Six Seconds Of Gronland

"Nuuk!"

"Nuuk? Never heard of it. Where is that?"

“Greenland, aunty.”

“Not a clue.”

“Really? Denmark?”

"When I say 'never heard of it’ I mean I have never heard of it."

"North Atlantic??...The country with like…eight people? -"

Nothing! It was useless.

" Kalaallit Nunaat?"

"Stop it! Come on, you are making it worse."

***

Among the biggest islands in the world, two-point one million kilometers square is the size of the biggest island in the world. Some people think it is as large as Africa, but in truth, Africa is bigger. A continent that is fifteen times the size of Greenland.

Greenland might be the biggest island but fifty-six thousand and three hundred people are its demographic figure, making it the country with the least population in the world. Do you know why? Well, eighty percentiles of glorious Greenland is iced. At least for the most part of the year. 

And at that moment, I just felt like a ski.

*

TWO SECONDS

In Nuuk Airport, Greenland.

Evening.

Early June of 2019.

I stepped out and met the open. I felt a deep relief. I occasionally got mad at the lady who handled my booking to Nuuk; as well as the lady from my country’s airport. Maybe they were just doing their job. But two flights without a window!

Nevertheless, all that mattered was that my dream had finally come to life, and I was going to be on my first summer trip.

I made my way down, and at least for this once, looked where I was stepping. I have always liked to stare at the sky.

The plane was fully packed, from the Sisimiut Airport to Nuuk Airport. It was the first airport I have ever landed in an airline since I was born. It was my first time in a new country too. I felt that there were going to be many things that I will experience for the first time, and I was ready for it.

**

Of all the places I have ever visited, I never came across any place like Nuuk. The plane was full of travelers, who came for summer, but the area had countable heads.

That is how I was able to locate Nuk, whose real name is Inuk. He saw me across the road. I had finally met my only friend from the other side of the world.

“I see you found your way to Greenland!” He was smiling wide. Then wider.

“I almost landed on Iceland; it was greener!”

He broke into a wild laugh, “Welcome home, Kaka!”

He took the bigger luggage, I slumped towards the car across the main road with the smaller case. I had never seen a sky so colorful and so vast. It almost felt like the clouds extended to the stars. The atmosphere like infinite painted walls. The sun hid behind the translucent cloud cover, illuminating the ground below uniformly. Everything felt so new. The distinction in the bright sky felt unreal.

I tripped over a raised step and my luggage flew as I fell over it. I touched the ground felt the snow, and I turned around and laid over my back. I saw the huge clouds like rainbow eruptions. I saw Nuk, and a taller young man, both stand over me.

“Are you okay?”

“No!” I was smiling.

“Should we call a doctor?” Hans asked.

“Yeah, a lady nurse to be precise. So that she can take off these clothes. They are too heavy!”

They got me up, hardly getting hold of themselves. I must have been a natural in making them laugh. We had had countless conversations online, and I could tell. I cracked their ribs.

My aunt knew them by name and by their faces. But never by their personalities like I did. My aunt would say, “The technology is growing so fast. In my time, we went to visit each other. No matter how far you lived. You cannot compare the reflection to the real person, even if you know them better than they know themselves.”

I had thought of it for months. And looking at Nuuk and Hans help me up at Greenlandic airport proved it. Back in Africa, no one did that for you. You fell down? You woke without your wallet and your shoes. Sometimes I did not even bother checking if my phone was still there after the burglars left. It was a waste of time. The pickpocketers can fish out a single strand of gold the size of a single hair in a stack of hay, eyes closed. I would get up and head home.

“Welcome home!” Hans hugged and took the small case.

In the car were Isabella and Kimmernaq. My accent? The last part of her name felt impossible in pronunciation, so I just called her Kim.

And we drove off.

***

THREE SECONDS

I could not find my wristwatch. Isabella was preparing dinner. I was in my room; a simple room. Simpler than any other room I have ever dwelled in. It was my first time living in a simple room. Let me define 'simple room'. Nothing in it except a bed and a bathroom. Colored in creamy whitish paint and a very wide window.

 My previous room back in my country was complicated. It had no window.

I zipped up the bags and put them near the closet and steadily approached the window. Time stopped. I felt more than once like time was not moving, and it felt good. I planned to check out my to-do list for Greenland. My aunt taught me how to make things happen in my life. She said, “You must not embark on a journey that hath no map.”

I had asked her, what if the journey has not provided me with a map. And I had it coming.

“YOU MAKE ONE!”

I held my map for Greenland in my palm. My To-Do lists. And I read through the goals I had written down, each row with a check-box on the side.

