Escapism

The familiar sounds of hammers bashing against nails and wood reached his ears when he got closer to the shipbuilders’ place. Sometimes it was clear someone missed the nail and hit their hand instead, by the sound of very rough insults. Maurr couldn’t help but smile when he picked up on something like that. It was the proof his life was not the only one that was miserable. It was almost noon and he was looking forward to having his break. Even though he had nothing to eat today, he wanted to just sit down for a while and do nothing. Most of the shipbuilders took a break too, and it was one of the only times they left him alone. No random ‘Maurr do this Maurr do that’ to disturb his peace.

For now he was carrying a pile of planks, freshly sawn into straight and workable pieces of wood. They weren’t that long, but they sure were heavy. By the time he arrived at the right station, he was half out of breath. Before he put down the stack, he looked around for a second and made eye contact with the person who needed them. ”Freyja. Where do you need these?” He asked her, loudly so she would be able to hear him over the sounds of the waves and the noise of the seagulls fighting for leftover fish.

&Freyja

Every day seemed to be fast paced. No one was slacking, and he had to keep up as well. Sometimes he was in awe about how everyone appeared to know exactly what to do. Getting everything done in time, and with an eye for detail and quality. The ships from Skagen were the best in Scandinavia, and he could experience first hand why. He would sometimes imagine he was a part of all this too. Someone needed to provide the shipbuilders with their materials right? Or at least carry them all across the docks to the right building station. Even though it was his job and he didn’t really have a choice, sometimes he kinda enjoyed it. Especially when he was assigned to one of the only friendly people working here. Freyja was always polite and seemed to appreciate his help. He patiently waited for her instructions when he arrived at her station. “Right here would be great, thank you,” She said, pointing at a spot to his left. He turned around and grunted softly when he carefully put down the pile. He didn’t want them to tip over or something.

Just when he was about to get the next stack, the shipbuilder drew his attention by calling out his name. “Maurr? You should be good to take your break now, if you’d like?” She said, and he nodded. ”Thank you”, He said, a lot more cheerful than seconds ago. When she continued, he didn’t really know how to feel though. She basically offered to share her food with him. For now, he wasn’t that hungry. But he knew he would feel more and more faint the longer the day would go by. “I’ll be down by the beach if you need me for anything. Or decide to join me,” She said, not waiting for his answer. Maurr watched her leave for the beach, still not quite sure if he should go and ask for her leftovers or not. He didn’t want to be so depending on other people. But she was being generous and he would be stupid if he didn’t accept the offer.

So, after 10 minutes or so, he got up and sauntered to the beach. He didn’t want to seem too eager. He spotted the blonde sitting on a piece of driftwood not that far away. Hopefully she really meant what she said earlier. He approached her with a more open mind than he had spoken with her younger sister. Maybe Sofie had been right.. Maybe they were really different. ”Hello again”, He said, with what could be interpreted as a friendly smile. ”Mind if I sit down?” He then asked, pointing at the other end of the improvised bench she was sitting on. Of course he would keep his distance, but at least he would have someone to talk to for once. That should make his break even more fun than usual.

After putting some thought into it, he decided to join her anyways. He also had a reason to speak to her, and this might be the best opportunity they would have to talk about the matter privately. He was planning on accepting Sofie’s offer about her mother’s party. He didn’t want to tell Freyja in public though. He didn’t know if she wanted to keep it a secret or not. He knew the party was a surprise party and their mother Kara wasn’t suspecting anything, but asking a thrall to come.. It was controversial, to say the least. He now knew the opinion of most of the sisters was that thralls should be free, but he was quite sure they kept their opinion to themselves. It’s what he would do too, if he was in that position anyways. But here, on the beach, they could speak freely without being scared someone was eavesdropping on them.

When she gave him permission, once again, he sat down on the other end of the driftwood. She placed the basket containing her lunch in between them. “Help yourself,” She instructed. Still a bit reservedly, he took a peek inside the basket and picked a piece of bread along with some dried fish. He didn’t want to seem too eager, so he took little bites instead of devouring his food as he would normally do when he got the chance. After a few moments, she started talking. She told him she wanted to have a conversation, but only if he wanted to participate too. “I’ve been meaning to ask, how are things going since you’ve started… working down here?” She then asked. He swallowed his food before replying. ”It’s alright”, He said, forcing himself to smile lightly. He had nothing much to add to that. Not without complaining about it.

