A cornucopia of color. A litany of light. That's what I could count on come December. It had even spiraled into a competition amongst my neighbors, each house trying to one-up the next. But as far as ... [+]
Rob Roy O'Keefe is the author of Small Stories: A Perfectly Absurd Novel, short-listed by the Chanticleer International Book Awards. His short story collection, 19 Doors, will be available this summer, 2025. "For whom the troll tolls" is in Short Circuit #17, Short Édition's quarterly review.
I couldn't believe it.
"10,000 Kroners! That's outrageous!"
I was deep in the Troms region of Norway on the Nordost Road. I had been for a while. At the moment, I was trying to cross the Lundefjord bridge, the only way across the fjord of the same name. Actually, it was more like I was hoping it was the Lundefjord bridge because GPS had stopped working long ago.
Now I was being told that if I wanted to cross, I would have to pay a toll that would make a loan shark blush. My extortionist? A large, stocky troll wearing a red parka and matching shorts. Yep, a toll troll.
"It's a quan