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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Mo 2. Apr 2012, 14:19 
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“We need to go to the bank,” Matti said. “Now?” “Yes, it’s already dark and we still have an hour before it closes.” “I can lend some money,” Janne proposed. “I don’t need money. Do you still have my medals and my matches collection?” Janne was surprised about the request and didn’t get the link with the bank. He remembered that few months before he died, he insisted that he took his medals from the World championships and Olympic Games as well as his important matches collection which was in a basket. Janne opened the cupboard under his bookshelf and took the basked. “I didn’t touch it. What are you looking for?” he asked. “Look for the box of Oslo 2011. There is the logo of the World championships on it,” Matti said and the two friends put their hands in the basket and looked for the box in the middle of 9856 little boxes. Fifteen minutes later Janne found it and gave it to Matti who smiled. He took it and opened it. There was a key. “What does it open?” Janne asked. “The door to the other world.” “Are you still a drug addict? Or are you drunk?” Havu asked, surprised by the answer. “No, I’m not. But this little key will let us enter the network. Give me the box with my silver medal from Turin. The team competition,” Matti requested. Janne opened a drawer and gave the right box. He opened it and put the medal around his neck. “I couldn’t remember that it was so heavy,” Matti said before to take off the bottom of the box. Janne saw that there was a double bottom with a secret compartment. Inside there was a passport. “You can’t use it. You are dead,” Havu said. “I don’t think so.” Matti opened it and showed the inside: Lauri Lasse Laaskinen. “Where did you get it? Is it a fake?” “Of course it’s a fake. There is my picture. Look. It’s perfect,” Matti said when he gave the document to his friend who couldn’t believe it. “How much did you pay to have it?” “It’s not your business. Now give it back to me.” “I want to know where you got it,” Janne insisted. “From the Finnish authorities. I knew someone who was working there and I asked for this passport. With money you can have everything. I know that now you hate me but in few days you will say that I’m a genius. Do you really think that I dealed with Sergei as Matti? I didn’t want that he touched my family in case I was not working well. And this document will again save my ass,” he told. Janne was not really happy to work with Matti on that case. He spent so much time and energy. It was important to him. It was the highlight of his career. But then the issue looked more like if it would depend on the criminal skills of his friend than the work he did.

They arrived at the bank a bit after half past three. When he gave his fake passport and the woman checked his ID she totally changed her attitude. She was first a bit cold and rigid but then she was friendly and smiling. She invited them at the first under ground level. They entered in a little living room with red leather sofas, a glass table and some drinks. Matti took a glass and emptied it at once. “Champagne is still good here. Take a flute,” he said to his friend who was not at ease. He never went to this part of the bank. He was just a normal customer who had to take a queue number and wait for his turn at a desk at the ground floor.

Some minutes later a man in grey suit with a dark red tie arrived and invited the friends to go to another room. There was only a table and two chairs. On the table there was a rectangular box. Matti sat and opened it with the little key that was in the Norwegian matches box. Inside there was a paper with many numbers. It looked like codes. There was also a mobile phone and a red passport. Janne frowned. It was written in Cyrillic. “Is it also a fake?” “Shhh. Of course it is. Do you think that I’m Russian?” Matti asked and the answer was obvious. “May I know where you got it?” “That’s my business.” “Do you speak Russian?” “Yes.” “But why didn’t you tell me before?” Janne asked. “Because you never asked me. Let’s go,” Matti said while he put the three items in his pockets.

After dinner Havu decided to show to Matti that it was not a game. He drove with his friend to the police station. “What are we doing here?” Matti asked when Janne turned off the engine. “You’ll see.” The door was opened and the receptionist greeted with a head movement. In the corridor, Havu hold Matti firmly under the arm. “What are you doing? I can walk alone and I won’t run away,” he complained but Happonen didn’t answer. His face was serious and he was walking fast. They arrived to the cells. Havu took the key holder on the table where his colleague was reading a magazine, opened a grid and pushed his friend inside. “Havu, are you mad? Why do you throw me in jail? I did nothing bad. I’m here to help you. Havu!” he shouted but Janne walked back to the table where his colleague looked at him. “Here are the papers to register your criminal. Should he stay the whole night?” The fat policeman asked. “No, I just need him to understand something. Don’t worry about the documents,” Havu explained. He took a candy in the box of his colleague and they talked about the anecdotes of the evening.

“Hi guys. I’m Lauri. I’m not a bad guy. I don’t know what happened to my friend. I guess that he thinks that it’s funny to let me here with you. Why are you here?” Matti asked to the two prisoners. One seemed to be from South America. His skin was dark and his hair was black. He had a thick moustache and he was fat. The other man was the opposite. Tall, skinny, blond. He seemed to be a Finn. He was probably drunk. “I stabbed my wife twenty seven times,” he blond man told, emotionless. “Is she... dead?” Matti asked a bit scared. “What do you think?” “Of course she is dead,” he said in a lower voice almost for himself. “I was with a boy. He was sucking my dick for twenty euros,” the fat man told with a deep voice and a Spanish accent. “How old... was the boy?” Matti asked, pale. “I don’t know. Ten, maybe twelve. He wanted money to buy a video game and I love boys.” “You are disgusting! I hope that you will be in jail for a long time. How can you... this boy will live with a big trauma and the image of your... penis in his dreams,” he added, thrilling. “Fuck you bastard. You are not a judge. And you know what? The boy loved it,” the fat man added with a wide smile. Matti was angry and wanted to punch this horrible person but Havu came to the grid. “Stop it. You should better show me that you have nothing to do here. But as I can see you are not better than these two criminals.” “Havu, open the door. I don’t want to stay with these guys and they smell bad,” Matti begged.

“I want to be clear. If you want to help me in the mission, you have to follow the rules. You will be working for me, for the police, for Finland. Do you get it? Not for your personal interest. If you try to fuck me in a way or another I will send you back to this room or to the other side. I’m not kidding. This is serious. I will have to report each of your actions. Nothing will remain secret. You also have to think of the consequences. If you mess up I can be fired. I lost my family because of you. Don’t take the only thing that is left. You don’t need to help me. You can just live your life and I will solve this case a day or another. I won’t be mad at you. And it’s quite risky. You will be in direct contact with these guys and you never know what can happen.” “Havu, I know that I behaved badly and you sacrificed everything for me. I do it for you. I want that you solve this case, become a hero and then live your life quietly, just fishing and enjoying summer. I promise to be honest. Please open that door. This guy smells too bad.”

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Verfasst: Mo 2. Apr 2012, 14:19 


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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Di 3. Apr 2012, 19:30 
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The next day Janne went at work. He filled in his coffee mug but then remembered the advice of his doctor. He threw the horrible coffee in the sink, rinsed his cup and filled it with water. His colleagues were looking at him with wide opened eyes. “Soon it will be your turn if you still drink three litres of this poison every day,” he told before to leave the kitchen. He crossed the corridor and knocked at the door of the inspector Jalonen who told him to enter. As always the office was full of smoke. “Do you mind to open the window?” Janne requested while he coughed. “Always complaining Happonen. I do it because it’s you,” the old inspector said while he got up and opened his small window. Janne sat in the uncomfortable chair in front of the desk of his supervisor who closed the window after five minutes. “Tell me,” he said before to sit in his leather chair. “I think that we can paralyze the Russians. We need to block their money.” “Do you have a contact?” “Yes. He can help us. I’ve a total trust in him. He won’t betray us. I just need some logistic help,” Havu told. “What do you need?” “Radios, emitters, micros, infrared lenses, recording material, and some weapons. I also need some plastic, and detonators,” he listed. “What the Hell are you doing? Don’t tell me that you will bring us to a war with Russia.” “No, I’m not that crazy. Can you provide me that equipment?” “What is the success rate?” Jalonen asked. “Over fifty percent.” “It’s too low. When you will have concrete evidences that you are close to destroy the network, maybe I’ll give you your toys that will seriously amputate our budget,” the supervisor clarified. “Yes, sir. If it’s a problem you can take it on my salary. I will pay back each cent. I promise.” “Observation, discretion, infiltration, planning and then action. Am I clear? When you will show me an action plan, you will have all what you need.” “How much time do you need to get my Christmas gifts?” Happonen asked. “Sooner than what you can imagine. Go back to work and don’t forget that you are not James Bond neither Rambo,” Jalonen reminded and showed with his hand that he had to leave the room. “Ah Happonen. I love your creativity and your sense of duty. I’m sure that you won’t disappoint me,” Jalonen said to himself when he was alone in his office. He opened his drawer and poured a glass of whisky.

When he was back home Janne found a thick envelop on the table of the kitchen. It was written for Tami. He opened it a saw that there was a lot of money inside. He put it in his inside pocket and drove to Vuosaari at the East of Helsinki. It was already six o’clock. He entered the code of the door that Matti wrote on a piece of paper. Tami was living at the last floor. He took the elevator. There were three doors. On the right door it was written Entoranta and Lehto on the middle door. There was no name on the left door. He guessed that it was that one. He knocked and waited. “Havu? What are you doing here?” Tami asked surprised when he opened the door. “Can I enter? I need to talk to you,” Havu said and he entered. He never went to that flat but it looked familiar. He saw the pictures after the aggression. The name of Harri was not anymore on the wall. “Coffee?” “No thanks. I quitted caffeine,” Havu said while he sat on the chair of the kitchen table. There was no sofa. Just a bed. He felt uncomfortable to sit on his bed to talk. “How are you?” Tami asked while he brought a hot chocolate to his friend. “Much better. I try to rethink my life to avoid stress. It’s really not easy. I didn’t know that I was so stressed. The first time I went to the osteopath he told me that he never had someone with such nerves nodes. My shoulders were hard like a stone. I stopped drinking coffee and energy drinks. My blood pressure was too high. Well. That’s life. What about you?” Havu asked, the hands around his cup to warm them. “I’m back to my normal life since Nina helped me to get my voice back. I’m again working in the IT department of my bank. My colleagues were happy to see that I was back. During my absence I studied and updated my knowledge. It’s very important in IT. Technology is changing very fast. If you don’t update you are useless.”

“I’m a bad friend because I didn’t come just to talk about the weather. I’ve something to ask.” “What a surprise,” Tami answered, crossing his arms. “I guess that you know that I’m working on a car thieves and drug importation network between Russia and Finland. I can tell you more about it later. I’m close to destroy it, but I need your help.” “Are you serious? I’m not a cop.” “I know. I need your IT and banking skills. Do you have access to the clients accounts?” Havu asked. “Only if the security advisor gives me the permission. Why?” Tami asked. “Can you hack a database?” “Do you ask me to do something illegal?” “Tami, do you want to help me or not?” “Why should I help you?” he asked seriously. “You are my friend. I can pay you,” Havu said. He put two hundred euros on the table. “I need that you hack the server of your bank and access a couple of accounts for me. I need a transcript of all transactions.” “If you have a warrant you should obtain it legally,” Tami told. “I think that there are no records of the accounts I’m looking for. Someone in the bank is hiding them. Maybe someone important in the hierarchy. I need you to access the accounts opened by a certain Laaskinen. I need to know who is working with these accounts at the moment. I want to know how the money is coming to these accounts. When I will have all the data I need I’ll pay you and ask you to participate to the second phase. When we will succeed and arrest them you will be rewarded for your collaboration for solving one of the most important traffic cases of these last ten years. If it turns bad, no one will hear about you. But I need your entire discretion and collaboration. Do you accept the deal?” “If I lose my job, you’re dead.” “It’s a deal! 10.000€ for you now the left over later. I’ll contact you,” Janne said, putting the thick envelop on the table. “And thanks for the hot chocolate,” he added before to leave the flat.

Two days later Janne Happonen got a fax with the data he asked for. “What the Hell...” The accounts were still active and there were movements quite often. The client was a certain Viktor Yarovic. Havu check in the people database and noted that his file looked suspicious. This guy had no past, except a visit at the doctor three years ago. It was a fake ID for sure. He sent a request to the IT department of the police to find who created his ID and gave him a social security number. The answer arrived less than three hours later. He took his phone and asked two of his colleagues to arrest Sonja Martineva. “There are corrupt people everywhere. Sad world. Even in Finnish government. Employees should be more paid to resist to the temptation,” he said to himself.

