devoted service

nurse aino lind from helsinki, finland. thirty-one. for this i weep all my days and throughout my lifetime grieve that i swam from my own lands and came from familiar lands towards these strange doors to these foreign gates.

[colleenwing]

[ainoxlind-blog]

pilotpark:

The woman’s words are almost absentminded as she tends to Eva’s pack, though they carry some reference back to other times woven in what she suspects are some paths down memory lane. Though that acknowledgement passes with the brush of her following words. The smile that flowers on the woman’s face genuinely warm. There’s an authenticity to it, and perhaps it’s why Eva’s always found the medics and their tents some sanction of peace even though there is an argument to be made that they certainly see some of the worst of the unrest.

[ Caring for the dying and tending to the dead is no fun with guns and gunpowder, but she supposes the agony probably cuts deeper if you don’t have some armor to wear and only bruised flesh to mold. ] 

There’s a simple joy in the little things, and a peace in the exuberance with which it’s received. So when Eva smiles back, there’s a stated understanding in the sentiment shared. Yes, it was certainly pleasant news. “I agree. Shipments are always received well, there’s no luxury for beggars to be choosers.” Eva muses, some light humor in the perhaps unburdened dark of her words. There’s worse to brood over, so she doesn’t bother pondering over it. “My last base was a lot bigger than this one, but there was still something about those shipments–s’pose it takes a while for the novelty to wear off.” A pause, and the tilt of her head with a light chuckle. “As in, it never really does.” It’s easy talking about the smaller luxuries, their apparent irrelevance is unburdened from the other weights that come with the battlefront. Frankly, Eva’s not in the mood to tend to those burning flames at the moment. “You’ve transferred in too, I’m assuming?” It’s mostly a wise guess because in the melting pot of the base, everyone was a transfer. “Where did they bring you in from?”

Aino has met and grown to respect so many brave people, men and women who had dedicated themselves to the cause of ending the war as swiftly as possible. She knew her services were very much necessary and couldn’t be overlooked, but nursing was certainly very different from the sort of work all these intelligence officers and actual soldiers were doing. For one, Aino had never fired a gun and couldn’t imagine herself even carrying one around. No, the nurses of her homeland had been decidedly unarmed, even when working on the front and where getting attacked was a very real possibility. Sometimes she thinks she’s lucky. After all, she has managed to escape so many pains related to the concept of taking someone’s life. These people, all of them, are just that, human beings weighed with the same feelings and fears they most likely had even before the world went to hell. 

She glances down once more, now making sure she’s down her job correctly. It’s become a routine by now but you can never be too certain; sending someone out there with the wrong or lacking supplies can be a potentially fatal mistake. “Everything looks fine here,” she informs after another moment of quiet. Silence has never bothered her. 

Head tilted to the side and arms crossed over her chest, Aino listens and nods along. She’s feeling more relaxed now that the task has been finished, and it shows. “How much is a lot bigger? I don’t think I have seen very many large bases,” she admits with a soft burst of laughter, “or any at all, in fact. Those didn’t really exist where I’m from.” It had been different back home, the scale of it all much smaller and probably almost silly-looking to someone from, say, the USA or even Great Britain. “This size I can handle, it’s not too overwhelming,” Aino adds with a nod as if making a point to herself before thinking through the question. “Oh, yes. I’m Finnish, from Finland. Should explain why I don’t really comprehend these huge bases and what have you. How about you? Have you been here for long?” 

[ainoxlind-blog]

lunetist-victorios:

Crina nodded, her expression bordering on sympathy. Crina knew that people died in war, but she had never really considered what happened to them after their deaths.  Life and death in war were not pretty. To be the one who had to deal with both…Crina was not interested in that. She supposed she respected and admired those with the strength to do so. 

“That is not being pleasant,” she acknowledged. “Are you liking to be here better?” 

“No, it wasn’t very pleasant.” Aino smiled briefly, trying to let the other woman know she was fine and not totally opposed to discussing the matter. After all, war was not pleasant and she couldn’t get squeamish now, not after quite a few years of dealing with the dead and dying. “I do like it here. It’s... It is easier in a way, not being home. Do you feel that way, like being elsewhere gives you the strength to continue? I feel like I’m part of something bigger now, even if that isn’t entirely true. After all, I’m just a nurse and not out there gathering intelligence or fighting the war. We all do what we can.” 

