Good memories set deep traces

Highly loved - storytelling trail was a great way to bring the community together to mourn those who are highly loved, but also highly missed.

By Henrik Refsnes 17 years
Mentor for the editorial team: Hedda Fredly

In Høgt elska: forteljarløype på kyrkjegarden you get to hear emotional and moving stories - and memories of someone who was close. It's a conversation that takes place at their final resting place.

The storytelling trail is a program that cannot be compared with the others at the Theatre Festival in Fjaler. Here, it's the locals who make sure the wheels turn. They bring chairs and some provide blankets to make the experience as comfortable as possible.

The storytelling trail takes place at the cemetery in Dale. It is a conversation between two people, but is also possible with more. When you enter the gate, you are greeted by a poster that reads:

Sit down on an empty chair and listen to what's being said.

When you're done, say thank you.

Here, you don't stand in line, but keep a little distance, give them some space, some breathing room. You walk around a bit, looking at the different graves, but when there's an empty chair at someone's place, you have to be the first to arrive. After everyone has had a chance to look at each other and sit down, the conversation can begin. The conversation is held by someone who was close to the deceased. First, the grave is introduced, you find out who lies there, a little about where they grew up, and what relationship they had to the person telling the story. You get to hear great stories and fun memories the storyteller has of or with the buried person. Some conversations will bring tears to your eyes, others will bring a smile to your face, and some will leave a deep impression.

It's not easy to get the news that you've lost someone you had a relationship with, especially if it wasn't expected. Regardless of how close you were, or what kind of relationship you had, it's hard to say goodbye to someone you knew, or just knew who was. What sticks with you the longest is the thought that it's "never enough". It is indescribably difficult and heavy to accept that a person is no longer here.

I'm honestly impressed that so many people showed up, both to talk and to listen. What I'm most impressed by is how much courage they have. It's one thing for them to be able to share their memories and the history they have of the buried person. But the fact that they show up with chairs and blankets, to sit by their grave and talk about their deceased: mom, dad, friend, wife, husband, lovers, children or their son, that's completely unthinkable.

For me, hearing about others was more emotional than I had imagined. When you've lost someone close to you, it's particularly difficult to hear others talk about loved ones they've lost. When I saw the chairs by the gravestones and realized what was going to happen, I immediately got a strange feeling, and everything suddenly became so serious. Hearing others talk about their loss was really nice. The losses that come suddenly are the hardest to get over. You can't get over all losses, and that's okay, because good memories leave deep traces.