Invited

Write a story about someone being presented with a dilemma 

Invited

The silence in the apartment was broken by the gentle ping of an email arriving. Evne glanced up from the keyboard just in time to see a new message slide into view at the corner of the computer. She read, and then reread the sender’s name and subject, OMG!!! The ‘sender’ was ‘Yrsa Olsen’ and the ‘subject’, ‘Invite: Svalbard Expedition 2025’. For a moment Evne was frozen in time, staring blankly at the message for what seemed like an eternity. Was it real, was her imagination playing tricks, if she blinked would the email disappear. She felt impatience, skeptical, afraid, hopeful and fearful all at once, her emotions spiralling out of control like a tornado tearing across the open plains. Her hand quivered as it rested on the smooth cold white plastic of the mouse, her fingers itching too push gently downwards to click open the message, yet she hesitated, waited, all the time fearing it was her imagination playing tricks. She took a deep breath, stilled her mind, slowed her heartbeat and fought against a rising fear of disappointment. In one quick movement her finger pressed downwards and the email popped open. She leaned forward towards the screen and methodically devoured the message, word by word, line by line, sentence by sentence. There, in front of her, was a personal invite from Yrsa Olsen, the CEO of Scangen to join an Artic expedition to Svalbard. Her hands felt light and shaky as they moved the tiny arrow slowly and surely over every inch of text, warm tears blurred her vision, sliding gently down her cheeks in small salty droplets. Evne had dreamed for many years of venturing into the wilderness, taking on the challenges of a polar adventure, each time she had applied to join an expedition and failed she felt a little more dejected. Yrsa’s email had changed everything she had been presented with an opportunity to fulfil a lifelong ambition… 

“Dear Ms Evne Anderson, 

Scangen annually sponsor polar expeditions as part of our research commitment to climate change, clean energy and creating sustainable futures. Expedition teams monitor and collect data on all aspects of the environment. Currently a central concern is rising summer temperatures in the Artic and their effect on permafrost, sea ice, plant life and wildlife. The Svalbard Expedition in Spring 2025 will be based near Sveagruva and will monitor permafrost, record visual changes to the landscape, sea ice, vegetation and local wildlife.

Harry Marsden recommended you for the Svalbard Expedition. He said that your knowledge and expertise of Artic vegetation was excellent and he was confident that you were the right person to join the team.

Next week there are a series of briefings for the expedition team at Scangen Headquarters in Tromsò. If you are interested in joining the Svalbard 2025 team please contact my personal assistant. She will arrange your transport, accommodation and provide a timetable of meetings.

Yrsa Olsen, CEO Scangen

revnarenouf@Scangen.com - Personal Assistant of Yrsa Olsen

All at once the emotional numbness that had haunted her for almost a year ebbed slowly away leaving in its wake excitement, enthusiasm and hope. The email from Yrsa Olsen was a wake-up call, one that was really needed. Over the past year Evne had wallowed in self pity, sadness pervaded her thoughts most days and she couldn’t generate enthusiasm for anything except maybe work. Her break-up with Harry had been acrimonious, he had left her feeling drained, heartbroken and deep in a mire of self pity. She had loved Harry unconditionally and thought he felt the same, that is until he announced he was leaving her, moving on, he had met someone else. Life can be bitch and relationships the worse of all. Yet now, in the blink of an eye, the arrival of a simple message changed everything, she felt lighter, brighter and for the first time in many months was happy to be alive. An opportunity she had only ever dared dream of had reawakened her, Evne Anderson had been invited to take part in an Artic Expedition to Svalbard - WOW!!! She suddenly realised it was time to be decisive, take control! Time to move forward, leave the past behind, embrace new opportunities.

Instinctively Evne’s hand hovered over the mouse ready to hit the reply button, ready to say ‘yes’. Then from nowhere a voice whispered in her ear, ‘wait, be patient, think it through’. She headed for the kitchen, grabbed a cup of coffee and made her way to the corner sofa, curled up and snuggled into a squishy cushion with a printed copy of Yrsa’s email. As her mind calmed a string of questions nudged their way through her thoughts; Why me? her current work was with the Norwegian Farming Institute, she travelled across Scandinavia gathering information on organic farming and blogged about her experiences on a number of social network sites. So why had she been invited to join the expedition? How was her experience relevant? She was pretty sure there weren’t any organic farms in the Artic! Curiosity and a little indecision began gnawing at her subconscious, why had she been selected as a candidate for the Svalbard Expedition and what did Harry have to do with it? What started out as a momentous opportunity was now causing Evne to reflect on her time with Harry, to relive the pain she had fought to overcome. Part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and just say yes no matter what her reservations were but another voice cautioned her to wait and think it through?

