"I start with something fairly simple, something you've seen countless times." "A tree, for instance." "An oak." "On a field or something." "The bark." "The cracks in the bark, the knots or whatever you call them." "Smaller things are easier to visualise." "A dog, a..." "A German Shepherd." "Places are harder." "It helps if I knew them well before it happened." "The apartment we used to live in, our favourite restaurant, my husband's office or that shopping centre downtown." "You have to use your memories." "Take care not to be derailed." "And start to associate." "They're not really memories." "Nobody can remember a whole building." "Not every single detail." "They say that my ability to visualise will fade away." "That the optic nerves wither without new impressions." "But I can slow it down." "If I work on it every day, I can maintain it." "I used to ask my husband if I'd got it right." "If that shopping centre was blue or white." "He'd check it on Google Earth or something." "But it's not important what's real as long as I can visualise it clearly." "Bye." " Goodbye." "Is that you?" "Are you there?" "Often becomes for instance." "Many words, I would think most of the vocabulary, is the same in German and Norwegian." "For instance the numbers." "They're alike." " What else?" "It came and went." "He streamed and downloaded vast amounts, watched it, masturbated, saw more, did it again." "Maybe as often as four or five times a day, at least once or twice." "Then, loathing himself, he erased it all." "Only to start downloading again, masturbate, delete everything etc." "It was there waiting for him." "Everything was accessible." "Nothing seemed to have been left out." "The artificial dialogue bothered him." "The awkward attempts at being sexy." "But the sex was real enough." "Einar didn't know why, but he got kicks from specific things." "He had actual fetishes." "He found uncharted waters within himself." "Weird perversions he thought were unique." "But even they had been categorised long ago, made searchable for everyone." "He envied girls." "No matter how they looked, what they lacked in terms of the ideal, there were men who wanted them, who celebrated them on websites and file sharing networks." "Not everything appealed that much to him." "But who was he to judge?" "Some things he never grew tired of." "High heels." "The urge to watch naked men surrounded by clothed women." "And long hair in every variety." "But eventually the most hard-core porn lost its attraction." "He needed something mundane in the girls he masturbated to." "He loved stilettos, but women's legs seemed more real when they ended up in slippers." "He still watched rougher stuff." "It had its uses." "But it wasn't really him." "Being close to a warm, breathing woman was something else." "The female body held no secrets for Einar." "He could instantly distinguish and categorise the bodies passing by." "But the Internet couldn't tell him how it would feel to touch these bodies." "Or if they touched him." "Two soft breasts against your back." "Fingers gently stroking your neck." "Hello?" "I got your message, but I was already..." "He'll start telling me how his day has been." "Then, almost casually, ask me what I've done today." "He's trying to say that I should start going out again, not just stay in here." "With supernatural abilities?" "No, but almost." "Does he have a sense of taste besides sweet, salt, sour, umami and bitter?" "An obstacle?" " A potential obstacle?" "Can he lick his way through?" " That's not it." "But people win the lottery." "Maybe it's nothing but luck?" "Let's discuss the eternal question:" "What's worse, being blind or deaf?" "As a musician of sorts, I'd really hate being deaf." "But at the same time, I really love porn, so..." "It wouldn't be so hot if you're just left with the mood." "Elin moved to Oslo from Sweden over ten years ago to study and work part-time." "A newly divorced mother with a ten-year-old child." "She took the consequence of their dysfunctional relationship." "Having nothing in common but their son." "He'd ignored it, escaping into his work." "Elin invited their friends to dinner in her new apartment." "To the movies." "For drinks." "They came." "It was like old times." "But they never