Trollegater has to be experienced

This week, me and mom and dad went to see grandpa and Catarina in Östergötland. It’s a really long way from where we live, but it was really fun anyway. Another fun thing is to experiment a little with dad’s temper. Mom says his patience is really good, but he gets kind of jumpy when I keep asking ”are we there yet?” every twelfth minute. And when I forgot to pee when we took a break and we had to turn around and go back since I also forgot my flashlight there.

Grandpa and Catarina lives outside a city called Linköping, at a farm without any animals – except for Mudpile, the cat, who is named that way because he is big and brown and always causes a mess.

We met up with grandpa and Catarina in a part of Linköping called Old Linköping. I don’t know why it’s called that way, but all the houses there are really old and every grown up thinks the houses are soooo pretty. And then we went to grandpa and Catarina’s house and I got to ride with Catarina in her old French car. Grandpa says that Catarina drives like a car thief, which is strange, because I know that Catarina bought the car for her own money.

When we came to grandpa and Catarina’s farm, grandpa told us that everybody had to help them paint their barn. Mom, dad and Catarina painted until they had red stains all over themselves – and I helped grandpa clean up. We carried a couple of boxes back and forth between different places and ate candy that grandpa bought in Old Linköping. And when we came close to the others, we panted loud so they could hear that we were working really hard.

First, I came to something that looked like a big hall inside the cave. Then there were lots of really narrow passages that I had to crawl through. I think it was wise of the others to stay behind, because one had to be really tiny and brave to get through the cave.

/Maya, 8 years

The next day, we woke up early because we were going on a trip. First, we went to a place called Ekenäs Castle, which was very exciting because the castle was haunted! The ghost was an old lady, but I wasn’t scared at all. I actually decided to live in a haunted castle when I grow up.

Then we went to a place called Åtvidaberg, where there was a cannon that one could fire when the sun shone through a magnifying glass. Grandpa was really eager to shoot the cannon, but he wasn’t allowed. I’m not really sure if I need a sun-cannon in my haunted castle.

Then we came to Trollegater – a cave, that one could go into and look for trolls! I thought this was perfect, because I always dreamed of owning a troll.

I ran as fast as I could to the entrance of the cave and shouted ”come on! join in!” to the others. But they were a bit reserved. Dad said he was too uneasy when it came to tight spaces and mom said someone had to stay behind and keep an eye on the car. But I really think they said so just because they were scared of whatever might be living in those caves. Grandpa and Catarina said they were too fat to join me – and I could sort of agree about that.

Grandpa promised that he would meet me on the other side of the cave – and so, I began my daring cave excursion. First, I came to something that looked like a big hall inside the cave. Then there were lots of really narrow passages that I had to crawl through. I think it was wise of the others to stay behind, because one had to be really tiny and brave to get through the cave. And outside, I heard grandpa shouting that he was there to meet me – but I didn’t answer, since I was busy looking for trolls. I think I saw a couple, but they were really too small to be of interest to me.

Also, at the end, I did some climbing too – and grandpa joined me, but he was really struggling and lost his grip and shouted ”Leave me behind! Save yourself!”. But I reached out, took grandpa’s hand and pulled him back up. He was pretty light. Or maybe I am pretty strong. I don’t know.

What I do know is that when I grow up, I will live in a haunted castle and make a living from troll hunting.

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