[ironmaidenhead]

[kavesinisukka]

Finland according to patriotic songs:

Here’s my favorite lyric of all:

Täällä Pohjantähden alla, hiipii sieluun asti halla ja tunteet tappamalla rikki repii sydämen.

Here under the Northern star the frost creeps into your soul and by killing your emotions tears the heart apart.

[ainoxlind-blog]

lunetist-victorios:

Crina’s face twisted in a wry grimace. “It is feeling like I was never doing anything different. The only before there was, was before the war.” Back when the only responsibilities Crina had were to help care for the group’s livestock and children. When she would sit and memorize poems and plays to recite for money. When she would darn and mend and wash, and hunt game for food. Crina felt as if her life before was nothing. It was a dream, the life of a naive girl who would live and die with the same people and the same life she had always known. She had changed so much from the girl she was then. She had skills, a trade, a purpose. If she saw her family again, would any of them even recognize her?

“Were you being a nurse, before?” Crina asked, directing the conversation away from herself and her memories.

In a way it was difficult to remember the times before the war. At first she had hoped Finland would be able to remain neutral like its Nordic neighbours but that had soon proven to be a false hope. On November 30 1939, Helsinki was bombed and the war finally arrived. Everything had been bit of a blur ever since that faithful day and now Aino had trouble imagining a peaceful world. As a nurse, she had witnessed one of the ugliest sides of it all, the people who had sacrificed their life and health for whatever cause they believed to be the right one. “I was, yes. I studied nursing before the war and then worked near the front back home when the war began. That was... well, you know what the war is like.” Aino pulls a face, clearly confronted by a memory she didn’t care to remember. “You see everything when you work there. They bring everyone to you before they are sent elsewhere, either back to the front or to other hospitals for recovery. Or, um, to be buried. You had to clean them up before that, though.” 

[ainoxlind-blog]

agentdurant:

He’d been pacing for the better part of thirty minutes, the soles of his boot making a clear path of where he’d relentlessly start and end then start again. It was habit, an anxious one, but a habit nonetheless, and just like his smoking, he didn’t see it stopping any time soon. He was overwhelmed with the desire to crawl out of his own skin, the feeling that he would prefer to be anywhere but here (and by here he meant base, he meant the intelligence tent; the confines of four flaps and a makeshift desk). Stir crazy was probably the closest way to explain it, but that didn’t quite fit the bill — besides, he did his best thinking while in motion. Surprisingly steady hands slipped into his pockets, on pulling out a cigarette while the other searched for his lighter; but it was nowhere to be found. “Hep,” he called out, knowing someone was bound to react, “do you have a light?”

Aino - somewhat unprepared to be addressed - offered her first reply in Finnish before hurrying to correct herself. “Light, yes? Just a moment,” she muttered while going through her seemingly endless pockets. She had picked up the habit of carrying far too many things on her, convinced she would eventually end up needing all those little bits and pieces. “Here we go. I only have a few matches, though. I hope that’s okay,” the nurse continued with a brief smile and a firm nod of her head as she offered her spare matches to the young woman. “I can always get new ones. Do you happen to need any? I think I saw some lying around.” 

[theprocast]

Don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed of your quiet.

A quick note to introverts including myself // Maxwell Diawuoh, Ten Word Story #14 (334/366)

[i-bitar]

[ainoxlind-blog]

apollovalenti:

Marco looked up from the ever growing pile of folded bandages and smiled at the nurse. “Di preciso.” He beamed, knowing that one of the joys of working with the Commandos was that Costin never let anyone near the med tent without making sure that they had the skill to tackle whatever monstrosity of war came through the door. 

“Considering I have only met one Finnish person to date, I am going to have to take your word for it.” Though he resented war, and conflict, and everything that came with it, at least the world was fighting together for the greater good. Before Aino, he had never met a Finn, before Juliet he had never met an Irishwoman, before Costin he had never met a Romanian - the world had opened up to move people around for the fight and basecamps had become neutral territories for the world’s soldiers to fight and die as if the boundaries of nationality had never existed past Allied and Axis. “Feels strange to think that one day all of this might be just a distant memory, huh?” If they won, that was. Marco doubted it would be anything less than an age until the horrors that the war had burned into his mind scarred over, but he prayed every day that he would not have to see the things he saw behind his eyes forever. “But hey, that is no way to think. Your homeland will be there for you to return to if we fight hard enough to throw the enemy off. Which we will. I am sure of it.”

