It’s dark. Cloudy. The snow does not show any sign of letting up. No one is allowed outside…

Why not sit by the fire and take a few moments to relax. Welcome to today’s edition of the Durénnmørk Weather Report.

I woke up at 3:00AM last night. Sweat poured down my brow. Another nightmare. Since I moved here, I don’t think I’ve ever had a good sleep. Dark figures, dancing about in moonlight. Harrowing visions of the fire that killed my family. I originally left my home, way back when, to get away from those memories. Why do I stay here? I hear that Germany, or France are nice, this time of year. Honestly, I cannot explain. Something compels me. I of course, don’t really buy into the “no one leaves” line. It’s a fun marketing strategy, perhaps. But, when it comes down to it I – any of us could leave and never return. Right now. But… we don’t. I don’t. I just don’t know.

Upon my wake (with more meanings than one), I noticed that my wife was absent. Being a Durénnmørk local, she is usually not plagued by restless nights. In fact, she’s usually a particularly deep sleeper. I called out her name, to no avail. I teeter out of bed, grab my dressing gown and carefully manage to make my way downstairs. I hear something. A low, indistinct hum. The sort of ambient sound one might hear in a David Lynch film. It’s odd, while not particularly out of the ordinary here, I felt… scared. Perhaps it was just my post-nightmare, half-awake state of mind. I called out my wife’s name again. Nothing. I stop for a moment and listen. The hum has gotten louder. Wait. It’s no longer the simple monotone anymore. There’s a slight tune. I haven’t heard that song since I was a child. My grandmother used to sing it to me, to calm me before bed. I have to say, the song did little to calm me here. I turned to my right and saw her. My wife. Standing outside, in the cold, covered in a thin layer of freshly fallen snow. Eyes still closed. I walked over, opened the back door and called to her yet again. She continued humming, swaying slowly. Had I ever told her about that song?

At this point, many people might feel as though this scene was straight out of a horror movie. That I should run. Run now! But, when events like this happen - when it’s really happening to you - you think of things differently. This was my wife, someone I loved… it hardly felt like a time to stop and think rationally. I continued to approach. Closer, closer. I was within reach. Her humming continued. I tapped her gently on the shoulder. Her eyes sprung open and stared at me with a most frightening expression – as though she had “just seen a ghost”. A moment later, her expression relaxes, she smiles at me, as though nothing had happened. I explained to her what had just transpired. “Oh, yes.” she replied, somewhat knowingly. As she returned to the comfort of the house, I just stared back at her… What just happened?

…And what did all of this have to do with the weather? Well – Oh. Oh dear.

Yours sincerely,

-Evelyn Wane