The Sisters

The narrator, Jonas, recounts the first time he heard about the Mikkola sisters when he was around five years old. He recalls playing on the living-room floor while his parents argued in French in the kitchen. The argument was about an old friend of his father’s, a woman with the surname Mikkola, who was considering moving to their neighborhood with her family. Jonas’s mother was deeply upset by this possibility, while his father was dismissive. The fight escalated, with his mother calling his father a coward before his father walked out. Ultimately, the Mikkola family didn’t move to their area until seven years later.

In January 2000, Anastasia is evicted from her studio at the Mossutställningar. The curator, Hella d’Ailly, lists numerous reasons, including late rent, drug use, and the destructive behavior of Anastasia’s boyfriend, Mathias, at the New Year’s Eve party. 

Anastasia recalls the party in flashes: Mathias pulling down a lighting rig and later setting off the indoor sprinkler system by launching fireworks in a roofed courtyard. She also remembers Evelyn being angry that Ina had gone home with someone without saying goodbye. Feeling a strange sense of relief, Anastasia packs her belongings, disposes of her artwork, and arranges for friends to store her furniture. With nowhere else to go, she calls Ina and arranges to move in with her temporarily.

Jonas recalls that in May 1990, when he was 11 years old, he heard about the Mikkola sisters for the second time. While riding the subway with his father, they argued about Jonas’s long hair, which his father believed made him look like a girl. His father warned him not to end up like the Mikkola sisters, whom he described as looking like boys. 

At a hair salon, Jonas’s father arranged for Jonas to have his head shaved against his wishes. On the way home, his father confronted a drunk man who had stolen newspapers from a kiosk, scaring him away by bluffing that he had a weapon. He decided to tell everyone the story of his father’s heroism rather than complaining about his haircut, discovering that storytelling gave him a sense of power over his father.

In February 2000, Evelyn is deeply bored with her job at a high-end clothing store. One day, Ina visits with Hector, the man she met on New Year’s Eve. Evelyn is shocked to see her sister in a relationship. Hector tries on clothes for a dinner with his father, but nothing in the store fits his large frame. 

Evelyn tries to provoke a reaction from Ina by mentioning that Anastasia is back with Mathias, but Ina is uncharacteristically nonchalant. After Ina and Hector leave, Evelyn feels deeply unsettled, goes to the bathroom to avoid screaming, and resolves to quit her job. She remains until closing time.

Jonas recalls that in May 1991, he saw the Mikkola sisters for the first time after they moved into his neighborhood, Drakenberg. The three sisters, who spoke a mix of English and Swedish, quickly developed a reputation. Rumors spread about them: Their father was dead, Anastasia could resurrect animals, and Ina was secretly a boy. They were always seen in the park without adult supervision. Jonas’s mother watched their mother with disapproval whenever she returned in her red sports car. She warned Jonas to stay away from the sisters, predicting that their lack of structure would lead to their ruin.

In March 2000, Evelyn finds herself missing Ina’s usually bothersome weekly phone calls and decides to call her. Ina is cheerful and talks at length about her new life with Hector. During the call, Evelyn learns that Anastasia is now living with Ina. After hanging up, Evelyn reflects on her own life of dissatisfying one-night stands. She then opens a letter from her landlord, who informs her that he needs his apartment back but suggests they could share it. Desperate to avoid moving in with her sisters, Evelyn calls to accept his offer. To her surprise, the landlord has changed his mind and now insists that she move out.

A few months after the Mikkola sisters moved to his neighborhood, Jonas learned that they were half-Tunisian, just like him. When he approached them, they revealed that their mother and his father used to date. Jonas’s mother confirmed this but again warned him to stay away from the family. Jonas ignored her and befriended Evelyn. 

During a dinner at Jonas’s house, Evelyn shared that her great-grandfather emigrated to New York and helped build Rockefeller Center. Later, while they were alone, Jonas repeated a rumor that Evelyn’s mother was a sex worker. Furious, Evelyn clarified that her mother was a traveling carpet salesperson and revealed that her family lives under a curse that everything they love will be taken from them.

Evelyn prepares to move out of her apartment. To help, Ina, the only sister with a driver’s license, rents a moving truck. She chooses a cheap rental service far from the city center, much to Evelyn’s annoyance. The “office” is a small tobacco shop, and the truck they’re given is a battered and dirty former postal vehicle. With Anastasia sitting between them to act as a buffer, the three sisters begin the drive back into town.

Jonas recalls that the Mikkola sisters had their own set of rules, dictated by their mother. These included never revealing personal information, always wearing their protective necklaces, and performing a ritual to ward off bad luck. Ina also imposed rules on Evelyn for her safety, forbidding her from certain activities. Evelyn obeyed her mother’s rules while consistently breaking Ina’s. This made Jonas see Evelyn as defiant and fearless.

While driving the dilapidated moving truck, the sisters sit in tense silence. Anastasia recalls their mother’s old red Toyota, which prompts the three to bond over shared childhood stories. As they cross the Väster Bridge, Evelyn looks at the padlocks attached to the railing. Instead of “love locks,” she imagines they’re memorials for people who have died by suicide. She finds herself wondering about their final moments.

In August 1993, Jonas and Evelyn snuck away to Långholmen island to watch an air show featuring the new Jas 39 Gripen fighter jet. During its aerial demonstration, the jet malfunctioned and crashed onto the island near where they were standing. Mesmerized, Jonas and Evelyn approached the wreckage before being turned away by police. 

Later, back in their neighborhood park, a crying Evelyn confessed that she believed her negative energy caused the crash, as her mother had warned them to “spread out” to avoid disaster. Jonas’s attempt to console her was interrupted by the arrival of an enraged Ina, who saw them at the crash site. Ina forced Evelyn to leave with her.

The sisters arrive at Evelyn’s apartment, only to find Evelyn and Anastasia’s friends waiting to help with the move. This makes Ina feels like an outsider. Evelyn delivers a charismatic speech that motivates everyone to work. More friends, including Hector, arrive throughout the day. 

Ina and Anastasia share a private joke, comparing Evelyn’s tendency to cycle through friends to things that change frequently, like their mother and apartments. By evening, the truck is loaded. 

As she leaves her apartment for the last time, Evelyn regrets heeding Ina’s warnings about a housing bubble, which prevented her from buying a house. She promises herself that she will listen to her inner voice rather than Ina’s in future. She gets into the truck, eager to go.

Jonas reflects that after the day of the plane crash in 1993, his friendship with Evelyn was over. Though they saw each other around the neighborhood, they never spoke again. Two months later, the Mikkola family moved away without a word. 

Jonas concludes that every time he reads of a new Jas 39 Gripen crash, he thinks of the Mikkola sisters and wonders where they are.