Monday, February 3

Rohdinkuja, 11:15
This morning we drove to Pikkuhuopalahti for the last time. This time we were going to dress Auo’s body. Neither of us were looking forward to it, but it turned out to be much better than we had expected. Indeed it turned out to be a transformative event.
She was still dressed in the clothes that Irma had dressed her in, immediately after she had died; and we left her in those. She lay in her coffin looking just like her, and we were, at last, able to say goodbye to her properly, rather than talking to her through a box or while looking at a photo. We both burst into tears when we saw her, and cried unstoppably for five minutes or more. At the same time, though, it felt genuinely peaceful and a moment of profound importance in getting to grips with what has happened and what will happen next.
After we had settled her into her new home, we let the undertaker put the coffin into the hearse. We followed the car to the chapel, and at Irma’s request, the car stopped briefly outside our house. Here we are then, with the hearse reversing into the drive. After a few moments silent contemplation we will follow the hearse again to the chapel in Malmi, and on the way we will make some important decisions.
At 14:00 we will be in Kallio waiting for Irma to see the Idiot Doctor, who will claim that Irma already has a sicknote for today, when she doesn’t, and then claim that Irma needs stronger tranquillisers before forgetting to prescribe her anything. On the way home Irma will realise that today is an unpaid day off and she now has no sleeping pills.
Jake, who is going to play the music at Auo’s funeral, will come round later to collect the files and discuss the plan. Naa will arrive home late, having had a full day at school and a long visit to her grandparents in Kamppi.