The Audio Diary of Alan Ekberg

A Story by James Ross

The audio diary of a man who becomes trapped inside his snowed-in car.

THE AUDIO DIARY OF ALAN EKBERG

21/5/05 Recording 1 (DAY 5).
Well, the ice isn’t thinning. The damn stuff is hardening if anything. As a result, my initial estimation of perhaps getting out of this car within a few days is no longer plausible. It’s been about five days since the car was snowed in. I can’t open the doors, I can’t start the engine, I can’t make any contact with anyone. The only food I have are the groceries I bought in preparation for the snow storm. It’s one of the many cons of living so far from the central town. It’s dark and not to mention very cold. I don’t think I’ve ever been more close to freezing to death in my life, and in Sweden, I suppose you say that every winter. But I fear that no one will see me under this huge blanket of ice my vehicle has become hidden by. I managed to roll down my window, letting some ice into the car. I have begun digging the ice out with the frozen metal spoon I left in my glove box. Perhaps I’m flogging a dead horse. I may be dead by the time I finish the tunnel.

24/5/05 Recording 2 (DAY 8).
Day… eight, I believe. Food rations are still abundant, and I’ve found that I can melt snow by sitting on it and collecting it within the hydrophobic fabrics of my water-proof jacket. Then I slurp it up like a cat. The shivering and quivering has become more frequent and more violent. The only way I can combat it is by sleeping, though that in itself is proving to be a difficult task within the wintry confines of my car. The tunnel is making some progress. This is good, however the ice seems to be getting thicker and thicker as I dig deeper and deeper. I’m experiencing waves of intense melancholy. All I want to do is go home. Marisa would be worried sick.

27/5/05 Recording 3 (DAY 11).
The tunnel has made some great progress, but I’ve broken down. I cannot bring myself to dig any further. I cannot even bring myself from under the frontal compartment of the car, where I lay in the foetal position, wrapped in every insulator I could find. I was, let’s say unsuccessful, in rationing my food supplies. They are scarce. Now I look at the nearly frozen wires that hang from below the glove compartment and wonder whether I’ll ever see Marisa again. For hours and hours I stare at photos of her on my phone, the thing that has been keeping me sane for all these days. It’s hooked up to the car’s charging compartment. If only it had a damn signal. If I do succumb to the cold, and die in this icy grave, I shall die thinking of her.

30/5/05 Recording 4 (DAY 14).
I saw Marisa. She was sitting in the backseat with her beautiful velvet nightgown and rose red slippers. She was smiling �" telling me that everything would be alright. She told me that I’d get through it. She blessed me. Now I’ve woken up and she’s gone. Thing is, how’d she get in? And how on Earth did she get out? If only she’d told me.

3/6/05 Recording 5 (DAY 17).
I’m beginning to shut down. This is it. Food supplies are gone. I haven’t enough strength to gather ice to drink. I’ve never felt so weak. My back is sore, my eyelashes have frozen over. My hands are pure ice white. I cannot feel them anymore. I’m struggling to even utter these words. There’s not much I can do now but wait, wait ‘till the time comes for my eternal slumber. If these recordings are found… send them to my dearly beloved family. And Marisa, I’m sorry that I left you so early. I never wanted it to end like this. Alan Ekberg out.

EPILOGUE

MAN FOUND ALIVE IN SNOWED IN CAR, SAID TO HAVE SURVIVED FOR WEEKS �" A news clipping from the Stockholm City Times.
22 year old Alan Ekberg was found trapped and alive inside his snowed in Mercedes-Benz yesterday night. Ekberg, who is now in a stable condition at Karlstad Hospital, was found curled up inside the front compartment of his vehicle, which had been completely blanketed in hard snow. His survival has baffled scientists, who claim that a survival of this calibre would normally be impossible. Alan Ekberg stated while in hospital: ‘I cannot believe that I am here today, living and breathing. I thought I was going to die inside that car.’ While trapped inside the vehicle, Ekberg recorded several messages on his phone, which was hooked to the Mercedes’ charger jack. Unfortunately, there was no signal on the device, meaning that he was completely alone for the month he was trapped inside. The story of Ekberg’s survival is that of something awe-inspiring. SEE PAGE 5 for more.