Looking back, he should have guessed it would turn out this way. Still, his younger brother turned up without warning, with a seven year old barely recognizable as a little girl. John's brother told him their father was ill, and that their older brother was too busy to care for her. Their other brothers were too young, too irresponsible. Quite without his consent, John was to be responsible for raising his young sister.
She had come to their parents late in life. John was the second oldest of five boys, and he was already grown and living on his own when his mother sent word. It had been a bittersweet time, his mother too old for child-bearing, yet so excited at what she saw as a blessing. She had survived the birth, but only barely. His father had named the babe Mara, which he understood to mean bitter.
John had thought of his sister little over the years, busy with his own life and trying to make his way in the world. His father was a cooper by trade, and though John was not to inherit his father's business, he was handy and easily able to find work. (John's keen interest in filling the barrels had also earned him many easy friendships.) John had managed to make a stable home and life for himself. His thoughts had begun to turn to starting his own family when his brother had shown up.
Their father had taken ill, apparently, and their oldest brother was taking over the family trade. The girl was too much of a burden, and John was by far in the best position to actually care for the child. John had been shocked at the sight of her. He recognized his father's green eyes and his mother's chin in the impish little face, but this was overwhelmed by curly mass of unwashed and uncombed hair. The girl was almost feral, a wild thing created from the neglect of their grieved father and the torment of her older brothers. Whatever question John had of his own ability to care for his sister, he knew he could do no greater harm than had already been done.
She had responded well to him overall. Timid around his loud voice, Mara had mostly stayed to herself, mostly been good. John knew he needed help though. He already had an eye for Fanny. She was thin as a reed, but with a spirit as fiery as her red curly hair. John sought out her help with most tasks relating to the raising of Mara those first months. The child thrived under Fanny's firm but gentle hand.
Mara considered her lot in life greatly improved when she arrived at John's home. Certainly he had a lot more rules that she was accustomed to, but he never teased and tormented her like her other brothers had. Fanny was the closest thing to a mother Mara had ever known, and she loved her dearly. Some days though, Mara would run and hide in the woods, trying to escape Fanny and her dreaded chores and baths.
John had clearly disapproved, but Mara found a kindred spirit in Will. The bastard son of the village weaver, he was always present in the village, but never seemed to belong to it. The other children avoided him or teased him. Mara followed him like a shadow. The older boy first seemed to resent the constant presence of this strange wild child, but grew to appreciate her hero worship. They would spend hours tramping about the village and surrounding forest. Will was older and far more coordinated, and Mara would spend hours imitating his play. Through sheer stubborn determination, she willed her chubby fingers to correctly grasp a skipping stone, and to run fast enough on her short little legs to keep up with Will's long strides. For his part, Will started to bask in her admiration, showing her how he could do three back flips in a row, and how to aim rocks to hit things far away. They would spend hours stacking up sticks and rocks as targets, and then knocking them all down.
The day came when John and Fanny were married. When Fanny moved in, Mara tried very hard to remember how much she loved her new sister, even though Fanny brought with her even more changes. Will began to change too. He started talking about leaving the village, and becoming a great man. He stopped letting Mara tag behind him, and started spending more time with the other boys in the village. Mara was now eight, and Will had just turned eleven. Mara started to dread growing up, because it seemed that people became mean and stupid when they turned eleven.
Fanny asked Mara to help her with the cooking one night. She told Mara a secret, she and John were going to have a baby. Fanny explained that Mara would need to stay home more, to help her out when she couldn't do as much. She needed Mara to behave more like a respectable little girl. Mara tried to be excited, tried to be happy. She saw John's face when Fanny told him the secret, and knew this change would make them both very happy. However, the next day Mara snuck into the woods, and cried as though she were dying. She took off her shoes, climbed a tree, and played in the water, one last time. From now on, she had to behave like girl, and those were things only boys could do. "Just like most things that were fun." thought Mara.