I am thrilled to share the link for my short story ‘Helmikuu’ which is published today on Litro Online.
It was inspired by where I live (the ferry is loosely based on one I see sailing across our bay) and also by the month of February.
Someone told me that they thought February was a horrible month. I’ve never thought that. Here in Devon, we often see the first signs of spring in February – the bright yellow flowers of the daffodils and crocuses, the first delicate blossoms appearing on the trees. To me, February has always been a hopeful month – the start of something new.
I started researching February and I discovered that the Finnish word for February is helmikuu. It literally means ‘pearl month’ as in February the snow melts and freezes again, often producing pearls of ice. I loved the ephemeral nature of this – the first melt, the first hopeful sign of spring, being so tantalising close, but at any second could be snatched away, returned to winter. The story developed from there.
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