Insider

Thirty-four

"My mother and father were a happy couple. They married and settled in a nice house in Finland, but they were very poor."

But one day, I would like to go back to my house in Finland. To give my mother this:"

"I need you to take this.  Give it to my family, my mother, when you find them. Promise me you'll find them."

I held the necklace in my left hand, encasing it protectively inside my coat pocket.  Finland was in the brunt of its winter, but the snowfall had frozen these woods into a winter wonderland long enough for me to travel through.  Placing one foot in front of the other, I had no idea where I was going in my mind, but in my heart I was never as sure of anything as I was now.

Two months of searching had led me to the location of Oliver Jakob Lasse's farm.  James flew me there, and we parked the jet far enough away as not to scare the Lasse family into fleeing their home.  Through the branches dusted with shimmering frost, I came upon a clearing- a farm.  Nearby was a cabin.  Stones built up the base, followed by wooden logs and wooden-shutter windows.  Smoke rose from the chimmney in small puffs, and it warmed me to know there was a hearth inside Ollie's home.  

My foot brushed against something firm, but unsteady enough that I could have knocked it over.  I stared at the little stump sticking out in the midst of an open field, and James brushed the snow off the top of it.  "Elissa," he said softly.  "Look,"

Scratched into this wood were the words:  Mikko Clark Lasse.

"Ollie's father... he's dead," I breathed, a chill overcoming me.  

James offered comfort.  "Someone's up there with him, at least."

"I wonder what she'll think of me," I admitted, thinking of Kirsten Mikaela Lasse.  "I wonder what I'll say,"

"You'll know what to say," James assured.  "You're doing the right thing."

With that I made my way into the field.  James stayed behind, not wanting to scare Oliver's mother.  His introduction would be tabled for another day.  

One minute passed before a woman emerged from the cabin.  Clad in a middling dress and army-grade overcoat, she stepped forward weilding a shotgun.  Her dark hair streamed out behind her in beautiful waves.  

"Кто ты?" she cried.  

"My name is Elissa Fleur," I answered.

Switching to English, Lasse asked curtly, "What do you want?"

In a singular motion I lifted my left hand and held it towards the sky.  The amulet hung below my fist, and Lasse's crystal blue eyes widened.  One tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another and another.  She collapsed to her knees, hands clamped over her mouth.  I came closer to her, wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and unclasped one hand.  In her quivering palm I placed Oliver's necklace.  It was home, and I had fulfilled my promise.

We talked inside the cabin until the sun dove beneath the surrounding woods, and flurries began to start.  I explained Oliver's story, remembering him fondly.  We both laughed and cried, Oliver was an angel.  Before I left, a small boy bounded into the main room.  He looked like a healthy version of Ollie- same wavy hair, inquisitive blue eyes, but full, rosy cheeks and no scars.  "This is Adam," introduced Kirsten Lasse, and the boy waved slightly.  

"Hi, Adam," I said, biting my lip so that my tears wouldn't show.

I offered them a home in America, knowing that S.H.I.E.L.D. could take care of them.  But Lasse hugged me and said, "Thank you, but I have to decline.  I am home, and now my sons are too."

That was understandable; this cabin wasn't perfect but it had raised nearly perfect people.  While my story took me far beyond Papa and I's home in Alaska, others can find what they're looking for in the four walls of their home.  Kirsten Mikaela Lasse was home, Oliver was home-

And so was I.