Dreaming of Elisabeth: A Short Story Read Free

yourself, save … your …’
    Lars hopped down next to Malin and grabbed her arm. Hard. Desperately she tried to pull away, her fear growing worse with every second.
    ‘What are you doing?’ he shouted in her ear. But she was so terrified that she couldn’t answer. Instead, she yanked her arm out of his grasp and ran. She made it up three steps to the deck before Lars caught her and again grabbed her by the arm.
    ‘Calm down! What’s wrong with you?’
    Panic was making her pulse race. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before she would follow Elisabeth down into the deep. A sense of resignation made her close her eyes tight and wait for the inevitable. There was nothing more she could do.
    At that moment the boat careened in protest because no one was standing at the wheel, and again the boom came flying. This time Lars didn’t manage to duck. With a horrible crunch the boom struck him on the back of the head. Malin flung herself out of the way as he flew past her and over the guard rail. For a few seconds he fumbled for something to grab. She saw his outstretched hand, the panic in his eyes, and knew that she had a choice to make. As if it was no longer attached to her, she found her hand automatically reaching out for his. Only a centimetre separated their fingers when she again heard Elisabeth’s voice in her head.
    She pulled her hand back.
    Her fingers trembled on the wheel. In the distance she saw Grebbestad harbour, only ten minutes away. It was tempting to turn back. But she realized if she did that, no one would believe her when she said that Lars had fallen overboard in the fierce storm. Reluctantly she went about. The wind was whipping up huge swells behind her. For a moment she thought she caught a glimpse of Lars in the waves. That was the deciding factor. She turned the wheel and the boat responded reluctantly as it again headed in the direction of Strömstad. The storm scared her, but Elisabeth’s voice urged her on. She wasn’t doing this only to save herself. She was also doing this for Elisabeth.
    After a terrifying journey she finally caught sight of Strömstad harbour. In her mind she rehearsed over and over what she would do. And say. She didn’t have to pretend to be upset. The adrenalin that had surged through her body had begun to ease, leaving her in a trembling state, shivering and sobbing. It took all the resolve she could muster to pull into a visitor’s berth at one of the docks. Exhausted, she collapsed in the cockpit, shuddering as she lay on the floorboards. Again and again she went over what had happened. Bitterness left a sour taste in her mouth, but otherwise she felt completely dead inside. She didn’t feel the water that soaked through her clothes all the way to her skin. It had nothing to do with her. All her senses seemed to have stopped functioning. She felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. But she had no doubt whatsoever that she’d had no choice but to do what she did. One of them was not coming back alive from that sailing trip. And it turned out to be Lars. Not her.
    ‘Malin?’
    A voice forced its way through the haze of exhaustion in her brain. At first she thought it was Elisabeth’s voice she was hearing, yet it sounded more familiar. Confused, Malin raised her head and tried to focus. She thought she’d heard someone say her name, but that was impossible. She dismissed the notion.
    ‘Malin!’
    Now she was seeing more clearly she could make out a group of people standing on the dock. And someone was definitely saying her name.
    ‘Yvonne?’ said Malin. She found herself looking up at her best friend. But wasn’t she in Stockholm? Thoughts swirled through her mind. Nothing made any sense. For a moment she wondered if all the stress was making her hallucinate. But Yvonne was not the only person she recognized. She saw her sister Lotta, three of her colleagues, and a handful of other friends. With a great effort Malin sat up and peered at the faces of so