Ampiaispesä : Kyläkertomus

The story opens on a thawing March, when the river Kolmojoki, still a ribbon of ice, divides two hamlets. The north bank calls itself Kolmo, the south‑side insists on the older name Korpijoki. Along the banks stand modest farms and a few notable homes: Iisakki’s bustling Mikkola farm, Jooseppi’s cramped house with his sharp‑tongued wife Eveliina and daughter Eedla, the tailor Romppanen’s lonely cabin, and the weather‑worn dwellings of Mooses Rietula and the gaunt Vernand. Each resident brings a distinct temperament to the quiet river life.

Just a few hundred steps separate the two sides, yet rivalry runs deep. Gossip travels faster than the weekly post that delivers the town’s newspaper to the richer homes, and old grudges flare whenever misfortune strikes one village. Iisakki, hoping to mend the divide, soon finds himself mocked and nicknamed Kyrmyniska by both sides. As the thaw deepens, the fragile peace is tested, hinting at simmering tensions that will shape the community’s future.