The Witch was sitting in her lounge chair, rereading one of her old books about Ancient Witch History that she inherited from her teacher, when she felt a presence outside her door. Grumbling, she got up, grabbed her cane that was beside her chair, then hobbled over to the door so that she could yell at whoever had decided to bother her in her isolation.

She opened her front door, ready to yell, when she saw that it was Sam. Sam turned around and frowned at her, it wasn't exactly like the death glare that she gave her when she came here to fix the curse that she put on the Moomin family, but she's still not happy with her.

"Oh! Sam? What are you doing here," The Witch said, "You still look angry with me."

"Oh, I am," Sam said, but she softened, then said, "but you're an old lady that lives in the mountains all by herself. I started to worry."

The Witch opened her door wide, and asked, "Do you want to come in?"

Sam walked into her cabin, then dropped her backpack next to the door. It sounded heavy.

"What happened to your hair," The Witch asked as she closed the door.

Sam's raven black hair was cut into an awkward bob and was quite curly.

"Oh, I gave my hair to The Groke," Sam said with a sigh, "I'll tell you the story later. First, do you have any chores that you need help with, or do you want me to cook anything for you?"

The Witch was happy to see Sam again, even if she was still mad at her, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't really know what Sam could do to help her. If there's something she can't fix with her own hands or with her magic, then she just ignores it. She supposed that there's a lot of things that she's ignored around her cabin.

"Well, first, if you'll allow me, I'd like to give you a haircut," The Witch said, already walking towards her kitchen to rummage through some drawers, "Your hair is so sloppy looking."

"I don't know," Sam said as she played with her curly hair, "I kind of like it."

"And I'll make sure you'll like it even more," The Witch said, "Come now. Sit down."

Looking resigned, Sam sat down in a kitchen chair and The Witch took a couple of strategic snips at her head. The Witch then procured a hand mirror and handed it to Sam.

"Oh! You know what? Yah! This looks good. Thank you," Sam said, admiring her curly bob.

The Witch gave her a smile, but her knees started popping as she walked to put away her scissors and force herself to hobble over to her recliner. The Witch plopped down heavily and sighed with relief.

"Are you okay," Sam asked.

"I'm okay. Just tired," she said.

"Do you have anything to make tea or coffee with," Sam asked.

"Yes. Though, I don't know exactly were. You'll just have to look," she said.

The Witch closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair as she listened to Sam rummage through her kitchen to make a hot drink for her. Outside, the sound of thunder was rolling. It was lightly raining when Sam came out of the kitchen holding two teacups full of tea. It smelled relaxing.

"I didn't think it'd rain today," Sam said as she handed The Witch a cup of tea.

The Witch sipped her drink and sighed with satisfaction. The two of them were silent for a while as they listened to the weather outside. The Witch was then startled out of a half-doze by Sam.

"I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I'd like your advice on how you care for your plants," Sam said, "You have so many, yet they're all in wonderful condition. How do you do it?"

The Witch took another sip from her tea, then said, "They're not plants."

"They're not?"

"Nope."

Sam reached for the nearest plant and thumbed its leaf. Then she said, "They feel like real plants to me."

"Yes. But they're still not plants and I do nothing to care for them accept keep them," The Witch said.

"Oh."

The Witch smiled at the look on Sam's face, like the clockwork in her head was ticking hard to understand. She's hoping that maybe inserting a little mystery about her life, will maybe make Sam want to learn magic from her, if a little bit. Though, she's certainly not going to force her hand like she thought she'd try the first time.

Sam finished her drink then said, "Well, since you can't think of anything to do, I guess I'll just look for things to clean. You can tell me stories if you want, since the last time I was here, I did most of the talking."

The Witch finished drinking her tea, yawned, then said, "I think I'll nap. You do whatever. If you move things around, tell me, won't you."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The Witch sat her cup down on the floor, then she leaned back and was asleep within a few minutes. When she opened her eyes again, it was evening and the shadow of the mountain was already looming heavily over her cabin, making it dark, despite the sky being orange with the setting sun, when she looked out her window by her chair.

