Finland
By:
Aadel M Al-Mahdy
In
my way to Helsinki after my stay in Warsaw, an Egyptian
saying crossed my mind ─ If one has a strong backbone, no one will dare spank
him on his rear-end –; power of connections prevails most of the time. I have
told Wael that I couldn’t obtain the Finnish visa and he asked me not to worry
as he would talk to his well-connected Finnish girlfriend, Mary Haraanen and
she would get it for me. Three days lapsed and the Finnish embassy in Warsaw called me for
collecting my visa.
Here
I am aboard the Finnish air-line, looking out the window. The land, stretching
endlessly far below, looked like a sheet of Swiss Rockford cheese. “Good
Heavens! How many lakes are down there?” I whispered to myself but seemingly my
whisper was not low enough as the man sitting next to me said emphatically,
“Hundreds of them. Wait until we land. You will be amazed”
The
metallic hunk of the bird-like vessel slowed down. The religious protocol of
fastening the seat-belts was announced, and the voice of the airplane’s captain
cascaded softly announcing that we were flying, at the moment, over Finland, minuets away from Helsinki.
Defeated
by the advent of darkness, the lingering sun rays were gasping their last
breath. From afar the forests looked like planted toothpicks, but they were far
from that as, though shrouded in darkness, the foliage began to gradually
reveal itself; a vast expansion of thick, dark greenery, and like most European
cities, illumination spread around in neat geometric patterns, pleasant to the
eye. But, in my mind, they were devoid of romanticism. Cairo during the day is comparatively a total
miss, but approached at night, it is a pitch black piece of velvet with
thousands of diamonds of different radiance, calibers and sizes randomly thrown
on the surface. I believe geometric cemeteries, though beautiful and easy on
the human eye, can be monotonous. Monotony is sameness, and sameness bears
boredom. Vulgar variety has its own unique beauty, too.
Finally,
the lights of the airport ramp hit my eyes ushering in a unique
experience.
At
Helsinki
airport, my friend Wael and his girlfriend, Mary, and professor Al-Harawi were
waiting for me. I dropped my luggage and rushed for a hug, having not seen Wael
for over ten years. Wael tried to stop me. “Not in public, Aadel! People around
here don’t hug in public. They will think we’re gay” Wael whispered. I blushed
but then said, “I don’t give a damn...back home friends embrace and kiss all
the time. There is nothing wrong with tow friends hugging each other” Wael
said, smiling,“So be it, my dear friend!” We then embraced. A young man cast a
doubtful glance at us but Mary looked with a worm and understanding smile
shining on her face, and Al-Harawi giggled.
Outside
the airport, I asked Wael if we were going to call a taxi, he said Mary’s car
was parked somewhere close by. In Mary’s car, Wael asked me how my stay in Warsaw was. “All is well
that ends well” I answered him. “Ooops, was Shakespeare wrong?” Wael exclaimed,
knowing my way of sarcasm. “Categorically speaking, no, but he was” I said, but
Wael curiously asked, “What happened? “ I said, ”On my arrival, custom
people were lenient regarding the gifts I had in my suitcase, but…” Wael then
interrupted “But what?” I said, “On my departure, they wanted me to pay customs
for the jacket I was wearing”Wael asked,“Did you buy it in Poland?” I
quickly said, “It was Polish all right, but a friend of mine bought it for me
last year and I didn’t wear it till then” Wael asked, “Then what happened?” I
assured him that I tried to explain, but they won’t let go until I started
babbling loudly about their lousy communistic attitude. Wael then asked in a
very curious voice, “Were you arrested?” I said, “No, the lady’s face turned
pale and to hush me up, she let me go” Wael quickly emphasized “She did you a
favor” and then inquisitively added after a short pause, “Did you enjoy your
stay?” I answered,“Absolutely, yes, though clouds of troubles were accumulating
in the Polish horizon” Wael asked with increased curiosity, “What
troubles?” “A big workers strike that started in Gdansk” I said. “May God be with them. Do you
remember what happened to Belgrade
decades ago?” Wael asked. “Yes, it was bloody. Who knows what the Russian stars
do hold in store for the poles this time”...The care slowed down, and Mary
interrupted us saying that we were already home. “And by the way, what are
those things on the window sills” I quickly inquired. "Ha, ha, those
little kegs, people around here like to chill their wine this way” Mary
laughed. I exclaimed, “Oh, really, I can’t wait until I hold one in my hand. I
will...” But Wael shouted "Oh, shame on me!"I asked him whay. He
said, "I forgot to introduce Professor Al-Harawi and you to each
other"
“Gentlemen!
Here we are. Welcome to Otanimi!” Mary announced, stopping the car in front of
a nice condominium. “So soon, I was enjoying the sight seeing!” I protested,
but Mary promised to take me in a tour later and then added, “Come on, I am
starving” I then asked, “Is it dinner, yet?” I asked, “Lunch, lunch, Aadel”
Wael said. “Lunch, but it is so dark. It looks like dinner” I argued. “You
never stop arguing. You never changed” Wael commented. “Do I have to change? I
asked. “Well, unchanging is stagnant” Wael said, but I immediately answered,
“No. It is stability" Al-Harawi then said, "Well, remember grass never
grow on rolling stones” Wael nudged me on the shoulderand said, "There you
go". I laughed loudly.
