Moomin tripped on the last step that led to the living room. "Ouch!" He cried, having fallen flat on his nose. MoominMama and MoominPapa were still awake, just tidying up the house before they went to bed. So when Moomin began making noise, they both had peered in to see what the ruckus was about.
"Oh, dear. Moomin, are you alright?" Mama wiped her hands on her apron- they were wet from washing dishes. Moomin nodded quickly, getting up. "I'm fine, Mama! But Snufkin's awake and he has a terrible cough!" Papa stepped aside as Moomin followed Mama into the kitchen.
"That's no good. It's best we bring him something to drink now, and should he stay awake, then grandmother's book has just the perfect soup recipe for healing cuts and bruises." Mama declared as she poured a large glass of water for the mumrik and handed it to Moomin.
Moomin quickly took the cup and started upstairs, surprised when he noticed his mother following him. "Mama, you're coming too?" Mama nodded, "Yes. I would like to check on him since he is awake." Moomin smiled, thankful to have such caring parents.
When he reached the door to the guest room, he pushed it open and froze. Snufkin wasn't in bed. He was at the window sill, in the arms of a spindly, skeletal creature with skin that appeared burnt to charcoal. Snufkin's body was limp and barely conscious, but his eyes focused on the creature that held him with a look of pure terror.
Moomin dropped the glass, hearing it shatter into several pieces. But he didn't care, and managed to step on a couple of shards, as he lunged forward, "Who are you?! Let go of him!" Moomin crashed into the window sill just as the creature fled from the room through the open window, Snufkin pressed tightly against its chest.
"SNUFKIN!" Moomin cried, leaning out the window. There was no ladder hanging from the window frame of the guest room for him to grab hold of, so when he saw the creature bounce and jump from the tiles of the roof, Moomin once again felt powerless. His shoulders deflated- but only for a moment, as he turned and rushed from the room.
Barreling past Mama, not hearing the words she shouted back to him, Moomin tumbled down the stairs and practically threw himself from the house and into the night. "SNUFKIN!" He hollered again, looking desperately for the kidnapped mumrik. But there was nothing to be found. Snufkin and his kidnapper were long gone.
But Moomin refused to give up. He ran into the cold winter valley, screaming his friend's name until his body ached from the frigid air. He had traveled quite far before he had stopped running. It wasn't until then that he realized that Mama and Papa were following him. "Moomin!" They yelled. Moomin slowly turned around, barely able to identify their faces through his blurry vision. He must be crying. He hadn't noticed.
"Moomin! You're bleeding! Sit down!"
What?
He looked down, and sure enough, small patches of blood traced the frozen ground to his feet. He hadn't noticed any pain in his feet until then either, but now that he saw it, he could feel a sharp stab on his heels and toes.
He looked back in the direction he had been running just as Mama and Papa reached him. Oh, Snufkin... Mama and Papa made Moomin sit down as Mama pulled handkerchiefs from her apron pocket and tied them around her son's feet to stop the bleeding.
Moomin watched in silence, feeling useless. "Mama... Snufkin... he-" Mama interrupted him, "I know, Moomin. I know." Mama's eyes were watering too.
Papa helped lift Moomin off the ground, ready to head back home. Moomin stopped them, "No! We have to keep looking for Snufkin!" He tried to turn to continue in the direction he had been running, but Papa stopped him. "Moomin, I understand your worry, believe me! But you are in no condition to be chasing a kidnapper through MoominValley. Once we get you home, I will most definitely return to look for Snufkin!" Moomin felt strongly against going back home, but with his feet in such a state, he really had no choice.
Once the Moomins had reentered their house, Moomin was placed on the sofa for Mama to tend to. Several shards of broken glass littered the soles of his feet, and they were just as painful to extract as they were to look at. Moomin urged Mama to hurry as he wanted to go back out to search for his best friend. Mama insisted she was working as quickly as she could, but Moomin felt it wasn't anywhere near quick enough.