The Witch leaned forward to find that she had a blanket covering her that wasn't there before. How sweet, she thought, and she wondered if this is what it's like to have a grandchild. Looking around she saw that all her lanterns that she owns are lit. Usually she'd only have one or two lit at a time, so she supposed that Sam only had them all lit for her sake. She looked to the front door and confirmed that Sam's backpack was still there.

Looking around she noticed that her herbs were taken down and stored, the floor swept, and furniture dusted, and her bargain plants were arranged in a fanciful way. It was odd that she hadn't woken up to any of this. The Witch takes naps, but she's never slept through so much bustle that was obviously present here. She got out of her recliner and stretched, every joint in her body popping. She could hear Sam cleaning in the washroom, so The Witch took a moment to look through Sam's backpack.

There were the usual things; an extra pair of clothes, a flashlight, containers for storing food and water, but then she found something odd. A jar full of Valerian root and Lavender, these herbs are strong sleep aids that can knock a person out cold. Now that she was thinking about it, The Witch couldn't remember what her tea tasted like.

A smile, wicked and proud, stretched across her face as The Witch stood up and clutched the jar of Valerian root and Lavender to her chest. She thought that drugging her to sleep was a very witchy thing to do, if it's true, and if it is true, then what secret of hers is Sam trying to figure out? What does Sam not want her to know that she's doing? The Witch headed for the washroom.

Sam was in her pajamas, and she was washing her face in the bucket of water that she brought in. As she was toweling off her face, she saw The Witch.

"Hey, sleepy head. I'm glad you're up, are you going to be able to sleep tonight?"

The Witch wordlessly presented the jar to Sam.

"I see you found my present for you. I remember my grandma always having trouble sleeping at night, so she'd drink tea made of this mix. Moominmamma helped me make it and I put it in your tea. Did you sleep okay? I was going to wake you up after I made dinner," she said.

"This is a powerful sleep concoction, so yes, I did," The Witch said.

"Powerful?"

The look of confusion of Sam's face seemed genuine to The Witch.

"You essentially made a sleep potion, Dear."

Sounding panicked, Sam grabbed her head and said, "I did! I'm so sorry! I just wanted to help you relax after you cut my hair so nicely."

The Witch gave her a soft smile, "Well I'm certainly relaxed. Thank you for the present then."

"We have these same plants back home, but they don't knock you unconscious like that," Sam explained further, still panicked, "Why are things so weird here!?"

The Witch went up to Sam and gently patted her arm, "Hey. It's fine. You didn't know… But you know, if you can make a sleep potion on accident, I bet you could make even more powerful potions if I teach you."

"Mmm. Maybe next time I visit. Okay," Sam said, calming down.

The Witch walked out of the washroom with Sam following behind her. They discussed what they were going to having for dinner and then Sam made it. Early the next morning Sam said goodbye to The Witch and made her way down the mountain. The Witch watched her go. She did make her house look nicer and her cooking is delicious. The Witch thought that Sam will make a fine Potions Master if not a Witch internally. Then once Sam was out of sight, The Witch closed the door and went to find a book to restudy.

On the bridge that led to the path to the Moomin household, Snufkin was fishing the stream and puffing on his pipe, waiting for Sam's return. The sun was warm on his green clothes, but it didn't overheat him, especially with the cool breeze coming from the sea that washed over him. Making the trees and tall grass sway gently. In the distance he could hear someone singing some sort of love song, badly in his opinion. After a few minutes, he could tell that it was Sam singing. Out of the corner of his eye, she saw her come into view and when she saw him, she ran towards him.

"Snufkin! The three of us really did make a sleeping potion. I can't believe it," Sam said breathlessly.

"I'm glad to see you didn't get turned into a toad or something," Snufkin said around his pipe, "What did you find out?"

"Not a lot. I looked through her books, but they don't have an index in any of them. It'll take me longer to look through them if whatever curse you're under is even in the books. But she did give me a hint about her plants. Apparently, they're not really plants," Sam said as she dug through her pockets.

Snufkin reeled in his line thoughtfully, remembering all the times he's been in The Witch's Cabin. They looked like real plants to him.

