The cabinet

“Ladies and gentlemen – this is your captain speaking. We are approaching the airport”. The engines hummed and the flaps on both sides of the plane flapped as if our lives depended on them. For a moment it seemed as if we were floating completely still in the air. The captain came on again; “The weather is fair; the sun is shining on the island today with some wind from the Northwest. Only 15 meters per second so we are expecting a smooth landing”. So, landing in a stiff gale is a smooth landing out here. In other parts of the world, this would be synonymous with a rather bumpy landing. He finished with “Cabin crew, prepare for impact please”.

The airport was located around 5-6 km southeast of the city. 1000 years ago, the Vikings ruled here. The town got its name from the church they built in the bay in the 12th century. The church was built in memory of a chief who became a Catholic saint upon his death and he has since been the patron saint of the fishermen out here in the middle of nowhere. He may very well be needed. It’s a tough life being a fisherman here.

I wasn’t out here to visit the church or the local history as such. I had come here to try to find traces of something that happened out here just 80 years ago. After a short taxi ride from the airport, I was standing in front of the hotel. The hotel wasn’t brand new either. It had a story to tell. It was originally built as a family home in 1670. It must have been quite a home. Today it housed 37 rooms and a large restaurant. Many things had happened over the years in this building, and 80 years ago it was a military headquarter.

The reception had completely changed since I was last here. They had opened up the entire lobby, and now they also sold local liquor, clothes and local stuffed animals. Both animals that exist on the island and local fantasy animals. I felt a bit like I had entered a shop and not a hotel, but I enjoyed the atmosphere. I got the room key and headed for the elevator. This was not a lift for amateurs. Here you had to be a lift conductor, with manually sliding doors. I guess a lot of people might choose the stairs when they saw the elevator. The house was built with full and half floors, so it was often unclear which floor you were on. Last time I had a room facing the backyard where the private bathroom was down a flight of stairs from the room to a half floor. When I check into hotels, I always say I booked the tower suite. And once I got it too! I didn’t get the tower suite this time, but I did get a fantastic room with a harbour view. Here I could see the fishing boats coming and going, the ferries to and from the islands and all the medium-sized ships I had no idea what were up to. There was hectic activity on board all the time, so they were up to something. The hotel management had used covid times efficiently. If this was a three-star the last time I was here, it was a ten-star now! I almost regretted I was only staying one night this time.

After breakfast and check-out, I took my luggage and went out to the pier and on board the ferry that would take me out to the other island. The last time I was here, I got to know a woman who had invited me to stay with her this time. Martha was my age, maybe a little younger, widowed and living with her 17-year-old son Alfred. Alfred only lived there on the weekends and went to boarding school on the main island during the weekdays. The last time I was out on the island, I stayed partly in a bed and breakfast, and spent a few nights on the beach despite it being October. My project was out on the reef close to the beach, so when the days got a little long, I just stayed out there. It was cold in the middle of the night, but waking up at sunrise, lighting the fire and sitting down with freshly brewed coffee is highly recommended. My project was a ship. Not just any ship, but a ship my father sailed on. It ran aground out here 83 years ago. There were still many remains of the ship out here. The weather had worn her down, but she was still there. At least parts of her. Many of the items from the ship were taken off or stolen as soon as the crew had abandoned ship and saved themselves. There are stories of murder and accidents during the looting. However, rumours are one thing on a small island. Wanting to get to the bottom of things is another. 

I had received a tip that some items from the ship had been observed in one of the largest houses on the island. Back in its heydays it was the closest thing to a castle on the island, but now it was a ruin. It had been uninhabited for 15-20 years and the roof had collapsed many years ago. Windows were broken and young people had used the place to gather for parties. All the furniture was still there, and now it was mostly used as a destination for photo safaris for the odd visitor. Nature was about to overtake the house inside as well. It was on a picture from one such photo safari that I had spotted something that was definitely from the ship. It was a cabinet. A cabinet with a unique history.

I knew with certainty that there had been two such cabinets on board. One cabinet was today in a museum, but here was the other. I was absolutely sure of that. Where else could it have come from? It was not like there were several ships that had crashed into this island in such a way that it was possible to retrieve objects and cargo. 