“Jalonen I need an authorization.” “For what?” “For arresting a banker and replace it by a spy. I need the total collaboration of the director of the bank and yours,” Happonen explained, enthusiastic. The plan made by Matti was working well. “I don’t know if you are insane, a drug addict or a genius.” “Let’s bet on the third option,” Havu replied. “Tell me more,” the supervisor requested. “Vladimir Zonki is a corrupt employee at the bank. He is working for Sergei Sidorov. He is the guy that is laundering the money. I have evidences. We have to be discreet and to replace him by my spy. Then we will have the control on the money. We will paralyse the network. Here is the plan: we take Zonki out of the game. Then Siderov will look for another corrupt guy to replace him immediately. The same evening my spy that Siderov trusts, shows up and says that he is available. Sergei has no choice and hires him. Once my guy takes control on the money, we have the control too. I just need that the director of the bank collaborates and integrates my guy to the working place,” Happonen explained, showing the plan he draw and the banking data. “I call the bank. I just hope that your guy is serious and won’t be killed. He is the master piece of your plan. Do you know it?” Jalonen said. “I know and he knows. There is no B plan.”

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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Do 5. Apr 2012, 11:13 
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Three days later

“Are you sure that it’s a good idea?” Janne Happonen asked Matti when they were in the car. “Yes, I’m sure. Trust me. Is the emitter working?” he asked and they checked. “Yes, it is.” “Stay in the car. Don’t move whatever happens. I’ll be right back,” he said before to leave the car. Havu didn’t like it but he had to trust his friend that was walking in the darkness.

During that time Tami was working from a secret room that the police sometimes used as back base. He was controlling by remote the account of Lauri Laaskinen and found his old weird accounts. He didn’t know that Matti was such a swindler. He was working for bad people but he also noted that some thousands of Euros disappeared on another account each three months. What was this net? Who was the owner of the other account? It was located on the British island of Jersey where the banking secret was still tolerated. The account just had a number.

Matti entered in a bar that didn’t look friendly. He went at the desk and asked for a Martini. The other guys were drinking beer. Some were watching the soccer game at TV and others were playing poker. “Laaskinen! What a surprise. I thought that the Colombians killed you many years ago,” a skinny man with dark hair said while he sat at the bar and ordered vodka. He was wearing a white shirt and a jean. They were speaking in a low voice in Finnish to don’t raise the curiosity and suspicion of the other customers. “I had to disappear. It looked bad for me. My friends were suspicious. I had to protect our common interests. I knew that you would replace me. Did you have any problems during the transition?” Matti asked. “No, you did well. But I would have appreciated a little message such as: “I’m fucking the girls in Bahamas”,” the Russian guy said with his strong accent and Matti tried to laugh but he was a bit stressed. “Why are you here?” “For business. Maybe we can continue our deal where we stopped it. I’m back to the bank.” “Don’t you think that we found someone else to do your job, asshole?” “Maybe but I’m sure that he is not as good as me,” Matti replied when he found again his self-confidence. “You’re really a scrum bag. We know that you were taking some commissions on the transactions.” “Business is business,” Matti reminded the main rule. “We will never get rid of you.” “I’d like to talk to Sergei. He knows how serious I am. I don’t talk business with his hand guy that names his best investor asshole and scrum bag. So now, go to the back room and tell him that Laaskinen is back. I’m waiting here,” Matti said seriously. He hoped that he was convincing. “That’s really good. Continue that way,” Janne told in the earphone.

The skinny guy did a sign with his hand and Matti let his Martini on the desk. In the back room he found some Russians playing cards around a rounded table, smoking cigars and drinking dark beer. Some had empty shot glasses in front of them. Probably some vodka shots. “You are still alive... I missed you man. Why did you suddenly quit the business?” the man with a hat and a round belly asked with a strong accent from the Caucasus. “Some family problems. My mother was sick. She is dead now,” he lied in Russian. “And you come back because you need money for the funerals. How sweet is this? What do you want?” Sergei asked seriously, still playing cards. “I want to be again in the game. I’m back to the bank. You can become super rich with me. Finance runs through my veins. And I’m very discreet. Nobody heard about my work at the bank before and nobody will hear about me now. Your placements will be hundred percent guaranteed,” Matti promised. “You know the rules. I don’t know if I can trust you.” “You know that I’m your guy,” Matti insisted. “I’ve to admit that you are coming back on time. Something happened to my banker. Some people say that he is in jail, some that he has been killed. I need someone right now,” Sergei told, looking at his cards. “I’m your man. Same conditions as in the past,” Matti negotiated. “Deal. I don’t need to tell you what to do. Same process.”

Matti and the Finnish police had access to the bank accounts. At the bank some employees were wondering who he was. He tried to be friendly and to talk with his direct colleagues at the coffee break. He was wearing sunglasses and he explained that he had a hyper sensibility to light. The women were touched and always asked if he needed something. He loved so much to be back to work. It was finally challenging and he felt useful. Nobody asked about the secret accounts. He had a total control.

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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Mo 9. Apr 2012, 17:40 
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One week later

“Hey baby girl.” “Don’t call me baby girl!” Tami said in the phone while Matti was laughing. “Ready for the big bang?” “Are you sure it’s the right moment?” the IT expert doubted. “I am. Let’s show to the Russians than in Finland there are rules. Freeze the accounts,” Matti ordered. He smiled and knew that Sergei would call very soon. After some manipulation Tami confirmed that everything was blocked. “Bingo. Less than five minutes,” Matti said while he took his ringing phone. He went to the bathroom and answered. “Hi Sergei! How is the...” “What have you done?” the Russian almost screamed in the phone. “Calm down and don’t shout. I’m not deaf. Not yet. What are you talking about?” Matti answered with a little smile on his face. He had to force himself to stay serious but it was hard when he was looking at his face in the mirror. “My money asshole! Where is it?” “Wait. I login in. I’ve to be discreet. My boss is nearby,” he answered still from the bathroom. He hoped that nobody would flush the toilet. “You’re right. I can’t access. There is no explanation. Strange. Usually there is a note. I call the security admin to unblock it. Oh wait. I can’t. These accounts are not supposed to exist. And my accomplice, Tero, at the IT has been fired five years ago. And if I remember well, you or one of your hand guys killed him to avoid that he reveal your little secrets. Oh oh.” “What “oh oh”? Do something bastard!!! If you don’t solve the problem within two hours you know what will happen to you,” Sergei said very angry before to hang up. Matti laughed and took his other mobile phone. “Havu, Sergei is angry. He will meet me soon to kill me. As planned. I’m waiting for a message or phone call. I hope that you are ready. I don’t want to die now.”

Two days later Matti got the phone call he was waiting for: “You will do something for me. Tomorrow at six, leave Helsinki and drive to Saint-Petersburg. Someone will contact you on the way. Come alone. If you try to trap me, you’re dead. Your body will be in such a bad shape that even dogs wouldn’t eat it. Am I clear?” Sergei said before to end the conversation.

“Havu, I need your car.” “To go to Russia? Are you crazy? I can’t protect you in Russia. Don’t go there. I’m not giving you my car,” Havu protested. “Borrow one for me. If you don’t do it I’m dead and you will never arrest this bastard. Havu I’m doing that for you! You should be grateful,” Matti insisted, a bit angry and euphoric. His hands were moist and his heart was beating fast. “I’ll see what we have in the garage,” Janne answered while he drove to the police station. But he didn’t take the most direct way. He wanted to check if someone was following them. When it was clear he entered the underground garage. “I need a car that the customs will not check. Not a black Golf or a Mercedes ML,” Matti said. “Because you think that we have Mercedes? We are not in Germany. You can take the Opel there or maybe the Skoda,” Havu proposed. “I need some power to escape if it’s needed. Don’t you have a fast car?” “The Volvo S60 here. Don’t break it. It’s the car of my supervisor.” “Why is it white? It’s ugly,” Matti criticized. “Do you want the key or do you take the Opel?” “Give me the key.”

The next morning at seven Janne was in his office. He was following the car on the tracking GPS software. “Don’t drive too fast,” he advised in the radio. “I’ve a meeting with Jalonen. I contact you before you cross the border,” he added before to cut the signal. He took the radio with him and went to the office of his supervisor that was smoking his cigar and drinking coffee. “I need the authorization to let one of our cars crossing the border with Russia. It’s urgent. The car is on the highway. It should be at the check point in an hour,” Janne told. “Why didn’t you tell me that before? You know how slow Finnish bureaucracy is. May I know what are you doing?” the inspector asked. His face was reddish. “My contact has a challenge. If he succeeds he will get access to the head of network, at least close from Sidorov. It’s what we want. If he fails he will be killed. He has to pass the border! Let the fucking Volvo go to Saint-Petersburg!” Happonen insisted, hitting the desk with his fist. “You know how to obtain what you want. But if my car has a scratch you will help the kids to cross the streets in front of the schools until your retirement. And there will be no early retirement for you! Am I clear?” “Yes. Please hurry up.” “Get out of my office,” the supervisor ordered and his best inspector left. “Ah Happonen... always crazy. But I love your cheek,” he said to himself before to call the customs.

“Green light,” Havu said in the radio almost an hour later. Matti was in the line to cross the border. He had no idea of what he had to say. He prepared his Russian passport. What was he doing? Why did he accept to do it? He was not a policeman and the risk to be killed was very high. It was for Havu. That poor dude suffered so much during the past years because of him. He thought that to help him at work was the best way to thank. When the car in front of him moved he pressed the button of his window. He took his passport and took off his sunglasses but the border-guard made the sign to go on. He put back his glasses on his nose, closed his window and continued his trip.

Before to arrive in the big city he got an sms: you need gas. He stopped at the first station and refuelled. He locked the car and went to the desk to pay cash. He also bought a little package of chewing-gums. He took one and walked to the car. He unlocked the doors with the remote and suddenly felt something in his back. “Let’s travel together. If you don’t obey, you’re dead. Drive now,” a very deep and frightening voice said in Russian. He sat behind the wheel and started the engine. The man next to him really looked like a bad guy. And he smelled so bad that Matti was close to throw up. “Can I open the window for a little while?” “Drive and shut up,” the dirty man ordered. Matti saw that he was holding a pistol in his hand.

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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Di 10. Apr 2012, 13:46 
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The man was guiding Matti in a part of the city that he didn’t know at all. It was certainly neither touristic nor for business. He hoped that he wouldn’t be executed in the middle of nowhere. He was in a panic but he tried to keep control with his breathing. He didn’t want to show that he was scared. His stomach was painful. They entered in a kind of little garage where there were two other new and expensive cars. It was contrasting with the neighbourhood that seemed to have not changed since the Soviet time. Another man arrived and opened the door of the car. “Get out and let the key on the contact,” he said and Matti did it. “Sergei told me to come here. I didn’t know that the welcome was so warm,” he broke the ice. “Shut up and follow me.” “Don’t touch the car. I have it since two weeks,” he lied but nobody listened.

They entered in a dark room where there was only a chair in the middle. “Sit.” He did it and was waiting for the worst. He knew it. It was a trap and he would be executed. “It’s a nice day. The birds are singing,” he said with irony in English. But the last sentence was a coded message. “Fuck. He is in trouble,” Havu said in front of his computer. On the screen he could see where the car was. “Jalonen, my contact needs help. We have to contact our colleagues on the other side of the border.” “He is alone.” “They will kill him! He needs help! Don’t tell me that we can do nothing. I can still see the car on my screen,” Havu begged. He was in total panic. “Sit and calm down. I’m sure that he will find a way to escape. We have to wait now.” “I won’t let him down! I’ll help him to negotiate,” Janne said while he exited, angry, the office of his supervisor. “I’m here. Breathe deeply and calm down. Everything will be fine,” Havu told to the radio.

“Why don’t you kill me now?” Matti asked. His nose was bleeding and his stomach was painful. “Who is your boss?” the man insisted. “Sergei. It’s him who told me to come. This trip is a test. Please. I’ve to pass it,” he begged, panting. “Why do you come back after so many years?” “For business. I love money. I love challenges. And you know I’m addict to some powders. It costs a lot,” he lied, hoping that the man would believe him. “Another junky. What happened to the last one? Oh yeah I remember. He lost all his teeth.” “Please. I need my teeth to work. You like money I guess. Do you want money? I give you one hundred Euros if you let me go. Good deal, isn’t it?” Matti tried to convince the guy. “The car is ready. You can go,” a man said while he opened the door. “That’s all?” Matti asked, surprised. “Give me my money and go away before I kill you.”

