The Circle and the Morning Boat

The Ring of Brodgar sits on a narrow neck of land between two lochs, which is the only reason it feels high. The stones stand in a circle about one hundred and four metres across, cut off from the moor by a ditch hacked into solid rock. It was raised between four and four and a half thousand years ago, and it is part of a world heritage site.

Prsten Brodgara leži na uskom vratu kopna između dvaju jezera, i to je jedini razlog zbog kojeg djeluje visoko. Kamenje stoji u krugu širokom oko sto četiri metra, odsječenom od vrištine jarkom usječenim u živu stijenu. Podignut je prije četiri do četiri i pol tisuće godina i dio je svjetske baštine.

There were around sixty stones once. Thirty-six are standing now, and the gaps are as much of the shape as the stones are. Polly walked the ring the long way, on the outside, with heather to her knees and the light going flat and wide across the water on both sides. Nothing about it is arranged for a visitor. It was arranged for something else, and whatever that was is not recorded anywhere.

Nekada je kamenova bilo oko šezdeset. Danas ih stoji trideset šest, a praznine su jednako dio oblika kao i kamenje. Polly je krug obišla dužim putem, izvana, s vrijeskom do koljena i sa svjetlom koje se plosnato i široko razlijevalo po vodi s obje strane. Ništa na njemu nije posloženo za posjetitelja. Bilo je posloženo za nešto drugo, a što je to bilo, nigdje nije zapisano.

Then the ordinary business of leaving. Back at the harbour office there was a shag behind a counter and a printed sheet on the wall. "What time does the ferry leave?" Polly asked. "How much does this cost?" She looked at the sheet with him while he found the line. "I would like to buy a ticket, please."

Zatim je došao obični posao odlaska. U lučkom uredu bio je morski vranac za šalterom i tiskani list na zidu. „U koliko sati kreće trajekt?” pitala je Polly. „Koliko ovo košta?” Gledala je u list zajedno s njim dok je tražio redak. „Htjela bih kupiti kartu, molim vas.”

"How long does the crossing take?" she asked last, and put the ticket away. In the morning the boat pulled out past the same low headland it had come in by, and the islands went down behind it in the order she had learned them: a town on one street, a bay with a village in it, a chapel made of huts, a rock full of seals, and inland, out of sight from the water, a circle with most of its stones still up.

„Koliko traje prijelaz?” pitala je posljednje i spremila kartu. Ujutro je brod isplovio pokraj istog niskog rta pokraj kojeg je i uplovio, a otoci su tonuli za njim onim redom kojim ih je naučila: mjesto na jednoj ulici, uvala sa selom u sebi, kapelica od baraka, stijena puna tuljana i, u unutrašnjosti, s vode nevidljiv, krug kojem većina kamenja još stoji.