He was about to cup his hands around his mouth and call out … But the idea of calling ‘Lise’ over and over, making her name echo round the hills, seemed excessive and frightening. For the first time, shouting was the only way of reaching her. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it. In the vast echo of the hills her name would ring out alarmingly. He got back in the car, turned on the ignition and honked several times in a row, a series of quick blasts. It was incredible, the way it echoed. Unbeknownst to him, he sent the jays, magpies and goldfinches into a panic; the deer, wild boar and hares in the woods stiffened in fright; he terrified the foxes, field mice and all the other fleeing creatures. He spread fear everywhere his hooting could be heard, setting off waves of frightened reactions. In giving in to his fear, he had caused all of nature around him to panic. Yet when he stopped, the silence became even more complete. He got out of the car, terrified at how powerless the woods made him feel.

It had become so normal to find somebody as soon as you wanted them, to reach them straight away by phone call or text. But here, surrounded by hills that went on forever, he couldn’t do anything. So, he pulled himself together, doing what he would have done if she had been there with him, telling him to calm down. He told himself that she must have gone for a walk, that she had gone for her first hike; yes, that was it, she had wanted to come here to go walking and take full advantage of its isolation. Unless she had been frightened when she woke up all alone in the big bed and opened the curtains to find nothing but green, empty space. He leant against the car, defeated by his surroundings.