The new mother and her baby are lying on a bed in one corner as the woman who delivered her helps me to another in an opposing corner. She smiles at me as she helps me into the bed, pulling the blankets up over me. She says something that I don’t understand but I can tell from her face that it’s kind. She leaves me and comes back, handing me a bowl of some kind of stew. I am starving and I happily eat it.
After a bit, there’s a knock at the hut and, eventually, Anders appears. He’s escorted over to me and he smiles, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He reaches in his bag and pulls something out, handing it to me.
I take the item and smile at it. It’s carefully wrapped in a piece of linen, tied together with a beautiful red ribbon. “Gipt,” he says softly, tugging at one end of the ribbon, encouraging me to unwrap the item. Confused, I follow his lead, laying the ribbon on the bed next to me and unfolding the fabric to find a beautiful, brass comb. I look up at him, and he’s smiling at me so big as he takes it from me and moves to sit behind me.
He takes my hair and gently begins to comb the knots that have been forming for me. He stays there for so long, making sure that each hair is perfectly cared for, gently running through my hair in sections, taking his time. The older woman looks at us with a smile on her wrinkled face, not saying a word. No one here seems to be bothered that he’s here, or that he’s combing my hair, and I relax, leaning into him. He's so warm and, for whatever reason, he feels so safe.
When he’s finally finished with my hair, he wraps his strong arms around me, whispering in my ear, “minn.”
Catherine comes into the hut, looking around and coming over to me. She sits next to us on the ground, saying something to Anders. They speak for a few moments before she turns to me. “It’s a gift for you,” she says, nodding to the comb. “He wants to know that you are alright. He wants to know that you understand what has happened.”
“I don’t,” I tell her. “I’m unclean. I don’t know why he’s taking care of me. He shouldn't be around me right now.”
She shakes her head at me. “It’s not like that here,” she says, smiling at him. “It’s not something they are ashamed of here. It means you are healthy, that you can bear his children. He is happy and wants to care for you.”
“Oh,” I say, trying to absorb what she’s said. His children? That feels so heavy yet, so right.
“You helped a baby come to us,” she says with a smile. “It is good luck here. It means you will be blessed with children of your own. Women come here when sick or in need of care, for this time or to have their baby. They want you to learn to care for mothers.”
I look at her in confusion. “They want you to help, to be a midwife,” she says with a nod. “They said you did very well, that you have a gift from Frigga.”
“Frigga?” I ask, confused.
Catherine says something to Anders and he smiles at me, holding me tightly to him. “She’s the Goddess of childbirth. I’ll tell you about her soon, but first, you need to learn to speak with your man.”
She says something to Anders again and after a brief conversation, she sighs. “He wants me to tell you that he has to go out with the raids again soon. After the full moon.”
“What?” I ask, feeling panicked, but he gently rubs my arm.
She nods. “There’s more, but we need to be alone for him to tell me,” she says with a shrug. “He said for you to stay in the barn while he’s gone, that the family will care for you. He needs to raid so he can afford to marry you.”
Marry me? He is serious, I can see from the look on his face. I should have known. I nod at her, wondering what else he needs to tell me that he can’t say here. He releases me and kisses my cheek. “Kærasta” he says softly in my ear and I don’t know what it means, but I don’t need to in order to understand that he’s calling me his.
He leaves and Catherine takes the ribbon from the bed, moving behind me and using it to tie my hair back. “He didn’t want me to tell you, but he’s used everything to pay people to help him build a house for you. That’s why he’s going on the raids.”
I nod, knowing that I’ve seen the amount of items in his bag dwindle quickly. I sigh, not really understanding how life here works, but I have quickly come to understand that the items they bring back are currency for them. How many people will Anders kill to care for me?
“Do you know how long they will be gone?” I ask her as she moves back to my side.
“It’s a short trip,” she says, patting my hand. “Probably just a few weeks.”
I nod, looking over at the small baby who has started crying. Her mother moves her, placing her breast in her mouth and she immediately clamps down, knowing exactly what she’s supposed to do. I've never seen anything like this, but it is absolutely amazing. “I liked helping her,” I tell Catherine.
“Good,” she says with a smile. “The midwife wants you to learn so you can replace her some day. Anders frowned, but he didn’t say anything about it. When you leave here, I’ll walk you home.”
She leaves and I lay down, curling into the comfortable bed and pulling the comb close to me. I don’t know what he had to give up to give this to me, but it’s the most precious thing I’ve ever owned.
Aksara