THREE BROTHERS came to Viljandi. They were all darker haired and darker skinned. I think they were from the Middle East. They took up with local girls, girls I had once loved, and for this nurtured a suspicion or ill feeling toward me. Not that I was a threat, but it was clear that we could never be friends. Then one day, I happened to go fishing at the last minute with the eldest of these three dark brothers. He was the shortest of the three, but also the oldest, and imagined himself as powerful and influential. We paddled out into the lake, but then a storm came up. It was hard to explain, it was almost like a sun storm. There was a shift in celestial energy, a strong gravitational pull. The lake currents started to pull hard toward the south.
“Look at how far along we already are,” I told this oldest brother. “We have to head back!”
We tried paddling, but it was no use. The water was shallow enough though that we could walk our boat to shore, even though we were waist deep. From there, we pulled the boat back to port, using a rope. We walked over stone walls and across lawns. Families were out grilling and there were other springtime festivities. When we got back to the port, we went up the hill. We arrived to the house the brothers were renting and went in.
“Now, don’t you see that I am your friend?” I told the oldest brother. “You’ve nothing to fear.” He looked at me with some suspicion, but things were better between all of us after that.
north! 