It had been over a year since Harry broke her heart, left her feeling emotionally battered, unloved and lacking in confidence. It had only been in recent months that she had ventured out on the odd date with strange men, each arranged through an online dating app. None of them worked, the men were pretty much all self absorbed, self centred and more concerned about their bodies and looks than most women she knew. So until Yrsa’s invite arrived she had spent the best part of a year tucked away in her apartment, feeling very sorry for herself and focusing solely on work.

  Olsen’s email had mentioned Harry and it was this connection that was causing her concern. It clearly stated he had recommended her for the expedition and so she had to wonder why? When they parted it had not been on good terms. They had argued, fought fiercely and Evne had shown him the door and told him she never wanted to see him again and in fact they hadn’t even spoken nor texted since. It had taken Evne a good year to disengage Harry from her everyday thoughts, therefore it was not surprising she felt perplexed that he had recommended her, something didn’t feel right! but what was it? Looking out across the skyline from her apartment Evne saw a mist descending like a nebulous carpet of dust obscuring the city rooftops till the only visible landmarks were a few random pointed church spires and the occasional high-rise. It was impossible to see anything clearly, not the houses in the city nor the answer to her big question! 

Evne let herself reflect on the first time she met Harry. He had been part of her brother Njord’s Artic team in North Western Greenland. She had joined them in Ilulissat at the end of their expedition and the three of them had a fabulous week doing lots of touristy things. They walked, talked, chatted and laughed taking in the amazing artic scenery, the rugged granite rocks, moss covered valleys and giant icebergs. The weather was fantastic, clear bright blue skies for twenty four hours a day turning only the lightest shades of pink just after midnight. Evne had never known such clarity of vision. As she considered Yrsa’s offer she wished for the same clear head that she experienced in Ilulissat but it wasn’t there, everything was clouded! She couldn’t help but wonder what Harry said to Yrsa that resulted in her receiving an invite? 

The hours passed quickly as Evne scoured the invite relentlessly, it appeared completely genuine yet she could not shake an uneasy feeling that somehow it wasn’t real, or that something about it wasn’t quite right. She realised that the name Yrsa Olsen caused her too shiver with excitement as she was famous, especially in environmental circles. Evne recalled an article published in the Guardian in 2019 when Yrsa took over as the youngest ever CEO at Scangen. She was portrayed as ruthless in her pursuit of environmental protection, a staunch advocate of tackling global warming and her most prestigious project was aligned to the Universal Seed Bank in Svalbard. Yrsa was decisive, knew what she wanted and how to get it, she had worked her way up through the ranks of Scangen from a junior office assistant to their CEO. Evne wished she could be that decisive, she knew she wanted to say yes, the expedition was a once in a lifetime opportunity, one she had only dared to dream of and yet still she hesitated! why? Olsen was holding open a door to a world of adventure all she needed was the courage to say yes and walk through!

Evne spent the whole day pondering what to do and the same two questions kept popping into her head. Why me? and why did Harry recommend me? As daylight faded and the darkness descended she still hadn’t decided what to do! She was torn, uncertain, being part of a polar expedition had been a life long ambition and yet she couldn’t shake a feeling that something about the email wasn’t quite right. Was it the mention of Harry that was making her hesitate or was she really just not brave enough to take up the challenge?

That evening as Evne started on her second large glass of wine she couldn’t stop replaying her relationship with Harry over and over in her head. Ilulissat had been brilliant fun, they had got along famously, they both knew the moment they set eyes on each other that there was a spark, an unfathomable attraction drawing them together. There is always that moment when you meet someone for the first time and find yourself drawn to their eyes, to a momentary look, a glance, a shift of the head and a knowing intimate smile aimed only at you. So it was for Evne when she first met Harry. It was not love at first sight, or even lust, it was that unfathomable mystical thrill that arouses feelings of intimacy as warmth spreads throughout your whole body.