The medic laughed. “And people will always continue to get ill. Nursing has job security, almeno.” If worst came to worst for Marco, he supposed he could use his skills to get qualified as a civilian doctor, but he had no wish to continue this after the war. Not when so many years of his life already felt as if they were being wasted. “Grazie Aino. Questo significa molto - uh, that means a lot ” He smiled, casting his eyes back down to the task at hand. “Yeah, here’s hoping. It is not an easy thing to maintain in times like these, but hey, I try my best.”

She nods and remains silent for what feels like several minutes, deep in thought. If she chooses to continue nursing, she won’t be able to escape memories of the war for years. There will be men who have lost limbs and will need regular care and also those who won’t be able to return to their homes before a long recovery period. Aino feels conflicted as she considers her options but doesn’t say anything while she continues the task at hand, pleased to see just how large the pile of neatly folded bandages has grown. They won’t last for too long, of course not, but it’s still something. It’s necessary work and won’t be over until the very last battle is fought. “And to think the Great war was supposed to be one to end all wars. I guess we can only hope future generations will figure out how to stop this mindless bloodshed. Do you think that’s even possible, humans existing and not finding some reason for a war?” While the wording might be cynical, Aino’s voice is full of almost childlike hope. She wants to believe it could be done simply for the sake of humanity, but it’s difficult to admit you sometimes dreamt of a world where wars no longer existed. It felt almost cowardly when so many men and women were losing their lives, often fighting for a cause they didn’t believe in. 

"No, I don't suppose it would be easy. Becoming gloomy and bitter is far more simple." Aino – like so many others – has grown familiar with said feelings. She did her best, tried to remain positive and hopeful, but sometimes that just wasn’t enough. Those sharp edges of her anger and fear had blunted to a dull ache, and now those negative emotions were simply a part of her everyday life in a way she absolutely loathed. Her parents had always stood out with their liberal and forward-thinking world views, but there was absolutely no way Aino could’ve escaped the culture dominating her day and age. No, she was still a woman and a women weren’t to be aggressive. “Not that I would dare to expect everyone to be like they were before it all started. That would be unreasonable, right? This is bound to have an effect on people, even if they are not out there fighting. You just have to keep trying to be brave, even if you can’t always be very strong.”

[usvakorpi]

©Usvakorpi

[ironmaidenhead]

You underestimate me in every way. 

[hcathledger-deactivated20260210]

But only for a while. Then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up, and after a while you don’t have the strength to fight it.

― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

[ainoxlind-blog]

lunetist-victorios:

Crina nodded. Some people feared the med tent more than they feared the bullets. The surgery tent was not a pleasant place. It was filled with guts, and blood and limbs, the tortured moans of wounded men and the screams of the traumatized. But there was no point in allowing an injury to almost kill you. 

“A few years,” Crina could hardly keep track anymore. Her life and both ended and begun with the war.

“That is quite a long time. Do you...,” Aino thinks for a moment, trying to find the right words. Using English as her main way of communication has become much easier now but it’s by no means perfect. Some days are better than others, certain ways of forming a language easier for her. “Do you prefer it over whatever you were doing before?” she asks eventually, head tilted to the side as few curls of blonde hair fall to frame her face. 

[ainoxlind-blog]

apollovalenti:

“Well, according to what I’ve gathered, we don’t go more than five days without a mission coming in, so in about 3 hours, my bet would be that we’ll be totally slammed.” Marco had become all to used to bracing for impact, and always had his ear out for the sounds of those who needed to be tended to approaching the tent. “We’ll be okay. We’ll always be ready, that’s the way our jobs works, right?” He folded the bandages with practiced precision, and winced at the knowledge that the white would run red before the sun had even set. 

Her comment made him laugh, and though he doubted that the man that Marco had pulled from near-death and was now confined to a bed to recover would be all too picky, he appreciated the joke. “We have opposite problems; you are too Finnish, and I am too Italian. Not enough flirting, too much flirting.” He countered with a chuckle, realising the contrast between their (vaguely accurate) national stereotypes. “I don’t know, I don’t think about it that often. Too busy just trying to survive, but before the war I wanted to be making a living off my art, and my poetry. I don’t know if that’s plausible anymore. The world’s going to go to shit when the war ends. Italy has been a battleground, so that plan might have to be put on hold for a while.” He didn’t know at what point in the conflict that optimism was replaced by realism.

He knew that when the war was won his priority would be to make sure his family was provided for. His sisters were all he had left now that the war years had taken his parents, and he knew that when the war was won (as he prayed it would be), they would all be each other’s priority. A more conventional job may be his best bet, at least for a while. “What about you? Got any plans post-victory?” He smiled, hoping it would be victory at the end of all this misery. 

