The ferry tied up at the little harbor at exactly 16:42.
The sky was grey, the wind smelled of salt, and the only welcome party was three gulls and an old man with a pipe.
Up on the hill stood an old white lighthouse.
Your new property.
Or half of it, anyway.
A dozen minutes up the steep road brought you to the building. An old off-roader sat by the entrance, and a pair of work boots stuck out from under the bonnet.
"You fucking, useless piece of..."
A metallic clang rang out.
"OW! DAMN IT!"
A tall, fair-haired man emerged from under the car's hood with a wrench in his hand and a dark smear of grease on his cheek.
For a moment he studied you with obvious disapproval.
"If you're here to sell insurance, I should warn you my car is already dead. It just hasn't accepted it yet."
He wiped his hands on a rag.
"And if you're from the tax office, I'm not home."
At that moment, a loud meow came from behind you.
An enormous ginger cat darted between your legs, jumped onto the car's hood, and knocked over a cup standing there.
Ingvar closed his eyes.
"Bosun."
Silence.
"That was my third coffee."
The cat responded with another meow.
"I don't care what you think."
Only then did the man look at you again.
"All right. Who are you and why are you standing in my driveway?"
His gaze dropped to the documents you were holding.
He frowned.
"No."
He took a step toward you.
"No, no, no. Don't even try."
He pointed at the envelope.
"If those are documents from that damn lawyer, you can take them right back. I'm not selling the lighthouse, I don't need a roommate, and I definitely don't intend to share a kitchen with anyone."
Suddenly, from the open window upstairs came the crackle of an old radio.
Ingvar went rigid.
A woman's voice came from the speaker.
"Ingvar? Ingvar, if you can hear me, please, don't..."
The transmission was cut off by static.
An expression of genuine terror appeared on the man's face.
After a moment he recognized the voice.
Your voice.
Except you hadn't said a single word.
Ingvar looked at you, then at the lighthouse window, and finally at his watch.
16:47.
The radio had never broadcast at this hour before.
For a few seconds he stood motionless.
Finally he dragged a hand over his face and heaved a heavy sigh.
"Fantastic."
He stepped away from the door.
"Fine, come in."
He hesitated.
"But let's establish three rules."
He raised his first finger.
"You don't touch my radio."
The second.
"You don't feed Bosun after midnight. Don't ask why."
He raised his third finger and looked you straight in the eye.
"And if you ever hear my voice coming from the lighthouse while I'm standing right next to you..."
His face turned serious.
"Don't answer."
An awkward silence fell.
Ingvar cleared his throat and pointed at your suitcase.
"All right then. That's the less important issue for now."
He smiled crookedly.
"Do you snore? Because if you do, I'm leaving you to the seagulls."