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theprincerose · 4 years ago

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Reunion. Chapter 5:

If you haven’t read the previous chapters then please do so, otherwise the story will not make much sense and you may have missed some important details in the story. Links to the previous chapters are at the end of this chapter. Enjoy.

“It’s really good that you’re finally up and about Snufkin.” Moomin smiled looking up at his best friend.

“It’s good to be awake finally. I still can’t quite believe that I was knocked out for two whole days.” Snufkin said, rubbing his eyes, feeling like there was still some sleep in them. He looked up to see Moominmamma pour some coffee into his cup. “Thank you Moominmamma.” Since he woke up, everyone has been making sure that he has been alright. Moominmamma changed his bandages and treated the last of his burns before he started to eat. He felt relieved to eat something as his stomach felt like a bottomless pit after sleeping for so long.

“We’re just glad that you got out of the fire okay.” Little My smiled as Snufkin raised his cup to sip at his coffee. “How did you get to river anyway?” Snufkin suddenly chocked on the warm liquid. He coughed profusely. Moomin patted his back until he gradually stopped coughing.

“Wha-? What did you just say?” Snufkin exclaimed, not quite believing his ears.

“You know? The river. We found you on the bank.” Little My said, raising an eyebrow.

“But…I was no where near the river when I was trapped in the fire.” Snufkin explained, trying to work out what was happening. “Didn’t you send someone in there to help me?”

“Well, I tried to help you but I wasn’t allowed.” Moominpappa sighed as he made himself present into the room.

“But someone was in there with me.” Snufkin said.

“Impossible. I didn’t see anyone go in there.” Moomin exclaimed. He almost didn’t believe what Snufkin was saying. As far as he knew, his best friend was the only one trapped in the fire. Nobody else was in there.

“Actually, I did see someone go into the fire.” Little My confessed, raising a hand. Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

“Why didn’t you say anything?!” Moomin exclaimed.

“Well, sorry but I thought I imagined it. You know? Like smoke on the my brain or something. Besides I didn’t see them too clearly so I didn’t think anything of it.” Little My shouted. The conversation seemed to become faint to Snufkin. The words that were spoken became nothing more than white noise to him. He keeps replaying what happened in the moments before he passed out. So someone was in there. It wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him after all. But if the Moomin family didn’t get him out, then who did?

Snufkin laid on the river bank near his tent. He had his fingers laced behind his head with his hat over his face. He had been staring at the green material for a while now, thinking about what had been happening in these past few days. He had felt like he has been put on a rollercoaster of emotions this week. He had been confused because of the first dream; he then felt fear during the wildfire, which doubled because of the second nightmare and then he was back to being confused this morning. He was right now trying his best to remember what happened that day before he passed out. He did his best to remember what his saviour looked like so then he could find them and thank them personally. However he didn’t get very far. All he could remember was their faint blurry outline and that was it. He was so drowsy when they came to find him that he can’t remember much at all. However he had a sneaking suspicion that Moominpappa knew something, and it has something to do with that envelope that he had tried so much to hide. If he had nothing to hide, then why did he act so skittish? Was there something in that envelope that he didn’t want to be seen, especially by Snufkin?

“Snufkin?”

Snufkin raised his hat off his face. He saw Moomin and Little My standing on the bridge looking at him. Snufkin sighed silently. He knew it wouldn’t take that long until someone realised that he had sneaked out of Moominhouse. He didn’t mean to make anyone worried, but he needed to get out. Being cooped up in a house for too long wasn’t something that he enjoyed. If he was sick that was fine, but if he wasn’t he didn’t see a lot of point in staying in for more than a whole day at least. So he wasn’t surprised that Moomin would want to come to make sure that everything was okay.

“Why did you leave Snufkin? We were getting worried.” Moomin asked, sounding more worried than upset.

“Sorry Moomin. I needed some fresh air. I didn’t mean to make anyone worried.” Snufkin sighed before looking at the water flowing past him in the river. The troll and girl moved and sat down beside him on the bank. Moomin looked worriedly at where the forest was.

