Landlord in the Arctic-Chapter 80: Gift

October 7, 2017.

For Kivalina, it was a day of song and dance.

Eight hours after Old Swan led the snowmobile team out, they returned to Kivalina. When the townsfolk saw the frozen, stiff bodies of reindeer and North American Gray Wolves on the sleds, cheers once again echoed through the small town.

Louise proposed holding another bonfire celebration.

Feng immediately stopped her.

’What kind of life is this? Living hand-to-mouth and still not knowing how to budget.’

’Kivalina isn’t just short on food, but lumber too. On the way here yesterday, besides some shrubs, I didn’t see any proper forests.’

’A bonfire at the drop of a hat. They’re burning through their future.’

’There’s a reason their lives are so hard.’

’If we Chinese lived here, we’d have been well-fed and well-clothed with full storehouses long ago.’

..... 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

In October, a biting wind swept across the Chukchi Sea.

The sky was gloomy and overcast, with lead-gray clouds pressing down on the sea’s surface.

Prince and the Little Wolf Cub, protected by the White Wolves, frolicked on the beach.

Feng and Nash walked along the seashore. The sand underfoot was covered in frost, making a CRUNCH CRUNCH sound with every step.

As far as the eye could see, the sea was a vast, desolate expanse dotted with floating ice. The occasional seabird flew by, its cry sounding particularly shrill against the silent shore.

Compared to Kivalina, the protagonist much preferred his Crown Territory, with its snow-capped mountains and tundra.

In his eyes, Kivalina was an endlessly oppressive place. Besides the vast expanse of ice and the churning waves, there seemed to be nothing else.

The sky was always overcast, as if perpetually shrouded by a thick, gray curtain.

The Crown Territory, on the other hand, was different. At least there, he could see trees.

Those trees, even in the bitter cold, clung stubbornly to life, adding a trace of vitality and warmth to this frozen world.

"Nash, I miss the Crown Territory."

"Khilla, go home," Nash replied coldly.

"Home it is!" Feng nodded.

Just then, Little Swan sped over on a snowmobile, stopping beside them. "Feng, you have a call on the radio."

He went to the town’s municipal office, which was really just a container home. Inside were two desks, a few chairs, and on the wall hung a map of Kivalina and some old-fashioned tools used by the Inuit.

The radio set was in the corner of the room.

Feng picked up the handset. "This is Feng. Who’s calling for me?"

"Buddy, it’s me. Guess where I am?"

"Tom, are you almost at Kivalina?"

"You’re no fun. Couldn’t you have at least guessed? I flew all this way to pick you up, nearly running this plane into the ground. I just refueled in Noatak and should be in Kivalina in about half an hour. So, am I dedicated or what, buddy?"

"Don’t worry, you’ll get the best reward."

"You know what? You’re my God right now. Wait for me!"

Little Swan, who had been standing to the side listening to the radio call, looked up at Feng. "You’re leaving?"

"Yeah, buddy," Feng nodded.

Little Swan turned and ran out of the municipal office.

A short while later, Louise, Old Swan, Maria, and some of the other townsfolk arrived at the office.

"Feng, what’s the rush? Stay a few more days. I’ll take you hunting for Bowhead Whales."

"Are you trying to get me a court summons? Kivalina signed an agreement to ban whaling long ago." Feng shot an annoyed glare at Old Swan.

’The old rascal.’

’If I hadn’t learned from Maria that Kivalina signed an agreement to stop whaling a few years ago in exchange for food aid from the state government, I might have actually gone out on the waves with Old Swan.’

His little lie exposed, Old Swan gave an unnatural laugh.

Louise, standing by, couldn’t help him, and she didn’t even dare bring up the request for the town’s residents to move to the Crown Territory.

After all, Feng had brought Kivalina whitefish and so much other meat.

There were still a few years before Kivalina would be submerged. As long as their friendship remained, who could say what the future held.

"Feng, before you go, we have some gifts for you. Please don’t refuse."

Maria took a handmade necklace from inside her parka. The pendant was a small sea otter statue carved from white bone.

"Feng, this is a Sea Otter Talisman. It’s made from the Walrus Ivory of a walrus my father hunted himself. It will keep you safe on the sea."

"This is too precious. I can’t accept it!" Feng didn’t dare to take it.

’For one, Walrus Ivory is rare. For another, a young woman was giving him a personal item. Who knew if the Inuit had a custom of engagement by gift-giving? What if I accepted it cluelessly and she insisted on marrying me?’

Seeing him refuse, Maria was at a loss for a moment.

Louise, however, seemed to guess Feng’s thoughts. She smiled and said, "Feng, among us Inuit, we only give talismans as gifts to those we consider friends. If you don’t accept it, you’re insulting the Inuit people. In the old days, you and Maria would have had to duel on an ice floe."

’A duel with Maria.’

’A hundred of her couldn’t beat me.’

Feng laughed in spite of himself. He took the talisman from Maria’s hand and put it around his neck. Then he took out his personal knife. Though it wasn’t as precious as a Walrus Ivory carving, it was still a limited edition Hunting Knife worth 1,000 US Dollars. He couldn’t help but notice Little Swan’s eyes light up as he stared at the knife.

After the two exchanged gifts, the atmosphere relaxed.

The townsfolk came forward one by one to offer their good wishes.

At that moment, a white plane roared over the town.

....

The Kivalina airport runway, made of gravel, was flanked on both sides by the town cemetery.

Tom landed the plane smoothly on the runway.

He pushed open the cabin door and jumped to the ground. Blasted by the cold sea wind, he instinctively pulled his clothes tighter, muttering about the damn weather.

When he saw Feng approaching in the distance, his displeased expression instantly turned into a smile.

’A real moneybags, and a generous one at that.’

He opened his arms and went to greet him, starting to complain.

"Buddy, I flew a full nine hours from Fairbanks to Kivalina without even a bathroom break! I can’t even feel my ass anymore."

"I know, it must have been tough." Feng knew Tom was fishing for compliments, but it was true. Flying for nine hours straight was something most people couldn’t handle.

After the pleasantries, Feng’s gaze shifted to the plane Tom had flown in.

"This is a nice plane. What model is it? How many can it seat?"

"I knew you’d be bringing a lot of stuff, so I borrowed a P-750. This plane can seat up to eight people, and the payload is pretty good," Tom said proudly. He nodded at Nash, and wasn’t surprised to see the three white dogs beside Feng. ’Would Tundra People even be Tundra People if they didn’t have dogs?’

"If we leave now, we can still make it back to the Crown Territory for dinner. If it gets too late, we’ll have to spend the night in Kivalina. Damn it, I really don’t want to eat Inuit food. I’d rather eat shit."

Feng strongly agreed with Tom’s complaint.

’The dried shark meat from two nights ago was like eating a diaper. Thank God I didn’t eat that stinking bird. It probably would have tasted even worse than a diaper.’

"Let’s go."

Tom raised his hand and pointed behind Feng. "No problem, but we might have to wait a bit before we can leave."

Feng turned around.

Old Swan was leading the townsfolk toward them in a great procession, carrying a huge pile of things.

...