***

The dining room was well lit. It was Nuk’s idea for the Hotel Sisorarfiit and he had decided to host the whole team. I joined them. The table stood at the center of the room, a large window, and a light fluorescent light over our heads. There were other lamps around the rented house. They made the environment ambiently beautiful. Kim sat on my left side. Nuk sat on my right, facing me, opposite Hans on the other side of Kim. Isabella sat looking at me, opposite Kim and me. One chair was empty, but Isabella had put a plate.

“Are we expecting anyone else?” Nuk asked.

“Ivaana -.”

There was a knock. Hans rose up and went to check. The sky was losing light, but appreciating in natural beauty. I saw the sky color gas away like neon lights. I watched the sunset, and I did not hear Hans introducing Ivaana to me. They must have called me a thousand times by the time Kim carefully moved her hand under the table and laid them on lap. Only I saw her. And I felt her soft palm on my thigh. Her palms were getting warmer.

I looked at Hans, behind me. A lady stood beside. Her irises unshaken and steady eye contact.

“This Ivaana, Kaka.”

“Hello, Ivaana,” I said looking at her and I rose up, and stretched my hand. She shook mine, smiling. She was looking so happy. "I don't see this in my country," I thought. People so happy to finally meet me. It was mutually pleasant.

“It is an honor to finally see you in person.” She spoke in smiles.

“Wow, thank you.” I looked at everyone else, and they were waiting for us to sit down.

“Have you met the food?” I asked Ivaana and Hans. She laughs. Everyone did.

“I see they put an extra plate on the table. I actually thought it was mine, just in case I was not satisfied.” I said, sitting down, and everybody found their comfort at the dinner table. Isabella brought her meal.

Ivaana filled the last seat.

I looked at my plate. It was there for a few minutes but I had not noticed. It must have been the view through the window. I always remember that magnificent sunset looking back at me to bid farewell.

“Soup?” I was shocked.

“Yeah! SUAASAT! You know it?”

Suaasat is whale soup. It looked exactly like soup from my village in Central Africa. But it was fish soup. This was a small town on the western side of Southern Greenland that could take your breath away, between snowy hills. We had traveled east from the airport. and I had plans.

On the table was a hamburger for everyone too, and Pepsi.

“Who made this?” They were laughing. No one was answering. I dug in anyway. It was super delicious.

*

We were in our respective rooms except for Hans. Nuk came.

“I know you are too tired. You will rest until you feel good. A full long rest.”

I agreed. I had just seen the sun setting, and he told me that they were waiting for the sun to rise again. Hans was waiting. I was jealous. My eyes could not stand it.

“You are going to be up all night? It is midnight. You could sleep for four hours then wake up to see it just in time.” He laughed.

“The sun is about to rise.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the sun will be rising in about…” He checks his watch, “...two and a half hours.

“What is this place. One cannot get enough sleep naturally!”

“This is summer. And bedtime isn't a word we use. Here at Sisorarfiit, they go skiing. We go ski tomorrow.”

“Oh! Alright!”

I had never skidded in my life and I told him about it. I did not want to look like a fool the next day.

“I would be surprised if you could ski, Kaka.” I laughed it out.

“You yourself told me you did want to ski. But you say many times you do not have the skills. So, you are safe with me. Tomorrow we ski. And the day after that.”

FOUR SECONDS

Nuk was holding my hand, the rest of the team was watching, in the lower slopes of the ridge. I was learning to ski.

I was sliding and fear made me lose my balance every time I made a good ski.

“You need to relax,” Inuk said, and I did. The heavy attire facilitated my downfall as I could not get used to seeing the ground well. The jackets were spongy with air inside. The pilot glasses for my eyes were a little bit unusual too. The sun was up all day and all night.

Nuk had a call. I stood alone.

I saw Kim, and she approached. I was amazed by her effortless ski skills. She took my hand and the same feeling came back. Warmth and this time, with confidence. Time passed fast, and before I knew it, I was on the slow with the sticks alone.

*

In the evening, I removed my notebook, and checked out ‘SKI’.

*

We reached the famous museum. It read Welcome To NKA.

“N.K.A.?” I wondered aloud.

“Nunatta Katersugaasivia Allagaateqarfialu.”

“I don’t even wanna know what that means.” I did not know what I had just heard from Ivaana.

“The only name I know in Danish is Kalaallit Nunaat.”

Every moment became memorable. The conversation kept going.

“It means Greenland National Museum and Archives.” Ivaana lastly told me.

No matter where we went, the sky would always make my heart skip a bit. I slept through the first sunrise but I was not planning to miss the next.

“Can we skip this one?” I pleaded, looking into my list.