“Fire’s still burning.” He stated sadly. He hated the fact that the forest was on fire. Now that peaceful spot that Snufkin took him and his friends to was destroyed. So much for going there again one day. Snufkin turned and looked at where his friend was staring.

“No. Smoke’s white, that means that the fire’s out.” He corrected, making Moomin happy that the fire was finally out.

“You know everything, don’t you?” Little My asked staring right up at the traveller.

“No…I don’t.” Snufkin sighed and he laid back down. “There’s a lot of things I don’t have the answers to.”

“What about the fire? How do you think it started?” Moomin asked cautiously. He didn’t want to freak Snufkin out bringing up the subject of the fire so soon.

“I have a few ideas, but the main one that I have so far is that someone was playing with fire when they shouldn’t have.” Snufkin thought out loud.

“Accident or on purpose?” Little My asked suddenly.

“Most likely accident.” Snufkin thought. He didn’t know if he was right, but it sounded clear enough to him.

“And your nightmare last night? What was that all about?” Little My suddenly demanded. Snufkin suddenly felt the colour drain from his face. His body went rigid. His shoulders tensed up. His eyes grew wide and his throat was starting to throb once again. He clenched it lightly. He struggled to make any words. His mouth felt completely dry for a couple of minutes. Moomin and Little My watched him cautiously. This was a completely different reaction from when he told them about his first nightmare. He seemed petrified.

“I’m sorry…but I don’t think I should tell you two about it. It was completely different from the first nightmare. I don’t think that it’s something for you two to hear.” Snufkin hissed, shuddering. He pulled his hat down so it would cover half of his face. Moomin and Little My looked at each other before looking back up at Snufkin. This dream that they heard about must have been worse than they initially thought. Snufkin seemed so scared just thinking about it. They decided not to say anything until Snufkin was ready to tell them. It was the best thing for them to do, especially after what the traveller has just been through. Moomin suddenly looked up to see his father out and about. It wasn’t a huge surprise, since the fire Moominpappa has been out checking up on it. The problem is that most of the time, he does it at night. He didn’t understand why Moominpappa insisted on doing it at night, because o him, it made much more sense to do it during the daytime. Maybe it would be more clear to see the fire when it was dark? Moomin wasn’t sure, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him. Although, Moominpappa has been checking up on it first thing in the morning too, just before breakfast.

The father spotted the children along the bank. Hearing someone walk along the bridge, Snufkin sat up and pushed his hat off of his face. He watched as Moominpappa walked near the group. He seemed to be normal, but Snufkin still couldn’t shake off his odd behaviour this morning. Did Moominpappa know something that he didn’t? Moominpappa looked at Snufkin and became immediately concerned. The traveller looked so pale, that his bangles almost blended in with his skin and he almost looked like he was about to die of fright.

“Is everything alright children?” He asked suddenly.

“We’re good Moominpappa.” Little My piped up.

“And what about you Snufkin? You look as white as sheet.” Moominpappa asked in concern. Snufkin raised an eyebrow. Things seem to be normal enough for the moment.

“I’m…fine. Just still a little shaken up from last night.” Snufkin answered with some hesitation. He immediately got curious about the father heading out all of a sudden without warning. “I hope you don’t mind in me asking, but where are you going Moominpappa?”

“Oh, just going for a stroll.” Moominpappa answers quickly. Almost a little too quick for Snufkin’s taste. It was like the father was acting skittish again like this morning.

“You’re not going to check up on the fire?” Moomin asked, getting a little suspicious himself.

“No. I’ve already done that this morning. It’s out finally.” Moominpappa answered calmly. “Well I best be off. Have a good day won’t you?” With that Moominpappa walked away. The group watched as he walked in the direction towards the beach. Snufkin looked down, thinking hard. Moominpappa has already been out this morning. Why would he need to go for a stroll again? Yes he may have checked up on the fire, but did he give himself enough time to find that letter? Moominpappa has to know something, and he doesn’t want Snufkin to find out what.