invited her in return." "Never contacted her." "She finally got the message." "They'd originally been her husband's friends." "They still were." "Her friends in Sweden were far away." "Updates on Facebook from lives she'd lost touch with long ago." "Elin met people at work." "Weekends and holidays when she didn't have her son, were worst." "The spare time, all she'd loved about being a teacher, turned against her." "What would she have done without him?" "He was the one who made it worthwhile." "But she began to notice that it was always just the two of them, going to the movies, for walks in the park or to the beach." "She regretted not knowing other couples with children." "She'd been a shy, lonely child, just like Kim was." "She didn't want to make it worse." "But it was forgotten before the weekend." "It was Friday." "Her ex-husband would come by with him." "Uh..." "Her." "You there already?" " I know it's your weekend, but..." "Kim's made friends with Hanne's friend's daughter." "She lives nearby, and..." "Yes, and...?" " Well, there's like..." "They've got something on this evening, and she'd like to..." "Kim?" "Can you have a word with mom?" "Hi, mom." " Hi, darling." "Mom?" "You know Kristine?" " The one who dances?" "No, that's Tiiril." "But she'll be there as well." "And you want to be with them?" "Well, I think you should." "But you'll have to stay with dad this weekend." "Is that okay?" "Good." "We'll find something extra fun to do on Monday." "But mom..." "What are you going to do?" "Well, actually it's alright by me." "Some old friends of mine are in town." "I can meet them this evening." "But who are they?" "Just some old friends, girls I got to know when I was a waitress." "Okay." "But what are they called?" "Turid and Kristine." "Is her name Kristine as well?" " Yeah." "But darling, we..." "Enjoy yourself." "We'll talk soon." " Kisses." "Kisses." " Bye." "It can sense things at..." " At a distance?" "I can still see in my dreams." "I wake up." "After a few seconds I remember that I can't see." "I was out dancing." "Suddenly I noticed a spot on my contact lens." "I rinsed it, danced more." "It was still there, but I ignored it." "It was still there the next day, even without lenses." "Before I could see a specialist, it appeared on the other eye too." "It usually affects night vision first." "Then it deteriorates quickly or slowly." "It depends." "Sometimes I get the feeling there's something about the acoustics." "It doesn't feel like the ceiling is as tall as he says." "I don't know how the apartment looks." "I just picture something." "He says it's light and airy, high up, so nobody can see inside." "Maybe he thought, when I said I wanted to move, and came along to see the new apartment, I'd decided to start going outside again." "He doesn't say so, but he must be disappointed." "Excuse me?" "What..." "What are you listening to?" "Isn't that Stockholms Negrer?" " Yeah." "The first album." "You recognised it?" "I didn't know they had fans in Norway." " Not that many, no." "Thirty seconds." "Done." "The door is open." " Yeah, I know." "The door is closed." "Sometimes I get the feeling he's here." "That he's still in the apartment." "I don't say anything." "He'd just tell me to stop sitting around here imagining stuff." "He'd never do anything like that." "But the floor in the hall doesn't creak much." "One long step into the living room, and he'd reach the thick carpet." "And then he could just sit down and watch me." "Pink grey." "Dark..." "Dark grey violet." "Dark green." "Deep green." "Pale pink." "Pale salmon pink." "Dark violet." "Deep violet." "White." "White." "White." "White." "What?" " Get up." "Come on, get up." "Baby pink." "Baby pink." "Morten?" "Oh, hi." "Wow." "It's been a while." " Hello." "So how are you?" "Have you got kids and so on?" "Remember that girl I used to deal with when..." "The pretty one studying Norwegian?" "Yeah." "She'd flash her tits when drunk." " That's right." "Look." " Wow." "Married?" "Whoa." "Congratulations." " Thanks." "What's she doing now?" "She worked as a teacher for years, but..." "Not right now." "So what are you doing now?" "It sort of ground to a halt after the university." "Okay." "It's been known to happen." "I had to say I was