Good friends, old friends, new friends, boyfriends, best friends... The memory of my three-year old hopelessly out-of-fashion Sony Ericsson was full and when deleting old smses in the Inbox it occurred to me that they walked me back through my last months. These short messages so meaningless in form and lenghth however make me smile every time I receive one.

Sunset, are you still in Switzerland?
I had received another sms from Arvo. I believe anyone who is listed in his phone book would agree that he could be called the artist of the short message service. When you live abroad and have to put up with the distance you can be pretty picky when it comes to these flashy texts; in many ways they are the means for the important messages like saying I miss you or that I have bought a superb pair of boots. Anyway, Arvo, besides casually asking me if he could bring me a bottle of Estonian beer, he asked me how I was.

Ciao Bella. Wanna have lunch?
I am fine, I am. It is the longest time of year again – autumn. With all its cold, darkness and other fashionable accessories, its my favourite time of all. To me it has always seemed to be a beginning of numerous lovable things: The first mornings you need your black cashmere gloves, the first days for the winter coat, the first scented candles in bars… I wake up in the autumn. And I do have a perfect pair of boots, sis.

Saved in Unsent Items.
However, the time of year also seems to bear a certain gloomyness of leaving: Birds leaving the country for warmth, friends leaving you for new jobs abroad… Not that I will sincerely miss the birds but everyone suddenly seems to be on their way to a better place. I lost Riin to another continent and even though she has been my best friend for over a decade and we have always been living in different locations it suddenly appears to matter more than ever. I miss you. And I hate the fact that your phone does not seem to receive my smses.

The weather is perfect, Mum.
Berne is treating me well after the horribly hot summer. It is the perfect place to be at this beautiful time of year. But in a dark back corner of my heart I feel the quiet itch I know too well. It is an anticipation like the one you feel when you open your eyes to a sunny morning. And yes, I will be at home for Christmas, Mum.

Options.
A short text message needs to be good to express a thought or a message in a limited space and it needs to be short to be good. I believe everyday business should always be handled over the phone – a smoky voice can add so much to a routine description of your shitty day. I always feel very sorry to delete smses from my friends; but it feels nice to be able to carry all those wonderful people in my pocket.

The only thing uncomfortable in autumn is typing messages with cloves.