“Moomin?” Snufkin asked, getting the troll’s attention. “I hate to accuse your father of anything, but I think he knows something, something that may mean more than just the fire.”

“What do you mean?” Moomin asked, not quite understanding where this was going.

“How often has your father been checking up on the fire since I was found?” Snufkin asked straight out.

“Everyday. It is odd though when he does it.” Moomin answered, sounding a little concerned at the end.

“What do you mean?” Snufkin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He checks up on it at night and in the early hours of the morning. Very suspicious if you ask me.” Little My piped up, feeling ignored.

“That sounds a little off to me too. Especially after this morning when I bumped into him by accident.” Snufkin thought out loud.

“What do you mean?” Moomin asked, getting more worried. Snufkin took a deep breath. He didn’t want to make Moomin feel like his father had been hiding a huge secret from him and his mother, but this felt important.

“I bumped into your father by accident on my downstairs this morning. At first everything seemed to be fine, he asked me if I was alright, especially after last night. However, his behaviour changed when I found what looked to be a letter on the ground. I figured that he must have hidden it in his hat otherwise he would’ve picked it up if it was originally in his hand. When I handed it back to him, Moominpappa seemed rather skittish, like he didn’t want me to see the contents inside it.” Snufkin explained, retelling what had happened this morning.

“But the Postman didn’t come by this morning.” Moomin suddenly interjected, getting more and more suspicious. Moominpappa was hiding secrets? Snufkin looked at the river. So Moomin didn’t know about the letter either. Something didn’t seem right.

“So, he has been hiding something from all of us.” Little My stated. “I wonder what he’s hiding.”

“That’s what I want to find out too. He looked really worried when I saw the envelope. I have a horrible feeling that he knows something that I don’t. He might even know who it was that saved me from the fire that day.” Snufkin thought out loud again.

“Then why didn’t he say anything?!” Moomin exclaimed, not believing that his father would hide anything like that. Snufkin looked down, feeling ashamed. He respected the Moomin family and he didn’t want to feel like he was betraying them over something that he may be wrong about.

“Why don’t we find out?” Little My suddenly declares, jumping to her feet.

“How do we do that?” Moomin asked, immediately regretting the words that came out of his mouth. However it didn’t stop him from talking. “It’s not like we can just ask Pappa about the letter. He’ll probably just deny it.”

“Who said we had to ask.” Little My told them, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Oh no.” Snufkin gasped, immediately getting hold of what the small girl was suggesting.

“Here’s what we’ll do. Moomin and I will keep Moominmamma distracted downstairs, meanwhile Snufkin will go into Moominpappa’s study and find the letter. And once he’s found it, he’ll sneak out with it and then we’ll see what it’s about. Genius huh?” Little My planned out.

“No. Stupid. What if I get caught?” Snufkin scolded, not liking the plan one bit.

“You’re smart enough to think of something. Improvise.” Little My barked at him. Snufkin looked down at the ground. Stealing from people that he knew and trusted? That wasn’t something that he’d ever thought he’d do. But if Moominpappa was hiding something from him, then his trust has already been betrayed. But this was still Moomin’s father, and he didn’t want to do this behind his best friend’s back.

“Moomin, it’s your choice. This is your father that we’re talking about here.” Snufkin stated, looking at the young troll. Moomin looked very conflicted. He was having a tough choice on he should decide. Steal from his father to find out what he’s hiding, or ask him straight out about it and treat it like an interrogation. Though the second one might work, Moominpappa will more than likely have thought of an answer for everything.

“Well, I don’t like it. But I’ll do it, especially if Pappa knows more than we think.” Moomin sighed, not quite believing what he had said himself. Snufkin nodded and stood up. Since Moominpappa has just left the house, it would be best to find the letter now. He needs to get some answers, and he’d rather get them sooner then later.

