{"id":889,"date":"2020-01-27T10:21:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T10:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/?page_id=889"},"modified":"2020-02-12T19:28:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T19:28:25","slug":"shetland-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/shetland-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Shetland Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the Writing for Pleasure Group that I attend, one of the members suggested that, as a stimulus for our monthly writing task, we should find a place on a map that we have never been to and, following a little research, write a story set in that place. This is my story.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shetland Story<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fin sat in the passenger seat in silence, headphones on,\nlistening to music on his phone, gazing morosely out of the window. It had been\na long journey, by car and ferry, and he would be glad to get there and stretch\nhis legs. This had all been his sister\u2019s idea. Ava had thought it would be good\nfor him to \u2018get away\u2019. Get away from what? He couldn\u2019t escape his thoughts and\nfeelings. Lisa leaving him just months before their wedding had knocked him for\nsix. He felt like he would never get over it. It would be good to have a break\nfrom his friends and workmates though, who looked at him with pity and kept\ntrying to drag him out to have a bit of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scenery was beginning to distract him though. As they\ntravelled further north they had left the towns and motorways behind and now,\non the island, the scenery grew wilder. Settlements were few and far between,\nespecially since they had got off the ferry from Aberdeen. He had slept for\nmost of that ordeal fortunately. Countless nights tossing and turning had taken\nits toll and he had slept like a log.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot too far now,\u201d said Ava. \u201cWe\u2019re in Esha Ness.\u201d They had\nbooked a cottage near the western coast of the mainland for a week. Neither of\nthem had visited the Shetlands before, but Ava, a keen walker, had researched\nthe area and was looking forward to walking along the volcanic cliffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their little cottage was near Esha Ness lighthouse so the\nsight of that in the distance, along with the Sat Nav, easily led them to it.\nAside from the light house it was the only building in sight. There was not a\nsoul to be seen. Luckily they had the code for the key safe and soon got out of\nthe wind into the cosy cottage. It seemed well equipped and Ava had packed some\nfood, knowing they would not be able to pop to the shops very easily, so after\na bowl of soup they wrapped up well and went exploring. It was cold and windy,\nbut the air was fresh and clean with a tang of salt. The scenery was dramatic\nand it was easy to see how the fury of the Atlantic had shaped these dramatic\ncliffs. They walked as far as the inlet at Calder\u2019s Geo and then turned back.\nThe light would be failing soon and they would be safer returning the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they sat by the log burner drinking hot chocolate, Ava\nlooked up from her ipad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a circular walk starting at the lighthouse and\ncontinuing along the path by Calder\u2019s Geo where we got to last night. \u2018A geo is\na linear cleft in the sea cliff created by erosion. Calder\u2019s Geo has the\nlargest cave in Britain,\u2019 she read from the ipad. \u201cUnfortunately it can only be\nreached by kayak. But the walk continues north to the bay of The Burr and then\nback by the Loch of Houlland. Sounds amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fin begrudgingly agreed. He could feel himself relaxing in\nthe warmth of the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is interesting,\u201d Ava continued. \u201cThere are legends in\nthe Shetlands about selkies, or \u2018seal folk\u2019 who are mythological beings,\nusually female, who can change from seal to human form by shedding their skin.\nAfter experiencing life on land they replace their skin and return to the sea\nas a seal. There are tales of them beguiling men and taking them into the sea\nnever to return, and of men falling in love with a selkie and hiding her skin\nso that she has to stay on land with him forever. How romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly if she wanted to stay with him,\u201d returned Fin, darkly.\n\u201cOtherwise it would be hell for her, forever yearning to return to the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a tasty cooked breakfast, they wrapped up again and\nset out for the lighthouse. They repeated their walk to Calder\u2019s Geo and\ncarried on north along the coastal path. Sea birds floated on air currents\nabove the surging waves and the occasional seal could be seen popping its head\nabove the waves. The wind and the views took their breath away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They walked in companionable silence, each lost in their own\nthoughts, while enjoying the sights and sounds of the coastline, and the feel\nof the wind. The exercise and fresh air worked wonders on Fin\u2019s mood and he was\nglad he had agreed to come. They rounded the headland to the bay of The Burr\nand were rewarded with amazing views. Turning south they walked along the shore\nof the Loch of Houlland. There was a small island in the middle of the loch\nthat could be reached by a causeway. A ruined building could be seen on it.\nThey passed a water mill and crossed a stone wall back to Calder\u2019s Geo and back\nto the lighthouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI enjoyed that, Ava, thanks,\u201d said Fin, giving his sister a\nquick hug as they turned back towards their cottage. \u201cIt was just what I\nneeded. I\u2019m starving. I\u2019ll treat you to lunch at the nearest pub.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had to drive, but it wasn\u2019t too far, and before long\nthey were tucking in to a traditional \u2018reestit mutton soup with bere meal\nbread\u2019. Chatting with locals they discovered that if they drove on a bit\nfurther they would come to a village with an excellent butcher and bakery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They headed home with some lamb chops to grill and some\nfresh bread and cakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava, tired after the walk and the filling lunch chose to\nrelax in the cottage for the rest of the afternoon but Fin was restless and\nfound a path that took him down to a rocky beach. He sat on a suitable rock and\ngazed out to sea, rethinking his future. He could see a seal bobbing about out\nto sea. It was swimming parallel to the coast. Sometimes he lost sight of the\nround head as it disappeared under or behind the waves, but it would reappear\nand continue towards the rocks, whereupon it turned and swam back parallel to\nthe shore in the other direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually the seal turned back but this time it turned to\nswim to the shore. Fin stayed very still. He didn\u2019t want to scare it away, he\nwould like to see it on the beach. The \u2018seal\u2019 swam up the beach and then stood\nup! It wasn\u2019t a seal at all but a woman! For one crazy moment Fin was reminded\nof the legends of the selkies, but no, this was a woman in a wetsuit. She was\nnot aware of his presence as she stripped off the wetsuit, revealing a slender\nbody in a black swim suit. Rummaging in a backpack hidden by the rocks she took\nout a towel and clothes and proceeded to get dry and dressed. Fin felt a bit\nawkward, she had not seen him but if he made himself known now it would look\nlike he had been watching her. The best thing would be to stride down the beach\ntowards her and try to look as though he had just made it down from the path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHi,\u201d he said loudly to avoid looking like he was creeping\nup on her. \u201cI bet the sea is cold.\u201d What a stupid thing to say but he found he\ncouldn\u2019t think of anything except how pretty her face was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCertainly is,\u201d she replied. \u201cI love it. I swim as much as I\ncan. I\u2019m like a seal,\u201d she laughed as she put her backpack on her back. \u201cBetter\nget back now and get warmed up.\u201d She started to walk away, but Fin stopped her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t forget this,\u201d he said as he handed the woman her\n\u2018skin\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They walked together back to the lighthouse where her car\nwas parked, exchanging names and Fin was glad that he had several more days in\nthis beguiling place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the Writing for Pleasure Group that I attend, one of the members suggested that, as a stimulus for our monthly writing task, we should find a place on a map that we have never been to and, following a little research, write a story set in that place. This is my story. Shetland Story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-889","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Carol","author_link":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":2,"rttpg_category":null,"rttpg_excerpt":"At the Writing for Pleasure Group that I attend, one of the members suggested that, as a stimulus for our monthly writing task, we should find a place on a map that we have never been to and, following a little research, write a story set in that place. This is my story. Shetland Story…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":890,"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/889\/revisions\/890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolbarton.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}