Bergfors Family Forces

       Mitten got lost. Again. Jani was upset and wanted to cry. Maybe he did cry. And meanie Hannu said that the one who had lost the goddamn mitten should be the one to go look for it. And that it definitely wasn’t Hannu. Then Jani got tired of being upset and tried to find Mitten by himself. But it wasn’t in the hall. It wasn’t on the porch, under the porch, near the porch, far from the porch, around the home corner, and all around home. Maybe. It was getting dark, and other siblings were still at school or playing outside, so home windows didn’t cast light on the snow around. Jani shivered and trod to a light circle under a street lamp post very far away along the drive, beyond a long slanting fence, near Big Road. Mitten was yellow, he’d see it at once. Maybe Mitten’s leash slipped from his gloved hand. And now Mitten was all alone somewhere there, and Jani was all alone here… Mitten didn’t wait for him on the drive, or even at the big road. Jani walked to the next spot of light, looked around, and felt miserable. Mitten wasn’t under the second lamp, or under the third, or under the fifth… Or what number was after three? Jani knew how to count to ten but not in the dark, or dying with worry. After passing more than ten lamp posts, Jani got even more scared. Would he find his way home at all? Now he must find Mitten. Getting lost with his best friend wouldn’t be so scary. So Jani went on and on, looking around and about, and then— Out of a dark lane between trees, a piece of darkness came. It watched Jani with shiny eyes, sniffed—it was very hairy and as tall as Jani himself!—licked him on the cheek with a large wet tongue, and disappeared again. Jani stood very still, afraid even to cry. When his feet and hands were getting numb, the darkness came back and brought Mitten in its maw. Janni clutched his knitted friend to his chest and froze. Woollen darkness stared at him, then took him quietly by the scarf end and led him along the road. Jani followed, because what else could he do? They went on and on, and suddenly Jani recognised the home drive. The four-legged darkness let go of his scarf and prodded him with its wide forehead towards the porch where Hannu was standing and staring. “Nice dog,” Hannu said like nothing had happened. “A newfy. Whose is it, I wonder.” A dog? Jani looked at the darkness walking away, its tail waving. Now he knew what to ask for the next birthday. A big black dog. Then Mitten would never more get lost.