Chapter 19 - Unexpected help

The lorry travels at speed for at least an hour, then stops and the door to the Gammelnok's hideaway opens.

"OK, out you come you little scoundrel. I know you are in there." The lorry driver sounds angry. He knows he can lose his license if accused of people trafficking.

Gammelnok slowly crawls out of his flower box lids, careful not to look threatening to the lorry driver. No fear of that as the top of Gammelnok's head barely reaches the drivers kneecaps.

 "How did you know I was in your lorry?" asks Gammelnok, "The border patrol did not see me after all."

"I know a flower box lid when I see one. Two lids do not form a box, although you did a good job disguising that fact. Now come out into the sunshine and get yourself warmed up. I want to get a good look at you and then you tell me your story. No lies, I want the truth as you might have cost me my livelihood by hiding in my lorry".

With the lorry driver sitting on the lower step and Gammelnok on the top step, they were more or less face to face.

Gammelnok's incredible story takes about an hour to tell, and at the end it is obvious to the lorry driver that no crime has been committed and that Gammelnok is just an unfortunate creature having been given a rough deal.

"So, you are really that old? Incredible and hard to believe and comprehend." The lorry driver shakes his head but cannot find a way to disbelieve Gammelnok.

Gammelnok in turn explains how lonely it is, getting old when everyone around him, every friend he has ever had, every person he has ever known eventually disappears out of his life. A very long life is not necessary a blessing or something to strive for.

Apart from that, he adds: Will my life ever be over. Will I ever get to my garden pond in England. Will you help me, please?

After a long thoughtful pause the lorry driver shakes his head. 

Gammelnok looks distraught. What will he do now? He cannot travel with the lorry northwards as he desperately wants to go west towards England. He cannot really fend for himself out here in the open flat Danish landscape with no means of transport. Hitch-hiking will not be possible, his small body might just be overlooked or worse overrun or even worse he might be picked up by a passing police patrol and sent back to Holland as an escaped prisoner.

The lorry driver has stopped shaking his head and lifts one index finger as a sign of an idea forming.

"But", he says. "here is what I will do. We are not far from the coast. When are you ever in Denmark? I have a friend who has a boat not too far from here. He sails to England on a regular basis and may agree to take you with him, dropping you off at an isolated stretch of beach. You will have to stay hidden as there are numerous patrol boats watching out for migrants crossing the English Channel. Once you have been set ashore, you will be on your own and good luck to you. What do you say, are you up for it?"

This is the first time Gammelnok has found a friendly being since he left Santa and his helpers behind at the top of the world. He now can see some hope up ahead and grasps it with all the feelings he has available. "Yes, let's go and thank you very very much".