Helsinki Noir by James Thompson

Author:James Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Akashic Books
Published: 2014-09-25T16:00:00+00:00

DEAD CINCH

BY TUOMAS LIUS

Central Train Station

Translated by Douglas Robinson

I

I hate Helsinki. I hate the piss-drenched cobblestone streets, and those fucking tweens that hawk their yellow gobs of spit on every disgusting inch of space around stores, bus stops, and train stations. I hate that shit-for-brains look-how-important-I-am rushing from place to place on buses, trams, and metro trains, and god how I hate those swaggering self-centered pricks who are always putting some fucking bar in Sörnäinen up on a pedestal, or going on and on about how only an asshole would ever say Hesa for Helsinki instead of stadi. These jerkoffs think they live in some kinda fucking metropolis even though you could throw a rock from here and hit one of the five million people who live in St. Petersburg, which is really what this half-chewed cough drop some truck driver spat on the map would so dearly love to be . . . Yeah, okay, fine,” he added after a pause, “not everybody who lives here’s a prick. The worst loudmouths are the ones who moved here from somewhere else and became born-again Helsinkians. Those dumbasses have the gall to shoot their mouths off about somebody else’s dialect or whatever even though they were scraping cowshit off the soles of their rubber boots like a month ago.”

His rant was followed by silence. Probably some of those who had been listening to it had dissenting opinions, but the speaker’s views were not open for discussion or comment. None of those present were there to challenge other folks’ opinions or views anyway. Each of them had his or her own pain, about which he or she was waiting to speak without challenge from others—with only the warmest support and open-minded acceptance.

Jari-Pekka Laukia took a deep breath and let his eyes rove over the faces in the group. “I have never felt so miserable. My wife claims that we live in a nice neighborhood, but the neighbors all treat each other like lepers. I’m not saying we should be hugging everybody we meet on the street, but wouldn’t it be nice if every now and then a guy could feel welcomed by the assholes up in the VIP stands?”

Laukia stared off into the distance for a moment. “I know I shouldn’t point fingers at others,” he whispered, in a voice that broke with every word. “I know that I should just talk about my drinking, and not harangue you with the same problem every fucking week . . .”

The ponytailed guy sitting on Laukia’s right touched him on the shoulder and nodded. “Let ’er rip,” he said. “Whatever you need to say, man.”

Laukia’s face didn’t change. His breathing rasped as if he had a piece of paper caught in his throat and the air blowing past was flapping it around. “I just can’t get past the thought that it’s all my old lady’s fault,” he whispered finally. As he heard the words coming out of his mouth, he gave a sad little laugh and glanced around at the others with an almost imperceptible look of apology in his eyes.

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