Year 106, Winter
Lalli,
I don’t know whether this will reach you, but I desired to try, at least, to let you know why your letters have gone unanswered for so long. I hope to still be alive when you read this, but I cannot guarantee it.
They sent us to Karlstad, against all sanity, and of course this has been the mildest, warmest winter since Kastrup--which this all too closely resembles, believe me. My unit has had the fortune to take and garrison one of the islets, where we’ve made a redoubt--our own version of a nest, if you will. Many times, we have had to sortie to the main city in aid of our fellows there, or simply to keep our connections open to the rest.
The monsters have decided to make up for last year’s inactivity, and then some. We are surrounded and under near-constant assault, even here on the islet. Fortunately, almost the whole of the Cleansers are here, so all the best fighters and leaders are with us, which helps. Unfortunately, almost the whole of the Cleansers are here, so there’s no one left to come get us. It has been noticed that none of the High Command have graced us with their presence for quite some time.
Let Tuuri know I’m still reading bits of her letters to the unit; it seems more and more essential as our circumstances worsen. And of course I treasure your notes as well. Hopefully, you’ll receive this and know that.
Your imperiled Cleanser friend,
Emil Västerström
*
Year 106, Spring
Lalli,
Well, we survived, thanks to winter finally arriving. When it finally came, it came with a vengeance. Many people are saying the storm we escaped through was the worst since Before the Rash, though how they’d know is anyone’s guess. It was certainly fierce enough to cover our mad flight back to Kristinehamn and safety. It was rather odd in how it seemed to spring up from nowhere, but nonetheless welcome, for all that. You might call it 'the gods deigning to smile upon the godless Swedes', or some such.
They’re calling me ‘the Hero of Karlstad’, if you can believe it, when all I did was to ensure we all ran away safely: first, after the Command Post was destroyed, to my islet redoubt with as many of the other groups as we could get to; and second, out of the city completely once the weather turned in our favor. No, the heroes of Karlstad were those who we had to leave behind: almost half of the entire Cleanser organization, sent to fight and die like rats in a trap.
I shall not bother you with more of these maudlin sentiments; suffice it to say that I am still whole in body, unlike many of my fellows, such as my Fenno-Swede friend who helps me write to you, Marta Kiianmies. She was badly wounded in her left leg during the great retreat, and it will probably need to be amputated. So much has been lost.
My own Finnish reading is much improved; I’ve been studying a ragged old copy of the Kalevala now and again, as well as a book of old Finn proverbs. It makes re-reading your letters much nicer. As for writing, I’m still dependent upon Marta for most of the correct declensions, as you Finns seem to love them so.
I’m glad you’re still writing back, and I hope we can arrange to see each other someday. You’ve already seen Mora, so by rights I should come to Finland, either to Keuruu or to Saimaa. Well, we’ll see what happens when my life slows down a bit in Summertime.
Your Cleanser friend,
Emil Västerström