going to the gym." "Working out is approved alone time." "But going to the movies..." " That won't wash." "At the student film club, Einar had once suggested a Star Trek evening." "He wasn't a fan, but thought it would attract people." "Morten opposed it." "For a long time, Einar thought Morten had mistaken him for a trekkie." "And the film they'd just seen was a sort of sci-fi." "Maybe Morten thought that was why he was there, that he was a sci-fi buff." "You know, that Star Trek thing?" "I'm really not a big fan." "Oh no?" "Okay." "You know that Leonard Nimoy's a decent photographer?" "No, I didn't know that." "The guy with the ears?" "Right." "Black-and-white." " Okay." "Good stuff." "You still watch a lot of movies?" " Yeah." "I haven't seen you here before." " No." "No, I get tired of going alone all the time." "Is it that bad?" " No, I just..." "You know, I had like... anxiety issues." "Couldn't take the exams, and..." "So it basically ended with me and the PC, staying at home." "Well, that's a bummer." "Maybe it was the Waldorf school." "Or his parents' divorce when his sister was six." "But a large part of Morten's self-image was about being there for others." "A colleague of Morten had mentioned all the casual sex on offer on Internet dating sites." "Morten had spent a lot of time thinking about it afterwards." "Have you..." "I know it sounds stupid, but they say it works." "Have you tried online dating?" "Yeah." "I've actually tried it." " And?" "Nobody wants to be with someone who has issues." "Not in the long run." "But you're a great guy." "I've always thought of you as really funny." "You mean it?" " Of course." "You wrote for the student revue." " One sketch." "But it was good." "Really funny." "Many people are into that stuff." "I've thought about it from time to time." "That it might be something I could do professionally." "Writing for TV." "Comedy." "You should." "I get these ideas, like." "But they're really over the top." "People would be shocked." "Shocked is good." "You mean it?" " I certainly do." "Maybe I will." "Well, I have to go." "I can't stay in the gym forever." "Are there any movies coming up that are worth watching?" "The director's cut of 'Mask'." "On Wednesday?" "They say it's much better." "Would it be alright by you if I turned up on Wednesday?" "Of course." "Cool." "I'll see you there." "Good luck writing." "Bye." " Bye." "What a mess." "It gets messy when I write what comes to mind." "I should think things through." "Wait until I can see it clearly." "I don't say I'll never go outside again." "I just say the apartment is enough for now." "Then they can think I'll change my mind at some point." "But he probably knows." "There's something different about him now." "As if he's made up his mind." "Ove-Kenneth had it made for the party." "That's the office section." "The elevator shaft." "It's more detailed than the model for the contest." "It's got a great view of the fjord." "Eleven stories tall at the most." "That's the old office building." "We couldn't tear it down." "Now it's completely integrated." "It slopes down." "If you go further down, you can feel the portal." "It lifts it." "We wanted to minimise the area occupied by the building." "No, that's just trees." " I can't visualise it." "Sorry." "I'm useless." " No, I should explain it better." "No, that's not it." "At least you know something about what people will be admiring on Friday." "Has my hair turned greyer lately?" "No, I don't think so." "You look great." "You sure?" "Are you working?" "What is it?" " Just some mails." "Ove-Kenneth forgot some invitations." "I have to gloss over the short notice." "Are many people coming?" " Quite a few." "Good." "Then nobody will miss me." "Can we talk?" "What are you doing?" "Is your cock hard?" "Yes." "I want to feel it in my throat." "Fuck my mouth, hard." "Yeah." "Pretty hard." "I'm gagging!" "Don't stop!" "Can you breathe?" "What is it?" "Nothing." "No, he'd never dare." "Is she there?" "Yeah." "I have to go." "You're so kind." "That's why I like you so much." "Sorry." "I didn't mean to." "I just had to stretch out." "I'm sorry." " What was that about?" "You meant it." "I'm squeezing your balls!" "Come down my throat!" "Are you tired?" "Yeah, a bit." "Are you