Blue Sunset

The scene opens with the Author standing by the sea, his face illuminated by the setting sun, which casts an orange glow over his cheeks. Maja, another central figure, approaches him cautiously, placing her right hand on his hip. The setting is quiet, with only the sound of waves breaking against each other. The Author is described as tall and always wearing a black felt-like coat with wide sleeves. Maja finds him enigmatic, not because of dramatic actions, but because of his lack of drama—his life is uneventful, which she finds both intriguing and slightly dangerous. She wonders if she could integrate into his life, though she acknowledges that his days would likely remain quiet, and she would be the one adapting to them rather than the other way around. The sun is lowering, losing heat, and its rays appear vague to Maja as she closes her eyes against its light.

Maja is grappling with a personal dilemma involving an urn containing the ashes of a deceased person, likely a child, which she has brought with her but keeps hidden in her living room at her father's house. In her country, it is illegal to keep an urn with ashes without a formal request stating the deceased's wish to have them scattered over open water. Maja did not scatter the ashes, nor did she formally request to keep the urn, making her technically a criminal. She avoids thinking about the urn by traveling to Genoa for a conference, but it haunts her thoughts, appearing even when her eyes are closed. She reflects on the absurdity of the laws surrounding ashes, noting that scattering them is often romanticized in films, and she prefers the word sprinkle over scatter for its cheerfulness. The urn represents an irrevocable and aimless act, and she questions whether she made a mistake by handling it directly.

The laws governing the handling of ashes vary by jurisdiction. In Maja's country, it is illegal to keep an urn with ashes without a formal request proving the deceased wished for their ashes to be scattered over open water. Burying an urn in a private garden is allowed only if the property meets size requirements and the urn is made of water-soluble material, such as paper. Maja suspects she may have used her father's address to request burying the urn in his garden, though she is unsure if she completed the necessary paperwork. The possession of an urn is tied to property ownership, wealth, and power, reminiscent of feudal systems where only the privileged could possess certain items. Maja feels guilt at the thought of the ashes mixing with dust and soot in her living room, though she is unsure why this bothers her.

After collecting the urn from the crematorium, Maja held it to her chest on the gravel path leading to the car park. She then took a three-hour train ride with the urn in a large black canvas bag, which she uses for weekend trips and has brought with her to Genoa. Upon arriving home, she placed the urn on the floor of her flat and sat across from it, staring without blinking. She feared knocking it over, imagining a scenario where the urn would break, mixing its contents with her belongings. Eventually, she gathered the strength to pick it up and placed it on the lowest bookshelf in her living room. The experience left her feeling faint, as if the wall should have collapsed under the weight of her actions, but it did not. She considered sleeping in the same room as the urn that night but found the idea both silly and slightly disturbing.

The Author is a tall, enigmatic figure who lives an uneventful life by the sea. He wears a black felt-like coat with wide sleeves and is described as more living with the having lived than actively living. Maja is drawn to him, though she recognizes that his life is unlikely to become more eventful if she joins it. During a conference in Genoa, the Author gives a talk about his writing process and the beach near his home. He mentions Percy Bysshe Shelley’s body and how it was unrecognizable after days under water and sand. Maja, who had been preoccupied with thoughts of the urn, shifts her focus to the beach described by the Author. The Author is unaware of Maja’s urn or her internal conflict, as he has not been in her living room where the urn is kept. His presence and words provide Maja with a temporary distraction from her guilt and legal concerns.