Summer was slowly giving way to autumn. For the past few days, the Moomin family had been out, collecting fruit, nuts and mushrooms, stocking up their larder with preserves for the upcoming winter. Although the Moomins always hibernated during the winter months, they always liked to have a fully stocked larder waiting for them when they woke up in the spring. The only one not joining them was Snork, who had been spending every waking hour over the past month shut in his laboratory, repairing his damaged flying ship.
Following the incident with Professor Muffle, Snork had become so paranoid that someone else might come along to steal his flying ship, he refused to go out of sight of his house and had tightened security around his laboratory so much, it was starting to resemble a bank vault with its shatter-proof windows, metal-plated doors and tamper-proof locks.
The hole is the engine compartment floor had been repaired and the new engine was being constructed. Snork hoped to complete all the repairs before hibernating, so the ship would be ready for its maiden voyage in the spring. Leaving Snork to his work, the rest of the Moomins went about their own business.
Martin was busy picking mushrooms from the edge of the forest, not having the foggiest idea if what he was picking was safe to eat or not. Being a city boy, the only kinds of mushrooms he'd ever seen were on supermarket shelves. A fat lot of good that would do him here, where there could be any number of poisonous toadstools that he should avoid. Even Moominmama's description of the edible kinds was of little help as he could hardly tell one mushroom from another. Little My was assisting him, although, in her case, she was just picking every mushroom in sight and piling it into her basket. Nearby, Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden were collecting apples. As for Sniff, who was supposed to be guarding the stash of food they had collected, just in case any light-fingered individuals thought of taking advantage of it, had fallen asleep, his stomach full of nibbles from the stash he couldn't resist helping himself to.
Moomintroll had just finished filling up his second basket of apples. He carried it over to the other baskets of apples, berries, mushrooms and pine needles, which, Moominpapa had explained to the bewildered Martin, the Moomins ate prior to their hibernation. A few more basketfuls and they'd have enough food to last them through the coming spring, maybe even the summer – that is if Sniff, with his endless appetite, didn't eat it all first. Wiping some sweat from his forehead, he went for his canteen, hanging from a nearby tree, to get a drink of water.
Suddenly, as he reached for the canteen, he noticed something weird. The canteen was moving on its own accord! Moomintroll watched, petrified, as it unhung itself from the tree, as if grasped by an invisible hand, the cap unscrew itself, and the water pour itself down an invisible throat. A ghost! Moomintroll yelped in fear, tripping over his basket of apples, and falling to the ground in a heap. At the same time, a high-pitched scream, like that of a young girl, was heard from the direction of the floating canteen, which dropped to the ground, spilling its contents everywhere.
"Moomintroll! Are you all right?" called Snorkmaiden with concern, climbing down from the ladder. She hurried over to help her friend stand. "What happened? You didn't get bitten by a snake or something?" Behind them, Sniff, who had been awoken by the scream, sat bolt upright.
"Is this supposed to be a joke?" he asked crossly, obviously thinking they had deliberately screamed to give him a fright for sleeping on guard duty. "Can't someone take a nap for five minutes?"
"But we didn't scream, Sniff," said Snorkmaiden, who had also heard the unfamiliar scream and was just as oblivious as to who it belonged to as everyone else. At that moment, Martin and Little My came running, brandishing large sticks, thinking there was trouble.
"What's going on here? Thieves?"
"I...I don't know," muttered Moomintroll, trying to make some sense of what he had just seen, "My canteen was moving by itself..."
"Canteens don't move by themselves, nitwit!" said Little My, laughing out loud, "You've overworked yourself so much, you're imagining things...!" She swallowed her tongue mid-sentence as she suddenly noticed the canteen, which had been lying on the ground, suddenly pick itself up again, hanging in the air in front of them, as if the same invisible hand was offering it to them. The Moomins' eyes went wide.
"Ghost!" screamed Sniff, his eyes popping with fear. He collapsed in a dead faint. Snorkmaiden screamed and ran to hide behind Moomintroll. "Moomintroll, save me! I can't look!" she whimpered, shaking all over.
