For Auld Lang Syne - Talvi

For Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and days of auld lang syne?

Snow was beginning to fall as Talvi made his way through the forest he started to call home, though the place never truly felt like he belonged there. His dreams, filled with pieces of his long lost past, never truly held the much needed information. A black oak piano… A forest covered in flowers... This could be anywhere..

And then a face… A blurry image of a beautiful woman… The warmth in her eyes long dimmed by sadness…

For auld lang syne, my jo,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp!

and surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

His wanderings often led him to the only place he came to recognise from his dreams: four oak trees standing taller than most, even though they are all laden with bullet holes. He always loved to see them there, still thriving even though they were harmed.

Everything was still the same...

That is, everything except the flowers gracing the empty branches of one of the trees…

Talvi didn’t know how they ended up in the tree, nor why, but the sight made him forget about his sadness, just for a short time.

He had seen people place flowers before, mostly in certain places of the forest or on a stone, but never up in a tree…

Together with them, there were a few lanterns which illuminated certain flowers a bit more than the rest. Forget-me-nots… Pansies… Orange blossom… Their meanings all linked to remembrance of what is lost…

We twa hae run about the braes,

and pu’d the gowans fine;

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,

sin auld lang syne.

There, and gone again, was a smile. A warm and bright smile, followed by the happiest laugh he had ever heard… Taken aback by the sudden glimpse, he stumbles a few steps back. What did just happen? Such glimpses usually came in his dreams… Never when he was awake… And yet there it was…

Quickly, he tries to remember exactly what he had seen… Eager to find out more about his past… About these places and people he kept seeing in his dreams. To his surprise, he remembers there were flowers laced through the woman’s hair… Not the same now gracing the tree he was standing next to, though yet they must have triggered something…

We twa hae paidl’d i' the burn,

frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar’d

sin auld lang syne.

Unsure of what to do with the newly gained information, Talvi goes to the nearby stream to sort through his thoughts. The flowing water always seemed to calm his nerves and his thoughts, allowing him to think clearly. That is also the reason why this is the first place he visits in the mornings… After his dreams…

Sitting there, lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t notice a single flower drift past… Closely followed by another and another…

It is only when there is a constant stream of colours, that he notices them drifting past. Confused as to where they come from, he wanders up stream to check it out… Only to reach the edge of the forest and see humans gently lower flowers in the water in the distance…

Some small part of him remembers the act, remembers why they do so, but he cannot really put a finger on the reason… Only that there was one…

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!

and gie's a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,

for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,

for auld lang syne,

we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp!

and surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

Every year since, he will be there… Watching the stream turn into the brightest colours and the trees get their decorations again…

Thanks to the humans, he has found something to look forward to again… Something that brings him closer to his past and lost life…