Sam pulled out a few different leaves from her pocket.

"Touch these and tell me what you feel. Back at her place I rearranged and organized where all her plants are so that I could have an easier time categorizing which leaves I took from which plant."

Setting down his fishing pole next to him, he touched a broad, oval, dark green leaf. A small, oval, light green leaf. Then a medium, heart shaped, yellow and light green striped leaf. He didn't feel anything from them. They just felt like plants.

"I don't know what I should be feeling for," he admitted.

"Same. I'm sure we'll know when we feel it," Sam said.

"Well. With the sleeping potion, you'll have all the time you need to look."

Sam sucked air between her teeth.

"Yah… About that. The Witch went searching through my things and found the jar and I said it was a surprise present me and Moominmamma made for her. So she has it."

Snufkin rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"Snufkin. I feel bad about sneaking around her like this. I could just ask her to break your deal or something," Sam said.

"Then the Moomins will go back into their enchanted sleep," Snufkin said.

"Won't they go back to sleep if we do this on our own anyway?"

"Maybe?"

"Is it weird that you feel so bothered by this?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. Moomintroll has been acting weird around me lately, and you're able to be in The Witch's good graces so easily, and I feel like if I break the agreement I'm under, maybe I can understand why I feel so empty or do I feel like I'm missing something?... I don't know."

"Okay. I'll keep looking. I go back next week," Sam said, patting his shoulder.

"Thank you. I know she likes you, but you are putting yourself in a lot of risk. It feels like I don't really deserve your help. I don't even consider us friends all that much."

"Same. I don't feel like we're all that much like friends either. More like acquaintances, right?"

"This is a lot to do for an acquaintance," Snufkin pointed out.

"Well. I don't have school. Or a job. And what I used to do to entertain myself back home doesn't exist here either. So why not?"

"Basically, you're bored."

"Yah. Pretty much," Sam agreed.

Snufkin shrugged then said, "As good of a reason as any, I suppose."

"I'll see you next time then."

Sam crossed the bridge and Snufkin picked up his finishing pole and went back to fishing for his dinner.

Each week that passes, Sam would leave and stay with The Witch for a day and comes back the next morning. Sam would tell Snufkin what she's learned from The Witch or what she's discovered on her own. Each time she comes back and it's not the solution to his problem, Snufkin feels his frustration grow.

Currently Sam and Snufkin were sitting in Snufkin's camp around his burnt-out fireplace.

"So apparently I can make someone tell the truth if I mix daffodil petals, honey, and shaved pine tree bark into someone's food or drink," Sam told Snufkin as he was fondling the leaves, she gave him.

Dropping the leaves, Snufkin grabbed his hat and pulled it over his eyes and groaned loud and angrily.

"Hey?"

"This is taking too long," Snufkin said.

"I'm trying my best, man."

"Are you?" he asked, pushing his hat out of his eyes, "Because it's been over a month now and we still haven't found anything!"

Sam placed her hand over her heart and gave him a hurt expression.

Snufkin looked down at his hands then said, "Sorry."

"Is Moomintroll still acting weird around you?"

"Yes. Not as badly, but something's still off about him. I feel like it has something to do with what I can't remember. I just want my friend back," he said.

"Have you talked to him about it?"

"I don't want to make him uncomfortable."

"You know, sometimes to get through a problem, you have to do things that make you uncomfortable," Sam said, "Take my parents for example. Everyone in my mom's side of the family, except for Grandma, didn't like that my Mom was planning to marry a black man from college. They didn't exactly get over it, but they didn't force her to break up with my Dad after she and Grandma had a good talking to them about it."

"…What's wrong with blackman?"

"Nothing. Native American's are one of a suppressed population of people in the US whose culture is slowly dwindling and being use like they are props instead of having the cultural respect they deserve. My mom's family was just worried that Mom marrying my Dad would add to the cultural dwindling."

"Uh-hu…"

Sam gave him a funny look.

"What? Don't you guys have racism here?"

"I don't know. We're all trolls here," he said.

"Yah. Well, we're all humans back home. Doesn't mean we don't try to find every kind of difference we can point out to each other and use it as an excuse to try and destroy them or something."

