AFTER THAT, I ran from the stage, and soon enough found myself waiting at the tracks at the Ronkonkoma station on Long Island. But I wasn’t alone. I had arrived back to my home island with a whole entourage of Estonians. They were standing on the platform, suitcases piled up. A hard frost had settled in, the tracks glistened with ice, small drifts of snow collapsed on each other. Again the familiar clanging, the ringing of the bells, that strange New York voice calling, “Next train to Greenport. Next train!”
In my time away, the waiting areas of the station had been redone in a white adobe style. And in the corner of this white adobe waiting area, the Estonians were building a fire. Someone had found a few pieces of broken wood along the tracks. From these arose the crackle of a yellow orange fire, the hiss of white smoke. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I reprimanded them. “This is a train station. You can’t just go starting fires wherever you are!”
“But we are cold,” said one of the Estonians, pulling her jacket tighter. “Meil on külm.” Then another Estonian arrived with a sack of coal. “Wait,” I said. “Don’t do that!” He dumped the coal onto the growing fire, and each one began to sparkle like a firecracker. Heidi was there, shivering in her dress, looking like Little Orphan Annie. “But we’re cold,” she said. “Aren’t we welcome here too?” “Of course, you’re welcome,” I said. “You’re just not allowed to start fires in train stations on Long Island.” “Why not?” Heidi asked. “Minu arust see on väga normaalne.”
“I found some reeds,” said a middle-aged Estonian woman. “Let’s see how well these babies burn.” She tossed them on. Now half of the waiting station pueblo was engulfed in flames. Just then I noticed that the bookkeeper Signe was standing in the back. She was dressed in a black coat and eyeing me. Yellow hair cut in a fringe, eyes ice blue. Eyes that said, you are mine. Now it was my turn to shiver. “Stand closer to the fire,” said Heidi, tugging on my sleeve. “What are you even looking at? You’ll catch cold.” The fire roared and crackled and another train arrived. Somebody had started playing a karmoška.
