow,” Doris finally said, but I couldn’t answer.
It was too beautiful. Too magical. Too incredible to capture with words. Instead, we sat in silence beneath the glow of the moon and the twinkling stars while the light show danced above us.
