When I explained this, Tirronen recalled a quote by the Finnish author Jukka Viikilä that goes, “Finland is a land where children play in darkness.” The quote was both a metaphor and a descriptive statement, he suggested. Because of the country’s global coordinates, Finnish kids do indeed play in the dark a lot. To avoid being struck by vehicles, they clip decorative reflectors, called heijastin, to their coats. The reflectors come in all shapes: lemon, poodle, swan, hedgehog, soccer ball. Adults wear them, too. “I joke that going outside without my reflector is a way of inviting suicide,” Tirronen said. “If it happens, it happens.” We were both drinking from small coffee cups, which are prevalent in Finland. Anyone wanting more than a thimbleful of coffee had to pursue refills relentlessly. Tirronen took a sip, emptying his cup. “My partner does not like this joke.”