As soon as the last shard had been removed from the troll's foot, Mama bandaged his heels and toes and Moomin jumped from the sofa, ignoring Mama's instructions to sit back down. "We have to go back out there, Mama! Snufkin is in danger!" Moomin cried, already making his way to the door. Mama grabbed his wrist, "I know, Moomin! But wait! I will go to the police station and inform them of what has happened! You must stay here and try to let your feet heal, Moomin."
Moomin ripped his hand away from his mother, shooting a look at her that stopped Mama in her tracks. It wasn't a cruel look. In fact, it was the opposite. It was a look that was so full of desperation, Mama could feel her heartbreak. "I can't sit here and do nothing, Mama! Please!" His plea was more than Mama could bare. She had seen that desperate look before, but not from Moomin. Her voice broke as she finally responded, "Alright, Moomin." He really is like his father, she thought.
Moomin turned from his mother and ran back into the night. Mama called after him, "I'm going to the Inspector anyway! Oh, do be safe, Moomin! And don't run on any jagged rocks!" Moomin waved back to her in acknowledgment, not bothering to turn his head. His mind was focused on one thing alone- one person alone. Mama placed a hand over her heart. What a terrible time for her to realize something so important. Though, sometimes it's the direst of situations that bring about the truth.
Moomin had eventually caught up with MoominPapa and joined in on the search with him. Not but an hour later, more people had joined the search. The Inspector must have called for a search party once Mama has told him of MoominValley's new predicament.
"SNUFKIN"
Soon nearly everyone in MoominValley was searching for the vagabond and his kidnapper. News that the Inspector had called central command to relay the details of the kidnapping spread through the valley quickly. Other towns' police had been instructed to be on the lookout for a boy matching Snufkin's description. And while Moomin and MoominMama weren't entirely sure what kind of creature it was that had kidnapped their dear mumrik, the image of the being had been reported as well.
The search went on until the sun rose into the sky, coating the clouds in a dust of pink-sherbert. But nothing was found. Many people had stumbled across the campsite, frightening them all into hysteria. The area was quickly quarantined by the Inspector.
There were no new blood trails. No torn bandages. No sign of any struggle in the night. There was nothing to suggest to Snufkin was still in MoominValley. On the bright side, this also could mean that Snufkin was still alive, as no body and no blood had been found.
Regardless, Moomin called for his friend until his voice ached and begged for him to stop. Snufkin was alive, he told himself. If he was dead, someone would have found something. He gulped, trying not to think about it, but that didn't stop the overwhelming paranoia that someone would shout that they had found Snufkin's body. Dead and torn to pieces. Moomin gulped again, resisting the urge to vomit once more. All of this was just too much for the little troll.
Moomin had made it into Lonely Mountains by the time the sun had risen, and he had planned to venture even further until MoominPapa approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Moomin-" "Papa! Where could they have taken him!?" Moomin's voice was cracked and tired, but still remained drowned in the same desperation he had presented to Mama last night. Papa pulled his hand away, whatever he was going to say had become lodged in the back of his throat.
Moomin wiped his eyes, "What if they're hurting him again?!" Moomin hoped they weren't... But if it meant that they hadn't killed Snufkin, he would take it. Papa sighed quietly, but the determination was still strong on his face. "Then we will save him! We are Moomins, my boy! We won't let criminals harm our family!" Moomin nodded, determination filling his face to mirror his fathers.
Snufkin's eyes fluttered open. All of that movement had rattled his weak, battered body and forced him to fall back into an uncomfortable unconscious state. But the movement had since steadied out, now being simple and gentle jostles as his kidnapper took each step.
The world was foggy, Snufkin thought. It was too blurry to see anything. He attempted to reach his hands up to rub his eyes but gasped when he realized that his wrists were pinned between himself and something hard.
