Day 2: Woodland Sounds
In the Forum, it's the middle of the night. What can you hear in the middle of the night?
Jitter tells us.
After another day of rowing, they camped again. They had seen many inhabited islands, with their lakewalls and guard posts. Emil had entertained the idea that they should spend the night in a village, maybe get decent beds too. But Onni thought it was too much of a hassle, and time consuming, and Reynir supported him. Lalli was happier outside of villages in any case.
This time they chose a larger island. They had to climb a bit from the beach, where they had tied the boat, but found a good spot on a hill that dropped steeply on most sides. As there was plenty of room, Lalli and Emil took the tarp and asked Reynir to paint another confusion stave for them. Admittedly the small tent was a bit crowded with three people inside. The campsite was nice and the weather pleasant. Lalli and Emil withdrew to their camp quite soon, and Onni took the first watch. Reynir declared he’d sleep like a baby, with the whole tent for his disposal.
Reynir lay down and bundled up in the blankets. The sighing of the waves had ceased already.
I wonder why the wind quiets in the evening? he wondered idly. Treetops were still rustling in the remaining evening wind, but soon that would quiet too. Some muffled words carried over from Lalli and Emil’s camp, but all in all it was very silent. Reynir dozed off. After a short while he woke with a start. It was really really quiet. Too quiet! Maybe something had happened to Onni? As quietly as possible Reynir crawled to the tent flap. Onni was sitting on the log they had placed as a seat, looking up at the pale summer sky. He looked very peaceful. Reynir sighed with relief and crawled back to bed. Time to sleep…
*creak* *creak* *creak* *creak* *creak* *creak*… What was that! A weird creaking sound startled Reynir again. What could it possibly be? Maybe an old troll had been dormant nearby, so deeply that Lalli hadn’t felt it, and was now waking up and arranging its limbs? Many, many limbs! Maybe its ribcage was opening up and… “Onni! Onni!” Reynir whispered desperately.
“What is it? Do you feel something?” Onni was immediately alarmed.
“No, I hear it! Something must be moving nearby!”
“What do you mean? I don’t hear anything suspicious?”
“How can you not hear it? That weird creaking?”
Suddenly Onni chuckled. “Oh, that! Don’t worry, it’s just… sammakoita. I don’t know the word in Icelandic. A small animal. They make the sound in their breeding season. They are this big.” Onni made a gesture with his thumb and index finger.
Reynir felt sheepish. “Oh. I see. I have never heard such a sound before. It’s weird.”
“Maybe you don’t have them in Iceland. Go back to sleep now.”
Listening to the creaking was kind of soothing, now that he knew what it was. Soon Reynir drifted to sleep. Only to be woken up by Onni crawling into the tent. “Your turn now. Wake Lalli next.”
Sitting outside, Reynir noticed how very silent it was in the middle of the night. The creaking animals had quieted down, and there was no wind. Very peaceful. Onni didn’t even snore. Occasionally something rustled in the trees, but Reynir had been assured the spot was safe so he didn’t mind.
After his watch Reynir tiptoed to wake Lalli. Emil protested quietly for having to let Lalli go, but Lalli was as silent as a shadow. Reynir went back to their tent, nudged Onni until he made enough room for him too, and went back to sleep.
A piercing cry cut the cool nighttime air. “Kuiiiiii kuiiiii kuiiiiiii” followed by a loud drumming. Again, Reynir startled. He jumped straight up throwing the blankets around. Unfortunately, in his momentary panic he forgot he was in a tent and so he got tangled in the canvas.
“What is it now?” Onni protested.
“It’s… something’s screaming! And I’m stuck!”
“Reynir. Calm down. That is a woodpecker. They are loud, yes, but harmless.”
“A woodpecker?”
“Yes. It’s a bird. Stop struggling and I’ll help you with the canvas. How is all this new for you? You traveled through Finland for weeks that one summer?”
“Well, yes, but we were many people in one tent. And let me tell you, Sigrun snores. Loudly and incessantly. I didn’t need to worry about any other nighttime sounds!”
“I see. Now, can we please try to sleep a bit? We’ll have to row tomorrow again.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I won’t mind the woodpecker anymore.”
But soon (too soon!) it was Onni, who was shaking Reynir awake. “Is it morning already? I haven’t slept an eyeful!” Reynir groaned.
“No, not yet. But since you haven’t heard the nighttime sounds… come with me. It’s worth it, I promise. Keep quiet.” Onni guided Reynir to the edge of the camp. “Listen.”
After they stopped, Reynir heard it. Birdsong. First it was just one singer, but as they waited and the night progressed towards morning, more and more voices joined. Finally, the air was filled with music. Many different songbirds calling, in the trees, in the rushes at the beach, at the edge of a nearby meadow. It was fantastic, filling Reynir’s heart with joy. Joy of life, joy of being alive, of being surrounded by living, healthy things, despite this being, nominally, the Silent World.
“It’s… it’s so beautiful! I didn’t know there were so many different songbirds! How did you make this happen?”
“Me? I didn’t do anything. This is what they do, this time of year. Assuming of course no grosslings around. I just woke you up to listen.”
“Thank you for this. Thank you so much. I’m very glad you did.”
“Good. Now, let’s get back to sleep.”
Notes: sammakoita = frogs (singular: sammakko)
Iceland doesn't have any amphibians, and very few species of songbirds. The birdlife is rich and varied, but heavily leaning on seabirds with only a few species of passerine birds. Some of those do sing, but there's nothing like the chorus of different singers in the wee hours of nights in the early summer here in Finland. We get loads of birdsong in the daytime too, but the night singers are even more impressive because otherwise it's so quiet. Iceland also has no woodpeckers, which is a shame as they are quite lovely birds. Except if they find something nice and loud in your house that they think is good for drumming!
Don't be fooled by Wikipedia's "birds of Iceland" list. It includes all species that have been sighted there even once.
