the light
People keep asking (my mum) whether it's completely dark all day. It isn't.
From about half nine the sky goes a deep blue, then lighter, and around midday the south turns pink and orange, like a sunset that can't decide to happen. The snow takes the blue and holds on to it. By two it's going again. Norwegians call the blue bit blåtimen, the blue hour, and it lasts a lot longer than an hour.
I have an app that shows the sun's path as a dotted line under the horizon. Today its highest point was 11:33, a degree and a bit below the line. I've started standing at the kitchen window at that time like it's a train I'm waiting for.
At night the street fills with northern lights tourists. A bus of them parked at the bottom of the hill tonight, all in identical red snowsuits, looking up. The sky was cloudy. They took pictures of it anyway.
The knock came again yesterday and today. Same as before. Someone's having fun.