Misunderstanding

Druknet sat uncomfortably, picking at the scraps of a flavorless piece of fish. Dark bags hung beneath his eyes and his head throbbed from his lack of sleep. His freshly bandaged legs itched, as his wounds began to scab over.

“Are you ready to head out?” Bjorge asked, already standing at the door, lacing up his boots.

“I guess…” Druknet responded unenthusiastically, as he pushed himself up from his chair. Without his crutch, each step sent a dull pain through his legs, as he slowly limped over to the door.

After slipping on his boots and coat, he followed Bjorge outside.

The moment he stepped through the door, several lanterns flickered on across the usually dark and cold village. The sudden illumination of light felt like a spotlight being aimed on him.

A group of men stood outside in front of one of the homes, speaking in low voices among themselves. Part of the group was the blonde-haired man who had confronted Bjorge the night before.

The group turned their glances to Druknet.

“Hold øynene festet på ham.”

“Ikke la ham komme i nærheten av familien din.”

“Hvis han prøver noe, så slår jeg ham i hjel.”

Druknet didn’t understand the words they spoke, but their tone gave him a general idea that it was directed at him. He pulled up the collar of his jacket to conceal his face while keeping his gaze fixed at the ground. As they continued their walk, he hid behind Bjorge, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

“One second.” Druknet spoke quietly. “Let me grab my crutch. It should just be on the other side of this-.”

He stopped in place…

The crutch was gone. It was no longer sticking out of the ground in the center of the village.

“Are you sure this is where you left it?” Bjorge asked.

“I didn’t leave it here…” Druknet felt a chill run down his spine. “It was that thing.”

“Well whoever it was, I’m sure one of the neighbors just picked it up for safe keeping.” Bjorge said calmly. “I’ll ask around later.”

“I’m telling you, I dropped that crutch all the way down by the shore…” Druknet unintentionally began to raise his voice. “After that, the draugen started following me. Then the crutch just suddenly appeared here in the middle of the village!”

More lights came on and a few villagers glanced over at his outburst, only raising their suspicions about him.

“Shhh.” Bjorge raised his hand. “Lower your voice. There’s probably a simple explanation. Perhaps you’re misremembering? Let’s go look at the spot where you claim this encounter happened.”

“I-...” Druknet hesitated.

A knot twisted in his stomach. The thought of returning to the shoreline made him wince. Part of him wondered though if Bjorge was right. Maybe his head injury was causing his mind to play tricks on him.

“A-alright.” He finally said. “Let’s go.”

They began walking along the shoreline. Bjorge held a kerosene lantern in his hand. Its flame flickered in the wind. The closer they moved toward the water, the louder the ocean became. Waves crashed aggressively against the bank, sprinkling them with an icy mist.

Druknet slowed his pace. Every member of his body was telling him to turn around.

“It… it was just over there.” He pointed ahead, as they approached the spot.

His stomach churned nervously, almost making him want to vomit. Standing in the area again made his skin crawl. Deep down he wanted to go back and barricade himself indoors.

Bjorge raised his lantern higher, casting a flickering orange light across the shoreline. “Why don’t you walk me through what happened.”

“I was crouched right here.” Druknet said, standing where he remembered. “I was looking at something on the ground. Then I heard a voice come from the water.”

He gestured at the sea. “The figure rose up right over there.”

“And this draugen, what did it look like?” Bjorge nodded with intrigued.

“It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but it looked to be a man with glowing white eyes and strands of seaweed hanging off of it.” Druknet recalled.

“I see… Interesting…” Bjorge murmured thoughtfully.

He moved the lantern and pointed out toward the water. “Something like that?”

Druknet followed his gesture.

A tall rock stuck out from the surface of the water. Long pieces of seaweed hung down from it, swaying in the wind. The Moon’s reflection glinted off its wet surface, creating two illuminated spots that resembled eyes.

“No, that can’t-...” Druknet took a step back, nearly tripping over something lying on the ground.

Bjorge bent down and picked up the object. “Well, it looks like you did leave your crutch over here after all.”

He handed it over to Druknet, who grabbed it hesitantly with shaky hands.

Druknet stared at it in disbelief. “I… I don't understand.” He didn’t even know what to say.

“See?” Bjorge gave him a friendly pat on the back. “It was just a misunderstanding. Your mind just filled in the details. You should get some more rest.”

“I suppose you’re right…” Druknet spoke slowly, despite still having lingering doubts.

Just as they turned to leave, his hand brushed against the handle of the wooden crutch. Something felt off. It appeared that something was engraved into it. He inspected it closer…

“What does ‘kom tilbake’ mean?” Druknet asked quietly.

“That just means ‘come back’.” Bjorge responded.

Druknet froze. A sinking feeling manifested in his stomach.

“I’ve loaned that crutch out to plenty of people over the years.” Bjorge added. “Someone must carve that in there at some point.”

They began their walk back toward the village. Druknet was silent. His mind churned with doubt.

Maybe Bjorge was right. Maybe his mind and the constant darkness were playing tricks on him… Or maybe something was out there, trying to take him back to the sea.

At that moment, Druknet didn’t know what was what was scarier… the draugen being real or his loss of sanity.