He struggled to free his hands when suddenly a voice spoke from above his head. "You're awake." The voice was rough and seemed to echo off the trees in an unnatural way. Snufkin's eyes shot up to find the source of the sound, only to yelp when his eyes locked on the burnt slits of eye sockets resting inside of a melted, charcoaled face.
He recognized that face. It was the same one that had chased him back to MoominValley. The same face that had tried to murder him was now holding him tightly against his black and hardened chest. Whatever skin this creature had in the past, must have been burnt away until nothing but a dark, melted plastic casing remained.
Snufkin's body reacted on instinct. He flailed his arms and kicked his legs, feeling pain course through his veins with every motion. He had to get away! He had to get back to Moomin! The man holding the small mumrik gripped the boy's torso harder, squeezing Snufkin's broken ribcage until the vagabond screamed and went limp.
Snufkin's vision swam, and his tilted his head back finally realizing he was on a mountain. He didn't recognize it, though that may have been due to his incapacitated state. He felt himself being lowered to the ground. His eyes locked onto the creature he wanted to get away from so desperately and was surprised to see the man look... panicked? What?
The man's hands trailed down Snufkin's chest like he was making sure he hadn't killed the boy. "H-...-sorry..." Snufkin's consciousness was drifting away, so he had only caught a little of what the creature had said. It had apologized to him? Snufkin didn't understand, and quite honestly he didn't care enough to. He just wanted to get away.
He wanted to leave.
He wanted to go back to MoominValley.
Snufkin's mind flashed with images of himself being in the valley, playing with his friends, sitting in the soft spring sun, playing music for Moomin. He wanted to be there. Not here.
Snufkin felt a burst of energy from somewhere inside his tattered body. His eyes narrowed in determination, as he swung his body over, rolling out of the creature's hold. Agony racked his body, making him scream again. And suddenly... there was no ground beneath him.
He had rolled off the side of the mountain. But he wasn't falling. A sharp pain raged from Snufkin's wrist, down his arm, circling his shoulder, and dispersing throughout his torso. His eyes weakly trailed up from the rocks he could barely identify, to stop on the creature leaning over the edge of the mountain's trail. It was holding Snufkin's by his wrist, slit eyes wide in panic. So... strange, Snufkin thought.
Everything went dark.
Moomin and Papa reached the end of Lonely Mountain just as the sun was setting. They were exhausted and needed to rest. As they had looked for Snufkin, they had run into several other search teams. No one had found anything.
As the darkness of the new night blanketed the valley, and all that stood beside it, Moomin collapsed on the edge of the trail. He buried his head into his knees and cried. Papa knelt down next to Moomin and attempted to comfort his child. "We will find him, Moomin! Don't give up!" Moomin nodded but seemed unsure.
Papa couldn't bear to see his son in so much pain, and for a moment he wished to go back home and tuck the child into bed. To tell him a bedtime story. To kiss his little boy's head goodnight, and bless him with sweet dreams. Just as they had done when Moomin was small. Too small to go through all this pain. Too small to leave the valley in search of a missing friend. Too small to even have the vagabond as a friend. Papa, just for a moment... wished that Moomin and Snufkin had never met.
Then, at least, his little boy wouldn't be crying on a mountain trail, calling for a friend who was more than likely dead.
Papa clenched his fists and shook the thoughts from his mind. No. That was an awful thought. He shouldn't think that way. As an adventurer, Papa knew the risks. Making friends when you travel is a dangerous business. You might not return. And how many times had Papa made friends and promised to return to see them, but had never come back, forgetting them as soon as he'd stepped out of their town? He shuddered to think about that. But Snufkin was different. He always came back for Moomin. Always.
Papa's eyes drifted from his son's crying, shivering form, and into the forest ahead of them. Before Snufkin had shown up, Moomin was a bright, happy, young boy. Nothing was wrong with his child. In Papa's eyes, he was perfect. But when the vagabond had entered the valley for the first time, it was easy to see the bond between his son and this young man. It was instant and unbreakable from the start. And the happiness MoominPapa saw in his child doubled, then tripled, and grew until Papa realized that whatever happiness Moomin had felt before Snufkin, was simply the happiness of someone who didn't know just how happy he could be.