When the garage opened, Matti was scared. It was sunny. He didn’t know how he would drive. “I let my glasses in the other room. I need them to drive,” he asked a bit embarrassed. “They are broken. Go away before we change our mind,” the man threatened. Matti put the back gear and went out of the garage. He couldn’t open his eyes. The sun was dazzling. “Havu, I need your help. Guide me to a safe place. I can’t see. I’ll continue the trip after the sunset.” Janne was looking at the map he had in front of him. “Don’t drive too fast and listen to the noises. If you are not sure, stop the car. It’s better than to have an accident. Go straight for three hundred meters. “I don’t know if the car is straight. Havu I will never make it.” “Yes, you will. I know that you are able. Drive slowly.” The street was not straight and there were holes. Matti was panicking each time he was hitting something. “I can’t do it. I give up.” “Matti, you can’t. You are still to close from the garage. Continue for hundred meters. Then at the crossing turn right. There is a traffic light but I can’t tell you if it’s red or green. You have to listen to the street. Breathe and stay calm,” Janne told to the radio. Matti opened his window. Someone was honking. It was maybe because he was driving too slowly. He put his indicator on the right and stopped the car. “Asshole!” a man in the other car shouted to him. “Thanks. Now let’s go. I hope that you won’t be fired if I crash the car.” “Stay focused,” Havu reminded. “The car is beeping.” “Break! It means that you have an obstacle at less than twenty centimetres of you,” Janne almost screamed. “There must be a car. Maybe the traffic light is red. I can hear an engine in low speed. Oh it starts. I can turn,” Matti told and Havu was sweating. Jalonen was walking back from the coffee machine and he couldn’t imagine how he would react if Matti damaged the car.

Finally he entered in an underground car park and waited in the shopping mall upstairs. He was still stressed and didn’t understand what happened in the garage. The guy didn’t ask many questions and it seemed that he didn’t want to kill him. Why? What did Sergei want to know? What was the aim of that trip? He was looking at his reflection in the coffee cup while a young and beautiful woman sat in front of him. “I’m not interested,” Matti said without looking at her. “What is a foreigner doing here? It’s not a touristic place,” the brunette replied. “I’m Russian.” “I know that it’s not true. You are not looking Russian and you have an accent that is not Russian.” “Okay I admit. I’m not Russian. What do you want? Money? I don’t have money,” Matti answered in Russian. “When are you going back to your country?” “I travel alone.” “Please, I need to quit this country. My sister already escaped. She is in Finland waiting for me. They killed my father and are looking for me. They want to kill me,” she explained, almost with tears in her eyes. “Who is looking for you?” he asked without been really interested in the answer. “Some people from the mafia. My family did nothing bad. We just needed money and...” “Yeah I know the story. What do you give me if I drive you to Finland?” he asked and in his earphone he heard Havu complaining. “Matti! What are you doing? Go away! It might be a trap.” But he ignored his friend. “I don’t have much money. Just one thousand roubles.” “Come to the car with me. We have a bit more than an hour before departure,” he said in English, leaving the coffee place with the girl.

“I can’t believe it,” Janne Happonen said to himself after he understood that the last sentense meant: leave me alone for a while. He took off the headset to don’t hear the sounds from the car. He didn’t get how his friend could have sex with a random girl when he was in mission under cover and with the material of the police of Helsinki! “He will drive me crazy,” he added before to get a cup of horrible coffee.

“Are you alone in the car?” Janne asked his friend. “Yes.” “Don’t lie. Are you alone?” he repeated. “Yes, Dad. I’m alone,” Matti answered, bored. “Where is the girl?” “Gone,” Matti answered. Almost an hour later he was at the border and Janne was in contact with the customs. He repeated to let that car go through. “I see the car. There are two people inside. What should I do?” the customs officer asked. “Fuck...” Havu murmured for himself. “Matti! This girl must not cross the border! Do you hear me? Do you understand? Let her go before the border. I repeat: let her go now!” But the radio was mute. Matti decided to voluntary disobey to his orders. Havu was angry and he hit the table with his fist. “A problem?” Jalonen asked. “No, it’s under control,” Janne lied.

After have passed the border Matti stopped the car in Kotka. He took the money he hid in his sock and gave almost everything to the girl. “I don’t know if there is a straight route from here to Jyväskylä. You can ask at the bus station. Maybe you have to go to Lahti and then take another bus or you take the bus to Helsinki and then the train. It’s better to ask. I’m bad in geography. Family is important and I hope that you’ll be soon together with your sister. Take care,” he said before to start the engine.

“What the Hell have you done? Do you know that I’m angry? You brought a girl illegally in Finland in a car of the government! You should be punished!” Janne Happonen said, the hands on the hips when his friend was back from the trip. “Relax. I’m alive and I didn’t break the car.” Havu was walking around the vehicle. He wanted to be sure that nothing was broken. “I still need the car. I’ve a delivery to do.” “What are you carrying in the car?” Happonen asked. “I don’t know. I just know that there is a bomb in the car and if someone opens the trunk it will explode. If you want to try, tell me and I’ll run away,” Matti explained. “When is the delivery?” “In an hour.” “Where?” Janne asked. “I’ll get soon a phone call.” “I’ve a bad feeling. It’s probably a trap. It’s too dangerous. You can give up now. You don’t need to risk your life.” “Havu, I won’t die. They don’t know that I’m working for you. They think that I’m the old Lauri. They trust me. And we are so close. You will destroy the network.” “Take a pistol with you. It’s for your protection.” “If I go to the meeting with a gun, they will kill me for sure. I know what I’m doing. Trust me.” “You have no idea of what you are doing,” Happonen said in a low voice. He appreciated that his friend wanted to help but the mission was too dangerous. They didn’t get enough information and had no time to plan anything. He walked away and used his radio to give orders to other policemen. Matti was sat alone in a meeting room, drinking a cup of horrible coffee and eating a dried doughnut.

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An hour later he got a phone call that told him to drive North-East. Ten minutes later he got an SMS and read it loudly for Havu to hear where he was going. “Lahdenväylä, Kehä Ring I East, Kontula.” Janne gave the order to his men to go to Kontula but to be quiet. “Kivikonkaari 12,” Matti told fifteen minutes later. “Stay in the car and drive,” a man in black said while he entered in the car. “Where should I go?” Matti asked as calmly as possible. “Kehä Ring I, East,” the man told. His hair was a bit too long, greasy and black. His skin was a bit dark. He was probably coming from the Caucasus. He was wearing a green military jacket and he smelled quite bad. Why were they all not friend with the bathroom? Janne Happonen was on the Lahdenväylä and turned right to the Kehä Ring I. He knew that he was not far from his friend but he was too far to help if suddenly something was going wrong. He was nervous but tried to hide it.

Matti entered in a warehouse near the industrial harbour of Vuosaari. It was quite dark but there was enough light to see that five men were waiting for them. He immediately recognized Sergei in the middle of the others that were standing proudly with their Kalashnikov. “Hello my friend! Nice to see you again,” Matti said with enthusiasm. “I’m glad to see that you didn’t blow the car. I know how curious you are,” Sergei replied. “I know that in this game there are rules. And I respect them. You remember? You taught me during a poker game many years ago.” “Open the trunk,” Sergei ordered. “But there is a bomb...” “Do it if you have balls,” the Russian insisted. Matti swallowed and went to the back of the car. Before to press the button to open the car, he observed. They were in a close place with a bomb ready to explode. Sergei and his men were at good distance but didn’t move. Suddenly he understood. There was no bomb. “Good joke,” Matti said while he pushed the button. But there was a detonation and Matti jumped on the floor. Someone was laughing. “This was a good joke,” a man with a smoking pistol said. Matti didn’t like the joke. He got up and opened the truck. It was full of black sports bags. There were at least three. “What is inside?” “Don’t be silly. You know. Something that you love,” Sergei answered, his cigarette in the mouth. “Heroin...” Matti murmured. “Probably thirty to fifty kilos,” he added for Havu.

“Sit here,” Sergei requested, showing a chair, and Matti did it. “Which game are you playing?” “I don’t play games. Expect poker sometimes. I’m just back and I want to do business for you like in the past.” “So, tell me. Why are you driving a police car?” “It’s not. It’s my car,” the Finn lied. “Dimitri has a cousin working at the registration. We know the truth.” “I can explain!” “There is nothing to explain.” “Sergei I know that you are the boss of the network and you know that something went wrong.” “How do you know if I’m the boss or not?” the Russian asked. “Because you are wearing the ring of Mikhail. It means two things: or he quitted the business. Honestly I can’t believe it. Or you killed him because you knew that he would never let you be the boss. In fact you did it. You poisoned his vodka and he passed out. Then his lovely wife Katarina was accused. The poor woman has been executed by a bullet in the head. That’s not nice of you. She was innocent. Mikhail has always preferred his son Boris to you even if he is an idiot and he was the already named successor. But like a coincidence this son has been arrested by the police because you told them where to find him,” Matti told, hoping that he was saving time and that Havu would come soon to save him. This information he told had been reported by their personal spy, Harri the ghost. Matti knew that Harri didn’t lie. Sergei was furious and the others were talking together. They were wondering what to do. Sergei was a traitor. “And where is my money! On the bank account of the government like the other hundreds of thousands Euros that you stole? Or on your personal account? Don’t you think that I’ll discover the truth someday? I should kill you right now!” the gangster threatened while he took his pistol from his jacket pocket, the hand shaking and the face totally red. “Don’t kill me! I can help you to escape. It’s not too late. The cops are coming. You can let me go and I’ll tell them that you are not here. It will let you enough time to leave. Deal?” Matti articulated. “Police! Police!” a Russian screamed. “Too late, traitor,” Sergei replied to Matti who was scared. He pressed the trigger and the detonation echoed in the whole warehouse. The door of the warehouse exploded and thirty policemen entered. The gangsters opened the fire. But they were only five and were game over after had resisted a couple of minutes. Sergei was smiling while he looked at the traitor on the floor. “Sergei Siderov, you are under arrest,” Janne Happonen said while he closed the handcuffs.

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26. I’ll miss you

“Katrina, go to the little flat. The key is in the mailbox. Matti is injured. I need your help,” Havu said in the phone while he was driving in direction of Käpylä. “What happened?” she said in a panic, holding the phone in the darkness of the living room. She hoped that nobody would wake up. It was almost two in the morning. “See you there,” he said to end up the conversation. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine,” Janne said to Matti who was on the passenger seat. “I don’t think so. Havu, I’m bleeding too much and it’s so damn painful. Hurry up,” Matti replied while he put his both hands on his stomach. The tears were running on his cheeks.

Katrina was in the little flat, stressed. Her pharmacy was on the table, opened. She was biting her finger nails. She was quite sure that it was bad. Havu seemed to be in a panic when he called and she heard Matti moaning in the background. The door opened less than ten minutes later. Havu was holding Matti, his arm over his neck. He closed the door with his foot and it slammed violently. The walls almost shook. Katrina was horrified. They were both covered of blood. They crossed the little living room and Havu put Matti on the sofa. “Oh my God! What happened?” she exclaimed when she saw the wound on his stomach. “He was shot. Can you help him?” Havu asked as calmly as possible. He was trying to hide his stress to don’t panic Katrina even more. “I’ll do my best.” Havu pushed the table of the living room a bit aside and took the hand of his friend who was fighting. “I don’t want to die tonight,” he said between two tears. “You won’t die.” Katrina was compressing the wound with compresses but she couldn’t stop the bleeding. “Janne, we have to call an ambulance. It’s urgent! The bleeding is too important. He lost too much blood. He needs a transfusion,” she said in a panic. Everything was covered of blood: the sofa, the carpet, their clothes, hands, hair. “Havu! He needs help!” she begged with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t see anymore. She knew that she couldn’t help but she couldn’t accept it. “I can’t call an ambulance. It’s too late.” “No, it’s not! Matti stay with me! Stay with me!” she repeated. “Havu is right... It’s... it’s too late. You did... your best. I have to ... to go,” he said in a low voice. His hands were already cold and his face was pale. He was coughing. “No! You can’t leave me! You can’t leave Matti! You have to fight!” “Cassandra is... she is... waiting for me,” he said calmly, the eyes half open. “No! You can’t die! Stay with me!” she repeated, out of breathe. “Thanks for... for all. I will ne... never forget... Take... my diary... in... in the night desk... for... your book.” “Thank you for your friendship and all what you did. You were so courageous. Bye my friend. You can go now,” Havu told in a low voice.

“What the Hell is going on here?” Maria heard the noises on the other side of the wall and wondered what was happening so late in the night. She was not supposed to be there. But Saara cried the whole evening and wanted to go back to her bed. Maria decided to spend the night in the house of her ex-husband. She got scared when she saw the blood drops on the ground and on the handle of the door. When she entered, she was out of breathing. “Katrina, let him go,” Havu murmured. “No! Please! Stay with us! Stay with us!” she insisted while she shook his shoulder with her red hand. Her tears were running on her cheeks like a fountain. But he couldn’t open his eyes anymore. “Let him go. Don’t make him prisoner of our world. He doesn’t deserve to be again a ghost,” Janne said gently while he took Katrina in his arms. She was crying like a little girl. Janne retained his tears but he couldn’t last when he saw the last breath. His friend was gone forever. “Be happy with Cassandra now. I will never forget you,” Janne said to his friend who was sleeping for the eternity. This time there was no possible return. Maria was shaking. She couldn’t believe to what she just lived. Someone died and nobody could help.

