I was sitting on the floor with my 5-month-old daughter. A friend was over and I was helping her plan the flowers for her upcoming wedding.
Suddenly we heard a loud noise. I looked up at the sky thinking, “Weird, it doesn’t look like the weather for a lightening storm.”
We talked for a few more minutes, then my friend was heading out. She was going downtown and I was suppose to join her. The reason I didn’t was because earlier that day I had spent way too much time putting together a really simple blueberry muffin batter.
My original plan was to serve the muffins when she arrived, but I was still working on getting the batter done, thinking, “What’s messing with my mind?”
No matter what the reason was, today I know that those blueberry muffins were the reason for my friend, my daughter and myself not being close to the bomb when it exploded in Oslo, Norway, on July 22 of last year.
I was in shock for weeks. I had so many weird dreams, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about this man, and what he did. It didn’t help that the newspapers had a picture of him on the front page almost everyday. In Norway it’s almost impossible to hide from the headlines. At every single mall you have to stand in line next to at least four newspaper staring at you.
Recently I heard a story about a mom who said that every time she picked up a newspaper she was faced with a photo of the man who killed her daughter, and so many other innocent people.
I can’t complain. No one I know got killed or hurt. For me it was easy to put it all behind me. At least until now.
[nggallery id=36]
In the weeks during the trial, most Norwegians paid attention to what the mass murderer had to say. Of course it was extremely painful for those who lost a family member or friend that day, but we all listened while the murderer hit us with shocking and graphic information.
Personally I didn’t pay too much attention to this trial, mainly because I didn’t feel like I needed to hear all the information.
But I do feel like I want to understand how a seemingly normal guy could do something as horrible as he did on July 22, 2011. I would never have thought that this could happen in Norway – by a Norwegian citizen.
Can it happen again?
While I read headlines and hear people say ugly stuff about this man, I almost feel ashamed of feeling sorry for him. I really hate what he has done, but in his world he thinks he did a good thing. He still thinks that later on, everyone will thank him, and that he gave his life for an important cause.
He knows that he is hated by millions of people, and that he has destroyed many people’s lives. And he knows that he probably has lost everyone he ever cared about for the rest of his life. One thing is to hear what people say about him after what he did, but I have heard several interviews where people have been attacking him as the person he was when he grew up. Even his own father has only bad things to say.
Could this be one of the reasons he turned out to be who he is today?
I also feel deeply sorry for his mother. What a tremendous burden to carry for her.
How should he be punished? He will be in jail for the rest of his life, but people complain about Norwegian prisons not being tough enough. Personally. I think his worst punishment will come if he wakes up from his dream, so I guess helping him realize what he has become is the worst – and the best thing – we can ever do for him.
I hope and pray that the 77 people who died didn’t die for nothing, but that love will rise over this hate he tries to serve us and turn Norway into the most peaceful and loving country of all.
Charlotte Wendt is a freelance photographer. She lived in Redding, CA from 2008 – 2010. Now she lives in Norway with her husband and 1-year-old daughter.
