My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (38 page)
She entered the room in a trance. She was a grandmother. She was surprised to realize that once she had seen her grandson, she longed above all else to hurry back to Matthew.
SATURDAY
, 24 JUNE 20 0 6
IT
WAS
THRA
A'S
turn. She stepped up to the open grave. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," she murmured, sprinkling earth over the little coffin. She made the sign of the cross into the empty air above the polished veneer of the coffin lid and turned away.
Only a few people had come to the little church and silently followed the coffin out into the churchyard, and now they stood in the drizzle. Thora had taken Lara's hand for the short procession. She felt that the old lady appreciated the gesture, and she didn't let go until Lara walked sadly over to the coffin to pay her last respects to the dead child. Only she and an elderly man among the mourners appeared to be affected by the ceremony. He was a sad sight. It was Magnus Baldvinsson. He had arrived just as the service was beginning, and had quietly taken a seat at the back of the church. In the procession too, he had stayed a few steps behind the others. His hat was clutched tightly in both hands, and whenever Thora looked at him his eyes were fixed on the ground. She felt sorry for him. She wondered whether she should go over to him, but decided to stay with Lara. She needed her, but Thora had no idea how Magnus would react if she approached him.
The pastor closed his eyes and began the prayer, and Thora followed suit. She had a feeling that Kristin would have approved of his choice:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord
my
soul to keep.
And
if
I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord
my
soul to take.
The mourners stumbled their way through "Abide with Me" before leaving, one by one, with the pastor's blessing. Finally only three remained: Lara, Thora, and Magnus. He still stood apart, head bowed.
"Come with me," said Lara quietly. "I'll make you some coffee." She put her arm through Thora's. "I want to show you the letter. Are you in a hurry?"
"No," answered Thora. They walked out of the churchyard, leaving Magnus Baldvinsson standing alone over the remains of his long-dead daughter.
Thora smiled to herself as she heard a faint cry from the lava field beyond the churchyard. That damned cat, she thought, but then she remembered that she had spotted the ginger tom when she drove past Tunga on her way to the funeral. He could never have made it all this way in such a short time. The crying grew more piteous and Thora grasped the old lady's thin, frail arm more firmly. "Could we walk a little faster?" she asked, shivering. "This place gives me the creeps."
Y
RSA
S
IGURDARDOTTIR
is an award-winning author of five children's novels, and her first adult novel,
Last Rituals,
also featuring Thora Gudmundsdottir. She is currently one of the directors of Verkis, one of Iceland's largest engineering firms, and lives with her family in Reykjavik.
www.facebook.com/pages/Yrsa-Sigurardottir/17790914348?ref=ts
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Last Rituals