“Sounds sensible.” While nothing is set in stone and no one’s truly able to tell when the medical staff is needed, it’s comforting to hear there’s at least some sort of rhythm and sense to it all. It makes their jobs that much easier, knowing when to be extra prepared in case of an emergency. “You’re absolutely right. This is what we’re trained to do.” Her nursing career might have started before the war but it hadn’t been anything like this, not nearly as bloody and chaotic. However, she knows she’s lucky and can’t help but thank God for the education and experience she managed to get before the world started to crumble around them. 

Aino shrugs but smiles with genuine joy and amusement. "They say that the difference between a shy and a more outgoing Finn is the fact that the sociable one will apparently stare at your feet instead of their own while talking to you. Admittedly, I have no idea who 'they' are. Here's to hoping at least one nation in the world has figured out what's the right amount of flirtation.” In all honesty, Aino wasn’t entirely sure what the whole flirting business really was. She wasn’t innocent or particularly sheltered - her engagement had been very much exciting - but the concept seemed quite bizarre to her. Equally bizarre seemed the idea of a world without this constant state of war and bloodshed. “I understand. Sometimes it seems difficult to comprehend there will - and there absolutely must - come a day when all of this will be over. I just don’t know what that means for me. Perhaps there won’t be Finland for me to return to.” It was a painful, frightening thought. The fate her country would face under the Soviet rule would undoubtedly be something far worse than it had been under the heel of the Russian tsars. 

She clears her throat and flashes a brief, nervous smile. “Never mind that, though. Whatever happens, I will always have work as long as people continue to get ill. I’ll just continue nursing.” In all honesty, she can’t see her doing anything else. Perhaps marry if she’s lucky. The latter, however, seems unlikely. “I hope you can make something of your art. I’m sure you are very gifted. You have the aura, I think. Not something you expect to see during these times.” 

[ainoxlind-blog]

pilotpark:

Arms folding in front of her, Eva leaned her weight against the wall next to her. She watched as the woman got to work, a methodical process to a detached gaze. She knew the importance of keeping up with the first-aid kits. She hadn’t had to use one just yet, but with all the odds against them in a time like this, the last thing Eva needed to be knocked down from was a low stocked first-aid kit. She was glad there were enough supplies to go around at all. Not only did it mean, yes, that her pack was supplied–but also that the base was holding out alright. The goings could get to going a lot tougher, but Eva wasn’t holding out for a challenge. 

“That’s good,” Eva echoed, half a smile lighting her features with something conciliatory for a few moments. The nurse was right, as a matter of fact. Eva usually kept from asking for many supplies. If it were to come down to it, she knew that the squadrons that ran ground patrol should have first access to a refill of the supplies when running low. The chances of them needing it were far higher than a fighter pilot. “The base has been doing pretty alright as far as I’ve noticed since I’ve been here. I think we’re due a new shipment next week–not sure what of, but there’s always buzz around the tarmac when there’s talk of fresh supplies.” She offered, the smile easing into something amused. Falling back into element had come easily enough. War was war was war–here, there, anywhere in between. The landing strip and the high hum of an aircraft tracking wind echoed the same in Italy and Maui.

There was no escaping the worry and anxiety that came with war, Aino had realised that much early on. Now, hundreds of miles away from her family and the battlefields of her home country, she couldn’t help feeling curiously guilty for not being there. Keeping her mind occupied and hands busy had proven helpful as it reminded her she was still doing good and fighting for the right cause, no matter her current location. After all, no war longs for one man and no one could claim to be irreplaceable, no matter how pleasant the concept might have been 

“Oh, yes, it’s very good. Gives us time to get ahead of work. It’s not like we have a huge homefront going on around here. It is easier when you have masses of people doing something like folding bandages but it’s just not feasible in this situation,” Aino speaks almost absentmindedly as her eyes scan the items she had laid down on the table in front of her. “Wouldn’t make sense,” she continues, her voice almost inaudible. For a moment she stands still and counts the objects she has pulled out from the various boxes and larger baskets. “Is that so? I can imagine it would be pleasant news.” The nurse speaks the words with genuine delight, a smile spreading across her features; it was good to hear people were still able to get some sort of excitement out of relatively mundane things. “I can’t imagine any sort shipment would be received with anything but grace and appreciation. I don’t think anyone can afford to be picky right now.” 

[pvkyblinders]