Martha was at work. Alfred and I had just had dinner when a neighbour suddenly stuck his head in the door. This is Alex, Alfred explained. We greeted each other, poured wine, and sat down to discuss life in general and my project in particular. Alfred and Alex started a hypothetical discussion about how it could be justified to retrieve this cabinet without breaking the law. If a private person owned the house, then they also owned everything inside such as furniture and fixtures. I didn’t quite see how it would make a difference if a company owned the house. But Alex clearly had his thinking cap on, because now he had stood up and was looking sharply into the air, his index finger frozen as if searching for something to point at. He stood like that for what seemed like a couple of minutes before he carefully spoke some letters that turned into a word. Slowly there were more words as if he was creating the words while thinking. If, if it is the case that the house is now owned by a company of a certain size. Then…. then it is probably reasonable to assume that the first person you speak to when you call to ask if it is okay to enter the building is a random person working the switchboard. Then you have to explain the situation to them. Explain that we wonder if it is okay for us to enter the building to retrieve this cabinet. Which, after all, has no value. That must be pointed out. It has no value anymore. It is ruined because the roof of the house is broken, and the weather has taken its toll. We only want to get it out to salvage it. It has no value at this point. No value. Not for anyone. Not for us either. And what will the switchboard person say then? Alex stopped again. His silence was not an invitation for anyone else to speak. Alex had such a calm intensity and presence about his whole being that I was completely mesmerised just by being in the same room as him. He had something Richard Grant-ish about him. He gestured as if directing something. No one said anything until Alex once again returned to our galaxy. They will not be able to answer whether it is okay for us to go in and take out the cabinet. They will connect us to someone else who also cannot answer until we are finally connected to someone who says no. They do not say no because they don´t think we should get the cabinet or because they do not want to save it. They say no because they cannot understand our situation. They don’t really care. But it’s easier to say no than yes. Imagine if we get a yes, go in and hurt ourselves. Who is responsible then? Well, those who own the building have not secured it, but gave permission to enter. That’s why they say no. It is even conceivable that they send someone out here to secure the building. Board up the doors and windows and put up a fence. In that case, it will be difficult to get the cabinet out. 

Alex continued; Because that’s how it is. Yes; because it is owned by a company of a certain size, there is really no one who personally owns anything, not even this cabinet. They own the building with everything inside, but they have no idea what is inside. If it had been owned by a person, it would have been theft to enter and take something out. Simple theft even. But we have established that it is owned by a company of a certain size with a switchboard and many managers who do not personally own any of the things in the house. That’s why this does not fall under the concept of theft. It’s a rescue operation for the benefit of humanity we’re doing here guys. Alex’s index finger now pointed straight up as if he was informing higher powers of the reasoning. Without any of us noticing, Alfred had slipped out and changed into what can only be described as burglary clothing. He was standing in the middle of the floor wearing overalls, boots, a cap and work gloves.

But Alex clearly wasn’t quite done with his philosophical approach to the challenge. We won’t do it tonight. Now Alfred was lying on the floor as if he was shot or making snow angels. He was ready for a break tonight. He was ready now. With all his youthful horniness, he was ready right now.

Now that we have clarified that this is not theft or burglary, continued Alex, it will seem suspicious if we drive over there now in the middle of the night. Someone will see the lights from the car. Maybe even recognise it. There aren’t that many red vans out here with that much rust on them. Some might even think that we are committing burglary and theft in the middle of the night. And that’s not what we do. We’ll wait until tomorrow when it’s light. No wait; tomorrow I have to go into town, so it must be the day after tomorrow. He seemed very satisfied with his reasoning and the solution he had outlined. Alfred was clearly much less pleased that it wasn’t going to happen tonight. Alex sat down. Poured himself some more red wine and raised his glass as if toasting the universe. Alfred got up from the floor and got another glass of wine. It was late. It was half past three, and there we sat quietly in dim lighting with our wine. Alex emptied his glass, got up, walked to the door, turned around slightly, nodded and left. He was a wise man, but a wise man who didn’t say much when he didn’t have something smart to say. I got up too and said good night to Alfred, who remained seated. I fell asleep quickly. It had been a long day out on the reef, and quite a lot of red wine throughout the night.

Alfred was still sitting at the table when I got up the next morning. He still had the burglary clothes on. The red wine had been replaced with a coffee mug. He was smiling and in a good mood. I noticed that his face was a little dirty. There was also something else I noticed. A cabinet that hadn’t been there the night before.