Moominpappa walked along the shore line of the beach. His feet almost sank completely into the soft sand with every step that he took. His footprints were made obvious on the undisturbed, golden sand. Small waves collided with the shore, stretching as far as they could go before retreating back into the ocean. The waves brought up many things with them: small stones, shells, some seaweed, amount other things. Some of the objects were taken back, while others were left stranded until the next high tide. The sun reflected off of the water, making it look almost like dozens of vibrant blue sapphires. The smell of sea salt hung around in the air. Moominpappa sniffed the air absentmindedly. The smell of it reminded him of his youth. He was reminded so much of his adventure on the Ocean Orchestra. He always felt nostalgic whenever he was near the sea.

Moominpappa looked up. He saw the cave in front of him. It was almost pitch black deep inside it. The only source of light that it had was from the sun at the mouth of the cave and from a hoe, in the roof above the cave. Moominpappa stepped inside it, not even hesitating. He looked around, squinting a little at some of the darkness inside.

“Joxter!” He called out. Aside from the echo of his own voice, there was no reply. He continued to walk forward, hoping to see the one person he was looking for. Suddenly a pair of hands covered his eyes. He had a brief moment of panic before he figured out who it was that snuck up on him.

“Password!” A voice half grinned and half whispered down his ear.

“Joxter! You featherhead! Get your hands off me!” Moominpappa shouted, not at all amused. He pushed the gloved hands off of his face before spinning on his heels to glare at his long time friend.

“Okay. Okay. It was just a joke.” Joxter grinned, scratching the back of his head. Moominpappa looked over his old friend, someone whom he had not seen face to face for years. He didn’t look any different from he was last seen. He still had his old trademark hat and clothes. They only looked more old and some of them had stitches from where a few tears had happened. His bear black hair had thin streaks of grey hairs. His frame was leaner than the last time he was last seen. His face had a few plasters on them, clearly covering up the injuries he had sustained from the fire. Despite the noticeable changes, Joxter pretty much looked the same.

“You’ve hardly changed at all, old friend.” Moominpappa stated, after taking a good long look at the man standing in front of him.

“You know me. I hate new stuff, and I refuse to change who I am.” Joxter grinned, trying to contain some of his amusement.

“Enough time for jokes.” Moominpappa suddenly snapped. Joxter was taken a back. He didn’t understand why his old friend started to go all business.

“What’s this? No “hello” or “how are you”? That’s not exactly like you old friend.” Joxter questioned, tilting his a little to this side like a curious cat.

“Right now I’m not in the mood for pleasantries. You know why I’m here.” Moominpappa scolded again, getting bothered by Joxter’s lax nature.

“I know. Snufkin.” Joxter sighed, his smiling dropping instantly. He had a feeling that he was going to be here for a long time.

Snufkin knocked gently on the door. When there was no answer, he opened the door silently. He looked around the study. It was empty. He checked the hallway and listened out carefully for anyone coming up the stairs. There was nothing. Snufkin took a deep breath. He carefully crept into the study and closed the door silently behind him. He didn’t know how long Moominmamma could stay distracted nor did he know how long it’ll take until Moominpappa gets back from his stroll, so he had to hurry. He needs to find that letter. He needs to get the answers that he needs.

“Snufkin needs to hear the truth. As a father myself, I would advise you to tell him yourself.” Moominpappa told Joxter, jabbing a finger at him.

“It’s not that simple.” Joxter sighed.

“How is it not simple?!” Moominpappa shouted, upset that his friend wasn’t stepping up at all in this situation.

“Well I can’t just walk up to him and say: ‘Hello Snufkin, how are you? Oh by the way, I’m your father’. Yeah I can see how that will play out.” Joxter objected, backing up a little.

“In what way?!” Moominpappa shouted again.

“One thing’s for certain, he’ll hate me. I was the one that…that…” Joxter agreed before losing his voice. He turned away and walked over to the cave wall. He let out a yell before slamming his fist against it.

