The Sisters

And truthful it was told that nan communicative of nan Mikkola sisters started connected nan past time of December, connected nan past time of nan millennium, erstwhile they were opinionated successful nan elevator, heading up to nan 4th level to observe New Year’s Eve astatine Mossutställningar, a impermanent freelance-office-slash-art-space tally by Hella d’Ailly, who erstwhile had been an creator herself, but now was much of a curator-slash-party-arranger. It was Hella who had managed to person immoderate bureaucrat astatine Statsholmen that it was a bully thought to rent this empty, magnificent abstraction of 1,000-plus quadrate meters, pinch ornamented woody floors and a ceiling tallness of 3 meters (including 2 non-working but really awesome fireplaces), to a bunch of artists, freelance journalists, web designers and textile printers. The statement was temporary, but nan first six months were extended to a year, and past different twelvemonth and now, to observe their 3rd aliases 4th extension, they were having a immense party, unfastened to everyone who worked there, and their friends, and their friends’ friends’ friends.

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There were 2 angry doormen downstairs and nan Mikkola sisters had to skip a agelong statement to get in, Anastasia did nan talking, she claimed that she was astir to commencement her “DJ group successful little than 20 minutes” and that her sisters were joining her arsenic back-up dancers, nan doorman checked nan database and fto them in, contempt Evelyn’s suppressed laughter and Ina’s reddish face. Now they were successful nan elevator heading upwards, breathing nan beardown smell of perfume from different guests, 3 sisters, 1 incredibly happy to beryllium here, 1 already longing for nan adjacent party, 1 pushing nan fastener for nan 4th level again and again, antsy to get to a creation level and fto loose immoderate of nan power that she had been redeeming up during nan cab ride.

Whatever happens, we enactment together, Ina said arsenic nan elevator slowed to a halt. Right?

Evelyn pushed unfastened nan door, nan sound of nan heavy bass from nan sound strategy echoed successful nan staircase.

Of course, she answered and smiled.

Don’t worry, we sewage you, Anastasia said, and followed Evelyn into nan party. Twenty seconds later they were gone. Or not gone, Ina kept seeing them successful different rooms arsenic she tried to understand nan layout of nan immense space. There was Evelyn, successful a corner, perpetually surrounded by 3 to 5 people, everyone hypnotized by immoderate communicative she was telling. And location was Anastasia, first connected 1 creation level and past connected another, and past connected apical of a bar, past up connected a windowsill, arms successful nan air, hands transformed into parentheses, palms facing guardant arsenic if she was pushing an invisible wall successful beforehand of her.

Ina did her champion to effort to attack them, but location was a sweaty oversea of group successful nan way, and it was acheronian and nan level was covered successful drifts of confetti and spilled drinks clung to nan bottommost of her level shoes and she was blinded by nan strobe and mislaid show of her sisters. The euphony colliding from nan 2 creation floors made it intolerable to talk to anyone and still everyone seemed to person personification to talk to, everyone isolated from Ina, and whenever she saw personification other who didn’t person anyone to talk to, she felt pity for them, because they looked truthful mislaid and lonely and astatine slightest Ina had her backup, she knew that her sisters were present somewhere.

She kept stepping from room to room, location was Evelyn again, successful nan 3rd room to nan right, waving from nan different side, her hands up successful nan air, signaling that unluckily she was stuck here, pointing towards nan bar, molding her manus to an invisible glass, successful a motion that Ina interpreted as: If you spell to nan barroom and get america immoderate drinks I will hold for you correct here. Ina was not excessively keen connected becoming her younger sister’s waitress, but she knew that it was almost eleven and if she mislaid show of Evelyn now, location was a consequence that she would request to observe midnight by herself, raising a solid to propose a toast to a random stranger, truthful she swallowed her pride, fought her measurement towards nan overcrowded bar, spent 15 minutes being ignored by nan bartender, past yet sewage 2 drinks, took a speedy sip from some integrative cups to make her travel backmost to Evelyn easier, and erstwhile she sewage there, Evelyn was gone.

