[It was something of a snap decision, Onni's choice to look at another memory with Reynir. The first one had affected him deeply and he's still feeling it, he's still fighting with his instinct to cry, and feels swamped with sadness and homesickness that can never be rectified because there's no home to go back to. But still, his first instinct was to look at another. Maybe it's Reynir's presence that makes the difference, because he never would've looked at a single one on his own, let alone more than one or another after the way that first one had hit him.
This time, it's in the village square instead of Onni's childhood home. He doesn't remember this moment at all, though he vaguely remembers festivals like it, weddings and harvest festivals usually, where there was dancing and food and music. Watching his younger self share a cake with Tuuri, the way they'd smiled at each other only serves to increase his sense of homesickness and sadness, and for a moment he feels as if he'll be washed away in it.
The boy that comes up to the two of them serves as some distraction. Onni remembers him, he thinks maybe he was the butcher's son, has an impression of the two of them playing a little when they'd been younger. Väinö. That was his name. While Onni is old enough and savvy enough to know what was going on in this scene in hindsight, it's obvious that the younger version of Onni in the dream barely recognizes the invitation to dance. He can see the dawning of some realization in Tuuri's mind, though, watches her little round face split into a wide grin, and he can't tell whether it's because she's happy for him or intends to tease him about it later. Probably the teasing.
Another wash of grief, and just when he thinks he can't tolerate it anymore, the memory fades away and Reynir is asking him who the boy is.]
Oh. Väinö. The butcher's son, I think. We were around the same age and we played together when we were kids. Usually looking for blueberries, or I'd skip rocks while he fished.
[It escapes him that he's recounting actual memories now, real images that he can see in his mind. Maybe it's something to do with the lingering scent, or maybe his mind is just in the habit of accessing those parts of himself now. Whichever it is, it's spared Onni's overthinking because he just doesn't notice.]
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This time, it's in the village square instead of Onni's childhood home. He doesn't remember this moment at all, though he vaguely remembers festivals like it, weddings and harvest festivals usually, where there was dancing and food and music. Watching his younger self share a cake with Tuuri, the way they'd smiled at each other only serves to increase his sense of homesickness and sadness, and for a moment he feels as if he'll be washed away in it.
The boy that comes up to the two of them serves as some distraction. Onni remembers him, he thinks maybe he was the butcher's son, has an impression of the two of them playing a little when they'd been younger. Väinö. That was his name. While Onni is old enough and savvy enough to know what was going on in this scene in hindsight, it's obvious that the younger version of Onni in the dream barely recognizes the invitation to dance. He can see the dawning of some realization in Tuuri's mind, though, watches her little round face split into a wide grin, and he can't tell whether it's because she's happy for him or intends to tease him about it later. Probably the teasing.
Another wash of grief, and just when he thinks he can't tolerate it anymore, the memory fades away and Reynir is asking him who the boy is.]
Oh. Väinö. The butcher's son, I think. We were around the same age and we played together when we were kids. Usually looking for blueberries, or I'd skip rocks while he fished.
[It escapes him that he's recounting actual memories now, real images that he can see in his mind. Maybe it's something to do with the lingering scent, or maybe his mind is just in the habit of accessing those parts of himself now. Whichever it is, it's spared Onni's overthinking because he just doesn't notice.]