smiling?" "Why do you ask?" "It's just weird not to know." "Still just stretching out?" "When I smile at you, I don't know if you see it." "We'll have to say so." "Tell each other we're smiling?" " Yeah." "Are you looking at me now?" "Yeah." "Hey..." "What is it?" " Nothing." "I no longer know how I look." "I have a memory of it." "But I guess I've let myself go." "It must feel weird to get a blow job from a blind woman, even your wife." "It probably makes him feel guilty, as if he's exploiting me or something." "The poor guy probably feels obliged to give the handicapped woman a sex life." "Do you have kids?" "We tried for a long time, but now it's..." "No." "Why don't you just leave?" " I want to." "But I can't." "Not now." "What's wrong with her?" " it's complicated." "It must be hard." "For you." "Thanks." "Will you meet me?" "Yes." "Love to." "Hello?" "Are you there?" "Sorry." "The lights went out for a moment." "Hi." "Einar started to think back once more, to the last time he'd felt happy." "It was the day after." "He was heading to town to check out the damage, when he realised the full extent of what had happened." "This was his town." "And that jerk had just..." "It was different now." "People noticed him." "They saw him." "They were together in this." "It was like a promise." "We wouldn't let that guy get to us." "We'd come through this together, with greater solidarity, more love." "It was just so beautiful." "Going home, he stopped by the cordon outside the government complex." "Amid the broken glass and roses, he thought:" "'I feel good now." "Now I'm happy.'" "But people soon lost sight of it." "Everyday life returned." "Einar felt he had to remind people of how serious it was." "There was increasing distrust of loners, specially men." "He could tell." "He still thought about the quote:" "'How one man's hate could unite us all in love.'" "But what about Einar's love?" "Elin?" "Hi." " Hi." "Hi." "Well, are you okay?" " Absolutely." "Have I kept you waiting?" " No, not at all." "It's good to see you." " You too." "You look just like your profile shot." "Only prettier." " Thank you." "Maybe I shouldn't ask, but..." " No, please don't." "No?" "Okay." "But..." "How's your wife doing?" " Oh, please don't ask." "It's..." "It's not that..." "No." "Can I ask why you don't have kids?" "No, it's..." "It's a bit..." "A bit difficult, because..." "The way things are with her right now, I don't think it's possible." "But you want children, right?" "I can't think about myself right now." "But I wonder..." "If that's how it is, maybe you must?" "Or what?" "Elin?" "Elin!" "Are you okay?" " What am I doing?" "What happened?" " Sorry." "I just have to fix this." "I'll be right back." " Okay." "Did the lights just go out?" " No." "You need help?" "No thanks." "I'll be okay, but..." "Maybe a little help." "Hi." " That wine went to my head." "I'm cheap that way." " Did you manage to save the dress?" "Yes, it went fine." "So what have you told your wife you're doing this evening?" "Well, I said I'm going to the gym." "Hi!" "Anything for dessert?" " Yes, that sounds wonderful." "Right." "Thanks." "I saw earlier you had apple tart on the menu." "I'll have that." "Thanks." "Right." "What are you having?" "Uh..." "Yeah, I'll have apple tart as well." "Elin?" "Your eyesight isn't too good, is it?" "You can hardly see anything." "Maybe nothing at all?" " No." "Oh dear." "Boy, do I feel stupid now!" "Jeez." "No, I can't see anything." "And I should have said so right away, but we were having such a nice time." "Nobody's pulling my leg?" "What do you mean?" "What?" "No, forget about it." "Have you had problems with your eyesight for long?" "No, it's happened once before, when..." "When..." "When..." "When..." "'No, not that long...'" " Not that long." "Just a couple of years." "May I ask how... how it happened?" "Yes, of course." "It was when..." "I was..." "I mean... it was a couple of years ago." "I got hit by ice falling from a roof." "How can they let the sidewalks be that dangerous in winter?" "They force us to be healthy." "Limit smoking and drinking." "Then you go for a walk, non-smoking, sober, and get hit by a chunk of ice." "Yeah, that's..." "What happened to the apple tart?" "You can't even see this?" " What?" "The