Boende med 3 + 2 bäddar i Norrtälje Räfsnäs Roslagen Rådmansö, Stockholms län uthyres.
- As you put your little ones to bed, they ask you if there are wolves. "Oh sweeties," you reply, "even if there are, they are outside and will stay there." You smooth down your daughter’s light fly-away hair and straighten her pillow. You reach over and do the same for your son. He winks at you and then Grrrrs as if he is a wolf. “No, we’ll have none of that,” you say, “Go to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll get up and explore.”
It's your vacation's first night. The picturesque simple cottage nestles at the edge of the woods close to a sparkling estuary. The place is yours for the week: a little red-painted cottage with a white sun porch facing south. The charm of the Swedish coast and woods wraps around you. The smell of the pine and spruce seeps through the windows.
"Nothing here is going to harm you," you remind them. And they believe you.
Outside their window two chairs sit on the porch and your spouse smiles in at you from her chair as you finish settling in your dear little ones. Back outside, the late evening sunlight and gentle breeze coming off the water lift your cares away. The gardens that extend away from the house and down to the shore are dotted with birch, each surrounded by clumps of either rose hips or cloudberry. Your spouse of fifteen years compliments you on your success in finding this little spot and offers you another glass of wine. You settle into your seat and accept the offer. A toast - a toast to a good week ahead.
But, you are not alone. Below your feet, in the dark below the porch, is another story. There, if you could see down between the white floor boards or through the holes of the white lattice grill that forms the porch’s skirt siding, you’d find a quiet area, devoid of grass and plants. It sits in shade all year. Leaves that have blown in through the lattice remain trapped. A small openable section of the lattice could be used to enter this area, but this is seldom used. A set of car keys, lost by a former renter, sit atop the ground’s blanket of leaves and other tree litter. Several coins, some well dated, lie at the bottom, having slowly settled over time.
There is yet one thing more. If you were to crawl into this space and were to dare to kick up the mildew by sweeping out ahead of you, so as to clear away the blanket of leaves and debris, you'd find a lid. This lid, wooden and circular, slightly warped from age, and fitted with a single rope tug handle, sits firmly into the turf. It would take the two of you to heave it out of place. And there, beneath, you’d find darkness, darkness in the form of a forgotten well, dug out long ago and discarded when the effort to reach the water table proved too difficult at this corner of the house foundation. A discard, covered over and left.
Bra standard, vattentoalett, dusch, tvätt- och diskmaskin. Kommunalt vatten. 150 meter till havet, klipper och strand.
- Suppose you were to continue. You have several electric torches with you. The kids have one each, likely clung to their chests by their little fingers and hands as they drift off to sleep. If you were to retrieve them, tie one to the length of rope that you find down at the boathouse and then lower it, you’d discover the well’s depth. Downwards your torch would lower until it came to rest four or five meters below the turf. The lamp would shine on the stone floor of a very tight space. Nothing more, other than the small amount of forest debris that have reached here over what must be decades of time.
And so, satisfied with your exploration, you’d likely retire back to the porch. Little else to see. However that’s just the trick. There’s more yet. But it would require your descent in order to find anything. Yet this would be nearly impossible, given the narrowness of the well. In fact you’d have to be lowered head first in order to make an adequate search of the base. A ridiculous effort, given the situation.
Yet there, concealed at the bottom is an alcove. Dark, dry and hidden this small space rests undisturbed. However it is not empty. Tucked away within are two forms. Children, both, rest on their sides directly on the stone floor. If it were at all possible that you could have descended and were to survive the astonishment of finding them there at the bottom of this abandoned black spot, a hand laid on their cheeks or arms might occur next. Their skin is cold, yet no colder nor warmer than the surrounding air and stone. There is no color to their skin. No rosiness to their cheeks. There’s no movement to their chests. No pulse could be found. Resting your fingers alongside their necks or by gently embracing their tender wrists you’d feel not a single movement.
Cykelvänliga vägar och vackra skogar med mycket bär och svamp.
- The gentleman who operates much of the local historical society could you about this house. It has been there for about forty years. Before it, he would recall, there was another similar structure. And before that, and now we’re going back to the late 1880s, there was a small lumbering camp. It was during this prior time that a more permanent structure was attempted. Something was needed in order to house the men. The foundation work was prepared and a well was attempted. But the first and second efforts were given up because of rock. They were covered over. Since then, they’ve been left. During later construction work at the site they became known to the builders but were left alone. One of the carpenters bothered to make a solid lid for each of the wells and with these in place the holes were left in solitude.
But the local historian would know nothing of the wells. He’d tell you what he could, smile, and might add that there’s never been any trouble at the property. As long back as he’d be able to recall, the spot is perfect for its present use. He’d wish you a good day, tell you to enjoy your week and let you back out into the September sunshine.
Närhet till golfbana och båtramp. 7 km till insjö med fin badplats speciellt lämpad för mindre barn och beachvolleyplan.
- The evening is growing late. You retire for the night, blow out the candle on the little round table that sits between your porch chairs, and head inside. There’s a lock on the porch door. You ponder that as you close up the house. Back at home it has become common to lock the doors at night. But here, why, it’s as if you’ve found a way to retreat to some of the moments from your own childhood. Locks were never bothered with. There was no fear of intruders. You consider that perhaps life hasn’t always moved in a more favorable direction. But here in the woods and open country away from the city, it’s different. You breathe in again the smell the pines and listen to the quiet. There’s no need for locks here and - grasping those memories from when you, your siblings and parents used to come to cabins like this - you decide to leave the lock alone and shed off that need for constant security.
In the next room over your little ones are asleep.
"Nothing here is going to harm you," you told them. And they believe you.
9 km till mataffär, bank och post. Busshållplats 150 m.
- It was a little over two years ago that the other children arrived. This is the first time here for one of them. For the other it is perhaps the third or fourth. For close to a week they played in and around the cottage, calling it their own and exploring into every corner. Then, feeling the need overcoming them and their slight and lean bodies, they climbed carefully under the porch, lifted the lid, and descended into the darkness. They’ve been down there since then. Not a single movement, not a single breath.
They arrived naked. They remain that way. Not a shred of their actual existence can be found within a two hour walk from this place. It all lies concealed elsewhere, specifically far separated from where they are laying tonight.
“Tomorrow will be fun,” says your spouse. You agree. The kitchen is stocked for a little breakfast. You have plans for the day. Exploring the property will likely take up much of the afternoon. Your little darlings will want to see it all and splash in the water.
But tonight as you give way to sleep, unknown to you, a pair of eyes is open. They stare for a long time into the darkness. Something basic within is awake. It listens while the child that contains it still rests.
Overhead the moon moves quietly through the night.
The gentle breeze blows the curtains of your bedroom windows. In the next room over, the same breeze floats the hair of your sleeping daughter.
"Nothing here is going to harm you," you told them. And they believe you.
Five meters down, a bony finger twitches.
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Charming cottage in Roslagen 150m to the sea
Accomodation with 4 + 2 beds in Norrtälje Roslagen Räfsnäs Rådmansö, Stockholm County Rent.
Good standard, flush toilet, shower, washing machine and dishwasher. Municipal water. 150 meters to the sea, cut and beach.
Cycle friendly paths and beautiful forests with lots of mushrooms and berries.
Proximity to golf course and boat ramp. 7 km to the lake with nice beach especially suitable for small children and beach volleyball court.
9 km to the grocery store, bank and post office. Bus 150 m.