Papa stood from his spot beside Moomin. As an adventurer, Papa knew the risks. Making friends was dangerous. But when those friends teach you what true joy is... then the danger is worth it. He offered his hand to Moomin, "Get up, my boy." His tone lacked the exhaustion he had felt just minutes before. "There is another town just a few hours from here. Maybe they've seen Snufkin." Papa stood tall, watching Moomin slowly grasp his father's hand and get up.
They were going to find Snufkin. And then Moomin would be happy again. Truly happy.
When they reached the town, their bodies ached with exhaustion. The determination was still strong despite the pain that shouted through their muscles and aching bones. On the bright side, this town was quite a bit more developed than MoominValley. It consisted of a town square which housed buildings catering to travelers and shoppers. MoominPapa had never really liked this town, as it often attracted unwanted proprietors of MoominValley land. But today, he was grateful for the bustling town's accommodations.
The Moomin duo found an inn to take shelter in until dawn when it was light enough to travel further in search of the missing mumrik. The mattresses were soft, the air was warm, and the food was delicious. But neither troll slept well that night. Strange noises from outside of the inn kept waking them both up. When they weren't waking with a start, Moomin was plagued with nightmares of Snufkin being tortured and killed, and MoominPapa dreamt of his family falling apart. When dawn stretched from the horizon, the boys awoke in a groggy mess, both mumbling complaints of a terrible night's sleep.
Lucky for them, the inn served a complimentary breakfast for its guests. Moomin and his Papa sat, numbly munching on toast and jam when Moomin spotted two younger children. They were quietly playing in the corner of the inn, looking back to Moomin and Papa on occasion then turning to whisper to each other again.
Moomin popped the last bite of toast into his mouth and cautiously walked over to the children. They weren't afraid of him at least, he thought as the kids scooted closer to the troll when he approached.
"Hello. My name is Moomin. What's yours?" Moomin gestured to himself and then to the boy and girl sitting before him. The two whispered to one another briefly, then turned back to Moomin. "I'm Gutif, and this is my brother Luf Giwill," the bigger child replied, "What kind of creature are you, Moomin?" She pointed at Moomin's round belly and tilted her head. The smaller boy clung to his sister's back, peering over the girl's shoulder at Moomin.
Moomin smiled gently, the tiredness becoming more visible, "I'm a Moomin troll." The girl stared at him for just a second longer before nodding, seemingly pleased. "Where are you going?" She asked, rolling her shoulders to push her brother off.
Moomin frowned. The purpose of their trip was coming back to him in all it's traumatizing grandeur. "...I'm looking for my best friend. He's been kidnapped and my Papa and I are trying to save him." Moomin's tail curled up as though ringing itself out of nervousness.
Gutif covered her mouth, hiding an exaggerated gasp. Her brother, Luf Giwill, mimicked her action. Moomin's tail curled even tighter. "What? What is it?" His voice cracked slightly, only adding to break in his fake calm demeanor.
Luf Giwill finally spoke but didn't remove his hands from over his mouth even after his sister did. "Was he kidnapped by the Shadow Parents?!" Moomin's spine stiffened, "Shadow Parents?" His voice echoed the child in panicked confusion.
Luf Giwill lowered his hands and glanced to his sister for approval. Gutif nodded, lips quivering like she was about to begin crying. Luf Giwill grabbed his sister's arm and faced Moomin. "The Shadow Parents are scary monsters that live in our mountains. They take children who are ignored by their mommy and daddy." Gutif leaned closer to her brother and whined, "Did your friend's mommy and daddy ignore him?"
Moomin clasped his hands together. "I-..." He could feel his heartbeat racing.
