Four nights of cloud, one night of fire across the whole sky.
Four nights of cloud. Four nights of standing on a cold beach checking the forecast, then the sky, then the forecast again. On the fifth night, at ten past eleven, the whole sky caught fire.
How it starts
It begins as a pale grey band low in the north that you might mistake for cloud. Then it brightens, turns green, and starts to move. Within minutes it is overhead, folding and rippling like a curtain someone is shaking from above.
There is no sound. People say there is a crackle, but we heard nothing except the waves and our own breath. Phones come out, then go back into pockets. No photograph gets near it.
When to go
Go between October and March, stay at least a week, and get away from town lights. Dress for twice the cold you expect. Then be patient. The lights come when they come, which is part of why they feel like a gift.
Written by
Tove Lind
Photographs the dark half of the year, mostly by candle.
