The days of the month of December are getting shorter and slowly creeping onward. Malvina Matilainen, a sailor's widow, sits by the window with her weaving project. Her son Matti is at sea. Malvina is waiting for a letter.
- The coming Christmas will be a lonely one, Malvina sighs heavily. Her son Matti is at sea and she is yet to receive a single letter from him.
- Matti's childhood was cut too short. He only had ten summers to play around Kirkonmäki and in Katinhäntä courtyards, Malvina muses, and a tear rolls down her cheek. Indeed, Matti has been so incredibly brave since he was a little boy. Maybe he'll do well at sea, too.
Malvina knows that Matti got the job as the youngest of the crew, the cabin boy, whose duties include keeping the cabins clean, working as a cook's assistant and carrying meals from the kitchen to the table.
Footsteps can be heard in the hallway. A postman brings the letter all the way inside. He knows how eagerly Malvina has waited for Matti's first letter. It has sailed a long way from the other end of the world. Malvina's hands tremble as she opens the envelope.
- Truly, Matti is such a brave boy. The postman sits down now. I'll brew some coffee, Malvina says, setting the table with the porcelain cups, brought from England by his late husband Juho, a sailor.
Additional Information (In Finnish)
Naisten Ääni - Sofia Lybecker
Samuli Paulaharju: Wanha Raahe
Raahen Museo - Kauppilan Jussin ensimmäinen pesti
Kinosalonki Sofia
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