When I looked at the picture, I immediately felt like, hey, why don’t I make a story out of this picture! It might be great! The picture reminded me of my time at school. I felt lonely and I felt sad just looking at it. It inspired me to write this down.
There was a once a wealthy Norse family. The father was an explorer and the mother, who was pregnant, was a maid in the family. They all lived happily, until one day, the father, Harald, disappeared during his voyage at sea. The boy, Thomas, who was still in his mother’s belly, never got a chance to see his father.
35 years later…
Thomas grew up near the sea. Lillia, Thomas’s mom was very ill and could not move and go anywhere, and the family got poorer and poorer every day, so Thomas tried to find money with every way he could, but never succeeded. The only thing he was good at was sailing. One day, he overheard the villagers talking about a mountain of gold in Cuba. He was very excited about it and he quickly joined the crew going to Cuba.
The ship’s name was Ehwaz. Ehwaz means horse or transportation. When the day had come and the ship was ready to sail, Thomas said goodbye to his mother for the last time. And the story now starts……
One day, there was a very violent storm during his voyage. The ship wrecked and everybody on his ship died. Thomas struggled for four days with no food and water, until he found an island. His clothes were ripped, he was very hungry. He wandered alone with his only jacket left. Alone and lonely, he felt. Suddenly, he heard a loud bang and everything went black.
He woke up in a shadowy but warm cave. The fire in the center of the cave filled the cave with light. There was a man sitting opposite to Thomas. “Would you like some deer meat?” He said, “You’re the first human being I’ve ever seen since… never mind. Just suit yourself.” “Thank you, sir for the meal today, but why did you hit me on the head?” asked Thomas, who quickly started to eat like a hungry wolf. “Oh, it’s self-defence, because you can’t really trust anybody if you’ve lived on an island for 35 years. So, where are you from?” asked the old man. “Oh, I’m from a fishing village called Flam”, replied Thomas, with food filling his mouth quickly. The old man flinched but ask some more questions until dark. “You should get some sleep now.” advised the old man.
The next day, they started to hunt for food. They started to bond every day. One day, Thomas found out that the old man was Harald, Thomas’s long-lost father. They started to hug and planned on escaping the island. Unfortunately, no boat passed the island until all of the animals on the island were dead. They were facing a big problem, because they might not survive the coldness with their little supply of meat. One lucky day, they found a boat past their little island. They signalled for help and the boat stopped. They told the captain they wanted to go to Flam in Norway. The captain brought them back to Flam. When they got home, Thomas wondered how long he was he gone and he found out he disappeared for 5 years. Thomas’s mother was not at home, and he later found out that his mother was dead.
By going on the adventure, he found his dad but lost his mom. That is why this story’s name was Gebo. Gebo is a rune meaning gift or a fair exchange.