Club Valhalla
Chapter 1
The Irish Club Valhalla was famous for a lot of reasons. A mysterious fog had surrounded it since its opening a decade ago. Everyone knew of Club Valhalla, and yet nobody had been inside to tell about it. It stoked the rumours surrounding club Valhalla, rumours that painted convincing pictures from smoky backrooms of a Mafia hideout to the sickening scenes of a child porn location. This Ad contributed to speculation about the reasons behind a couple that was about to be married. What does getting married soon have to do with Halloween? Why this sudden openness after they had previously shown everyone the door?
A year ago, Saoirse had finally asked her girlfriend to marry her. She romantically proposed, following tradition by kneeling down in the crowded pub. Aoife did not say ‘yes’ right away. She had to think about it for a week. The scene, meant to be gentle and warm, instead became a shouting competition. “How can you ask your beloved to wait for an entire week? At least have the decency to tell me you don’t love me, Aoife, so I can head to the Cliffs of Moher to throw myself into the sea.”
Thus, Saoirse broke off her one-sided engagement. She tried to be brave about it, making bad jokes like: “I’m not engaged anymore — I’m just great at disengaging.” Of course, Aoife felt alone and rejected and asked Saoirse to marry her. Saoirse, in turn, said she had to think about it.
They were engaged, disengaged, re-engaged ... It is said that opposites attract. Whoever said it, it’s correct. Aoife was tidy and hated clutter. She liked everything to have its proper place in the house. Aoife loved being at home, sometimes alone. She disliked parties and meaningless chatter without a purpose. She was repeatedly told that her overthinking took all the fun out of life. Life had taught Aoife to hide her strengths in broad daylight. Occasionally, she couldn’t keep it from being revealed. Like last week, with the Sassenach jeweller that pronounced her name wrong. “Aoife is pronounced as Ee-fa. Saoirse is called Seer-sha. I’ll assist you for now, as I understand you’re still getting familiar with this, but for Pete’s sake, try to remember.” Aoife had a short fuse for properly pronouncing her Irish name.
Saoirse was a party-animal. Life is short, and therefore every day should be a party. A woman is not meant to live alone; she needs a partner who values her and loves her. Saoirse believed in an all-encompassing love, a love that consumed and damaged and broke you, but would rise again like a Phoenix from the ashes. She convinced Aoife to get a huge Phoenix, with feathers that seemed to move, tattooed on her thigh. Aoife was good to Saoirse. Several disasters had already been averted thanks to Aoife’s intervention at the last minute.
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