Novel shows me a video of his daughter licking a yellow lollipop, her gaze is fixed on her mom filming her. Novel’s daughter is only a few weeks old, but Novel hasn’t met her yet. Novel has been in Denmark the past 6 months, he’s here to make money. His wife and daughter are in Portugal, where Novel normally is as well. When Novel’s daughter was born, all the nurses asked where the father was. Novel was in Denmark, working. Novel saw the birth through videos and photos, his wife sent to him.
Novel stays in a room in outskirts Copenhagen, he has a flat mattress, a can for cigarette butts and not much more. Novel has trouble getting friends in Denmark, he is bored here. His family needs to move out of Portugal, but Novel is worried that his wife can’t get a job here, because she wears her hijab, even though she’s a qualified pharmacist.
Today is the day he’s going back to Portugal, to see his wife for the first time in 6 months, and his daughter for the first time ever.