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The trio was in the kitchen, drinking a tea. “And now? What are we doing?” Maria asked. “We have to take the body away from here,” Janne said calmly. “But how and where?” Katrina asked. “Somewhere where nobody will find him. Maybe in the woods or in a lake,” Janne proposed. “Please, don’t do that. I think that he deserved a grave,” Katrina told. “We can’t burry him in a cemetery,” Maria noted. “On the island. Next to Harri. Nobody will find him and he will not be alone. This island is part of his life. Is it now your island?” Katrina asked. “Yes, until Saara is eighteen,” Havu answered. “Katrina is right. Let’s dig a grave on the island,” Maria replied and Havu agreed. “Who is driving the body with me to the island?” Janne asked. “I’d love to but I can’t. It’s already four o’clock and my kids will wake up in three hours. We will never be back on time,” Katrina said. “I’ve the same problem. Can you drive him there and we join you later for improvised funerals?” Maria asked. “I also have to work. But I will say that I feel bad after last night’s mission. And by the way, it’s true. Okay, let’s do so; Maria, you help me to find a bed sheet big enough to roll him in. Then we carry him to my car. During that time, Katrina, you clean the flat. Start by the outside of the house. I don’t want to scare the neighbours. And please, act as normal as possible. Nobody should notice that something happened. If you want to talk about it, talk with me. Am I clear?” the inspector asked and the women nodded. Katrina already wondered how she would be able to hide the truth. She was scared and still shaking.

They worked in silence. The women were shaking. On the other hand Havu was quick and efficient like a machine. He seemed to be emotionless. But it didn’t mean that he wasn’t affected by the death of his friend. Katrina stayed to clean and promised to do babysitting for Maria while the ex-couple was driving away. “Why don’t you drive faster?” Maria asked when they were on the highway. “Because I don’t want to have an accident. How will you justify to the police what we are carrying?” he asked still looking at the road. When they arrived to the lake the sky was still dark. They carried the body in the sheet to the sleigh that was hidden under a tarpaulin. They skied on the frozen lake in silence. Once they were on the island Maria prepared some warm coffee while he was digging in the improvised cemetery. It was hard work because the snow was deep and frozen. The ground was hard like a stone. When he was done he took his phone and called his friends to ask if they wished to come to the funerals. “I’m a bit tired. I’ll sleep a bit on the sofa,” he said calmly when he entered in the house. “Don’t you want to sleep in a bed? There is a bedroom behind the kitchen,” she reminded. “I can’t go there. It’s Matti’s room. And I’m too tired to climb the stairs. Wake me up when Arttu send the message. He will pick Janne up at the airport. He takes the first morning flight. I sent him an SMS before to leave Käpylä,” he told before to catch a fleece. He covered his body and closed his eyes.

Almost three hours later the group of friends composed by Havu, Maria, Arttu, Tami and Rane was stood up around the open hole. They were all wearing dark clothes and their heads were down. Janne Happonen breathed deeply before to talk. “We are here on this isolated island by a cold day of December to say goodbye to a friend. To Matti. Your life has been a rollercoaster. Well, your lives. We talked enough about your previous life at your first funerals. Now I’d say that I discovered another Matti. More mysterious and Machiavelli but also very sensitive and courageous. You didn’t have the life you expected and I feel sorry about it. I’m happy to have spent these years with you but it had been painful. I got divorced and many people died because of you: the wife of Anssi, Harri, my ex-wife, almost Tami and Nina. What you did recently was heroic. You dared to admit what you did, you used unconventional methods but you helped me to finally destroy that network. I will never forget it. You paid with your life. Do I feel better? Not really. I lost a friend but I know that now you are in peace, maybe with your beloved Cassandra and your brother. I hope that you will be happy and free now. But I’ve to say something to my favourite dude: Thank you for everything. I’ll miss you. I already miss you. Goodbye,” he told before to take the shovel and cover the hole. “Goodbye,” the others said.

Tami was looking around and saw a grave he was looking for since years. “Harri... you are here! I thought that I would never find where you were buried,” he told to the stone with a tear in the eyes. “Now that you are relieved, I can go to the other side.” Tami heard. He was looking around him. He was alone. Who talked? “Harri?” “Be happy my beloved Tami. See you on the other side in a couple of years.” It was true. Matti didn’t lie. Harri was really a ghost during all these years. But why? And why did he never talk to him? Tami was confused. Nevertheless he knew that his partner was free... and him too.

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27. Last mission

After the trip to the island Janne went directly to the police station. On the way everybody was congratulating. He didn’t smile and went to his desk. There was a huge basket with plenty of delicacies and a couple of wine bottles. He just opened a drawer and went to the elevator ignoring all the little attentions of his colleagues. He pressed the button of the fourth floor. “I want to know everything about this passport. Where it has been done, who made it, who gave authorization to make it, where it has been used, everything. I want the result on my desk for tomorrow morning, eight o’clock sharp,” Happonen said to the receptionist of the judicial police department. “But it’s impossible!” The man replied. “Make it possible,” Havu said while the doors of the elevator were closing.

“You did a great job last night. Congratulations,” Jalonen said once Happonen was in his office. “Cigar? Whisky?” he proposed and Janne accepted. He was sat on the uncomfortable chair. “I lost a man in the action and Piipponen get a bullet in his arm,” Havu admitted while he was lightening the cigar. “Miika is fine. Don’t worry. I’m sorry for your loss. Was he your mysterious partner?” “Yes and without him the network would still exist,” Janne said while he was lightening the cigar. “I listened to the records of the radio. He took a lot of risks for us. Give me his name and he’ll be recognized as a hero. We can send a medal to his family and flowers for the funerals,” Jalonen proposed. “He doesn’t want. He wants to stay anonymous. Let’s enjoy the success with this delicious cigar,” Janne answered, looking at the smoke. He realized that he used present tenses. He was still unable to admit that his friend was gone. “I checked the agenda. You deserve holidays. You still have days off to take from the previous years. You worked very hard.” “I still have a mission to accomplish.” “Which one? I haven’t heard of it.” “Fake passports.” “Which methods will you use? Normal or your own?” “Jalonen, I’m doing my job as well as I can. Sometimes normal methods are not quick enough and criminals have time to change strategy. I’m not a gangster and I know the law. Tomorrow latest I’ll bring you a criminal with my methods.” “Your methods are expensive. I hope that you don’t need plastic again. Do you know how much last mission cost with all the spying equipment?” the supervisor asked. “No and I don’t care. The mission was successful. If it’s too expensive for the government, take it from my salary.” “Don’t worry about it. Will you talk to the press? You were the boss in this mission,” Jalonen said. “I hate media. You can talk to them. I don’t want to be famous. I’m done with that. I’ve to go. To rest a bit before to arrest someone,” Havu said while he got up. “Thanks for the drink and the cigar,” he added before to close the door.

In the early morning the next day he entered in the police station in Kera with his young teammate. It was a middle size room with five desks. Only two people were working. In the waiting area about twenty people were there. The chairs were mostly occupied by old people or women with children. The policemen walked to the desk number two. “Mika Järvinen?” Havu asked. “Yes, it’s me,” the man answered a bit surprised. “Follow us,” the inspector requested and the man with a tie did it when he saw the badge the inspector was showing. He was probably an administrative person working for the police. It was the reason why he wasn’t wearing the uniform. He was about forty, blond hair, glasses and a rounded face like his belly. They entered in a meeting room and Janne closed the door behind them. “Do you recognize this passport?” Happonen asked while he showed the document. “How can I? I see hundreds of passports every day,” the suspect answered calmly. “Do you know this man?” Havu asked while he opened the passport that was in a plastic bag. “Lauri Laaskinen. Never heard. Or maybe he came there once but how can I remember?” Järvinen said. “Let me refresh your memory. On October 3rd 2017 a man came to your desk. He asked you to make a fake passport with the name of Lauri Laaskinen. You accepted because he gave you a code: babushka. Again a Russian word. You knew that you will get easy money. He filled in the documents, gave a photo and his finger prints. Then you put the official stamps on the documents and signed. The request was official,” Janne said looking through the eyes of the man and asking his colleague with his hand to give him something. “Sign this blank page,” the inspector requested and he did it. Janne compared it with the photocopies he had. “What a surprise. It’s identical,” he said while he showed the passport request. “I didn’t know he wanted a fake passport. Everything looked legal,” the man justified. “Don’t you ask for ID? Lauri Lasse Laaskinen never existed before that day!” The man swallowed after that question. He was under stress. “I told you! Everything looked legal! I did my job. Nothing else!” “Really? How do you justify that the same day you bought cash a car?” “It was a gift for my girlfriend.” “Stop lying. I’m not a rookie. Where is that money coming from? Don’t tell me that you won at the casino or lottery because I know that it’s not true. And how do you explain the 25.000€ on your account a month later? Did you get another request? And the same again six months later,” Happonen was asking seriously and the man was thrilling. “What will happen to me?” he asked, shaking. “It all depends on you. Take this blank paper and the pen. I let you ten minutes to write the names of the others who made the passports and the name of the owners of these fake passports. I guess that you didn’t make only three. If you collaborate, we will be kind with you,” Janne explained. He left the room with his young teammate. “Do you think he will do it?” “Absolutely.”

Ten minutes later they entered to the room and found names on the paper. “Great,” Janne exclaimed while he looked at the names. He took his radio and called: “Hellonen, we have names. Arrest Severi Kalkkinen and Olli Ruutalo.” “What will happen to me now?” “Järvinen, you are under arrest for corruption and fake documents. You can keep silence and call your lawyer once we’ll be at the police station in Helsinki,” the experimented inspector told.

“Happonen, I’m impressed. You dismantled a network ran by the mafia and less than forty-eight hours later you arrest three guys doing fake passports. You will be decorated and promoted. You are the pride of the Finnish police. Great job.” “Thank you. I just did my job. This was my last mission.” “What are you telling me? You can’t quit! Happonen, we need you! Finnish citizens need you!” “I appreciate but I’m done. It’s too much for me. I need to rest and to enjoy my life. My family and my friends need me. It was an honour to work in this department,” the inspector Happonen said before to let his badge and his gun on the table of his supervisor.

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28. Hypocrisy and selfishness

Two weeks later

“My life is a mess. I’m divorced. I live in the little guest house of a friend that has pity of me while my ex-wife finally moved back to the house in Käpylä. This friend is sleeping with my sister and I’m a hero at work but my best friend died during the mission. My boss told me that I’ll get a medal and a promotion. But I said that I quitted my job. Maria was right. It’s too demanding and I’ve no time for my family and friends. But you know what? I feel now stupid. What will I do? I can’t be retired. I don’t have enough money if I live old. The pension for a policeman is ridiculously small. I need to work,” Havu complained in the winter garden of Janne Ahonen. “If you were a kid, I would give you a slap. How can you be so negative? You took the best decision of your life. Now, relax and enjoy. Don’t worry about the money. Later, start your own business. Why don’t you go back to Käpylä?” “Janne, I wish I could but it’s complicated,” Havu tried to explained. “You are complicated. You love Maria, she loves you. Where is the problem?” Rane asked without understanding his friend. “You have no idea of what we went through and all the lies I told her. It was blessing. I will never find the right words to apologize. It’s better that we both live our lives on our side,” Havu admitted, sadly. “You are really complicated,” Rane repeated. “I guess that I’m burnt out since a long time. I should go to a psychologist,” Havu admitted. “I’ve a better therapy. Take a bag with some summer clothes. And don’t forget your passport,” Rane replied. “What? To go where?” Happonen asked, a bit suspicious. Especially when he looked at the snow outside. “You only need your bikini.” “I’m not a girl.” “Tomorrow morning at seven we leave,” Rane announced. “To go where?” he repeated. “To your therapy centre. Trust me. You won’t be disappointed.”

