The Center of the World - 10. Juna

At Vella’s house, Vella and Pireno conspired to leave Saghir alone with Juna. The visit had started well, with a freshly-bathed Juna impressing Saghir with her lack of odor. And, as before, Juna was as delighted to see the giant.

“Vella, Saghir was amazing at shiluntam. That’s the giants’ council. He added to the agreement that any person who is half-giant, half-human, could live on the Island. So he’s really allowing for the possibility.”

“Sounds like more than that.”

“Oh, you don’t know him. It’s not more than that. But he won’t want to take her at least until agreements are reached and we’re settled on the island. It could take a couple of years. And nothing is certain yet.”

Vella grimaced. “Well, I think I can hang on that long. I just hope she isn’t bigger than I am by then.”

They walked outside and Pireno gave her more details of the shiluntam. When enough time had passed that they thought Juna might be taxing Saghir’s patience, they came back in.

“Stop. Listen.” Pireno cocked his head. They could Saghir singing, and Juna singing with him. “I have to see this.”

From the doorway, they watched as Saghir taught Juna the giants’ counting-song, with the movements that every giant child learns:

“Zúuuuuuu-a! Múa, tìa, lía, kùa, shìa, tìmikan; shimúa, shitìa, shilía, shikùa, yùa, dàimushla.”

(“Zero! One, two, three, four, five, how many? Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, like rain.”)

Already Juna knew one to ten. As Pireno and Vella watched, she learned the numbers from eleven to twenty.

Saghir turned and saw them. “You take boy. I not can more. You hafta take.”

Vella picked up a disappointed Juna. “She’s a girl, not a boy. Aren’t you, sweetheart?”

Juna reached a hand out toward Saghir. “Boy!”

Vella raised her eyebrows. “Well, there will be plenty of time to figure that out later.”

Saghir panted as Pireno took his hand. “This little time with boy, more hard as carry big stone all day. More hard as climb mountain all day. I hafta sleep.”

They made their goodbyes, quite to the distress of Juna, and began walking toward Heskelion’s house.

“Master, are there any conditions under which you would agree that we could raise Juna?”

“Ya, I not say not, before say word with you. And you, Bilinu, if we not can same mind on Juna, you let go this idea?”

“Yes. If we can’t agree on how to make this possible, then we shouldn’t do it.”

“Good.”

“Now, what would make it bad?”

“I not want Juna smell bad. I not want Juna grab foot by I all time.”

“I can bathe her and make sure you get a break from her. You can just have a signal that you need some no-Juna time.”

“Ya. I say, ‘Help!’”

“Got it.”

“On island other child not got. This not good. More good he go place, other child got, one-two month on year.”

“Point well taken.”

“Maybe here village with Vella one month. One month Izalis wife of Finlar, if she want. Not all year on island.”

“We can try to arrange that. Vella’s been so good with her so far.”

“Juna not on island before we build house. Not trade house, house by you with I. When he more old. When he know how go outhouse, not shit in clothes.”

“I’m sure she’ll be potty-trained by the time the treaty is settled and we build a house.”

Saghir shook his head. “I think he make head by I spin-turn. But mind by he,” he snapped his fingers, “fast! He know number by giant, like this!” He snapped his fingers again. “Fast!”

“Yes, I think she’s a very smart little girl. Especially with a good teacher.”

At Heskelion’s house, Saghir did in fact lie down on the floor and take a much-needed nap. Pireno told Heskelion all that had happened since his previous departure, consulting his tally strings to recall the days. Heskelion wrote it all down.

“Well, Pireno, or Bilinu I guess it is now, you seem to have big things ahead of you.”

“I hope it all works out. I would love to be settled in one place. For one thing, I could write a real diary in ink, instead of keeping these tally strings. That’s when I will know that this part of the story is over: when I can finally stop tying a knot a day.”

************

I, Heskelion, wrote this account, from what Bilinu told me while Saghir recovered from his encounter with Juna. After a few years I received this letter from him:

“Heskelion, my dear old teacher,

“Saghir and Juna and I are very happy here as the only permanent residents on the Island of Pieces of the Sky. The agreement between men and giants is holding -- they finally settled on three men for each giant. The trading house was finished in a year once the terms of the treaty were settled. Now there are ten giants and thirty men building here, extending the trading house and piers in the harbor.

"The men no longer call this the Island of Broken Bones. They now call it the Island of the Sky. And I’ve heard them use Giantish words: when they’re all hoisting up a heavy beam, or pushing together on a huge stone, they’ll yell, “Shishkamani!”

“I still work as a blacksmith in the summer, when I can do it outside, and I make jewelry in the winter. My best customers are always giants, but some of the men envy their rings and earrings, and have started to place orders.

“Juna is four now. Saghir initially agreed to a trial period for her, and then after a week it was obvious she would stay. He loves to complain about her. Then in the next breath he asks if she wants to help him work, and he gets his tools and she gets her little set of tools and off they go. He always refers to her as “he.” I tell him she’s a girl and he says he’s not so sure. We’ll let Juna decide that. I overheard Saghir bragging once to one of the other giants about how smart his son is, saying that someday he is going to be a great builder or mathematician.

“She loves counting and measuring and shapes and spaces. She adores her abacus. And she hates numerals, at least the ones we taught her, so she made up her own. She shows the same impatience with needless complication that Saghir shows when I try to teach him grammar. She’ll have to learn the real number system someday, not just her nine signs plus one for an empty column on the abacus.

“I make sure Juna eats and sleeps on schedule -- if I don’t, she’s a terror. She takes me very much for granted. But when Saghir walks through the door she lights up. This is fine with me. It has done a lot to win him over.

“Juna spent a month in the summer with Izalis Finlar’s wife, who adored Juna when she first arrived and was very glad to give her back. But Izalis wants to have her again for a month next summer. And Juna may stay with Vella some other month, if weather permits travel.

“I have heard about another half-giant child in need of a home. I told Saghir, and he of course said no, no, a thousand times no. I’ll work on him.

“No more tally strings! No more life on the road. Now I write a few lines each day. It isn’t always easy. Saghir was right about how exhausting Juna is.

“Your faithful student,

“Bilinu.”

Yes, that is the end of Bilinu’s tally-string adventure. I don’t know if I will see him again. But if he doesn’t write to me again, I most certainly will write to Saghir, instructing him to discipline the boy. I’m sure Saghir will be happy to oblige.