Snufkin opened the draw on the desk. He figured that the desk was a good place to start looking. He tried the desktop to see if Moominpappa accidentally left the letter laying about on the desk. He knew it was a long shot but he still tried. He started looking around the draws when that didn’t work. He moved around blank papers and some pens. He didn’t see anything that was handwritten in there. He quietly closed it before looking around as to where else the letter may be hidden. He noticed the waste paper basket under the desk. He took out the scrunched up papers. He smoothed them out, carefully scanning each one. He thought maybe Moominpappa tried to throw it away. It was worth a try at least.

Moominpappa took a deep breath as he watched Joxter rub his hand in pain. He carefully approached him. He could hear Joxter muttering to himself. More than likely cursing about how much his hand hurt.

“Joxter, listen.” He said as he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. Joxter snapped his head around so suddenly that Moominpappa nearly thought that it had spun a full circle. “I know Snufkin. He’s a very good boy. He’s smart, kind and an excellent friend. He has a lot of your traits, and not just your looks. You two are more alike than you think. The one thing that he doesn’t have however is your short temper.”

“Hey!” Joxter exclaimed, a little offended. Moominpappa let out a short laugh. This caused Joxter to cross his arms and lean back against the cave wall.

“He won’t be mad at you. He’ll listen and understand.” Moominpappa explained, trying his best to get through his friend’s stubbornness. Joxter turned his head away like a spoiled child not wanting to listen to their parents. “Maybe if you tell me what happened to force you two to part, maybe I can help out in some way.”

“That’s the problem, I can’t. I can’t tell Snufkin anything. If the people that I’ve upset, like the Park Keeper, found out about who he is, I don’t know what could happen.” Joxter argued.

“That’s what parents are for: to love their children and protect them from danger.” Moominpappa shouted right back.

“Well, what do you think I’ve been doing all this time?! Protecting Snufkin from the truth.” Joxter exclaimed looking right at Moominpappa.

“The truth about what?!” The father exclaimed.

“Everything!” Joxter ranted walking around and flailing his arms about. “About how his father failed him when he was an infant, how I abandoned him, how I had not been there when he needed his parents. Everything about his father in general!”

“And what about his mother?!” Moominpappa immediately argued right back. Joxter stopped his actions. He became frozen like a statue. He tried to say something fight back but nothing came out. Seeing that he struck a nerve, Moominpappa kept going at it. “Joxter, what about Snufkin’s mother? Surely, she has a say in this, doesn’t she?” Joxter turned his back to the troll, not saying anything. That was when Moominpappa realised something. “Joxter, you haven’t told her that you’ve found him? Have you?”

Snufkin stopped in his tracks as he heard footsteps approaching the study. He gathered up all the papers that he hasn’t looked through yet and shoved them into his pockets. He went over to where the door was and flattened his back against the wall beside it. Once the door was open, he should be concealed by it. It would only work for about a minute depending who it is coming to the study. He heard the door knob move slowly. He didn’t know if that was in his mind, or if it was real. All that he knew was is that he might get caught if he wasn’t careful. The door opened slowly. It stopped after opening a little. Snufkin held his breath. He could hear and feel his heart pounding harshly against his rib cage.

“Snufkin? Are you still in here?” Moomin whispered. Snufkin let out a huge sigh.

“Here.” He said. The door opened fully and closed again. Snufkin looked to see Moomin and Little My standing in front of him. “What are you two doing up here? You gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry. But Mamma just left to tend to her vegetable patch. We thought we should help you find the letter.” Moomin explained. Snufkin looked at both of his friends. This was taking too long and he could use all the help he can get. Goodness know how much time they have left.

“Okay. Moomin, you check the chest over there.” Snufkin commanded, taking charge of the situation. Moomin nodded and dashed over to the chest. Snufkin dug into his pockets and pulled out his bits of paper. “Little My, could you look through these for me. If any of them don’t resemble a letter, put them in the waste paper basket.” Little My promptly took the papers out of his hands and started to look through them. “Anything you guys take out, you put back in place. I don’t want to risk us getting caught, especially if we don’t find anything.” Snufkin went over to the bookcase and looked through a book. One of the books could be a fake or is cleaning the letter in one of its pages. It was worth a shot. And the group had to work quick. They’re running out of time.