Twenty four hours later the two friends arrived with their kids and Sanna to the hacienda of Rane in Canarias Islands. “Welcome to my little paradise,” he wished and the travellers entered with their bags. The house was in Spanish style, white with orange tiles and exotic trees around. There were some cactus and palm trees. Happonen didn’t know about the other plants but he liked to see all these colourful flowers. Some bees were very active, visiting most of the flowers. It was contrasting with Finnish winter. Saara was holding the hand of Havu. She was a bit shy and afraid of the new place. It was so different from in Finland. The temperature was also much higher. It was close to thirty degrees. Rane presented quickly the house that was really like a small palace. “That’s beautiful!” Saara exclaimed. “That’s really impressive,” Havu just said. He couldn’t find other words. “Is it cheap here to buy a house or are you... very rich?” he asked and his friend laughed. “It’s true that it’s much cheaper than in Finland. But still. You need a lot of money to buy a house like this one. Follow me. I’ll show you my little world,” Rane said.

He drove his friends on the other side of the island, far from the tourists. He stopped near a gate that he opened with a key. “This is my garden,” he explained. It was a soft hill going to the sea. It was full of aligned trees. It seemed to have different kinds. They entered and Rane explained that he bought first a little part and slowly diversified the field and bought more. All the fruits that were served in the cocktails in Finland were coming from there. Some workers shook their hands when they saw the visitors. Havu smiled. He thought that they looked happy. Janne was probably a good boss. Not like many that didn’t pay much their employees or used toxic products that were bad for their health to make bigger profit. “Havu, have you already eaten a mango?” Rane asked when they were near a tree with strange fruits. “Well... I’m not sure. I think that once I had a mango ice cream. Or maybe once in one of your cocktails. You know I’m not very adventurous with unknown fruits,” he justified while Rane got a fruit and gave it to his friend. “Where can I wash it?” Havu said once he had the quite heavy green and red fruit in his hand. “I don’t use poison. You can eat it.” “Maybe a bird peed on it.” “Havu... you won’t die. Use your t-shirt if you really want to wash it,” Ahonen added and Havu did it. “Oh my god! I never ate such a delicious fruit! It’s wonderful! Saara, try it,” he said while he gave the fruit to her. She bit and loved it too. It was sweet and juicy. “It’s what I told you. Here everything is tastier than in Finland. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t like to go back North,” Ahonen confessed.

For the end of the day they went to the beach. The sand was white and warm and the sea was blue. Saara and Teemu were building a sand castle under the look of Sanna that was on the deck chair. She was adjusting her bikini after have put some solar cream to protect her white skin. She didn’t want to look like a tomato after a day. The two friends were swimming in the sea that was warm. “Look at that landscape,” Rane said once they were quite far from the shore. They had the view on the beach, the palm trees, the hotels and restaurants and far behind, some hills that could be considered as mountains in a Finnish point of view. “I admit. It’s beautiful,” Havu said. “Can you imagine yourself living there?” “I don’t speak Spanish.” “You can learn. It’s not that hard. I did it. You will succeed,” Ahonen said and Havu was perplexed. “Why do you want me to stay? Because you don’t want to be there alone?” Havu asked. “You said that you wanted to have a quiet life. You can have it here. You can work for me or if you really want to be a policeman, you can join the police station. There are not many crimes here. The problem is more the boat people coming from Africa. We are a family now. Don’t you want to be with us?” “Rane... I’d love to but I can’t. My life is in Finland. I will never learn properly Spanish and I already feel a bit homesick. I miss Finland.” “You don’t miss Finland. You are just afraid to quit everything and to start again from the beginning. You are not alone. I’m here. Your sister is here and I’ll help you. Look at the beach. Teemu and Saara are like brothers and sisters. Sanna loves this place. It’s where we met. And in Finland you have nobody. Nina and Matti are dead.” “Ana is in Finland. I miss her.” “Havu, I know that you are divorced but I also know that Maria still loves you and I’m sure that you too. Why don’t you tell her that to divorce was a mistake? And then come here. I’ll help you to find a house,” Rane told and Havu was thinking. “I can’t decide now. Last one on the beach pays the drinks,” Happonen challenged and started the competition a bit before, ignoring the suggestion of his friend. “Wait! Cheater!” Rane complained before to follow his friend.

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Three days later after breakfast Janne Happonen went outside for a jogging. He liked to run on the beach. The impacts on the sand were soft and it was good for his back that suffered a lot during his active career. He was just wearing a top and a short. He didn’t take his iPod with him because he loved the sound of the waves arriving on the beach, the seagulls and the talking of the tourists coming from their hotels for a relaxing day at beach. He was surprised to hear quite many people speaking Finnish or Swedish. He guessed that the others were speaking Norwegian or German but no Spanish. He turned behind the luxurious hotel and ran in the main street. Some people were arriving from the airport in bus or taxi while some others were leaving. But he noted something common to everybody: they were all smiling. It was very surprising compared to Finland.

When he went back to the living room after a shower he saw his friend waiting for him with a young woman. She was not tall, not short with long black hair and golden skin. She was probably a fan of sun-tanning. She looked like a student that wanted to earn some money. She looked good and she had a pretty smile. “Janne, here is Monica. She is your Spanish teacher,” Janne told him in English and it was quite surprising. “Well I let you study. I’m going to the field. Sanna is with the kids at the swimming pool of the hotel Cantador. See you later,” Rane said while he closed the door. “Hola! I’m Janne but call me Havu.” “Encantado Havu. Soy Mónica. Bienvenido a las Islas Canarias.” “Oh God! This will be tough,” he complained.

“How is it going with Monica?” Rane asked while they were drinking sangria on a terrace. “My brain is too old to learn a new language. But I do my best. She is very courageous. I’m sure that she has to force herself to don’t laugh. My pronunciation is horrible.” “You are not old. I was about your age when I learnt it and I’m not good at learning languages. Nothing is impossible. You will make it. How will you pay your lessons?” Rane asked while he took his glass. “To pay? Are you serious?” “Havu, nothing is free in this world. You should know it. You can pay with cash or in kind.” “In kind? What do you mean?” “Havu, don’t be silly. You know what I mean. Of course, you can clean her flat if you prefer.” “No way. I’m not a cleaning man and I don’t have sex with all the girls I meet. I’ve some values.” “Fine. Next time, give her some cash,” Ahonen said. “I need a job.” “Your bank account is empty?” “Not yet. Do you think that you can help me? I can be a taxi driver, receptionist, bring the bags in the hotels rooms,... anything.” “You don’t speak Spanish. You can clean the toilets of the hotels. Oh wait... you just said that you are not a cleaning man. Let me think. I’ve something better for you,” Ahonen replied. “I don’t know why I prefer to ignore.”

“But I don’t speak Spanish!” Havu complained when he arrived to the bar of the beach with his friend. “No need of Spanish. The clients are from Finland or Sweden. You can have some from other countries but they will speak English to you. Now look. I will show you how to prepare the best cocktails,” Rane said. The first clients were a couple from Tampere. They were there for two weeks of holiday. “And I guess that you don’t want to leave,” Janne added with a smile. “Sure but we have to earn money to come back here,” the husband said with a wide smile. Janne took the bottle of rum and measured 2cl that he put in the shaker with other ingredients. Havu was in the corner, watching. “The best shakes are always slow, fast, medium and slow. It must never be more than thirty seconds. To find my tempo I’m thinking of flamenco. Do you like flamenco?” “Well...” “Take the glass like a rose you want to offer to your fiancée and then you pour the mix with the shaker higher than your head. Are you able to aim the glass?” “Well...” “Then, you decorate the glass. Quickly. The drink is better fresh and the client is waiting. The drink is orange. I choose a pink cherry and a red umbrella. The straw? Which colour?” “Well...” “Blue like the ocean and then I’ve the colours of a sunset on the Atlantic. Here is your drink Madame,” Ahonen said while he gave the glass. He did the second cocktail the same way. When they were gone Rane looked at Havu. “Let’s have a debriefing. First you must be quick. Second you must have some kind of artistic skills. Third you must entertain the client. Result: you failed everything. But it’s not dramatic. Smile, relax and don’t cross your arms. It was the first try. Let’s see in a few days what you will be able to do,” Rane told and Havu was sure that he would fail and his friend would be angry.

A week later Happonen was able to talk very basic Spanish and to make basic cocktails. Rane was very demanding in the way to shake perfectly the drinks. But Havu liked it. It was fun. And he loved to be behind the bar with Janne. He discovered another part of his personality. He was someone happy and entertaining. It was probably what seduced Leena and Sanna. Havu was also happy to see that he was able to go on after all the dramas he had in his life. Rane was a good teacher. It was a lesson of life and Havu was learning. “What do you do when you are behind the bar, there is no client waiting for a drink and there is a woman alone, drinking her cocktail?” Ahonen asked. “She mustn’t be bored at the bar. Everybody has to be happy.” “So...” “So, I have to entertain.” “Good,” Rane said while he touched the shoulder of his friend.

“What a beautiful day. It’s not like in Finland. Have you seen the weather there? Not even an Eskimo wants to go out,” Havu began the conversation. He thought that to speak about the weather was not too personal. “That’s right,” the woman with blond mid-long curly hair answered. “How long have you been here?” the trainee barman asked. “Three days. The woman at the reception of my hotel said that here is the best place for cocktails,” she said, pushing her sunglasses on her nose. “That’s a nice compliment for us. I’m new here and your drink is one of the first I made. My friend... well my boss is an expert. Do you like your drink?” Havu asked a little bit stressed. He was not used to talk to strangers, especially women. And for him it was really difficult. In his previous job, all the people he met were criminals or witnesses of crimes. “Yes, I like my drink. I’m Siiri. From Helsinki.” “Nice to meet you Siiri from Helsinki. I’m Janne. From Kuopio but I moved to Helsinki some years ago before to come here. You can call me Havu,” he told with a smile. “Havu, I come back in an hour. I let you manage the bar, okay?” Ahonen said. “Yes, fine. Sure it’s okay,” he answered with a smile. He hoped that there would not be a rush. “Now you are the captain,” Siiri added with a smile. Havu estimated that she was about fifty. She had a straw hat on the head and was wearing a colourful dress. He could see that she was wearing her bikini under. “Are you alone?” Havu asked. “You?” she asked back immediately and he felt uncomfortable. He was sure that his question was too personal. “Yes, I’m alone. Well I live in the house of my friend who is dating my sister.” “What are you doing tonight?” she asked while she pulled down her sunglasses, showing her blue eyes. “Well... probably nothing,” Janne answered. “Come to the hotel Aurora. Room 225 at ten,” she said with a wink before to leave and Janne smiled.

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Three weeks later

“May I know what are you doing with these women?” Rane asked, a pineapple cocktail in his hand and the feet on the table of the terrace. He was there to admire the sunset. “Just talking. They are lonely and me too,” Happonen answered. “Sit here,” Ahonen said while he took off his feet from the table. “I know what two lonely people are doing when they meet.” “Yes, you’re right. But it’s rare. Rane, I’m looking for a new partner. I’m so sad at the moment. I want to find a woman that will love me and that I can live with till I die. I just need time until I find that person and of course it doesn’t happen immediately. You found Leena and Sanna here. Why can’t I find someone that will love me too?” he confessed. “You are not doing it the right way. These women just want to have sex because they are lonely, you are still good looking for your age and probably because their husbands are cheating. Stop being a hypocrite. Open your eyes and recognize the truth. Don’t be selfish. I’m your friend. You can share your secrets with me. You are just a toy for these women. How much do you ask for the service?” “Service? What the fuck? Rane, I’m not a prostitute!” Havu almost jumped. “For them you are.... a good entertainment. And you are a good deal because you do it for free. Do you know what I heard three days ago at the bar of the hotel Aurora?” “No...” Happonen asked with a lump in his throat. “That you were a good extra activity for middle-age ladies. The clients feel happy the next morning and they are then spending much more money in restaurant, shopping or other activities.” “Rane, do you realize that you are breaking my heart. I feel extremely bad now,” Havu answered in a low voice. His eyes were wet but he fought to don’t cry in front of his friend. He was sad but also angry. To Janne, to the girls but also to himself. “It’s why I prepared a bottle of whisky. A shot?” Rane asked while he caught the bottle that was on the floor.

“Havu, stop lying to yourself and listen to your heart. What is it telling you since... since you are alone?” Ahonen asked with compassion. After the second shot his friend couldn’t keep his tears. They stayed silent for a long time, looking at the beautiful sunset on the Atlantic Ocean. “I don’t know... I’m lost but I want to move on,” Happonen answered. His eyes and his nose were reddish but the tears stopped running. He felt ashamed. He was not supposed to cry. It was a weakness. “There is only one person that you love. You will never find someone else because you love her so much. Havu, admit it.” “It’s over. I’ve to move on,” he replied, looking at the sea. Janne moved the third chair and took something. It was a rectangular envelop. “Now get up and pack. In an hour a taxi is coming to drive you to the airport. It’s a single ticket. No return. You will come back here maybe once or twice for holiday. Your life continues in fucking cold Finland. Fifty eight minutes are left. Hurry up.” “But are you crazy? And Saara?” “There are two tickets in the envelop.” “Thank you so much Rane. I’m so happy to have you as friend. How can I thank you?” “Don’t miss your flight,” Janne winked from his chair. “Take care of my sister.” “I will,” Rane answered with a smile while Havu ran inside the house.