"Oh. Well. Then I guess we do have that here. But we're way off topic. How am I supposed to confront Moomintroll about how he's acting?"

"I can write on large cue cards for you to read off of or you can practice what you want to say to him, to me," Sam offered.

"I'll just practice what I want to say. Don't tell Little My about this. I'm sure she'll bound right over to Moomin and I won't be able to get in a word to him edge wise," Snufkin said.

Sam gave him a thumbs up.

After an hour and a half of trying to get his words right, Snufkin left Sam and went to the Moomin household and knocked on the front door. Moominpappa opened the door.

"Is Moomin home. I would like to go on a walk with him."

"One moment," then Moominpappa yelled into the house, "Moomin! Snufkin wants to go for a stroll!"

The two trolls waited in silence as they heard the distant sound of feet pounding on the staircase. Then Moomintroll appeared and Moominpappa left to go write in his new book he's working on. Moomintroll closed the door behind him, and his white fur glowed radiantly in the brilliant afternoon sun.

"Where will we be going today," Moomintroll asked.

"I found a deer trail the other day. I thought that we could follow that," Snufkin said.

"Sounds like fun!"

Walking down the path together, they passed Sam, who was now chilling on the bridge, and the two of them disappeared in the woods.

As the two of them were following the deer trail, both trolls were silent. Granted, it's not unusual for Snufkin to be quiet, but for Moomintroll, it is very unusual. Moomintroll would usually tell him about an interesting rock he's found, or what Little My has done to annoy him that day, or tell him about a project he's working on. Not this, adverting to look at him, silence. It was disheartening.

Snufkin took a deep breath and steeled himself like he practiced with Sam.

"Moomin."

"Hmm?"

"Have I hurt your feelings? Or have I done anything to hurt you?"

Moomintroll whipped his head towards him.

"What! No!"

"Then I don't understand. I feel like you've been distant towards me. Something must of happened," Snufkin asked.

Moomintroll stopped walking and he covered his eyes. The pinks of his ears were turning bright red. Snufkin stood in front of him.

"Whatever is wrong, Moomin. I'd like to right it if I can."

They stood silently as they listened to the sound of distant rushing water and birds singing. Eventually Moomintroll spoke up.

"It's so embarrassing Snuf."

His paws were still covering his eyes.

"Is it so embarrassing that you'd shut out your best friend over it?"

Slowly, Moomin removed his paws from his eyes, but he was staring at the ground instead of looking at Snufkin.

"N-no."

"I would like to know what's wrong. I feel like I have done something wrong to make you feel this way," Snufkin said.

"You haven't. I promise. This is just all on me," Moomin said, looking at Snufkin to reassure him.

"Take your time."

Moomintroll took a couple of deep breaths.

"I… I accidentally saw you bathing the other day…"

Snufkin was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Eventually, he said, "We've gone skinny-dipping together before."

"I know," Moomintroll said covering his eyes again.

"I've undress in front of you several times before."

"I know."

"You've even helped me bathe sometimes."

"I knooooooow."

"Why did seeing me bathe make you want to avoid me?"

"I don't know, Snuf. I really don't. It's just there in my head and it pops up at the most inopportune times and I don't know how to feel about what's going on with my head," Moomin admitted, then added, "I've been getting better at pushing it aside, but I don't think it's helping."

"Would going skinny-dipping together make it help?" Snufkin asked, thinking exposer would help. They were pretty young when they bathed together and went skinny-dipping and other naked activities that you can do in the woods. Now that they're teens, maybe it's just getting used to it again?

Moomin removed his paws from his eyes again to look at his best friend.

"I don't think that'll help at all. I promise, I'm not trying to be weird around you on purpose. I still want to hang out with you and go on our adventures together. I just don't know how to deal with this."

He tapped his head when he said, this.

"I'm sorry I can't help you."

"It's okay. I do, weirdly, feel a bit better now that I've told you. Even though I feel like dying of embarrassment."

"I feel better too. Thanks for telling me."

The two teen trolls continued their stroll through the woods while Moomintroll told Snufkin about a snake he found that looks like a stick.