“How could you have not told his mother?!” Exclaimed Moominpappa as he trudged over to his old friend. He couldn’t believe the secrets that this man has been keeping.

“I thought that she might have just given up on waiting. She hasn’t seen Snufkin for so long, I thought that she grew tired of waiting for a child that may never come home.” Joxter sighed, defeated. He was slumped over and his bright sapphire blue eyes seemed to have dimmed. Their normal childish spark had seemed to have died. “Face it. I’ve failed them, I’ve failed both of them.”

“Joxter, how do you know if you’ve failed the boy’s mother, when you haven’t even tried to tell her the news?” The troll asked sternly. Joxter didn’t even attempt to make eye contact with him. “And what about Snufkin? You haven’t failed him. Time and time again you’ve expressed concern about his welfare in your letters. And what about the fire? I couldn’t save your son, but you did. You did it, Joxter. You haven’t failed him. You have risked everything to protect him that day, and he is alive now because of it.” Joxter looked at him. He wanted to protest but no sound came out. The man looked desperate for a better answer. “Joxter, whether you tell him or not, I fear Snufkin will find out the truth very soon.”

“What do you mean?” Joxter suddenly asked. It was clear that he was getting irritated. Moominpappa explained what had happened that morning when he bumped into Snufkin. Joxter suddenly looked anxious. He paced a little as he ran his fingers through his hair. He kept telling himself that Moominpappa may be lying, a plan to get him to hurry up with his choice. However, deep down he knew that his friend was telling the truth. The question is what’s going to happen now?

Little My huffed as she looked through the last bit of paper. Nothing. Not anything in those papers resembled a letter at all. Just some pages that Moominpappa was writing for his memoirs that he didn’t want because of too many mistakes or the need to improve upon them on a fresh page. Moomin put back what he took out the chest into their rightful place. He did his best to make it look like he hadn’t sieved through it. He didn’t mind anything either. He looked over at Snufkin, who was quickly but carefully looking through the pages of a book before putting it back where it was and taking out another one.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything Snufkin.” Moomin sighed, defeated.

“We have to keep trying. It’s got to be in here somewhere.” Snufkin determinedly muttered as he searched through the book.

“Snufkin, face it! We’re not going to find it. Moominpappa probably burned it or something.” Little My barked. Snufkin suddenly looked up. He stared at the fire place in the room.

“Moomin? Have you ever seen that fireplace lit?” He asked as he placed the book back in its rightful place.

“No. I don’t think so.” Moomin muttered as he and Snufkin went over to it. Little My dashed right over, suddenly getting a little excited. Snufkin reached over to the latch but hesitated. What if he was wrong? After taking a breath, he opened the doors of the fireplace. The three friends looked in it. Nothing looked out of place. There was a pile of wood in there, sitting there, waiting to be used. However, Snufkin noticed something that didn’t seem right. He noticed that there was no ash under the wood, like there should be from the last time it was used. He brushed his finger along the chimney and looked at it. It was clean. This chimney hasn’t been used at all for a long time, or as if it had never been used at all since Moominhouse was built. Snufkin peered closely at the wood. The way they were positioned was like they were concealing something. Snufkin reached in and started to take away the unused fire wood, piece by piece. Moomin helped while Little My watched in anticipation. Snufkin and Moomin stopped suddenly at seeing what the wood had been hiding.

“Joxter, I don’t long I can keep this facade up. I’m sick of lying to the boy. I don’t know how long I can keep up looking at Snufkin and not telling him the truth. Every child has a right to know who their parents are, including Snufkin.” Moominpappa tried to convince Joxter to change his mind about the situation.

“I can’t tell him. He’s not ready.” Joxter protested, becoming all too stubborn again.