After have spent the night in the guest house of Rane, Janne went to the city centre and had a haircut. When he was satisfied by his appearance, he took the tram. He was happy, excited but also stressed. He exited the tram in a straight road bordered of trees. He crossed it and walked in a narrow street between wooden houses. He looked around and saw some curtains moving behind the windows. No really, nothing had changed. When he arrived to his destination he breathed deeply and rang at the door of the green wooden house. The door opened few seconds later and he saw Maria in jeans and with a long sleeve dark red shirt. “Hi Maria. I’m here to tell you that I can’t live without you and I’m so sorry for what happened. I love you like at the first day,” he told, stressed with his bunch of flowers in his hands. They were contrasting with his dark coat. “Oh Havu, I was waiting for this day for ages but I knew that it would come,” she murmured with tears in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. They hugged and kissed with passion while they entered in the house and closed the door.

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29. The other side

June 15th, 2031

“Havu, do you remember when Matti was a ghost?” Katrina asked. They were sat on the terrace of the green house in Käpylä. The grass was green with yellow and white flowers. It was a beautiful sunny day. “Yes, it was funny... in a way.” “Tell me how it was,” she insisted. “Well... one day he started to talk to me. First I thought that I needed holiday. I was quite tired. Or that I was going crazy. But then it was nice. We talked a lot. I missed him so much. I guess that it was because he died too early and I didn’t have time to say goodbye. The problem was when he was talking to me. I was physically present but mentally I was away. People were wondering what was going on. My wife seriously thought that I was burnt out or crazy. The worst was when he was talking to me at work. Especially during the interviews or meetings. Several times I went to the bathroom or outside and I told him to leave me alone. My supervisor wanted me to go to the psychologist! I’ve also to admit that my relationship with Maria started to be bad at that moment. I was so stupid... I made the wrong choice. I choose my friend to my family. He was more and more often talking to me. It was annoying. I had no private life. I couldn’t think by myself. Sometimes he was talking when I was in the bathroom or in the bed with my wife. As you can imagine I failed my husband work... I was so pissed. Maria told me that it was nothing and it could happen to every man. I almost cried when she bought me the blue pills. It was a humiliation. It was not her fault. She thought that she did well. But it was Matti’s fault. We had some serious fights. I wanted to get rid of him and to get my freedom back because I understood what he wanted. He wanted to take control of me and to live again. I was behaving like him... Once I listened to an opera! Me, Havu! It was too much. I told him that I was not a body that he could own,” Janne told, his beer in the hand. “Why was he talking to you and not to his brother?” “Because I’m the only idiot that didn’t let him go to the other side. I wanted him back just because... I didn’t have time to say goodbye,” Havu answered with nostalgia. He almost had a tear in his eye. “How did you get rid of him?” she asked. “I’ve to thank Nina. She brought his soul back to his body. Otherwise he would maybe still be with me. But I would probably be in an asylum or have killed myself. You can’t live with a ghost. It’s why I told you to let him go when he was dying. I didn’t want someone else to live what I lived. Now I know that he is in peace on the other side. Probably with his Cassandra. I miss him but I’m happy now. And anyway. I will join him in less than thirty years. It’s not that much. Is it the last chapter you want to add to your book?” he asked. “Yes, thank you for your answers,” she said with a smile.

Some weeks later Katrina Lindström was wearing elegant clothes. She went to the hair dresser and used a bit of make-up. The press was there, waiting for her. She arrived, smiling but stressed and sat at the table on the little stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, here is my book: On the other side by Matti H. alias Lauri. I had the chance to spend a lot of time with him and he told me how it is after death. How it is to die. I recorded all the interviews and I wrote the book as close as possible from his words. We know that some people will not like it. I’m a Christian and his talks were very disturbing for me. The bible has been written by humans. Nobody went on the other side to tell us how it is. Now there is someone that did it and he is now sharing his experience with all of us. His story will stay forever,” she told and the audience applauded.

“Thank you Katrina. And we will live a long life together. I will be close from my friends forever,” the voice in her head said. “You have what you wanted. You are famous now and people will never forget you. You are free. Go to the other side,” she replied. “Oh no. I love life too much. And I’m happy that you allowed me to stay for many years.” “Maybe I will die sooner than what you think,” she answered. “Oh no. I was glad to meet you because the life expectancy of Nina and Havu was not that long. But yours... wow. I’m now sure to be always by my friends sides. Havu is right when he told you that I was a bad guy. I like you but I never fall in love with you. My love will be forever for Cassandra.” “So, tell me why you are not with her?” Katrina asked. “I’ll join her after your death. We’ll be together for eternity. Now I just want to be with my friends. Do you listen when I’m talking?” Matti asked. “Yes, I do. Why are you in my head?” “I needed that you begged for me to stay. I’m proud of me. I was convincing.” “It’s a betrayal! Matti, I was honest. I really loved you... My feelings were true. If you were a normal person maybe I would have quitted my husband,” she confessed with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. But you will get used to me and my way of thinking. We will be like brother and sister. Now I’m eternal with the book and I will enjoy life for many long years. Harri was right. There is a monster in that story and it’s me. Thank you, Katrina,” Matti said, laughing.

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30. Epilogue

Matti was right. I lived the longest. I spent these long years with him. First it was hard to live with him after he admitted his betrayal, but then I got used to it. I preferred to have him as a friend than as an enemy. You are probably interested to know what happened to the group of friends and their family? Here are their stories.

Anssi Koivuranta became a real super star. He was very successful and travelled to Europe and US. His friends were complaining that they couldn’t meet him often. He met Suvi only two or three times a year to give her some advices and to listen to her last performances. Once he cancelled an interview with a radio. His manager was upset but Anssi said that he needed a break. He drove his car to the house of Janne Happonen who prepared with the help of Maria some drinks and snacks for a friends’ meeting. “How many wedding requests did you get?” Ville Kantee asked. “Since when? This year or since the beginning?” the singer said. “Let’s say this year,” Ville specified. “I’d say about hundred. But it’s not what I want. I want to meet the right person to share my life with. I don’t want to date a fan. You are all so lucky to be normal people. I envy you,” Anssi confessed, a bit sad. “Enjoy the girls. Marriage is for losers,” Ville said. “It’s not true!” Havu replied. “Marriage is wonderful once you are with the right person,” he added with a smile. Janne changed his opinion after his comeback with Maria. They married again few months later. “You are rich and famous. You can’t have everything,” Olli Muotka told. His sentence was cruel but true. Anssi knew it. But he loved too much what he was doing to stop everything.

The following week he flew to Germany for three concerts. In Berlin he had probably his best ever gig in a big concert hall. The audience was almost only feminine. The next gigs in Munich and Frankfurt were sold out. The girls that didn’t have a ticket were screening the web to find tickets. But they were very expensive. In the morning before the concert in Frankfurt he exited the hotel with sunglasses and with dark clothes. But it was impossible to be invisible. Some girls were waiting. He had no choice and accepted to spend time for pictures and autographs. He was smiling but he wasn’t happy. He wanted to go. “I also want an autograph!” a not so young girl almost screamed. He refused. He couldn’t stay longer. The girl was sad but also angry. How Anssi could guessed what would be her reaction? She ran after him and stabbed with a knife she took from her jacket. Again and again. He begged to stop but she didn’t listen. Nobody reacted on time. He fell on the ground in his blood. The girls around were shocked. Some were screaming, some were taking pictures. Only one called the police. Some security guards from the hotel arrived but too late. “Singers are like shooting stars. He was too young to die. I’ll miss you,” Ville Kantee said at the funerals.

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Arttu Lappi had a quiet life. He was happy with his wife and he was taking care of his daughter. But she was not an easy teenager. Every day she had another idea. Once she wanted to be a doctor, then a singer or a teacher. The death of Anssi was a tragedy for her. He was her idol, her friend, her guide. But she never gave up as he told her. She worked hard. One day she subscribe to a song contest with her best friend. They repeated in secret in their room to be ready. The day before she informed her parents. Arttu’s ex-wife couldn’t come and she asked Arttu to go with his daughter. He was not happy about the idea but he smiled. He wanted that Suvi felt comfortable. She was stressing a lot and he helped her to relax. When it was her turn he murmured that he believed in her and was proud of her, whatever the jury would say. When she exited the room her face was reddish and she was crying. Her father hugged and comforted as he could. It was a failure but it didn’t mean that she was untalented. The same year she joined a rock dance group and they performed a couple of times. Arttu was always there. He cancelled all his appointments for her. She was his pride. Then she went at the university in literature. But it was not what she wanted to do. The next year she changed to law, like her father who was extremely proud. In the evening he was helping her with the homework and presentations. He was also correcting the reports. “Dad, it must not be perfect,” she reminded. After graduation she did a couple of practical trainings and went to USA for a year. It was so long for Arttu. But he went twice to visit and was happy that everything was going well. Two years later she got married. She was happy. She had a lovely husband and a good job. But it didn’t last. Her man became an alcoholic. A day she left her flat and went back to the house of her father. “You know that this house is also yours,” Arttu said with a smile. The same year he got retired and Suvi rented a flat in the centre. She loved her father but she wanted to be independent.

Olli Muotka became finally head coach of the Finnish ski jumping team. The first season was quite successful. Three of his jumpers won and one got a silver medal at the world championships. In autumn he got married with Miina and few weeks later she gave birth to a baby boy named Aleksi. The beginning of the following season started brilliantly; double win in Kuusamo for the opening event and Kari Sippola carried the yellow bib of leader until the Four Hills Tournament. Surprisingly the Tournament was a disaster. Sippola was so furious after the jury gave him the green light in bad wind conditions that he got a suspension for the last competition in Bischofshofen. The media became aggressive and the atmosphere in the team became tense. But another tragedy came few weeks later. Just before to take the bus to the hills in Liberec for the training before the qualification of the last weekend before the World Championships, Olli was stressed in the hotel hall. Kari was missing and didn’t answer his phone. He didn’t spend the night with his teammate. Because he was prequalified, Sippola spent the night out in the village the previous night. Olli allowed him but requested that he was back to his room at 10 o’clock. Suddenly his phone rang. He couldn’t believe what he heard. He was pale and sat on the sofa in the lobby. “What happened?” Jukka Veikkonen asked. “Kari is dead,” the coach announced to his jumpers. His pearl as he called Kari drank in the evening and then ended the night with a girl. In the darkness of the room he had an embolism. The girl was so drunk that she was sleeping while he needed help. This incident was a scandal. How a coach could allow his jumper to go out at night during a competition’s week? The pressure was so big that Olli had to quit his job at the end of the season. He was hired by the Czech team for the following season. It was hard for him to be far from his family but he got used to it. Two years later during the Christmas holiday a truck slipped on the icy road and collided with his car. The whole family died in the tragedy. The driver of the truck was so affected by the drama that he hanged himself in the barn of his father the following summer before to go to court.

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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Do 10. Mai 2012, 20:19 
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Janne Ahonen was spending half of the year in Finland and the other half in Gran Canarias. Sanna stayed with him and Teemu. But she had to admit that they would never get married. Janne said that it brought only bad luck and he wanted to be happy the rest of his life. Sanna replied that it wasn’t because he was unlucky previously that he would be again unlucky. Nevertheless he didn’t change his mind. One year he stayed in Finland during winter. Janne Happonen who was still his best friend thought that it was unusual and that something was probably wrong. Of course Rane never admitted. He lied, saying that he missed snow. Havu thought that he would discover the true with or without him. A couple of times Sanna complained to her brother that Rane was difficult. He was getting more and more unpleasant, angry, rude and stubborn. “Why do you stay with him?” Havu asked and she stayed mysterious. Janne didn’t want to force her to talk. He just said that he was there to listen to her if she needed. One day Sanna rang at his door, crying. Her brother couldn’t accept it and went to visit his friend that was in very bad mood. “What’s wrong with you? You make my sister suffers. I can’t accept it,” Havu told, the hands on his hips. His friend didn’t answer. He just prepared two glasses of Cognac. They sat on the leather sofa in the living room and stayed silent for a while. The snowflakes were dancing outside. He confessed that his bad behaviour occurred because he was suffering. Havu was just listening. “It’s very painful and when I suffer I can’t control myself. I say words that I don’t mean. It’s blessing and I feel sorry. Medicines help but it’s not enough. My life is a nightmare. I already told your sister that she can leave,” he explained. That illness was degenerative arthritis. All his joints were hurting and his movements were limited. In a few months he turned to an old person. He couldn’t stand straight. During that difficult period Tiia came often to visit and to help. She said that she was there to make his life easier but Maria and I knew that she probably wanted to get some money. Once he got upset and said that people who were kind with him in order to get money could go to Hell.