light?" " No." "Is the light off or on?" "Is it off or on?" "It's off." "Wait." "You wouldn't do this if it didn't mean anything to you?" "I should delete it." "He'd be shocked." "Or maybe he'd think it should be published." "No matter how incoherent and filthy it is." "A blind author." "That would make everything okay again." "Like the poor Frenchman who had to blink an entire book to reclaim the status he'd had as a fashion editor." "Here." "I'll put it on the nightstand." "Here's a glass of water." "Sorry I was late last night." "So much to do before tonight." "I'll never badmouth party fixers again." "Have you made that playlist?" "Hey?" "Come here." "What is it?" "I'm sure there's lots of people you'll have to talk to tonight." "I should just stay here." "So many people, and I..." "I'm not ready yet." "We'll go there together, like we said." "It'll be okay." "You don't have to stay long." "Ouch!" "Oh..." "Sorry." "I was just checking the mail." "So you've gone blind?" "Yeah, I guess so." "It happened quite suddenly, I..." "A chunk of ice fell from a roof." " Right, but... it happens." " Yeah." "Have we met before?" " No." "No, not really." "I live here as well." "I have to get going." "Excuse me." " Sure." "See you." "Bye." "Kim?" "Kim?" "Kim!" "One unread message." "Text message from Morten." "I can't talk." "The big party tonight." "Way too much to do." "I'll be in touch." "Answer via text message to Morten." "It's important." "Something's happened." "Send." "Message sent." "One unread message." "Text message from Morten." "Please stop nagging." "Take a hint." "It was good to know you." "Have a nice life." "Reply via text message to Morten." "I'm pregnant." "You idiot." "Coming to the party." "Send." "Cancel." "Delete message." "Deleted." "Oh." "Wow!" " Is it nice?" "He'll think you're beautiful." " Not too short?" "No, it's really nice, mom." "It's really nice." "It's really you." "Your mom looks great." "You're not putting on too much?" " No, it's like you wanted." "Hi." " Hi." "Hi, daddy." " Hi." "Hello!" "Are you ready?" "Hey?" "I don't think I can..." "I bumped into the doorframe." "My face must be bruised." "Are you okay?" " Does it look bad?" "No, I can't see anything." "We only have about twenty minutes." "I won't have time." "Okay." "How much time do you need?" " No, I don't have anything to wear." "What's that?" " A new dress." "Well, try it on." "How does it look?" "Stunning." "Yes, but how?" " You look sexy." "But in a decent way, you know?" " No." "The salesperson called it a classic." "So the girl who sold it to you liked it?" "You look great." "Stunning." "What size is it?" "36." " Then it's too small." "No." " You have to tell me if it's too tight." "I could feel it immediately." "Okay, take the green one." "You used to wear it all the time." "It's too small as well." "I've gained weight." "Try it on." "We'll see." " There's no point." "For my sake." "You know how important this is for me." "Why?" "Can't you just let me stay here?" "You said you'd go." " No, I said I'd try." "And now you've tried?" " Yeah." "I know this is difficult for you, but..." "You know you can't go on like this." "Just staying in here." "If you're not even going to try," "I don't know if I can take it anymore." "I thought you were in a hurry." "Watching TV is much like before." "It's easy to imagine what's happening." "How unnecessary the pictures are." "A sharp increase in theft in Oslo..." "Hi!" "You must be Ingrid." "I'm Bente." "Morten said you weren't coming." "Is Morten here?" " Yes, he's around here somewhere." "Let me take your coat." "I think I can see him." "Just wait here a moment." " But..." "I don't think I've ever seen a pregnant blind woman." "Blind mothers have to pull their pram, to avoid pushing it into the unknown." "You'd remember seeing that." "A blind mother dragging a baby carriage behind her, white cane in hand." "A colleague of Morten once asked provocatively if we'd ever seen a black man cycling?" "We couldn't remember." "Everyone laughed." "Ove-Kenneth had seen Samuel L. Jackson cycling in a movie." "Morten exclaimed, 'Special effects!" "' And we all laughed even more." "I like it when he's cheeky." "He's so cautious now." "Maybe because I've joined a minority, he treats