Topelius wrote this story after his little son Rafael died on his 1-year birthday
THE SUMMER THAT NEVER CAME
Do you know, little children, about the summer that never came? I´ll tell you about it. It is a true story and it is not so long that you would not have the strength to listen to it. There was once a boy who was called Raphael. He was healthy and sound as a small rowan which was growing up to be a big tree and become full of white fragrant flowers. But God saw that the small boy would be allowed to suffer much sorrow in the world after having become big and fall into many temptations which could damage his heart and could turn it toward sin.
That’s why God sent his shining angel called Raphael, after whom the boy was named. And He said to the angel:
-Bring that boy to me!
Then it happened that the healthy and sound little boy became ill and he began to whither, now in the midst of the winter.
But his parents and his little sisters said:
- Yes, Raphael will get better when the summer comes.
The long bright spring came and the birds began to sing on the branches of the trees. And the children had a sparrow in the cage; they took it one morning with them to the park and let it free and the bird went with the other small birds. The sparrow flew; it was so happy when flying free it chirped a single note which was so full of gratitude and joy that the children never remembered that they have heard a happier chirp.
When they came home little Raphael was still laying sick in his bed.He had not been able to come along to the park. The little sisters stroked his pale cheeks and brown hair and said to him:
- Don´t worry Raphael, when the summer comes you will be able to come with us and you will hear the sparrow sing. Summer will come to you too and then you will become healthy.
But the big shining angel of God stood invisible to their sight next to the boy and spread his beautiful white wings over him in order to protect him against all the evil of the world. And the more widely the angel spread his wings, the paler and paler the little boy´s cheeks got and his breathing became weaker. His clear brown eyes looked to the angel that now he alone could see, then they quietly closed and little Raphael did not breath anymore. But on his bloodless lips the peaceful smile of joy was lingering, the kind you can see on the lips of small children when they notice an angel beside their bed.
- Look, said the parents to the little sisters, - Now Raphael is happy, he´s with God. As the sparrow flew from its cage to freedom, so Raphael´s innocent soul flew to an eternal freedom; we did not hear his joy as we heard the bird´s chirp but we see from his gentle smile that he thanks God, who has given him the crown of blessedness so early.
Then one of the sisters said:
- That summer which would have made Raphael healthy never came.
But the parents dried their tears and said:
- But it came, if we could look into heaven we would see Raphael playing with the other small angels in Gods eternal paradise. There the earthly summer and the fall and the winter will never come.
Then they took small Raphael to the churchyard and buried him in a small grave and the clergyman read beautiful prayers for him and pronounced that he had gained eternal life.
But the boy´s mother standing on the brink of the grave said:
- Now there should be a hymn and here there is nobody to sing at Raphael´s grave.
At that moment a small bird begun to sing under the blue roof of the sky high in spring sunshine. Then the dead boy´s father said:
- Listen, that little bird knows to whom he sing. The little sparrow sang at Raphael´s grave.
But the big, shining angel took Raphael´s soul and flew over the earth and the grave to the paradise of God and the eternal summer.
Translation Ritva K. Raesmaa and Leo Ackley