Al-Harrawi
is a husky man in his early 60’s and wears a long but neatly trimmed beard. He
is a civil Engineering professor at Helsinki
University. He invited us
to spend the week end in his log-cabin in the country where he retires for
seclusion every now and then. “After my vacation in Poland, I really need to retire the
city life for a day or two” I said resuming my talk with Al-Harrawi. “You will,
Aadel, though, you won’t be in a total isolation if that is what you want”
Al-Harrawi confirmed but Wael interrupted, “Isolation from the noisy city life,
yes, but rain-deer, bears, and wolves will keep you company most of the time” I
said, “I am not scared and I have to confess, I am a country boy. I do not
really like the concrete jungle of the city, the smoke of cars’ exhaust and the
noise”
The
door bell ringing interrupted our conversation. I opened the door. It was the
pizza boy. I paid him and shouted, “Dinner, I mean lunch is ready” ─ “You have
paid for the pizza. Haven’t you? You’re my guest” Wael protested and nudged me
in the shoulder. I answered, “How could you? I have not been your guest before,
and still you paid for the flafil, remember!”
After
lunch, Wael and I stretched on the sofas in the living room reminiscing in our
native tongue about the old days. We laughed and laughed. Mary gave up on both
of us and disappeared in the kitchen for a while after which she reappeared
pushing a tea-cart. “Aadel, have you been to a sauna before?” Mary asked me
while pouring the tea. “Yes, in Stockholm”
I said. “Did you like it?” she asked again. “No, I do not like dry heat” I said
and then added after a short pause, “I prefer the wet, steamy Turkish baths”
Mary said, emphasizing,“Finnish sauna is different. Wait until you try it” I
asked, “When will that happen?” “Al-Harrawi has a sauna beside his cabin” Mary
said. I then winked and slowly said, “Guys, I heard you do have the sauna in
the nude” Wael said with a curios smile was on his face,“That is right” I
hurriedly said “That will be wet enough for me. I can’t complain”Wael cackled,
“Damn you man! You have not changed a bit!” Mary interfered, “Guys, stop! You
both are so argumentative” and then picked the TV remote control. I inquired,
covering my head with my hands, “Are you going to hit me with the remote,
Mary?” Mary laughed and then said, “No!” and then added, “There is a good movie
I want to watch. So be quiet both of you. We are all going straight to bed
after the movie. Tomorrow we will go to the museum, then the day after we will
go to the country to spend a few days in Al-Harrawi’s log-cabin”
The
highway ran for ever, lined on both sides by abundance of ever-green treas. The
fresh smell of air, loaded with the trees’ essence, made me feel so hungry. I
yelled at Wael, holding him by the shoulder to get his attention as he did not
have his ear-bud on, “This weather makes me so hungry. I feel I can eat a
camel” ─ “Help yourself, if you find one in this desert!” Wael said. Mary and
Wael exchanged places driving, while the rest of the gang, Al-Harrawi, Amgad; a
Lebanese student and I sat on the back seat. Al-Harrawi slept, but Amgad and I
were in a singing mood, so we clapped our hands and sang ─
"He
has risen. How beautiful the sun’s rays are. Let us fill up the jars with
water! Let us milk the cows!" ─ After a while, Egyptian folkloric songs
changed to Lebanese ones while our hands were feverishly clapping and our
bodies jerking in a dabka-like manner. Awakened by our commotion, Al-Harrawi
suddenly shouted, pointing to a vast body of water, “There it is. The biggest
lake around here. Let us go and fill our eyes with its beauty”
Atop
the steep rocky side of the lake, I gazed; eyes widely opened. The sky was
cloudless and the water expansion was so far below at my feet. A feeling of
awesomeness overwhelmed me. So calm and soft the water surface was and far
away. An island stood like a castle in dreamland; trees covering its shore’s
slopes. Colors of foliage transcended in an array of dark green to
copper-brown. The cloudless canopy closed in behind the Island;
natural embracement a renaissance painter would fail to render to canvas.
A
nip in the air made me shiver. The shiver heightened my perception. I had a deep
breath. “I heard, sun rises here late at night. Doesn’t he?” I said. “Yes, we
are after all so close to the North Pole circle” Wael said. “I can’t imagine
how the lake would look like when the Sun is risen?” I wondered. “I won’t let
you miss this amazing natural phenomenal sight for all the treasures in the
world” Wael promised. On our way back to the car, my mind visualized how the
scenery would look like bathed in the sun rays.
I
nimbly jumped into the car seeking for warmth; my soul still hovering over the
lake. After we have driven for a couple of hours, Al-Harrawi said, “We are
pretty close to our final stop” ─ we looked around to see a narrow terrain road
penetrating the forest. Prevalent silence was only broken by the sound of the
cars’ engine and trees mightily stood on both sides of the road like
ever-awaken giants guarding the ancient mystical secrets of the North-man land.