"The Shadow Parents want to have children, so they take any kid who isn't protected."
"I had a friend who went missing last year."
"Everyone said they took her into the mountain."
"No one could find her."
"No one looked because no one actually cared."
"Anyone who is taken into the mountain is never seen again."
"That's just because no one wants to see them again."
"Sometimes you can hear the sounds of all the kidnapped children screaming in the night for their real mommies and daddies to come to save them."
Moomin held up his hand, "Stop! I don't want to hear any more!" He cried out. Gutif and Luf Giwill watched as Moomin covered his mouth and held his stomach. He had begun feeling sick again.
Moomin knew Snufkin was alone. That was because he liked it that way. But Moomin hadn't heard Snufkin ever talk about his parents. He knew nothing about Snufkin's family. All he knew were guesses from Papa's stories. He had guessed that Papa was friends with Snufkin's dad at one point, but beyond the stories of his father's adventures, Moomin had no inkling as to what became of his friend's parents.
Moomin had only realized he had been squinting his eyes tightly shut when he reopened them to find Gutif and Luf Giwill staring back at him with looks of wonder and confusion. Moomin gulped down the rising bile in the back of his throat. He needed to ask...
"What mountain do the Shadow Parents live on?"
MoominMama was part of a search team. She had been paired with Mrs. Fillyjonk and Mymble. Their team was to remain in MoominValley as a ground group in case Snufkin had managed to escape and come back, or something happened that needed able hands to deal with.
Mama was on her way to the police station, lunch box in hand for the Inspector who had been working hard all day to piece to evidence from the campsite with details of the kidnapping together. Mama rounded the path and stopped in her tracks when she spotted several more policemen, accompanied by a smaller framed doctor.
"Oh!" Mama gasped, rushing forward. When she was close enough, she called out, "Excuse me!" The doctor turned to face the mother troll, a fearful frown plastered on her face. "Yes. Can I help you?"
Mama slowed down as she reached the woman, "I'm MoominMama. I assume you're the doctor that the Inspector called for." The woman's face fell deeper in a state of concern, "Hello, MoominMama. I am, indeed, that doctor. However, it's been brought to my attention that the patient I have come to see is no longer in the Valley."
Mama placed a hand on her own cheek, gravely upset. "I'm afraid that's true. He's been kidnapped, presumably by the same awful person who hurt him in the first place." The doctor shook her head in dismay. "Please, come to my home. It's not far. You've traveled quite a long ways from the city, it's only right that I offer you lunch and some tea."
Moomin and MoominPapa ran as quickly as their legs could take them back to MoominValley. Moomin's feet were in searing agony from the cuts that had been ignored and were most likely now infected. Moomin acknowledged this as he ran, deciding that adrenaline was very powerful. He only hoped it was powerful enough to save his friend.
Once Moomin and Papa had milked all information about the Shadow Parents from the town as they could, Moomin had declared he was going to go straight to the mountains to save Snufkin. Papa stopped him.
"I've heard of these creatures before, though I had no idea there were any this close to MoominValley. They're too strong for us to fight them alone."
Papa had then ordered that he and his son would return to the valley and gather a team. Then they might stand a chance against these old, dangerous creatures.
Moomin balled his fists as he ran, looking back on occasion to the mountain the townspeople had claimed was the home of these beings. Snufkin was there. He knew it. He could feel it.
Hang in there, Snufkin, Moomin thought. I'm going to save you.
The teacup fell from her hands, tea splattered on the white table cloth in front of her.
MoominMama had just told the doctor about Snufkin's injuries, receiving disturbing remarks about each one. When Mama had finally relayed the details of the circular wound above Snufkin's chest, the doctor froze in terror.
The tea rolled on the cloth before her, coming to a stop at her chest that had been pressed against the edge of the table. "I highly doubt that was a puncture wound, MoominMama."
"What? What could it have been then?"
"More than likely, it was an injection site of deadly venom."