“If you ever need more than one break, just come find me. I can send you on some bullshit errand or something so you can catch your breath.” She then suggested. He was toying with the idea for a bit, but he didn't dare to say 'yes' immediately. He was somewhat scared she was testing him. "One break works for me, thank you", He said with a polite smile. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair to the others and if they see me take more breaks, they might report it and it would get you in trouble as well", He continued. He didn’t want her to take the risk for him. She loved her job and although he didn’t like his, he would do it anyways. He might take the opportunity when he was sick, but for now it was fine.

“And, uh, Visna over packs my lunch every day.” Freyja then mentioned, stressing her words in a way he suspected she was trying to invite him to lunch every day now. It was nice, but he knew he couldn’t accept that offer either. ”You know I got no way to pay you for that”, He said softly. He didn’t want them to have another mouth to feed. There were five of them, plus their mother. If they voluntarily would feed him too, it would cost them a lot of money over time. To bring up another subject, he decided to ask her about the party. ”I spoke with Sofie earlier this week. She told me you all agreed I could come to your mother’s birthday party..”, He said, keeping an eye out for her reaction, as he wasn’t sure she was also aware of the fact Sofie had invited him.

Although it felt like they were only having this conversation because it was considered ‘being polite’, he actually enjoyed the fact that it was different than his usual lunch break. It was a nice distraction from the daily grind. It was something exciting. Not only because it meant he could at least eat a little bit, but also because it wasn’t as lonely as usual. It was also a strange experience though. Especially when she offered him even more help than just sharing her leftovers. But he couldn’t say yes to everything. And honestly he also didn’t really feel like getting into trouble with the other thralls. They might go complain to the harbour master, which would get Freyja in trouble as well. He had no idea what the consequences could be, and he didn’t want to find out either. So he politely declined her offer. “Okay, that’s fine. Just if it’s never not. If you’re ever ill or anything, I won’t mind making an excuse.” She simply mentioned. He nodded. He sure would remember, but he didn’t know when -and if- he would ever make use of it.

But she kept surprising him with other offers. She kind of suggested he could sit with her every day, and she would have Sofie ‘overpack’ her lunch each time. An offer like this one was even harder to decline, but he didn’t want them to spend all that money on him. He would never be able to repay them, as thralls didn’t earn any money and had little to none possessions. He also had no time to go hunting, and even if, he did not have the skills either. His comment on the issue only made her shrug lightly. “Well, I’ve extended the invitation. If you’re ever hungry, I’ll have some extra, is all I’m saying. No pressure or expectations.” She said. She didn’t seem to push the matter, but he might actually stop by every now and then to join her on her break. It would mean his breaks would be more interesting as well, so it was actually a double win on his part. ”If I ever can do something for you, you just let me know, alright?” He said with a little smile. Even if it was just helping her relocate heavy stuff, he would do an extra effort to help her out first, instead of finishing whatever stupid job he was assigned to.

For now he just brought up the subject of the invitation Sofie had given him to come to Kara’s birthday party. Apparently Freyja wasn’t informed yet, so now she knew. She didn’t seem to mind her sister getting him involved. ”I’m really looking forward to it”, He said, with a genuine smile. It was probably his first night out ever since he had started working. It was a big deal to him. ”Sofie also mentioned you could maybe come up with some excuse so I can leave a bit early”, He said. ”But if you can’t, I totally understand, I hate to ask favours like this”, He continued with a little chuckle.

For a minute he focused on the food, enjoying the bread. It was freshly baked, which was a luxury for him, to be honest. “Do you actually have any interest in shipbuilding?” She suddenly asked, overwhelming him for a second. He swallowed his food first before answering. ”I am very careful with developing interests, honestly. I try not to like certain parts of my job, as it would make the others even more.. Not enjoyable”, He said, saving himself from saying ‘horrible’ at the end of that sentence. He didn’t want to complain in front of her, as she could not change his situation anyways. "I do like watching the progress though, how the boat takes more shape every day", He then commented. He didn't see much of the work that went into it, as he was mostly focussing on doing his own job, but the process didn't go unnoticed to him. He walked by every day at least two or three times, so he could clearly see how every ship evolved every time.