The road was hardly wide to let the car go. Wael had to come to a full stop to
let a stag and his females cross the road. But In the middle of the road the
stag stopped, turned his head towards us, and then its whole body turned
towards us. It wiggled its nose and deeply inhaled and exhaled. It then
defiantly fixed its gorgeous eyes on us and pushed its broad chest forward and
readied its antlers for attack. “How majestic he is!” I said; my eyes
widely opened, but Wael yelled at it, apologizing for the intrusion. The stag
nimbly leaped and disappeared in the folds of the forest followed by its
females.
Located
deep in the forest, Al-Harrawi’s cabin looked like a Merlin’s cottage.
Adjacently, a sauna stood not far from a partially frozen small lake. Wild
ducks and geese were swimming about. Smokes, breathed out of the cabin’s
chimney in serpentine clouds, made me wonder loudly if there was someone
waiting for us. When Al-Harrawi saw me wondering and pointing to the smoke, he
said, “Ah, the smoke, I have just asked a friend to prepare the cabin for our
arrival and kindle some fire" Wael then intruded, "We
won’t let you freeze to death, Aadel” I replied, “Ummm, you won’t, Wael. Would
you?”
The
cabin was warm and cozy, and basically equipped with all what a hermit would
need. A couple of shelves on the wall carried a few books. A variety of fruits
in a basket on a two-chair table shimmered in the oil-lamp light. I grabbed an
apple, polished it on the my T-shirt's sleeve and had a bite, then shouted
while browsing the other fruits, “Gold, diamonds, rubes…” understanding my
punning, Al-Harrawi said, “Just do not forget the password, Kassim or you
will be doomed” Wael who was sitting close to the fireplace looked at me and
said, “Who is going to fix some food before the gang retires to bed?” Mary
said, “Murgana, of course” showing her familiarity with the Arabian nights. “Who!
Where is she?” Amgad wondered. “Do you see any other female around, silly?”
said Mary and left the cabin. I followed her.
After
strolling by the lake for a while, I asked Mary on our way back where a person
would be able to answer his call of nature. She pointed to a little cubical
close to the sauna and said, “There, and be careful. There’s a small wasp nest
in the right corner. They won’t attack in such cold weather unless you bother
them” I said, laughing, “Well, if you see me running out but-naked, then I must
have bothered them, and for God sake, do not shy from offering your help”
Tired
after driving for two days, we all retired to our beds. Al-Harrawi pulled a
copy of the Qur’an from the shelf, sat on the rocking chair before the fire
place and started reading. The chair swung in rhythm with the inherent music of
the Qur’anic verses. His voice was so serene, so I pulled a chair and sat close
to him. Mary’s eyes were transfixed on us, but the heat emanating from the fire
place lulled us to sleep. My eyelids became heavier and finally I had to submit
to the greatest Sultan of all times; Slumber.
In
the morning, Al-Harrawi and Mary were the first to rise. Mary went out for a
while, and in the meantime the professor prepared a nice breakfast for all of
us. After breakfast, Wael, Amgad and Al-Harrawi went out for a walk. Marry
and I preferred to stay. I was still sipping my morning coffee, when Mary
looked at me with curiosity showing on her face. “What was the professor
reading last night?” Mary asked. “Chapters from the Qur’an” I answered. “Oh,
the Muslims’ bible” Mary said. I answered affirmatively. She then said, “You
looked like you were hypnotized. I thought he had cast a spill on you” I
explained, “The Qur’an is charming as it has its own inherent music, but I was
not hypnotized” Mary then hesitantly asked, “I know Al-Harrawi is religious.
Are you, too?” I said, “Actually, I am not a strict person...I am a
free-thinker...I do not let my personal belief hinder or blur my thinking” Mary
wondered, “Why, then, the…I mean, your body was…” I interrupted,“Swinging along
with the professor’s” I then added after a very short pause, “I am a linguist
who admires beauty and sound of the words wherever they are; in nature, in the
Qur’an, the Bible, the Hindu Vida, or the hymns of Akhenaton” she exclaimed,
“That is great!” I said, trying to curb her enthusiasm and pretending to sound
serious, “Yes, but right now I want to admire your beauty in the nude”
Mary’s mouth gaped, her eyes widened, her face blushed, and then gave me a
confused look. “Got ya. Just kidding. It is my way of saying let us go to the
sauna” I said, laughing. “Aaah, I thought you were serious” she cackled and
nudged me on the shoulder. “Of course I am serious” I said. “What?” Mary
screamed, her face this time giving a big frown. “Got you again. Serious about
going to the sauna, of course” I said, bursting out in laughter. “Oh, I have
already prepared it while you were asleep” Mary said. “Cool, thank you!” I
said. Unfamiliar with the usage of the word in this particular syntax, Mary
interjected, “Not cool. It is hot like hell, and by the way I’m sure my
nakedness will fail to arouse any one” Wael who stood by the door said,“That’s
true. Wait until we’re there and you will see for yourself” I shouted, “Oh! You
are back” and turned my face towards Marry and added, “Mary, don’t you know,
arousal is mostly mental?”
We
all laughed and then nimbly left for joining the gang. We spent most of the day
having hot times in the sauna and cold dips, crowding the ducks and geese and
swans in the partially frozen lake.
The
End