"A ghost thief, huh?" asked Little My, menacingly brandishing her stick at the invisible girl, or ghost, or whatever she was, holding the canteen, "Give that back, you thieving little scoundrel, or I'll beat you so black and blue, you'll be visible again!" The girl gasped at the threat, uttering a sob. Moomintroll, quickly recovering from the initial shock of seeing a ghost, glared at Little My.
"Shut your trap, Little My!" he shouted, "Can't you see you're upsetting her?"
Ignoring Little My's ranting, Martin slowly approached the girl and bent down to meet her gaze – something rather difficult, as it was hard to judge where a person's face was when they were invisible. Reaching out blindly, he felt the girl's hand grasping the canteen, who instantly jerked back, scared of being touched. Not a ghost, but real flesh and blood, thought Martin.
"Hallo," he said kindly, weary of scaring her more. He gestured at the others to come closer, "Were you thirsty? Is that what you wanted that for?"
"Mm," muttered the invisible girl, without saying a word. The Moomins had never seen anyone so shy before. Gingerly, she passed the canteen to Moomintroll, who took it, nodding his thanks. Behind him, Snorkmaiden, realising they were not dealing with some vengeful ghost that had risen from the grave to haunt them and feeling terribly embarrassed for acting so chicken in front of her friends, also approached the girl.
"We're sorry if we startled you," she said, trying to reassure her, "It's just we've never seen an invisible person before. What's your name?" Before the girl could muster the courage to answer them, they heard a familiar voice calling from close by.
"Ninny! Ninny, where are you?"
"Too-Ticky! Over here!" they all called. Too-Ticky appeared through the trees, looking worried out of her wits.
"Thank the Booble I found you!" she exclaimed, "I'm looking for a friend of mine. We got separated in the forest..."
"An invisible friend, by any chance?" asked Martin with a smile, gesturing at the seemingly empty space beside him, where the girl they now knew was called Ninny was standing. "She's right here."
"Ninny!" exclaimed Too-Ticky, hurrying over and pulling the girl into her embrace, who returned the hug. Although they couldn't see her, the outlines of her small arms circling Too-Ticky's waist were visible. "I thought I'd never find you again."
"You two know each other?" asked Moomintroll in amazement. Too-Ticky nodded.
"I met Ninny a few days ago, while running an errand for a mean old woman living in the forest; Ninny's aunt," she said, launching into the story of how she had found Ninny, an orphan, living in the care of her abusive, neglectful aunt, who treated her like dirt, keeping her mostly as a servant inside her house. Without her aunt's noticing, Ninny had seized the opportunity and appealed to Too-Ticky for help in escaping her miserable life. That same night, Too-Ticky had returned and snuck Ninny out of the house, right from under her nasty aunt's nose, and was bringing her to live with her in Moominvalley. The Moomins were touched.
"Poor Ninny," muttered Snorkmaiden, looking close to tears, "How could someone treat her own flesh and blood with such cruelty? It's appalling!"
"That aunt of hers ought to be thrown head-first into the nearest muddy ditch!" said Moomintroll angrily. The description of Ninny aunt's character utterly disgusted them.
"After seeing how her aunt was treating her, I couldn't just leave her there," said Too-Ticky, "But I need some time to make arrangements with my sister's family, so we can take her in. My cramped little fishing shack isn't going to be good enough. I was actually coming to see you at Moominhouse, hoping you might help us, when we got separated in the forest..."
"Of course we'll be glad to help you!" said Moomintroll excitedly. Like every kind-hearted Moomin, he was always willing to offer aid to someone in need. "We should go back and tell Mama."
They returned to Moominhouse, bringing all the fruit and mushrooms they had collected. Too-Ticky walked alongside them, holding the invisible Ninny's hand. Moominpapa was out in the backyard, chopping firewood and adding it to the growing pile he was preparing for the winter; Moominmama was in the kitchen, washing and sterilising all her storage jars which they would need for storing the preserves.
"Oh, you're back, my dears," said Moominmama as they entered the kitchen through the back door, bringing the food. She hurried over to help them arrange everything on the table, when she noticed Too-Ticky standing at the door. "Hello, Too-Ticky. It's so lovely to see you again. Come in and I'll get you some cold lemonade." She hadn't noticed the invisible Ninny holding Too-Ticky's hand.
