_There Are Things I Want You to Know_ About Stieg Larsson and Me - Eva Gabrielsson [45]
“That’s it.”
“Okay, you’re in luck. My family’s here, I’ll ask them.”
When she came back to the phone she told Britt that as far as they all knew, there were no particular rules about the rhyme scheme or number of syllables. On the other hand, she pointed out, there was a distinct obligation to limit the curse to the time it took for the foe to change his attitude and actions and formally recognize his faults.
Relieved, I was able to get to work, and made sure that I cursed Stieg’s enemies only until they realized what they had done.
The nid was ready at eight that evening, just before the guests arrived, the last of whom didn’t show up until ten and in evening dress, having slipped away from a fancy New Year’s Eve party. Half an hour later, we left the apartment and headed west to the farthest spit of Reimersholm, which juts out into Lake Malaren. The temperature hadn’t gone below zero, so it wasn’t very cold and the lake hadn’t frozen over. There was hardly any snow, and wherever New Year’s Eve parties were in full swing, windows shone brightly in the dark night. At the end of the island, I leaned back against a wooden barrier, with my back to the water. Behind me, on the other shore of the lake, were Eleanor’s house and the dock where I used to tie up the communal rowboat I borrowed whenever I went over to see her. In front of me stood the tree under which Stieg and I had often sat at night with a thermos of hot coffee, and the hill where we used to picnic in the summer. Happy memories were streaming by … it was a peaceful moment, moving and serene.
One of the guests produced some large candles from his backpack and set them alight on top of the wooden barrier. Then, to my great surprise, he pulled out a torch that he lighted and held aloft. With this fire, the pagan ritual was in its element! All of our friends there knew as well as I did what this ceremony was for. Speaking slowly and very distinctly, I read the nid I had composed. And I succeeded at last in expressing what I felt.
I am reading a nid for Stieg
I am reading a nid for you who were against him
You who took his time, his knowledge, and his friendship
Giving nothing in return
Friends are duty-bound to be loyal lifelong to their friends
And to render gift for gift
Friends reply with mockery to the mockery of others
And to lies with lies
(Havamal 42)
Friends are duty-bound to be loyal lifelong to their friends
And loyal as well to any friend of their friends
But no one should befriend
A friend’s enemy
(Havamal 43)
This nid is for you:
Evil, sly, cowardly
You who think yourselves above others
You who lead them to misfortune and death
You the evil ones who wished to rob Stieg of life
You who plotted, spied, and stirred up prejudice
You above all, N. N.
You the sly
You who let Stieg work himself to pieces
For your own profit and your career alone
You above all, N. N.
You the cowardly
You who let Stieg fight your battles
While you raked in the salaries of your cushy jobs
You, too many to mention
All sorts of you
In suits, ties, and wingtips
This nid is for you
I hope
That the trickster Loki spellbinds your eyes
So you will see only enemies around you forevermore
And you will all cut one another down
That hammer-wielding Thor will shatter your strength
When you indulge in violence
Against the true soul-friends of Stieg
That Lord Odin and our three Fates—Urd, Skuld, Verdandi
Strike you with confusion
Sinking your careers and ill-gotten gains
That Freyr and Freyja—fertility, fruitfulness, and love
And light-bearing Baldr strip away your joy in life
Turning bread, beer, and desire
Into stones, muddy water, and dejection
That one-eyed Odin sends Hugin and Munin
Twin ravens of thought and memory
To peck open your minds so that good common sense
Can drive out your ignorance
To peck at your eyes
To make you see what you do
So you cannot remain blind forever
To peck at your hearts
Making what your meanness and stupidity have wrought
Haunt you with the same anxieties and terrors