Nora wakes on a rocking boat in a sparse, freezing cabin, feeling unwell and far from her athletic life. She notes signs of this life—a fleece, tobacco-stained fingers, English-language science books, and the icy wall beyond the porthole—before greeting a pale-blonde, weathered roommate, Ingrid.

Ingrid addresses Nora directly, asking why Nora chose to come so far from civilization for glaciological research. Nora, unsure of the specifics of this life, offers vague reasons about liking the cold and wanting to understand melting glaciers, which Ingrid meets with skepticism.

Pressed on motives, Nora turns the question back. Ingrid explains she left Oslo after Per died, trying to escape places overloaded with memories. She describes grief as inescapable and corrosive, and thanks Nora for their conversation the night before, calling her a welcome exception to others on the boat.

As the exchange ends, Nora notices a large rifle in the cabin. Despite discomfort and uncertainty, the sight fills Nora with a childlike sense of adventure, signaling both the harshness of her new environment and her tentative readiness to engage with this life.