A day Sanna was visiting her brother and Mico decided to visit his father. He had the key and entered without ringing at the door. “Dad? Are you here?” The house was quiet. It was weird. When he was alone, Janne was always listening to music. Nobody was in the kitchen or living room. He went upstairs and when he opened the door of the bed room he screamed. Janne was laid in his bed. His wrists were bleeding and a knife was on the floor. In a letter he explained that he couldn’t handle the pain anymore. He was sorry and hoped that his friends and relatives would understand. In his last will Janne wrote that he gave his fortune he got by selecting the right numbers at the European lottery some years ago to his kids Mico and Teemu, to Sanna who took care for him until the end, to Janne Happonen who never let him down, to Maria who was a true friend, to Veli-Matti Lindström and his company that offered him a job when he needed, to the Lahti Ski Club and to a couple of other associations. Do I need to tell you that Tiia was upset?

Ville Kantee was the rebel of the group of friends. He was working in the same import/export company for more than twenty years to earn money but he didn’t like the job. His dream was to be a musician and to perform in bars all his life. He was doing it sometimes but because his gigs were rarely good, many bar landlords didn’t allow him to sing. He had his own group of friends and was not very close to Havu, Vellu and Arttu. A summer he was drinking with his two friends. It was a hot summer night. He was near a lake with his guitar. The mosquitoes were very active and the group of friends didn’t know what to do to get rid of them. They decided to swim. This was a fatal idea. The shock between the cold water and their hot skin was like an electric shock. And because they were drunk, they couldn’t swim. Only one was able to reach the land. And it wasn’t Ville.

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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Fr 11. Mai 2012, 10:21 
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“Is Havu still alive?” I asked my ghost. “Yes he is,” Matti answered. Some years ago Matti told me that I will live longer than my neighbour. I took this information as an advantage. I did nothing special during my life and I decided to change it. I made a list of things I wanted to do before to be too old or die. When I told my family that I wanted to try ski jumping, their first reaction was to laugh. But after I insisted they said that I was crazy and would never dare to jump. I was determined to show that I was able to succeed. “But Mom, you are too fat to wear a ski jumping suit,” Juha tried to discourage. First I felt humiliated but then I just thought that it was a normal comment from a jumper. Everybody that weighted over 65kg for 1m70 was fat. “I will wear my ski pants and my winter jacket. It’s not that detail that will stop me doing my project.” Juha and Veli-Matti came with me to Lahti. Vellu was overcautious like if I would break a bone while climbing the hill. “Don’t worry honey. I won’t die today,” I reassured. When I was sat at the top of the small K5 that seemed huge to me, I was scared. What was I doing? “You can go,” Juha said. I breathed deeply and I went down the inrun. I screamed like a 3 years old girl. But I did it! The landing was far from perfect. I sat on my ankles. Then I jumped on the K15. But I really got scared. It was time to stop the craziness.

“Katrina, you are totally crazy! Why do you want to be ridiculous?” Matti said in my head. I was in a plane ready to jump with a parachute in a backpack. “I will jump. I’m not scared. Havu is still alive,” I replied. “Maybe he died this morning,” Matti told. “I know that you are lying.” “Why don’t you believe me?” “Because if he was dead, you would do everything to stop me doing this. Not only telling me that I will be ridiculous. If I die, you die. And I know how much you enjoy your third life. You just made a bet with your ghost friends that I will freak out. But you are wrong!” I said before to jump. I screamed like on the hill but when the parachute opened I was almost crying. I loved so much this feeling of flying. I was free like a bird. And the landscape was amazing. Why didn’t I do it earlier? “Katrina, I didn’t know that you were so crazy. But I love it!” Vellu told me before to jump in my arms.

Tami Kiuru was my biggest fan. He knew my book almost better than me. Very often he was visiting and we talked about topics from the book. It was very pleasant but after a little while I was suspicious. Why was he so interested in the subject? I turned very distrustful when he was talking about ghosts. “Ghosts are forces of the Evil. We must never let them take control. But it’s hard when the ghost is a beloved. We must be stronger and fight. This world is ours,” he told me once. After these words I told everything to my husband. “Katrina, you knew before to publish the book that some insane people will react weirdly. I don’t want that you meet him anymore. He can be dangerous.” I got scared.

Few days later I got a letter without envelop: I know that you are haunted. Even if it wasn’t signed I knew who wrote it. Some weeks later I got a little box with two candles; a white and a black one. In the late evening I rang at the door of my neighbour. “Havu, I need your help,” I begged and he invited me to go to his kitchen. When I was sat with a cup of tea, I told him everything. “Do you know what it means?” “As far as I know these candles are part of the satanic ritual. The white candle is the symbol of the fundamental believes of the Satanists and the black candle the power of darkness,” he explained. “I’m scared. I just wrote the book for Matti. I’m not part of this. I’m a good Christian. I don’t believe in Satanism.” “You were manipulated by Matti. He didn’t publish the book himself because he knew that some people would try to kill him. Now, you are the target.” “But why Tami? Isn’t he supposed to be one of our friends?” I asked, scared. “Don’t forget that he never accepted what happened to Harri. Nina almost killed him to avoid that he reveals what he saw in the basement. And Matti tried to kill him. Remember that he wrote Harri on the wall. Tami never accepted that Matti attacked him to revenge Harri.” I was thinking about it and I didn’t understand why he was sending me these gifts. “Do you think Tami is a Satanist?” Havu drank some tea before to answer. “I don’t know. But I remember that Harri draw a satanic symbol on a piece on paper before to die.” “Really? What was it about?” I asked, curious. “He drew the upside down pentacle with the names of Nina, Matti, Harri, me and baby. We supposed that he thought that Nina used some black magic to raise Matti from death. Harri lost his mind. I don’t think he was serious. I just think that he guessed right about Saara and her three fathers. In my opinion Tami is using Satanic symbol to frighten you.” “Once he told me that the ghost of Harri talked to him. It means that he know that what I wrote in the book is right,” I confessed. “Did you tell him about your ghost?” “What do you mean?” I asked, frowning. “Katrina, I’ve been inspector for nearly thirty years. I’ve also been haunted for a couple of years. And by the same ghost. I know that Matti is living in you.” I was shaking. I kept it secret. I never told him about Matti. I suddenly lost my fragile self-confidence. “What should I do?” “Call your editor. Say that you invented everything. Lauri never existed. Ask him to call back all the books. It’s time to end this mess before someone kills you,” he advised.

Effectively it helped. I never got injurious or satanic letters anymore. In the neighbourhood some people lost trust in me. They called me the biggest liar of the century. “Vellu, we have to sell the house and move far away,” I said crying one day while I came back from the park. “No, we will show them that we are not ashamed. To leave will tell them that they are right.” Nevertheless it was hard for me to sleep at night. I always had the fear that someone could burn the house.

A year later Tami went to the publishing firm claiming that Katrina didn’t lie. “Ghosts are living with us! They want to take control of our society. We don’t know how many people are haunted. Maybe the darkest forces from Hell are governing countries. We have to find these haunted people and kill them!” He was maybe right in a way but he was considered as insane and sent to a psychiatric hospital. He never changed his point of view. There was no hope for him to go out of there. After the fifth reject to his demand of release he hung himself in his room with the sheets of his bed. In a letter he told me to do it as well to don’t let Matti take control of me.

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BeitragVerfasst: Fr 11. Mai 2012, 12:06 
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Janne Happonen worked a couple of years at the bar in Kluuvi. He was his own boss. He was working part-time because he wanted to enjoy his family life. Mico was the owner of the two bars but he was too busy with the accounting, marketing and production to be also at the sales point. His half-brother Teemu was running the bar in Kamppi, supervised by Allison, the wife of Mico. Ana was a beautiful princess with light blue-green eyes and a skin colour latte macchiato. She was doing well at school and was helping Maria for the cleaning and the cooking. During her free time she was attending theatre classes. Twice a year they had a public representation. Her parents were always there. At the age of 18 Janne taught her to drive a car. It wasn’t as easy as she thought. She failed her examination and was crying. It was before the summer holiday and she planned to drive the car to explore Finland with friends. “It’s not the end of the world. You were not ready. That’s all. You’ll do better next time,” Janne advised. She passed the exam in September. She studied well at high school and then went to the university. She wanted to become a doctor. It was ambitious. Unfortunately she missed the entrance exam for two points. It was a big drama. She worked for a year at the bar and studied at the same time. At the second attempt she scored 95 out of 100 points!

It didn’t go that well for Saara. She was a very clever girl but also tempered. She was always asking questions about her family and Janne and Maria decided to tell the truth. The girl felt like being a monster. At school the kids were having fun of her. She was not like them. How many times did she come back home, crying and with her teared clothes up? But it also happened that she was fighting back. At the age of 12 she was already in high school. She was playing the violin like a professional musician. She was speaking fluently six different languages. And at 15 she was at the university in biology. She was a real genius. But she wasn’t happy. Nobody was her friend because she was different. The teenagers were having fun of her. She was too clever for them. “Don’t listen to them. You are a wonderful girl. You are unique. I’m proud of you,” Janne had to repeat many times. But she suffered of this loneliness. She was helping some classmates with their homeworks but she got nothing in return. Just a “thank you”. She was never invited to parties. Her father never accepted that she went to a special institution for gifted kids. He thought that it was better that she stayed with the others to be part of the society. Unfortunately it never worked. Before her 18th birthday she swallowed pills with vodka and slept forever. Janne and Maria were destroyed. Janne collapsed and had to go to the hospital. They never expected her to do it. They also didn’t realize on time that she was so sad. On a letter she wrote that she wanted to be buried next to her family on the island. Janne dug a grave next to the ones of Harri, Nina and Matti. “Now you are in peace my angel,” her father said with a tear in the eye. Few days later Janne was invited to the bank to talk about the account of Saara. “Because she died before her eighteenth birthday her money is now yours. You are the only biological family left,” he announced. When he saw the amount of money he couldn’t believe it: 5.669.547€! It was the accumulation of the fortunes of Nina, Harri and the off-shore money of Matti who transferred it to the account when he was working on the Russian mafia case for Havu. He added the condition that she would get the money when she would turn 18 or if she died. Havu decided to don’t change his life because of the money. He saw how Janne Ahonen wasn’t happier after have begun rich and all the problems Matti had.

Some months after the tragedy, Janne quitted his job. Mico understood his decision. He stayed home and looked after his wife and daughter. For his birthday Ana offered him a dog. It was a black and white Lapin Koira. Two years later he became grandfather. He was so happy. But in the meantime his health was slowly going badly. He had a lot of pain in his knees that he made suffer a lot during his ski jumping career. His back was also hurting and Maria was always complaining when he was working in the garden.

A Tuesday afternoon he was driving and a big black Mercedes ML bumped his car. He stopped along the road, exited his car and was ready to have a verbal explanation with the owner of the other car. “What the Hell is wrong with you?” The back door of the German car opened a tall and strong man ordered to him to go in the car. “What? I don’t want,” Janne replied. “You will come with us,” the guy insisted showing his pistol under his jacket. “Oh fuck...” Havu murmured. He went in the car and had a very bad feeling. “An old frrrriend wanna talk to you,” the driver said with a Russian accent.

