Lake
Cruise
We
were quite a crowd on board the steam liner. In addition to me and
Sari there were my parents; my brother Jussi and his wife Linnea;
my sister Janna and her daughter Ilona; as well as my aunt Tytti and
her husband Heikki. We lounged in one of the cabinets eating cake
and drinking coffee. There was a half-empty bottle of Russian vodka
on the table.
The
older people did most of the talking, exchanging news and discussing
this and that. The younger ones remained mostly quiet.
When
asked how we were doing, Sari told them that we had spent the night
in the centre of Helsinki sleeping on the pavement in front of the
Stockmann department store. The stony bed was cold, but with hardly
any traffic it was possible to get at least two hours of sleep. However,
we hadn't had the chance to fall asleep yet when we were aroused by
a noise that was approaching from the direction of the Boulevard.
We raised our heads and in the morning mist could make out the lineaments
of a brass band marching towards us. The band was fairly big and old-fashioned
in its military ways. Noticing that we were on the way, the marchers
turned slightly so that we wouldn't have to rise up. Semi-recumbent
we observed them passing us by some two metres away. The musicians
were dressed up in elaborate but colourless uniforms with swords and
other paraphernalia. When the brass band had gone, we concluded that
this was far too restless a place. And, as we no longer felt tired,
we moved forward.
My
relatives wondered why we had tried to sleep in the middle of the
road. We didn't have an explanation, so the conversation ended there.
I
turned to my brother and asked when he would come for a visit. Jussi
asked why he should visit me? There was no reason for a visit, he
said, since he was not interested in my record collection. "Not
even in the latest album by Dead Can Dance? Or in my jazz CDs?"
I asked
"No, I'm not interested in music that is boring."
"That is understandable, being a musician yourself."
I
looked out from the window and noticed that the steam liner was currently
passing through a swamp. Trunks of trees stood against the darkening
sky.
My
aunt's husband, Heikki, rose up from his seat and lost his balance.
He seemed to have breathing difficulties, since the turned red in
the face and asked for help. Heikki collapsed on the floor and was
in great agony. A heart attack, I guessed. After all, Heikki was an
old man.
My
father put his arms above him and I did the same. Our purpose was
to transmit life force to Heikki. I took him by the arm and tried
to calm him down. Slowly the colour in his face returned to normal.
The situation was over. Heikki got re-seated by the table, but for
the rest of the journey he was more quiet than usual.
The
cruiser approached the harbour and the passengers dug their pockets
for passports. I took a portion of the railing with me. It was exquisitely
carved and I marvelled at the wooden ornaments. My mother adviced
me to keep the railing hidden, unless I wanted to become interrogated
by the customs officials. I put the railing into my jacket and stepped
out of the boat.
In
the beach Heikki tried out a few gymnastics movements and, noticing
his strength returned, started break dancing. I warned him that if
he would continue like that, there was the danger of a new heart attack.
But Heikki did not heed my advice, being in such a good swing.