“Funny, because I believe he is. You’re a father, Joxter! It’s time that you started to act more like one! And if you don’t tell him the truth, then I will!” Moominpappa shouted, getting fed up with every excuse in the book Joxter was throwing at him. “I’m giving you until tonight.” Joxter watched wide eyed as the troll started to leave.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Tonight?!” He exclaimed as he stopped his friend in his tracks. “What do you mean tonight?!”

“I mean either you come to Moominhouse and tell Snufkin everything he needs to know, or you don’t come and I tell him what I can himself! It’s your choice and I honestly hope that you don’t do something you’ll regret.” Moominpappa explained before pushing his way past Joxter. Without even saying goodbye, he left the cave and headed home. Joxter paced a little. He didn’t know what to do. Either way, he was met with a serious problem. No matter what he chooses, Snufkin will find out anyway about him. Feeling the urge to use his pipe, he reached into his pocket for it. He suddenly felt something that wasn’t it. He took out the object. It was the photograph that he was able to hold onto before the fire destroyed his camp. It was one of the only few things that he had left from it, everything else he had to leave behind in the inferno. He leaned back against the cave wall and slid down it until he was sitting on the sandy floor. He looked at the photo deeply. He remembered everything that happened since Snufkin was born. He remembered being happy, more happy than he had ever been in his life. He didn’t want to lose it. That was when tears sprang to his eyes, remembering the reason why he had to give up his son. He clenched the photo tight to his chest. He looked out at the sea, as if he was expecting Moominpappa to be standing there. No one was there. Joxter looked at the picture one more time. Moominpappa was right. He needs to tell Snufkin the truth. Tonight.

Snufkin looked at the small box he had pulled out of the fireplace. It sat in front of him, almost teasing him. It was a small wooden box. It was painted navy blue and gold. At first glance, one would mistake it for a jewellery box. However, if it was hidden in an unused fireplace underneath a pile of firewood, it would have a more secretive purpose than keeping a woman’s jewellery hidden. Moomin and Little My watched as Snufkin slowly reached over and pulled the lid off of the box. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife. It almost felt like everything was going in slow motion. As Snufkin moved the lid, at first he thought it was heavy like lead, as if it didn’t want him to know its secrets. That was when he thought that the reason why it felt heavy to him was because he was shaking immensely. He was so worried that this was not the result he was looking for, that he almost slammed the lid back on and put it back where it was because of that. It almost felt like he was opening up Pandora’s Box.

After what seemed like forever to him, he was able to get the lid off. The group peered into the box and saw an envelope that was open. Little My grabbed the envelope and looked inside it to see if the letter was in there. She flipped it upside down and gave it a small shake, indicating that there was nothing inside it. But Snufkin didn’t look at her. What lay under the envelope was a piece of folded up paper. It was a little yellow from age and a little scrunched up. One side of it looked like the paper was torn out from a notebook. And telling by the way the paper nearly reached the top, Snufkin figured that there must be more under it.

Snufkin looked long and hard at the paper. This has to be the letter. He reached over but his hand stopped. He didn’t want to feel like he was betraying Moominpappa’s trust, but the father was keeping something from him, which made him feel like his trust was betrayed already.

“Snufkin.” Moomin said. Snufkin looked at him. Moomin wasn’t surprised when he saw the doubt in his friend’s eyes. “You don’t have to do this. We can just ask Pappa about it.” Snufkin looked at the troll, and then at the papers in the box.

“I’m sorry, Moomin, but I can’t. I need to know what’s going on.” He sighed. He took a deep breath and grasped at the paper. He slowly took it out. Moomin made no move to stop him. He needed some answers too. With shaking fingers, Snufkin unfolded the paper, revealing unsteady handwriting. He carefully read it, making sure that he was reading it right.

Moominpappa,

Thank you for telling me that Snufkin is awake at last. I was starting to worry that he was never going to wake up. You can’t imagine what it was like for me, worrying so much about him. He is awake now, and that’s all that matters to me.