Walking astir a immense statement pinch cipher to talk to was achy enough, but stepping astir nan aforesaid statement pinch 2 afloat cups was moreover worse. Especially for Ina, who was truthful gangly that drunk men saw her and pretended to get scared. Of people she had alternatives, she could down 1 portion and caput for nan creation level and effort to creation successful that typical measurement that she had developed, pinch her knees perpetually bent, to make herself look somewhat little gangly than she really was. Or she could time off some drinks connected 1 of nan marble windowsills facing nan interior courtyard, and simply spell location and autumn dormant earlier midnight. Another, crazier replacement would beryllium to attack someone, connection them a drink, and simply commencement talking, it wouldn’t beryllium that hard, she had prepared immoderate suitable subjects successful nan cab thrust complete here, she could inquire what they thought of nan rumors that each computers would spell crazy erstwhile nan day flicked complete from December 31, 1999, to January 1, 2000, she could talk astir nan Victorian contented wherever they opened a random page of a caller connected New Year’s Eve to fto nan first condemnation connected nan page foretell what benignant of twelvemonth it would be, but no, those were nan incorrect kinds of subjects, they wouldn’t activity here, alternatively she should show them a funny communicative astir thing that happened to her “on nan measurement here” because that was what Evelyn ever did, she had tons of stories that happened “earlier today” aliases “yesterday” aliases “recently,” and moreover though Ina would guidelines correct location knowing that this peculiar point happened 2 and a half years ago, and hadn’t moreover happened to Evelyn, but to a friend of hers, she would support quiet because she saw that Evelyn brought truthful overmuch life pinch her, and if location was thing Ina needed correct now, it was much life.

But Ina wasn’t Evelyn. And she wasn’t Anastasia. So alternatively of talking to personification aliases attacking nan creation floor, she conscionable stood there, pinch nan 2 drinks, not knowing what to do pinch herself aliases nan slow passing time. She sipped connected 1 of her drinks, she tried really difficult to look for illustration a personification who was holding a portion for personification who had near to spell to nan bathroom, she moreover started looking towards nan bathrooms and past checking nan time, to show anyone who was watching her that she wasn’t arsenic unsocial arsenic she looked, she had sisters, she had friends, they were conscionable not present correct now.

With 30 minutes to spell to midnight, Ina took 1 of nan cups and started circling nan statement again, utilizing nan aforesaid strategy she utilized erstwhile she was a teen to disguise her loneliness, she entered each room and each corridor pinch aggravated focus, trying really difficult to look for illustration she was looking for someone, and successful a measurement she was, she was looking for her sisters, but alternatively than really looking for them, she focused connected trying to look for illustration a personification who was looking for personification and she saw herself from nan extracurricular looking for illustration a personification trying to look for illustration a personification who was looking and not fooling anyone. She passed a room pinch a ping-pong table, she passed an agency wherever group smoked joints and made retired connected a grey couch, she passed a room wherever location was a abstracted statement pinch crappy speakers, possibly because they didn’t for illustration nan euphony being played connected nan main creation floors, and then, successful a corridor, she saw him, his beard, his face, his freckles, arsenic if a cluster explosive of freckles had exploded connected his nose. He was opinionated adjacent to nan wall, and moreover though his size made it difficult for group to compression by, he didn’t look to beryllium uncomfortable being successful nan way. He looked astatine her, he looked away, she approached him and asked if he knew wherever Anastasia’s room was.

Who?

Anastasia, Ina said. She rents a workplace here. Is she astir this tall, pinch reddish hair?

No.

Good, because that personification is successful location correct now puking her lungs out, he said, nodding towards what looked for illustration a convention room.

There was thing astir his voice, everything he said sounded for illustration a compliment. This spot is huge, Ina said, conscionable to opportunity something.

Yes, it took maine an hr to recognize that it really covers nan full . . . what’s it called. Våningsplan.

Floor, she said.

So wait, you speak Swedish? he said successful Swedish. Then why are we speaking English?

I came present pinch my sisters, she said, which really didn’t explicate anything, but she didn’t consciousness for illustration telling him nan full story, astatine slightest not correct now, possibly later, possibly tomorrow erstwhile they would aftermath up together, possibly successful a mates of years erstwhile they had kids, a bunch of black-haired freckly kids who would person his grin and his tallness and her nose. They were quiet for a moment, group kept squeezing past them successful nan corridor.

This spot is really huge, Ina said, only to recognize that she had conscionable said nan aforesaid point twice. He looked astatine her and smiled.

You request thief uncovering Anastasia’s room? he said.

I don’t moreover cognize if she’s there, she said. Both my sisters person disappeared.

I will thief you look for them, he said.

Don’t you person to enactment here? she said and hated herself for saying it.

Well, I’m not judge if this wall will clasp if I fto spell of it, but let’s see, he said, and he slow fto spell of nan wall, turned to her, grabbed her manus and started plowing his measurement done nan crowded party. She followed him, reasoning to herself that he must person played sports each his life, perchance handball, much apt American shot because he kept uncovering openings, he took her done a packed corridor, he crossed nan crowded main creation floor, she saw galore group trying to transverse it who gave up and turned back, it was conscionable excessively crowded, excessively dark, nan bass was excessively thumping, nan wall of dancing quality soma excessively compact, but he kept going, he kept looking for her sisters, moreover though he had nary hint what they looked like. He pointed to a feline pinch his pants truthful debased that half his butt cheeks were sparkling achromatic successful nan fluorescent light.

Is that them?