Nothing happened in Ilulissat and on returning to Oslo Harry went his way and the holiday became a set of distant memories. Then one cold November evening about six months later Evne’s doorbell rang and when she opened it there in the hallway was Harry. He was dressed in black jeans with a loose casual grey cashmere jumper, his smile was enough to melt the largest block of ice and he was holding a bottle of chilled Pinot, her favourite wine. A wave of emotional anticipation spread warm tingling feelings through her body. She was speechless, that mystical longing, that yearning for intimacy was stronger than ever. Evne took a deep breath trying to control feelings of arousal coursing through every inch of her body. The spark that had simmered in Ilulissat now felt like a fire, raging out of control. Harry moved pass her into the apartment and their hands brushed ever so lightly. That tiniest of touches caused her chest to tighten and her heart to race. As she closed the door her back was to Harry, yet she knew he was close, she could feel his breath on her bare shoulder. Her chest thumped, beating as loud as a drum yet only she could hear the pounding, then suddenly, with a tenderness Evne had never known, she felt his warm soft lips nuzzle the back of her neck sending tiny shivers throughout her body. She submitted totally to his caresses as he turned her to face him, their lips met for the first time and she was lost in a frenzy of unbridled passion. Harry was calmer, he took her hand, looked longingly into her eyes and led her to the bedroom. She was desperate for Harry to throw her on the bed, rip off her clothes and enter her fiercely without abandon, but he was patient, gentle, teasing, exploring parts of her body that cried out to be touched, his caresses ignited suppressed passions and when finally Harry entered her, Evne felt her whole body explode. Their love making left her shattered emotionally and physically, Harry was calmer, he just smiled slipped out of bed and retrieved two large glasses of wine. Drained and exhausted they lay snuggled up in bed, no words passed between. When they had finished their drinks Harry rose slowly, picked up his clothes and dressed. He bent gently and kissed her on the head, smiled warmly and then left. The relationship lasted nearly two years, never losing any of its intensity or passion and so when Harry ended it completely out of the blue Evne was distraught. Her decision making where Harry was concerned had never been difficult it was always driven by impulse, desire and trust and yet now his name made her hesitate, she was no longer sure of him and this uncertainty caused her to question the opportunity of a lifetime.

Having slept fitfully, tossing and turning all night Evne woke feeling tired but she had reached a decision. She was over Harry, he couldn’t hurt her anymore, it didn’t matter what he’d said as she had been invited and so she moved to the computer, logged on, opened her mail box, clicked on the invite, hit the reply button and kept her answer simple, 

‘Dear Yrsa, 

yes, I would be delighted to be part of the Svalbard Expedition in 2025. I look forward to meeting you in Tromsø’. 

Kindest regards

Evne Anderson’

Within minutes of hitting the send button her mobile rang but she didn’t recognise the number. Evne slide the bar across on her phone and accepted the call, ‘Hi Evne Anderson speaking, how can I help?’ the voice at the other end sounded quiet and husky with a hint of Southern American drawl, it was an odd accent. 

“Hello Ms Anderson, my name is Revna Renouf, I’m Yrsa Olsen’s personal assistant. She has asked me to contact you re sorting out travel arrangements, accommodation and meetings for next week in Tromsø.

Revna continued, “I have checked flights for Monday there is a Norwegian Carrier leaving Oslo at 1630 arriving Tromsø circa 1900. A driver will be waiting for you in arrivals to transfer you to your hotel. 

Yrsa starts her days early and would like you to join her for breakfast on Tuesday morning. You will be picked up from your hotel at 7.00 am. I hope this information covers your initial requirements and if you are unclear on any aspect feel free to call or email”. 

An email arrived not long after the phone call and attached were electronic airline tickets, airport pick-up point and hotel details, plus a detailed schedule of meetings in Tromsø, it was signed Revna Renouf (Yrsa Olsens, Personal Assistant). Evne paused, there was something familiar about the name, then suddenly as if someone had switched on a light she remembered! Revna had been the name of Harry’s new girlfriend, the one he had left her for just over a year ago. It was there yesterday in the email, just under Yrsa’s signature, it must have been in her subconscious and she just didn’t want to face it, now she realised why she had hesitated! Somewhere in the back of her mind she was still hurting, still unsure about facing Harry let alone the new girlfriend. Her hesitation had not been based in logic it was purely emotional, but she’d won, she’d overcome her fears, accepted the challenge and was now ready for whatever lay ahead…