Kati enjoyed living in Tallinn. Everything was within reach, a comfortable apartment, no need to toil in her own garden, and everything was logical and straightforward to her, square buildings and a square, polished life. But in recent years, something had started to bother her, a kind of inner restlessness. Something deep inside her compelled her relentlessly to reminisce about her childhood. She knew there was something very important she should remember but couldn't.
A honk from behind snapped Kati out of her reverie. "Mom, the light has been green for a while." "Yes, yes, I'm going." "Mom, why do we have to go to daycare? I don't like it there at all, Joonas keeps teasing me all the time and..." whined Kätlin from the back seat. "Darling, everyone goes to daycare, actually, it's quite nice there, I enjoyed it, when i was kid, so much fun and excitement. What would you do at home anyway? Mikk! Stop it, will you. No blowing raspberries! Oh, you'll drive me to an early grave someday!" Kati scolded with a feigned sternness, but inside, she was smiling. "I have such lovely children," she caught herself thinking and smiled with her eyes. Yes, Jarmo wasn't the perfect man, but together they managed, the children loved him dearly, and he was a very good father to them. If only he weren't such a loser, sitting at home for years now, after being laid off, and claiming to be discovering his inner self. How foolish, thought Kati, but even that somehow made her smile.
Another honk. Kati startled: "What's wrong with me today?" she said quietly to herself. "MOM, that man behind is angry, Mikk saw and he showed his finger. Look - that finger." "Yes, Mom, that finger!" the children spoke in unison and gestured the middle finger toward the driver behind. Kati burst into loud laughter. "Hahahahaaa, that... hahhaa... oh, don't show like that, it's impolite... Oh my goodness." She continued driving calmly, eyes moist with laughter. The driver of the car behind seemed quite shocked by such rude children that he decided to overtake through the opposite lane before the next traffic light and then abruptly brake in front of Kati's car.
Kati slammed the brakes with both feet and barely managed to stop with screeching tires. Her heart was pounding, and everything turned black before her eyes. "Are you all okay? Mikk... Kätlin," she asked, a bit confused. Mikk was crying, but Kätlin sat silently, eyes wide open, completely quiet. "Kätlin, can you hear me?" "Yes, Mom, everything is fine."
A man with wild eyes and dirty clothes jumped out of the car in front and aggressively approached Kati's car. Instinctively, she locked the car doors. The man reached Kati's car and pounded nervously and loudly on the window. Kati shook her head. The man banged on the glass again and shouted for Kati to open the window. There was something familiar about this man, but she couldn't remember. She was about to lower the window when she noticed Kätlin getting out of the car. "KÄTLIN, come back immediately. Close the door... KÄTLIN, no! KÄTLIN, KÄTLIN," Kati shouted hysterically. Kätlin had already reached the agitated man. The man turned towards Kätlin, Kati tried to get out of the car, but the man stood in the way. She hit the door against the man's backside, but the man didn't budge. Through the car window and the partly open door, Kati could see and hear everything.
Kätlin stood in front of the tall, unfamiliar, and angry man and looked him straight in the eyes with her big watery and serious calf-eyes. "Hello, mister. I'm Kätlin. Please don't shout at my mommy, she's very good, but she's a little tired and forgot to start driving on time. My little brother and I didn't know what it meant when you showed us something, so we showed you back. Mommy said it's not nice, so I apologize." The man's hands fell weakly to his sides. Kati couldn't believe her eyes or ears. Her five-year-old daughter. What courage. Tears welled up in Kati's eyes, a mix of pride, fear, and confusion. The man stood there weakly and turned towards Kati. Kati closed the door again and opened the window. "I'm sorry, I...," the man stammered, "I got too agitated. You have very nice children. Have a good day! I apologize again." Kätlin had returned to the car and sat as if nothing had happened. "No, you know, I'm actually a little tired and lost in thought, I should apologize." Kati tried to smooth things over from her side. "No, everything is fine!" the man shouted from a distance, got into his car, and drove away.
With trembling hands and a pounding heart, Kati started driving slowly. Everyone in the car was silent, Kätlin looked out of the window, and from the rearview mirror, it seemed to Kati that her delicate little daughter was unaffected by the incident. Mikk's face was red, and his eyes were teary. "Mikk dear, everything is fine now, it was just a little misunderstanding," said Kati. Mikk sniffled and wiped his runny nose with his hand. "Mhmh, Mom."
The rest of the way, Kati was haunted by the thought that this man, this angry man, was very familiar. This encounter didn't give her any peace at all. Like in a dream, she took Kätlin and still sniffling Mikk to daycare, spoke with the caregivers about something, not even understanding what the conversation was about. And she kept thinking incessantly about the aggressive man. Kati arrived at work, grabbed some coffee, and sat at her office desk. "Kati, when will you send me the quarterly reports? I'm on vacation from tomorrow and want to review them beforehand," Juulia interrupted Kati's thoughts. "Good morning. I'm sorry, I haven't dealt with them yet, the deadline is next week, and I..." Kati stuttered. "Yes, maybe, but do them right now. As I said, I want to review them today. Oh, and before three, I'm going to the hairdresser." "I'll try to make it." "Very good. And empty the dishwasher too, the secretary isn't here today," Juulia shouted irritably to Kati as she walked away. "Get lost with your vacation, bitch," Kati muttered to herself and sighed, opening Excel.
By lunchtime, Kati had finished the quarterly reports and sent them to Juulia. She headed off to have her lunch. Passing through the kitchen, she suddenly remembered that her boss had asked her to empty the dishwasher. Kati muttered angrily to herself but still emptied the machine, though she managed to spill water on herself in the process. "This will definitely leave a stain," she thought sadly, sighed, and left the downtown office building, trying to hide the water spot with her handbag.
Usually, Kati chose a seat deep inside the restaurant, but this time, she decided to sit by the window. She ordered herself parsnip puree soup and coffee. Kati sat and pondered her thoughts when suddenly she noticed the same car across the street in the parking lot that had cut her off in the morning. Chuckling to herself, Kati sipped her coffee. "Life is interesting indeed, so many coincidences," she thought and took the last sip. The low autumn sun reflected from the glass towers, and it was impossible to see if anyone was in the car. Suddenly, the car window rolled down, and the same man was sitting inside. And he was staring straight at Kati. Kati flinched and looked down. Her heart began to race. "It's all in your head, pull yourself together!" Kati admonished herself. Raising her gaze, the car and the man had disappeared. Kati sighed, paid the bill, and left the restaurant.
The whole way back to the office, Kati was on edge. She felt like someone was following her. She felt it in the back of her head, like a premonition of something bad and disturbing. Speeding up her pace, she quickly reached the office building. Opening the glass door, something got stuck underneath, and the door didn't open right away. Kati pulled harder, and the door opened with a creak. She looked down and saw a broken pine cone, which had obstructed the door from opening. Kati jumped and ran to the elevator. Her heart was pounding wildly, and all 16 floors up, Kati forced herself to calm down.
"Kati, don't rush like that," shouted Juulia. "Oh, yes, I got startled, you came so suddenly, and I..." Kati tried to apologize. "Whatever. I'm leaving now, make sure everything gets done." "But you said you're leaving at three, I already sent the reports...," Kati stammered. "Anyway, I'm leaving now. Confirm those reports yourself; I don't have time to look at them. I'll be back in two weeks, then we'll see. Arrivederci!" Juulia waved jovially and stepped into the elevator. Kati stood in the corridor, feeling helpless for ten minutes. "What the hell of a day is this, damn it..." she thought aloud, kicked the office door open, and went to her cubicle. "Everyone, screw it," she said and leaned back in her office chair, closing her eyes.