The little Tonttu girl, Toori, and the little bear fairy, Nuutti, had one human friend.

His name was Aki.

He was a fourteen-year-old boy of Japanese and Finnish heritage who had recently moved from Japan to Helsinki, Finland.

Although endlessly curious, he was also rather shy around strangers.

Having only recently moved into his grandparents’ home in Helsinki, Aki usually spent his days either reading by himself or chatting with Toori and Nuutti.

On the afternoon of June 4, after Aki had gone out…

Toori and Nuutti stood quietly, staring at the calendar hanging on the wall.

“It’s almost here.”

Toori spoke softly.

“It’s almost here, nuu.”

Nuutti replied with his arms folded.

“Only seven days until the tenth.”

“We’re going to celebrate it, right?”

Without turning her head, Toori glanced at Nuutti.

“Of course we are, nuu!”

Hearing his answer, Toori made a fist and held it out toward him.

Nuutti noticed, made a fist of his own, and gently bumped it against hers.

It was their sign of agreement.

“We’ll eat cake and give him a present, nuu!”

“The cake is something we give him!”

“And don’t forget the message card!”

Toori corrected the overly excited Nuutti.

“Besides, we can’t bake a cake.”

“Even if we tried, Aki would notice and catch us.”

Nuutti immediately drooped in disappointment.

“So instead…”

“Let’s make the present that would make Aki happier than anything else!”

The moment he heard her idea, Nuutti’s face lit up.

“We’ll make one, nuu!”

“But what should we make, nuu?”

Tilting his head, he looked at Toori.

She thought for a while before answering.

“Aki has trouble sleeping.”

“So I think we should make something that helps him get sleepy.”

“A scented pouch filled with herbs enhanced by magic.”

“What do you think?”

“That’s it, nuu!”

“Let’s make it, nuu!”

Nuutti’s round eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I’ve already thought of the operation’s name, nuu!”

“The operation’s name?”

Toori asked.

Raising one paw proudly, Nuutti declared,

“Operation Aki’s Birthday, nuu!”

Hearing such an unimaginative name, Toori let out a sigh.

And so began their joint mission…

Operation Aki’s Birthday.

The operation began that very night.

Their first objective was to confirm Aki’s schedule until June 10.

Once Aki had fallen asleep, the two of them quietly climbed out of bed and tiptoed over to the bedside table.

Aki’s smartphone rested there.

“How do we open it, nuu?”

“I have no idea, nuu.”

“Leave it to me.”

Toori tapped the screen and entered a four-digit passcode.

The lock screen disappeared, revealing the home screen.

“H-How do you know the code, nuu?!”

Nuutti gasped.

Giving him a thumbs-up, Toori answered confidently,

“I always watch him.”

With practiced hands, Toori opened the calendar app.

She memorized Aki’s schedule for the entire week.

For someone with an excellent memory like hers, it was an effortless task.

Once she finished, she returned everything exactly as it had been.

“It looks like he’ll be out most of the time until his birthday.”

“So we’ll be able to make the present here.”

She whispered quietly.

For some reason, Nuutti looked frightened.

“What’s wrong?”

Toori asked suspiciously.

“What if Aki finds out we looked through his phone without permission, nuu?”

“If nobody knows we opened it…”

“Then there’s no problem, right?”

Toori answered as though it were perfectly obvious.

Nuutti shivered for an entirely different reason.

After finishing their reconnaissance, the two climbed back into Aki’s bed and fell asleep.

The following afternoon…

Toori and Nuutti stood in a corner of the kitchen on the first floor.

They had come because Aki’s grandmother, whose hobby was collecting herbs, kept a large assortment there.

Carefully checking that nobody was around, the two leaped onto a wooden serving cart with wheels positioned in the center of the kitchen.

Several transparent cylindrical glass jars, each slightly smaller than they were, sat neatly arranged on top.

Inside were herbs of every kind imaginable.

Working together, they searched for the ones they needed.

The soft clinking of glass echoed through the empty kitchen.

Before long…

“Found them!”

After locating the right herbs, they took only a small amount.

Nuutti wrapped them carefully inside the handkerchief he had tied around his body.

Leaving the herbs in Nuutti’s care, Toori jumped down to the lower shelf of the cart.

There, several brightly colored kitchen towels were neatly folded into stacks.

She searched through them before picking one.

It was a beige towel with a slight light-brown tint, decorated with countless tiny white flowers.

Smiling with satisfaction, Toori called out,

“We’ve got everything.”

“Let’s hurry back to Aki’s room!”

“Got it, nuu!”

