Sorry for the delay, but here's another bit.
”What are you doing, Onni?”
“Nothing”
“I can see you’re doing something! You are looking all funny!”
“I’m not looking funny! I have things to do, leave me in peace!”
“I knew it! You are doing something! Tell me!”
“Sheesh… Grandma gave me a task, and I’m doing it. Are you happy now””
“What task?”
“A noita task. You wouldn’t understand.”
“I do too! I will be a noita like you!”
“Umm, I don’t know about that”
“It’s possible! Everyone says so! Some people just get it later than others!”
“Oh no, please Tuuri, don’t cry!”
“Tell me about the task then!”
“Oh well… Grandma told me to find the mightiest tree on the island.”
“Oooo! I can help!”
“No, you can’t. I have to do it myself.”
“Come on, Onni! The trees around home are big, maybe it’s one of them?”
“I don’t think it’s going to be on our own back yard, stupid”
“I am not stupid! You are stupid! And mean! And stupid!”
Well, at least that got him rid of Tuuri. At least for a while. Onni continued his quest of looking for mighty trees. There were many big trees, but none of them seemed to stand out.
Soon Tuuri had forgotten she was mad at him, and got back with a length of rope.
“Look, I found us a tool! Now we can measure which tree is the thickest!”
Sighing, Onni decided to give his sister a chance. He didn’t seem to be making much progress on his own. So, the siblings spent the afternoon measuring any thick trees, near the jetty, around Aunt’ Hilja’s place, on the southern shore. And Tuuri showed Onni a trick she had learned in school, how you can use your arm and thumb with a stick to estimate how tall a tree is.
But at the end of the day, they were none the wiser. The thickest trees were not the tallest, and how do you measure thickness anyway? Some trees branched to become very wide, while some had just one thick trunk. Pines were taller, but spruces were larger. And birch were the prettiest, according to Tuuri.
Onni was certain the mightiest tree would grow deep in the woods. Tuuri on the other hand thought that maybe the mightiest tree is the one that brings most happiness, which would then be the birch where the swing was, at the school yard. But they noted that the trees that grew alone, not inside the forested patches of the island, tended to be thicker, and that the school yard birch was a bit worse for wear, and not very mighty looking after all.
“It’ hopeless! I can’t tell which one is the mightiest! They are all the same. This is a stupid task! I’m stupid!”
“You are just doing it wrong!”
“Well so are you!”
“But I’m not a noita, remember!”
“Ahhm, you are right. It is a noita task.”
“So, do something Grandma has taught you. Do it the noita way!”
The stupid little brat was… maybe she was onto something. Onni tried to calm himself down. Concentrating, he started to sense something. The familiar surroundings took on another layer of familiarity. He was starting to feel the trees, just like Grandma had taught him.
“So, what now? Did you give up? Why are you just standing there?”
“Tuuri, you were absolutely right. I need to do it the noita way. I’m sorry you can’t help me do it, but you already helped by reminding me! Thank you!” Suddenly Onni gave his startled sister a little hug, and wandered off so deep in concentration that Tuuri didn’t dare disturb him anymore.
In the evening, Onni came home from looking happy. Or at least less surly than usually.
“Did you find it then? The mightiest tree?”
“I did, yes! And it was the correct one! Grandma said I did well!”
“Ooo, I want to see! You must show it to me!”
“I will, you have earned it. Tomorrow.”
***
The following morning Onni led his sister to a rocky shoreline. Some small, scrawny pines were hanging on the almost bare rock.
“Here it is!”
“But… is it invisible? Are you mocking me? There are no big trees here, just these ones. Look, they are shorter than you!”
“They aren’t big, but this is an ancient tree!" Onni was pointing at one that was particularly bent and downright miserable looking.
"This pine right here is the oldest tree, and by far the oldest living thing, on this island! It has withstood the cold of winters, the storms of autumns, the heat of summers untold. And every spring a tiny little new growth has emerged. This tree was very old when the Rash came.”
“This tiny, stupid tree is the mightiest? Are you serious?”
“Yes, I can feel it. And Grandma says I’m right. Thanks to you I remembered to not look with my eyes but with my noita heart.”
Tuuri was still a little disappointed, but couldn’t help feeling a bit proud too. Maybe she did have some noita in her after all.
Yes, she absolutely understands she's not going to be a noita. She also understands how to make her brother do things she wants.
