Page 78 of First Snow

Arttu should feel guilty for lying to Sofia and Pekka about the circumstances of Mikeal’s death. And to make matters worse, he’s allowed Jareth to bewitch at least half of the police department to make them believe their outrageous story. But as Arttu told Jareth in the cave, he isn’t a good person.

Breathing in the crisp air, Arttu decides to take a walk down to the cemetery. Helsinki is covered in snow and the first Christmas lights illuminate the streets with their soft glow. He hasn’t visited Mikael’s grave since the funeral a few weeks ago, but with the whole of the Laine family and their well-off friends around, it wasn’t the time to say his goodbyes. Also, Sofia and Pekka were so relieved to learn about the (supposed) circumstances of Mikael’s death that Arttu could barely bear their gratitude.

The headstone is already set in place and Mikael’s grave is planted with elegant greenery to decorate it for the winter. Squatting down, Arttu touches the snow blanketing the grave.

“I couldn’t do more for you,” he whispers. “Thekeijuthat killed you is dead. I’m sorry that I couldn’t bring more justice for you.”

He pulls a faded photograph out of his pocket. It was taken in the seedy rehearsal room they used with the band, and shows a fifteen-year-old Mikael among all of them. Grinning carefree at the camera, Mikael has an arm slung around his sister. It shows a time when their friendship was still intact.

Arttu hides the picture under a stone decorating the grave.

“Goodbye, Mika,” he whispers.

Two people approach him on the narrow, snowy pathway as Arttu walks back to the street. He recognises Jareth’s tall frame immediately; Sofia has her hand delicately placed on his arm.

“Arttu!” Jareth abandons Sofia’s side and strides towards him, wrapping his arms around Arttu and lifting him off his feet. “Hello, sweetheart.”

Jareth leans down to kiss him tenderly, and Arttu melts into his touch, forgetting for a second that Sofia is there. He has missed Jareth over the past week.

Sofia clears her throat.

“Hei, Sofi.” Arttu hastily disentangles himself from Jareth.

“Hei.” Sofia chuckles. She stands on her tiptoes and pulls Arttu into a hug. “I ran into Jareth in the parking lot. You’re spending the weekend together?”

Arttu nods. He feels another stab of guilt at having to deceive Sofia about the circumstances of Mikael’s death. But he couldn’t very well tell her that her baby brother was killed by a bone fairy.

“We’re going to my summer house. Arttu has earned a little break,” Jareth says, wrapping his arm around Arttu’s shoulders.

“That he has,” Sofia agrees. “And I don’t want to keep you. You should be on your way before the snowfall gets too heavy.”

Arttu can’t wait to get away with Jareth. It feels so good to have Jareth at his side, to not be the weird loner for once. But he knows Sofia’s grief and he’s reluctant to leave her alone.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Sofia smiles at him wistfully. “Of course. I’m here for the same reason as you. I want to say goodbye alone.”

Arttu blinks back tears. He hurts for his friend. Sofia shouldn’t have to mourn her little brother.

“Okay. Don’t stay out in the cold for too long.”

“Don’t worry, Pekka is going to fetch me later.”

Hugging her close again, Arttu nods.

“Will you two visit us after Christmas? Pekka wants to see you again, and he would like to meet Jareth.” She smiles at them.

This is a bad idea. He can’t ask Jareth to play his human boyfriend in front of Pekka and Sofia.

“If you’ll have me,” Jareth says, as if he couldn’t think of a bigger pleasure. He’s so unbelievably perfect.

“Of course!” Arttu replies hastily. It’s selfish, but he does want to introduce Jareth to his friends. He wants to have this illusion of normalcy so badly.

“Awesome,” Sofia says. Arttu can tell that she’s genuinely happy about their answer. “We’ll be in touch, yes?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Jareth purrs, but he looks at Arttu as he says it.