Together, they left the kitchen.

Remaining on the kitchen counter was a smooth round pebble enchanted to ward off misfortune…

Along with a paper napkin bearing the handwritten words,

[Thank you.]

Written in blue ink.

Back in Aki’s room, each of them began their assigned task.

Toori, who excelled at sewing, started making the little drawstring pouch.

Nuutti, blessed with an excellent sense of smell, began blending the herbs.

The work progressed smoothly…

Aside from the moment Nuutti accidentally tipped over the wooden cup full of herbs and had to start mixing them all over again.

“Toori!”

“I’m done, nuu!”

Once the herbal blend was complete, Nuutti called her over.

It was time to cast a little magic.

They would invoke Mielikki, the Lady of the Forest, to strengthen the herbs’ effects.

With her sweet little voice, Toori began to chant.

“Mielikki, herää Tapiolasta!”

“Awaken, Lady of the Forest, Mielikki!”

“Mielensä vaivuta unehen!”

“Grant peaceful sleep to the one who receives this gift!”

The herbs glowed with a gentle light.

Moments later, the glow faded away.

A pleasant fragrance slowly spread throughout the room.

Nuutti held open the finished pouch.

Carefully lifting the wooden cup, Toori slowly poured the enchanted herbs inside without spilling a single leaf.

Once everything had been transferred, she tightly tied the opening shut with a ribbon made from the same fabric.

“It’s finished!”

Smiling brightly, Toori and Nuutti exchanged a high-five.

Next, the two wrote message cards.

After finishing them, they hid both the cards and the gift somewhere Aki would never accidentally discover.

With all the preparations complete, they eagerly waited for the day of the operation.

At last…

June 10.

Aki’s birthday arrived.

From the moment they woke up, neither Toori nor Nuutti could stay calm.

“He’s not back yet, nuu.”

“He’s late.”

“It’s almost seven o’clock.”

Standing by the window, the two anxiously waited for Aki to come home.

“I’m going downstairs to see if he’s back!”

Toori jumped down from the windowsill and ran toward the bedroom door.

Just then…

The door suddenly opened.

The room lights flicked on.

Standing in the doorway…

Was Aki.

“Aki!”

Both of them called his name at the same time.

Toori looked toward Nuutti.

Realizing what she meant, Nuutti gave a quick nod.

Toori nodded back.

It was the signal to begin the operation.

Standing by Aki’s feet, Toori pointed toward the desk.

“You want to go onto the desk?”

She nodded.

Aki crouched down, gently picked her up with both hands, and carried her there.

The moment Toori jumped onto the desk…

Nuutti hurried over and stood beside her.

Together, they retrieved the hidden gift and the message card.

Then they held them out.

“Happy Birthday!”

Aki’s eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing his expression, the two immediately knew their operation had succeeded.

“Nuu and Toori made it together, nuu!”

Aki lifted the little pouch toward his nose.

A pleasant fragrance drifted from it.

He also sensed the faint trace of magic woven into it.

“Did you enchant this sachet?”

Toori nodded.

“You have trouble sleeping, Aki.”

“So we borrowed the Lady of the Forest Mielikki’s power.”

“Read the card too, nuu!”

Urged on by Nuutti, Aki read the message cards they had each written.

Toori’s card contained a heartfelt message that suited her perfectly.

Meanwhile, the final sentence on Nuutti’s card—

[Give Nuu lots of salmiakki, licorice, and chocolate, nuu!]

—had been crossed out over and over again with multiple lines.

Aki had a pretty good idea who had done that.

Then…

Without warning…

Tears rolled down Aki’s cheeks.

Seeing him cry, Toori and Nuutti panicked.

“W-Why are you crying, nuu?!”

“Did you not like it?!”

Aki wiped away his tears with one hand.

“No.”

“I’m really happy.”

Even so…

Their worries didn’t disappear.

Lately, Aki had seemed unusually down.

Taking a slow breath, Aki finally explained why.

He admitted that he had started feeling homesick.

Recently…

Being alone all the time had become painful.

After listening quietly, Toori spoke first.

“You’re not alone, Aki!”

Her heartfelt words reached deep into his heart.

“We’re here too, nuu!”

Nuutti added.

Hearing those words, Aki realized he wasn’t alone after all.

Gently, he picked both of them up.

Then he hugged them tightly.

After a while, he carefully set them back down.

Looking warmly at Toori and Nuutti, he smiled once again.

“Thank you.”

The brightness had returned to his smile.

Toori and Nuutti beamed with happiness.

And so…

Operation Aki’s Birthday was a complete success.