As regards to telling him who he is to me, I don’t think I can do it. Telling him I saved him from the fire is one thing, but telling him I’m his father is another. He’s not ready, not yet anyways.

I’ll wait for you in the cave at the beach. Meet me there whenever you’re ready.

Joxter.

Snufkin felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. This letter…was written by…his father? He read the note again, just to be sure. He had always known that he was abandoned when he was a baby as he had no memories of his family. He always thought that they wanted nothing to do with him. But this was his father, and he was the one that saved him from the fire. He had been in Moominvalley for goodness knows how long. And Moominapppa knew this whole time? Why didn’t he say anything? Snufkin always felt like he had family by being close to the Moomins. But this was different, this was his real family. The more Snufkin thought about it, the more nauseous he felt. There were questions burning through his mind, giving him a severe migraine. Where was his father? Where was his mother? Was his mother alive? Did he have any siblings? Why was he abandoned? Why did his father not make any contact at all? Those questions and more burned through Snufkin’s mind. He felt like his body had gone completely numb. He didn’t even register Moomin asking him what was wrong, or that his best friend took the letter to have a look himself. Once Moomin looked over the letter himself, he felt almost just as shocked as Snufkin did. Moominpappa has kept this hidden from everyone, even from his own family. But why? What motive could his father have for doing something like this? He dropped the letter instantly and hugged Snufkin, trying to give him some comfort. Snufkin made no move to react. He was so numb that his mind wasn’t even registering what was going on around him, he couldn’t even feel Moomin’s attempt to give him comfort. Little My, getting frustrated about not knowing what the fuss was about, snatched up the letter from the floor. Her face feel as she read it, her face softening. She didn’t show it, but she was angry at Moominpappa for hiding a secret such as this.

“Children?”

Little My and Moomin looked up to see Moominmamma standing in the doorway. They were a little worried that she would tell them off for sneaking into the study without permission. She had a bit of a shocked and appalled expression on her face, but when she saw the state that Snufkin was in, it immediately changed to worry.

“What’s happened?” She asked, concerned. No one said anything, mainly because they weren’t completely sure on how to explain it. Little My stepped forward. She figured it would be better for Moominmamma to see the letter herself, especially if she didn’t know about this. She handed the letter over to the mother with a little hesitation. Confused, Moominmamma read the letter. Once she had she looked over at Snufkin, who was still sitting, frozen in a state of shock. She let out a sad sigh and went over to him. Moomin let go of the traveller, hoping that his mother would snap him out of it. He was very worried when Snufkin didn’t respond to his actions to give him comfort at all and he really hoped that Moominmamma might do a better job than he did. Moominmamma didn’t say anything as she knelt down in front of Snufkin. She silently raised his head so she could look at him in the eyes. His eyes were almost dull, like as though he was hypnotised. He barely made any gesture to respond to her. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to give him comfort. At first, Snufkin didn’t react. His eyes suddenly sparkled with tears, showing that he was snapping out of his state of shock. His arms slowly wrapped around the mother. He let the tears fall crying silently, like he had done the night before. Moomin rubbed his back as his body shook. Moomin felt tears come himself but he held them back, trying his best to be strong for his friend. Little My only stood there, trying her best not to get too emotional either.

“What’s going on in here?” Moominpappa asked as he approached his study. He saw the state Snufkin was in. “What’s happened? Is everything alright?”

“Does this look alright to you?!” Little My shouted as she snatched up the letter that Moominmamma place on the ground and waved it in the father’s face. Moominpappa took it and looked at it for a second. His eyes immediately caught sight of the open box on the floor. He looked at Snufkin, who was looking right back at him. His eyes were red from crying and his eyes were wide, asking only one question: why?

“Oh dear…” Moominpappa sighed, as he knew that there was no point in hiding the truth any longer.

Chapter 1: HERE

Chapter 2: HERE

Chapter 3: HERE

Chapter 4: HERE

Chapter 6: coming soon

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