Half an hour later they were in the basement of a villa. He was sat on a chair, the hands tied. “I was waiting forrrr that day since yearrrrs,” the man in front of him said. “Sergei Sidorov. What a surprise. How was it in jail?” Havu said with a bit of humour to hide his stress. “Finnish prrrrison is a holiday rrrrrestort forrr a Rrrrrussian. I can see that you took some kilos and have grey hairrrr.” “So do you,” Havu replied as calmly as possible. “What do you want?” the Finn asked. “You had yourrr rrrrrevenge. Now it’s my turrrn. In this worrrrrld bad guys can also win,” he said while he introduced the magazine in his pistol. Havu was stressed. He knew that he couldn’t escape. He was sweating and his heart was beating really fast. He tried to breathe deeply and to calm down but he couldn’t. His chest was hurting like Hell. He felt that his hands were cold. “Sergei... I... I feel bad...my heart...” “Are you scarrrred?” “Please, let... let me call my... my wife...” he begged. The pain was getting bigger. He was remembering the day when he felt bad at home in front of his sister. She was there to help him. Sergei would not help. He knew it. The Russian went behind him, laughed and surprisingly unfastened his straps. He laid down on the floor and took his phone from his pocket. “Two minutes and don’t fuck me,” the Russian told and Havu agreed. “Maria... it’s me... listen... In less... less than twenty minutes... I’ll be... dead.” “Havu, where are you? Did you call the ambulance? Havu...” she said, scared. “Everything will be okay... my heart is sick... and... it’s too... too late... I’m sorry for the... the pain I caused... You are the... the most... wonderful person I... I met...” “Havu, stay with me. Tell me where you are,” she asked between two tears. She heard that he was suffering a lot. “I love you...,” he said while he let the phone next to him. He was sure to have hung up. “How sweet it was. Now it’s between us. I won’t let you die so easily. You will die like Laurrrri Laaskinen or maybe should I say Matti Hautamäki,” the Russian said while he pointed his gun on Havu’s face. The Finn was looking at him into the eyes. “I’m... not scared... I’m a Finn and... proud to be one... Press the trigger if... you are a man...” When Maria heard the detonation she screamed and fell on the floor. Ana that was upstairs in her room heard the sound and went to check what was going on. “Mom!” she screamed when she saw her. She took her phone and called the ambulance. On the floor she saw the cell phone of her mother. The communication was still on. She saw that she was talking with her father. She took the phone and just heard some weird noises and some talking in Russian. “Your dad has been murdered,” Maria announced to her daughter when she opened her eyes.

The car of Havu was found a couple of hours later. His body was found two days later, abandoned on the side of a road in the middle of garbage. The Russian didn’t shoot in the head of the Finn but in the heart. It meant that the murdered had some affection for his victim and ended his pain. Sergei Sidorov was arrested three weeks later at the border. He was condemned to spend six years in prison. Maria was relieved. It was fair. But she never healed. The sorrow was still big. The death of her husband had been brutal and she heard everything. At night she couldn’t sleep. She had to take pills. Every time she was hearing a detonation she was scared. Once she cried in the middle of the street because a detonation occurred in a construction site. We spend a lot of time together. We were best friends. But it was definitively not the same. Three years later she got the visit of the ex-teammate of her husband. “Sidorov is dead. Other prisoners punched him to death. You must be relieved,” he said. “I’m not. Havu’s death was cruel. But at least I know that he won’t kill anymore,” Maria told.

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BeitragVerfasst: Mi 6. Jun 2012, 06:51 
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You are thinking that I had a happy and quiet life but I can tell you that you are totally wrong. Oliver knew what he wanted to do of his life. He wanted to succeed to his father in his company. Veli-Matti was very proud of him. The boy was very clever and was good at school. But as you remember his behaviour wasn’t perfect. Sometimes he was quitting the house without previous agreement to meet his friends. Like all the youngsters of his age they were enjoying partying. Alcohol, cigarettes and girls were the perfect mix. But he did nothing bad. The police just drove him back home twice. Since he turned nineteen he was dating a beautiful blond girl named Sini. With Vellu we agreed that she would have beautiful grand-children. But it was only plans. You know how young people are nowadays. A relationship looks serious and suddenly they break up. Then he had some non-serious relationships. I don’t remember all these girls. When he turned 26 he came to our house and told us that he would marry Aliisa. She was brunette and very nice. Less than a year later we were grandparents. They were not living too far away and I could easily do some babysitting. Two years later they had another child. What a happy family. Little by little Vellu was giving more responsibilities to Oliver until the day he retired. But you know Vellu. He was unable to be far from his company. He always needed to have an eye on everything. One day Oliver told him that he had nothing to do in the kitchen and he should go back home and take care of his garden. It was hard to admit for Vellu.

Kimi, our trouble kid, stayed in special institution until he turned 19. He didn’t want to study and we had to help him to find a job. But with his background it wasn’t easy. He went to the army. We thought that he would finally understand that everywhere there are rules. But it wasn’t for him. He was fired after two months. Vellu and Oliver gave him a chance in the company Bio Fork. But work wasn’t for him too. He was lazy, couldn’t get up in the morning and wasn’t responsible. He was only interested in the salary. We did absolutely everything to help him. One night he was caught by the police for stealing. He was in jail for two months. But again, he learnt nothing. Some weeks later he borrowed the car and went to the party of a friend. As you can imagine they drank a lot. They also used drugs. My poor baby. On the way back he decided to drive two friends home. In a curve he lost control and they were all killed. None of them had fastened their seat belt. I can still hear the phone ringing in the middle of the night. It was the tragedy of our family.

Aleksander had also some difficulties. He is our artist and wanted to be a painter. He went to a design school and did quite well. The problem then was to find a traineeship. Veli-Matti asked all his friends if they could help or know someone who could provide some job. Finally it’s Tiia who had an idea. She contacted one of her friends that was working for an advertisement company. Aleksander was hired and was happy. His task was to print the posters and to bring them by bike to the stores. It wasn’t exactly what he expected. Less than a year later we had the same problem. He was at home, writing application. The advertisement company was in bankruptcy. It was a pity. He did his final project as assistant for a painter. After this, he was unemployed. He stayed at home almost a year before to accept to study something else. He went to a university of applied science in IT technology. Three years later he found a job as game creator. He was very happy about it and us too. He got married and had three adorable kids.

Juha became a famous ski jumper. He was part of the team that won the Olympic gold. It was wonderful. The whole family travelled to Oslo to see him. The following year he won the Four Hills Tournament and a couple of other competitions. But the next winter he injured badly his knee. It was the end of his career. He kept the promise he did many years ago. He did well at school during his career and went to university to become a vet. He loved so much animals. At home he had two rabbits and three goldfishes. During summer holiday he was working in a farm. It was perfect for him. He was outside, in the middle of animals, learning what work meant and earning a bit of money. After graduation he worked with an old vet in the city centre. The patients were only cats and dogs. Then he moved to another one that was specialized with wild animals such as turtles, snakes, hedgehogs or rats. Two years later he was working at the zoo. It was much more interesting. Every day was a new adventure. In a conference in Stockholm he met a girl. She was so lovely. They dated for a long time. Once they went to holiday together. But not in a conventional place. They went to Antarctica with a group of scientists. They walked on the ice and observed the penguins. “Which one is Mariella?” he asked and an experimented man answered: “It’s this one. But it’s now a granny. How do you know her?” “A friend of my father was looking after her many years ago.” “Do you mean Dr. Olli? Harri Olli? This crazy guy?” “Yes, it’s him.” “I never heard of him for years.” “He died. He was sick but some people say that he had been murdered. Nobody knows the truth,” Juha told.

The twins had a similar life. They were not very good at school and didn’t want to study. They were also not good at sports. But they found their way. Timo became a hairdresser and Tommi a professional makeup man. Together they opened a shop that was quite successful. Two years later they hired a girl that was manicurist. All the young and fashionistas of the city were spending their Saturday afternoon there before to go to the clubs and being the queens and kings of the dance floor. We had to accept that Timo was homosexual and Tommi was polygamous. The concept was weird for us. He was openly dating three girls at the same time.

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 Betreff des Beitrags: Re: Finnish stories: The Other Side
BeitragVerfasst: Mi 20. Jun 2012, 07:46 
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Wohnort: Suomi
One day, my husband fall in the stairs and injured his leg that was badly injured in the bike accident he had many years ago. The doctor had no choice; he had to amputate the leg under the knee. For Vellu, this operation was a terrible moment and he needed time to accept what happened. He couldn’t walk freely anymore. He always needed to walk with a crutch and sometimes two. He couldn’t garden as before and he couldn’t drive too. He was angry for many months. As a wife I had a lot of work to help him. It was hard but I accepted everything for the man I loved. Unfortunately, bad luck seemed to follow him. Five years later he got a cancer. It was long but it was cured. Well, we thought. Two years later he was sick again. The doctors did their best but after seven months of hard fight he closed his eyes. “Let him go,” I repeated for my children. I didn’t want them to be haunted. That was hard time for me and the kids. Suddenly I was alone at home. I missed his voice, his hugs, when he was gardening or inviting his friends for dinner. But I was lucky. Oliver was visiting very often and the others as well. Juha a bit less. But I knew that he was busy.

“You are not alone. I’m here for you.” “Shut up Matti. You are just here to bother me. Go play poker with the other ghosts,” I replied. You are maybe wondering how it was to live with a ghost for so many years. I’ve to say that I’ve always considered Matti as a friend. I had a lot of respect for him. And in return he was kind with me. I didn’t want to fight and that he turned my life to a nightmare. I knew that he could do it. While I was getting old I became a bit deaf. He was very helpful because he was repeating what people were saying to me. Nobody noticed my defect. My memory was also getting worse. “Katrina, it’s time to get the pie out of the oven,” he reminded many times and I thank him. He also helped me to find my keys and my glasses. Once I decided to reward him. I bought tickets to the opera. We went to see Il Trittico. I knew that it meant a lot to him. He was silent. On the seat next to me a man put his coat. “My dear, you are putting your coat on the laps of my friend,” I said and he looked at me like if I was an old crazy witch. It’s not because he couldn’t see him that he was not there. The third part was very emotional. It was “Suor Angelica”. I knew that he was crying. He was remembering when his girlfriend Cassandra was singing on that stage many years ago. “Thank you so much Katrina,” he said in a low voice after the show.

Arttu was the last friend alive. We kept in touch and were meeting every Thursday afternoon. Sometimes at my place, sometimes in his house and sometimes in a café. When we were in town it wasn’t rare that we visited an art gallery. “Time is running so fast,” he said while we saw our reflection in a mirror. Our hair was white or greyish, our faces were full of wrinkles and our backs weren’t straight anymore. Our voices also changed. But Arttu wasn’t only old. You probably remember that he often had orientation problems. Year after year it became worse. He was losing his memory. “Arttu, where are you?” I often said during my calls, waiting for him at the tea room. First he said that it was because he was eighty years old. But then it quickly became a serious problem. Three years later, Suvi had to admit the truth; her father had Alzheimer and couldn’t stay at home alone. He was a danger for himself. He had to move to a rest home. He died less than two years later peacefully in his bed.

One cold and dark afternoon I told to my grandchildren a true story that lasted for many years. “That was the extraordinary story of an ordinary group of friends. They didn’t know it but they wrote Finnish history with their stories. If I had to write a book I’ll name it Finnish Stories,” I concluded with a smile. “Grandma, ghosts don’t exist,” Mira, the daughter of Oliver told. “They do. They are with us. But we can’t see them. Some people are able to talk with them. The father of Ana for example was able to talk to Matti,” I explained. “I read an article that said that Lauri never existed. Nina invented everything. It’s the biggest lie of the century,” Pekka, the son of Aleksander told. “Haven’t you read my book? I met Lauri. Your grandfather too. He was Matti. I know that it’s complicated but I can tell you that everything is true.” “So, why is the book unavailable in the book store? Why did you say that the book was based on a lie?” the little boy asked. “It was to protect our family. You have no idea how cruel and crazy people were,” I clarified. “How do you explain that nobody saw the formulas and did again what she did?” Pekka added. This boy was very clever and read a lot. “You will see in about thirty years. Nina realized that the world was not ready to accept such a discovery. She hid her notes and reports somewhere. I guess in a safe in a bank. She said than fifty years later people would maybe use her discovery for something good. She was shock to notice that people wanted to use her work to make money and to promise eternity to rich people,” I said. “Do you think that people will be better in twenty years?” Sami, the second son of Aleksander asked. “Let’s hope.”

When I turned 92 I realized that everybody passed out: Havu, Rane, Arttu, Vellu, Anssi and more recently Maria and Tiia. I was the last one. I missed my friends, my neighbours, my sisters. It was weird to look at the green house on the other side of the road and to see a young and happy family living there. Sometimes Ana Happonen was visiting me. She was so beautiful and nice. She was around fifty and was already grandmother.

Matti was right. I lived old. The winter of my 97th year I got the flu. It was too much for my poor weak body. I was in my bed with my family around: my kids, grandchildren and their kids. “I’ve a confession to make. Sometimes in life changes are needed but they can bring tears of joy and sorrow. Never lie or betray your friends and family. They are there for you. Hypocrisy and selfishness will destroy everything. Don’t keep secrets. Never forget that ghosts can come from the past. You can never deny who you are, who you have been and what you did. Even if some hearts will break. Enjoy your lives and let me go to the other side,” I murmured.

The end of the saga.

Thanks for reading it!

_________________
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