“Where do you want us to go? It is your day, Kaka.” Nuk who was on the wheel said.

“There is another museum I read about. Narsarsuaq?”

“You are a fan of the Vikings?” Kim asked. I had watched a few series while I was a kid, and I always wanted to be a Viking. Like Erik.

“Yes, of course.” “You belong in England.” She kept saying especially when I identified the Tunulliarfik Fjords.

***

Erik the Red is a Greenland legend. He knew Greenland as a trading route before the year 1000. Erik was hesitant to explore the land until he was banished from Iceland. If he stayed, he was going to be killed.

“What had he done?” I asked the Narsarsuaq Museum manager.

“He had a short temper and murdered slaves. It was not acceptable, and therefore, he was asked to leave.”

“He never went back?”

“He was banished for three years. He was to go back afterward. But he lived here until he died.”

“Why did he not go back to Iceland?”

Erik the Red ruled Greenland. He named it Gronland so that he would attract more people. Instead of going back to Iceland and be a mere farmer, he lived to be King.

*

We went to Norse ruins, not far from the museum, where I was flabbergasted by the farms. Being a spiritual person, I had heard about the first Church in England. I just had to see it. The fact that it was the first church, made it into my to-do list. I planned to take some vegetables back to the hotel too.

The pleasant bucolic scene was unimaginable. Back at home, I had been a writer and a farmer. And I saw the cascading slopes, just like the painting of the sky in the Museum of Art.

FIVE SECONDS

The alarm went off. I opened my eyes. I was up on time. Nuk knocked on the door. We had planned a secret visit before daybreak. He wished to take me to his work. It is what he did for a living. He was a photographer, famous in Greenland, and a writer.

We prepared ourselves and as we journeyed in the van, I watched the vibrant early skies.

“So, how is aunt doing?” He requested, keeping his eyes on the road for a few minutes, then giving me a sympathetic glance. After a mild silence, I answered.

“She is getting better.”

“I am so sorry.” There was some more silence. The engine roared through the wet road.

“It is fine. She told me. She was happy for me, I believe her.”

“I believe her too. Why would she let you go when she knew she needed you most? It is when the body heals, that it meets the toughest challenges. If I could, I would have postponed this trip.”

“I should be optimistic like you.” “Take heart.”

I had told my aunt, who had been sick for a year, that I was invited to a book tour in Greenland, she was first surprised. Then she was supportive, something that is very rare. She needed me more. I saw it in her eyes.

I checked the two items on my list. Nuk took me to a place with the largest view of sheets of snow landscape I have ever seen. We caught the full video of the most delectable dawn morphing into the day. I had seen a sunset and sunrise in Gronland.

*

Later that day, we met the team at a Lounge, INUK LOUNGE by the sea, where the book signing was going to take place. Nuk had taken the world by storm in his book, Six Seconds of Gronland. His book was one of my favorites, focusing on travel around the world. I was lucky to be his editor.

Everyone was seated. The team seated behind me on the stage. I was opening the event with a speech. I looked into the eyes of the audience. They were lit with expectations. I did not look at the time. I had not gotten used to the Greenlandic timeline. The days were super long and the nights disappeared fast. The air was warm, and dawn was always covered in dense mist. Sometimes a deep fog. The site was magnificent, watching the fog disappear, exposing the melting glacier, and I adored it.

It was 1500H. Nuk showed me the thumb. Time to start.

*

I spoke for half an hour and lost track of time afterward.

The book club was fun, but I wanted to go ski. And ski again after that. My mind refused to stick to the program, so was Nuk’s.

And I thought of aunt. A lot. I didn’t know why. I promised myself I would call her after the event.

FIRST SECOND

"Nuuk!"

"Nuuk? Never heard of it. Where is that?"

“Greenland, aunty.”

“Not a clue.”

“Really? Denmark?”

"When I say 'never heard of it’ I mean I have never heard of it."

" Kalaallit Nunaat?"

"Stop it! Come on, you are making it worse."

“Okay. That is where I am supposed to be going in a week. But I won’t go.” I laughed.

She held my hand, and said, “You must go! Go. I don’t think you will ever get this chance easily. If I were you, I would just go! Right now!”

“I won’t go no matter what. I will stay and take care of you.”

SIX SECONDS

The email was short, and I read again it on the bed, tears rolling down. I remembered our last talk with my aunt. The whole Greenlandic team was around me.

“Kaka, my son. I am so proud of you. Do be happy, because I will always be with you. I feel my time has come, and I know you are having a time of your life. Live like there is no tomorrow. Like you told me. You will ski for you and for me. I felt it too.

Be happy son.”

And I hugged them back. It was alright.