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When no nurse is looking and Mister Blum isn’t on watch either – not that it really is necessary to be sneaky – Ahti leaves the Valhalla Nursery Home to go on a little hike through the woods.Unbothered by the wildlife and things that do not belong there, he makes his way to the lake.The Oldest House is his workplace. Watery is his vacation stay and the lake is his calling.Calling him.The old janitor stands at the edge of the lake. He wriggles his toes inside his shoes as they get submerged in the slow tide.Ahti looks to the sky. It’s a surprisingly clear night. The past few days, it had been raining without stop. The sky, always hidden behind thick, grimy clouds. But not tonight.Ahti walks further into the water. It’s cold but it is home and it is soothing. The lake is his cradle.For many mortal men, the lake can be a deathtrap. Blink too long and you might find yourself pulled to its treacherous depths where something worse than hungry fish lurk.But Ahti is different an the lake knows and thus obeys.When the janitor emerges again and steps back on the dry land, the water is so kind to not dampen his coveralls. “Ahti? What are you doing out here at night?” Rose exclaims, her hands in her hips.The old man isn’t fazed by his caretaker.“I was taking a swim,” he casually says.Rose peers at him in the dark, trying to read his expression with the limited light of her lamp. “You’re completely dry,” she points out.Ahti chuckles. “Yet I did go swimming.”Rose sighs and rubs her temple with her thumb and index finger. “Okay, enough nightly trips to the lake, Ahti. It’s dangerous here! Let’s go home!”Ahti doesn’t oppose the woman’s command and follows her back through the forest. “What were you doing here out at night, Rose?”Rose subtly stutters in her walk but then continues. In a split but palpable second, the nurse answers. “I was looking for you of course, silly. I didn’t hear you snoring so I knew something must’ve happened.” “And so you decided to come to the lake,” Ahti knows she’s hiding something and likes to probe her a little.“Yes. It just made sense to me. Of course, I had searched the sauna first,” Rose nervously laughs.“Clever girl,” Ahti hums and lets his case rest.