Status: Live

Holding Hands Won't Be Enough

Chapter 70: Tuiki, Tuiki, Tähtönen

As she reached him, it came. He was a quiet child, he never screamed or yelled and barely cried, but this was a howl, a sobbing, high pitched howl of pain. She scooped him up into her arms as she slid to her knees on the ground, frantically examining his head for damage.

“Mummy!” he desperately whined, his tiny hands not knowing whether to cling on to his head or his mother. She heard her mother quickly running towards them and her father calling from downstairs.

“Shh shh shh… Keep still Pikkuinen, let mummy see.” she unclasped his clenched hand from his head and wiped bubbles off of his face with her hand - a lump was already appearing on his forehead and his screaming was deafening her. “Shit, ice.. I need ice.” she quickly stood to her feet, holding a screaming Oscar tight to her body and bustled down the stairs after her mother, passing her confused and concerned father as the reached the bottom.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Oscar kept jumping out the bath.” Heli replied frantically, filling a kitchen towel with handfuls of ice.

“He tripped and landed face first into the door frame.” Milly explained, cradling his head to her chest protectively and instinctively bouncing him on her hip to sooth him. Her mother handed her the bundle of ice and she swiftly pressed it to his face without hesitation of whether it would be uncomfortable for him - ultimately it would be less pain than a swollen face. He let out a discomforted wail through his laboured breathing and clutched at his mothers long hair for reassurance that she was there as his eyes were squeezed tight shut. Her brain felt like bees in a heated cardboard box she was so tired, she wasn’t sure how long she had nodded off for, but it was evidently too long for today. He kept crying painfully as she kept the ice pressed to his face, his arms flailing and hitting at her to make it stop, it broke her heart to see him so flustered, but she knew a large part of it would be how tired he was. “Blinky!” she barked, “Where’s Blinky?”

“I’ll get him.” Juha signalled, rushing out of the room, no doubt for a moments peace.

“Where’s Jussi?” she asked, wondering where he had gotten to, “How long was I asleep?”

“He went to pick up some of the girls for Sonja, you were asleep for about an hour, we didn’t want to wake you sweetie, you looked so tired.”

“I am so tired, Mum.”

“Mummy…” he whined, trying to swat the ice away.

“I can’t find Blinky!” Juha yelled from the living room, his voice barely audible over Oscar’s racket.

“What?” Heli yelled back.

“I can’t find-“

“For goodness sake…” Milly growled, b-lining out of the kitchen, knowing that Blinky would be on the sofa where Oscar had been asleep. All the commotion was enough to make her scream, then the doorbell rang just as she passed it. She ignored it and stormed into the living room, frantically moving pillows and the newspapers her dad had left laying around, unable to locate Blinky as Oscar continued to howl and the doorbell rang again. “Oh baby, please, you’re okay…” she cooed. “Where the bloody hell did Jussi-“ she began scoffing, mostly at herself, when her Dad interrupted her with more yelling from another room.

“Matilda-“

“What?!” she yelled angrily. She turned to see Ville rushing towards her.

“What happened?”

“He hit his head. I need to find the elephant so he calms down and I can see his head without him flailing about. Ville..” she needed not say another word after his name, he could tell from the sheer desperation and exhaustion in her eyes that she needed help.

“I’m on it.”

“Oscar, come on now, calm… Calm….” she kept repeating as she sat down on the sofa, manoeuvring Oscar onto his back. “Calm…” she kissed his tensed up fist and placed the other hand protectively on his chest “Tuiki, tuiki tähtönen, iltaisin sua katselen,” she began singing softly as she kissed his hand to her mouth repeatedly, Ville scurried back over with Blinky, holding it out in front of himself like beacon of light.

“Here, here..” he panicked, sitting down next to them, his face rife with concern as Oscar wailed, “Should I call an ambulance?”. It was only in that moment that she realised he’d never seen Oscar cry before. She stood purposefully to her feet before thrusting Oscar into Ville’s lap.

“Keep that ice compressed against his face, Ville.” she ordered, “And sing Tuiki, Tuiki, it’ll calm him.” Ville nodded, his brow furrowed and heart racing. As Millie entered the kitchen her mother opened her mouth to complain about Ville being in the house - she could tell from her expression - “Not now mum.” she hissed, grabbing a dry towel from the cupboard and the basket of medical supplies her father always kept under the sink.

“Iltaisin sup katselen, korkealla loistat vaan, katsot alas maailmaan. Tuiki, tuiki tähtönen, iltaisin sua katselen.” Ville cooed softly, cradling his crying boy back and forth, his cries having fallen to whimpers in the time it took for Millie to leave and come back.

“How did you do that?” she asked as she strode back in with her supplies.

“Baritone?” he shrugged. She sat so closely besides him that they we’re almost onto of one another, but it was needed to enable her to attend to Oscar without having to hold him herself.

“Could you move the ice away?” he could hear her heart break a little as he moved it away to reveal the already incredibly swollen, already bruising, eye of her baby who’s whimpers became small cries again without the cooling effect of the ice. “Keep singing..” She gingerly dabbed the water and tears away with the towel, only to reveal a small split on his brow, as he resumed singing; Oscar’s grief stricken eyes darting back and forth between his two doting, albeit worried, parents. It didn’t look like it would require stitches, she was positive it was definitely just a scratch from the door frame, but she squirted some antiseptic onto a cotton ball and winced her eyes as she dabbed it onto his brow bone as he wriggled in discomfort.

“It hurts…” he whimpered.

“I know baby.” she whispered, the sound of her hushed voice sending a tremor down Ville’s spine, causing goosebumps, that didn’t go unnoticed by Millie, to erupt all over his body. “You going to sing along with Daddy whilst I make it stop hurting?” she nodded suggestively, he morosely nodded back and mumbled along with Ville’s singing as she continued to pad at his face, waiting until he was completely calm to sit him up and assess him for concussion.

“You have to sing too.” he said quietly, rubbing his non-swollen eye with his hand.

“Oh I do?” he nodded. “Okay then.” she smiled, joining in “Tuiki, tuiki tähtönen…” unaware her father was watching the three of them from the doorway with a proud smile quietly tugging at his lips.