minorities with exaggerated respect." "Here's the old office building." "We let it stand so that..." "Morten?" "Morten?" "Are you Ingrid?" " Do you know where Morten is?" "Ove-Kenneth has a room up here he uses when he has to work overtime." "Shall I accompany you?" " No, I'm okay." "It's the first door to the left at the top." "Oops." "You sure you're okay?" " I'm okay." "Thanks." "Hi." " Hi." "What are you doing here?" "There's something I have to tell you." " Right." "It's important." " I see." "Okay." "I'm pregnant." "Are..." "Are you sure?" "Have you taken a test?" "I can't see, so I went to the doctor." "What did he say?" " 'Congratulations.'" "Careful." "There." "Sit down." "Have you thought about what you want to do?" "I don't know." " it's a bit of a shock for me." "Obviously." "But I'm there for you, no matter what you decide." "I'm glad to hear." "Thank you." "You've had children." "They can be a handful, even if you can see." "What if something happens?" "It's a hereditary disease." "You want your child to risk going through this?" "Hereditary?" "A chunk of ice fell on my head." "No, I mean..." "Have you thought it through?" "You'll never see what it looks like." "Never see it grow." "Never see it smile." "Have you thought about that?" "Hey..." "It's just me." "No, wait." "Hey, wait." "Please..." " Oh!" "You think I want your child?" "You bore me!" "Why did I marry you anyway?" "Why did I do it?" "What is all this?" "Do you think I'm into this crap?" "No, you're too boring." " Boring?" "Is it boring not to snort coke and have sex with..." "With..." " With what?" "Damned if I know." "You made it up." "What sort of immature crap is this?" "Why must everything be so over the top?" "Sexualised?" "Is this who you are?" "And why are you so mean to her?" "Excuse me." "Seems you two have a lot to talk about." "Why do you have to drag us into this?" "Ove-Kenneth is the world's nicest guy." "And why would I ruin everything for Elin and... and...?" "Einar." "Why not just let them get together?" " That guy?" "With her?" "Why not?" "Good things can also happen to people, you know." "Let them get together." " I'm just having fun." "Is it fun imagining that I date other women?" "Is that it?" "You want me to find a nice girl like Elin?" "Is that what you want?" "Is that what you want?" " No." "Nobody wants to be with someone who has issues." "Not in the long run." "Come and sit down." "Do you really think I'd bring anyone else here?" "I love you." "You know that?" "But look at yourself." "Why haven't you bought more wine?" " You mustn't drink if you're pregnant." "Why won't you tell me?" "I'm not sure I'm..." "You want me to be?" "You can't go on like this, you know." "Is that what you're going to tell people?" "That it wasn't because I went blind, that's not why it didn't work out?" "Morten?" "Morten?" "Morten!" "Are you okay?" "Let me help you." "Mind the steps." "Excuse me?" " Yes?" "Do you know if there's a pharmacy nearby?" "Sure, there's one..." "If you go down there to the left..." "I mean..." "In the direction you were heading." "There's a curb along there." "Just follow it down the footpath." "You'll reach a road, then it's to the right." "Okay?" "You got it?" " Yes." "Thank you." "Bye." " Bye." "Are you looking at it?" "Yeah." "What does it say?" "I don't understand." " it's not that difficult." "Are there two red lines?" "Or not?" " Well, there are, but..." "There are?" " Yeah." "Does that mean that..." "you're pregnant?" "Yeah." "It does." "So what do you think?" "Mommy?" "Someone's staring at us." "What does he look like?" "He..." "He's ugly, and has a ponytail." "Don't be afraid." "He's nice." "He helps me sometimes." "Am I looking at him now?" "A bit up." "What's he doing?" " He's waving back." "He looks really shy." "He'll probably try again." "Slip inside." "Sit down and watch." "Specially now, when I'm not the only one to worry about." "Now that we're expecting a child and everything." "I'll just have to sit still." "Wait until he feels safe." "Then I'll get up and walk, not straight toward him, but toward his part of the room." "As soon as I feel the carpet beneath my feet, I'll just lie down." "Right in front of him." "We'll make it work." "He just has to stop being so damn boring."