Ina shook her head. He picked up a crushed integrative cup from nan floor, signaling to Ina that location was lipstick connected it, which meant that they must person been there. Ina smiled. He walked up to group astatine random and asked if they had seen “Anastasia recently” and they conscionable looked astatine him for illustration he was crazy, and Ina looked astatine him and thought nan aforesaid thing, but it was a craziness that she was increasing attached to, moreover though she had only been adjacent to it for nan past 5 minutes.

Midnight was approaching erstwhile Ina realized that she didn’t want to find her sisters, not now, because she knew what would hap erstwhile they did. Hector would spot Anastasia and understand that location was different type of Ina, not arsenic freakishly tall, not arsenic acrophobic of life, not arsenic prone to going to New Year’s parties having memorized nan timetable of nan nighttime autobus to beryllium capable to time off without saying goodbye, and Hector would autumn successful emotion pinch Anastasia, nan nosy sister, nan crazy sister, nan “I person thing successful my sock, let’s sneak into nan bath and snort it” sister—and he would work together and past he would beryllium gone for 10 minutes and travel retired a changed man, while Ina would hold outside. And then, each teary-eyed pinch achromatic powder connected his precocious lip, he would drawback show of Evelyn and past he would quickly fto spell of Anastasia’s manus and go transfixed by Evelyn’s eyes, her dimples, her expertise to show nan aforesaid communicative for nan 4th clip that evening, and still springiness nan belief that she was searching for words, trying to show whoever was listening that it was a typical grant to perceive her show this peculiar communicative astatine this peculiar clip and it would beryllium Evelyn who took him home, and Ina who went location unsocial connected nan nighttime bus, and Evelyn who decided that he wasn’t her type aft a fewer weeks, and that would beryllium okay for Ina, she was utilized to this, she had been done it truthful galore times, erstwhile they were kids, erstwhile they were teenagers, now she was twenty-four and Evelyn twenty-one, and Anastasia nineteen, and still Ina wouldn’t blasted Hector, because she knew that if she were to take betwixt herself and her sisters she would besides take them, but for now she conscionable wanted clip to slow down, truthful that she could person a fewer much minutes pinch him.

Ten minutes earlier midnight they recovered Anastasia and Evelyn successful nan large room pinch 1 of nan non-functioning marble fireplaces.

There you are, Evelyn yelled and waved her over.

We person been looking each complete for you, Anastasia said and handed her a integrative cup.

Ina reluctantly introduced Hector to her sisters. This is Evelyn.

Evelyn took his hand, smiled and winked her greenish eyes astatine him. And this is Anastasia.

Anastasia nodded to him but didn’t shingle his hand, she was excessively engaged trying to get nan stubborn cork retired of nan prosecco bottle. Evelyn leaned towards them and started telling Hector a communicative astir nan bottle, they had dropped it successful nan cab, they had smuggled it in, it had been shaken nonstop and now it would astir apt detonate and sound personification senseless and Ina felt herself retreating, she knew it was each over, for a fewer seconds different world had been possible, but now Hector was hypnotized by Evelyn, still Ina was grateful for nan clip she had spent pinch Hector, it had been a marvelous 15 minutes, she mightiness arsenic good time off now, cipher would notice, but nan much Evelyn said to Hector, nan much restless he looked and yet he interrupted her.

Sorry, he said. But I was conscionable progressive successful this really absorbing speech pinch Ina and I can’t extremity reasoning astir it, truthful I dream it’s okay if we proceed this different time?

He came complete to Ina and Evelyn looked for illustration a amazed food and pinch 1 infinitesimal until midnight Anastasia yet managed to unfastened nan vessel and nan cork came shooting retired and deed a feline successful nan eye, but luckily he was wearing glasses and Anastasia filled their cups pinch bubbles and gave her ain cup to nan feline who was astir blinded and took nan vessel for herself and past everyone started counting down from 10 9 8 seven, and erstwhile everyone yelled Happy New Year, nan feline who Ina had met successful a corridor, who had a large beard and shoulders truthful wide that he had to locomotion sideways done doors, who sounded for illustration he was singing moreover though he was speaking, he reached for her and touched nan thenar of her hand, they didn’t kiss, that would person been excessively much, besides, Ina was not nan benignant of personification who meets personification astatine a statement and starts kissing them 15 minutes later, that was not her style, but they looked astatine each different and she could consciousness his digit successful her thenar and it wasn’t until afterwards, erstwhile everyone had hugged and kissed and wished each different Happy New Year, that personification double-checked nan clip and realized that they had been astatine slightest 1 infinitesimal early, really midnight is now, when? In 10 seconds! And past they did nan full point complete again, 10 9 8 seven, and this clip he leaned guardant and kissed her.

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Excerpt from Jonas Hassen Khemiri’s The Sisters (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, publishing June 17, 2025). Copyright ©
2025 Jonas Hassen Khemiri.