"Thank you, Moominmama," said Too-Ticky, "Can Ninny have some too, please? She must be very thirsty." She gestured at the empty space beside her, where one of the baskets of mushrooms they had brought in seemed to be floating in mid-air, obviously carried by Ninny. Moominmama raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Once introductions were made and the proper explanations given, Too-Ticky told the Moomin parents about Ninny's plight. Moominmama had brought them all glasses of her favourite homemade lemonade and they all settled down in the lounge to listen.
"Ninny wasn't always invisible," said Too-Ticky. "It's because of her aunt always being so horrible to her and humiliating her that she eventually faded away, in order to hide from all the people around her. Apparently, it's the only thing that makes her feel safe."
"That's so horrible!" exclaimed Moominmama, "I would never treat my children like that! That woman ought to be ashamed of herself!"
"Can't she change back to being visible now that she's away from her aunt?" asked Little My, who was beginning to feel stupid looking at a seemingly empty chair where Ninny was sitting. "She won't even talk. Is she mute too?" They heard a suppressed sob coming from the chair.
"Manners, Little My!" Moominmama scolded her, "It's everyone's right to talk when they want to."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple," explained Too-Ticky, "Ninny is very shy and doesn't trust others easily, which is not surprising, considering how awful her aunt had been to her. As you're the nicest family in these parts, I was hoping spending some time with you might help her return to visibility."
"We'd be glad to let her stay," said Moominmama warmly. She turned to her husband, "Won't we, dear?" But, for the first time, Moominpapa had some serious doubts.
"We're flattered that you brought Ninny to us, Too-Ticky, but this is very serious," he said, "You say you took her from her aunt without her knowledge or consent? While you certainly had the best intentions for your friend, it's still called snatching a child away from her legal guardian. What if the aunt were to go to the police? You could get into trouble for kidnapping!"
"I don't think that would be a problem, Moominpapa," said Too-Ticky, "Her aunt was always going on about what a waste of space she was and how she would like nothing better than to be rid of her. To be quite honest, I doubt she'd even care Ninny's gone."
"All the same, we should have the word with the Inspector first," insisted Moominpapa, "There could be other living relatives, who ought to be notified..."
"Maybe this will help," said Too-Ticky, taking out an envelope from her pocket and giving it to Moominpapa. The envelope was old and yellowing from age. The Moomins could see the seal had been broken and the envelope opened, however it wasn't empty. Moominpapa pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper, apparently clumsily put back into the envelope by whoever had opened it originally.
"Ninny took it from her aunt's house before escaping," said Too-Ticky, "She says it is something very important, although she couldn't explain why."
Moominpapa spread the paper onto the table. It was completely blank. There wasn't a single thing written on it. The Moomins were disappointed.
"I guess whatever important was in this envelope was taken by whoever opened it first," said Moominpapa sadly, "This is nothing but an old piece of paper. Well, at least it will make some good tinder for the fire." He turned to throw it into the fireplace, but Ninny quickly jumped from her chair, snatching it back. She held it protectively against her. Although they couldn't see her face, they could tell she was angry.
"Oh, you'd rather hold onto it then?" asked Moominpapa, startled by her reaction. Why should she be so protective over a useless, old blank sheet of paper? Still, rather than upset their guest, he didn't make a fuss over it. "All right, Ninny, dear, as you wish. There is no need to get upset."
After Too-Ticky left them, promising to return as soon as she had contacted her sister, the Moomins returned to their work of cleaning and preserving all the food they'd collected from the forest. Once Moominmama had finished sorting the edible mushrooms from the toadstools, they each took a pile, wiping the mushrooms clean, before putting them into jars of vinegar that would keep them fresh for months. On Moominmama's suggestion, Ninny also pitched in. Although, so far, she hadn't spoken much, save for a few whispers in Moominmama's ear, she seemed quite eager to help with anything the others were doing. Little My kept staring in her direction, amusing herself at the sight of the floating mushroom and the napkin wiping it clean.
"Little My, it's not polite to stare," said Moominmama, noticing what she was doing. Little My was indignant.
"How can I be staring at her, if I can't even see her?" she asked, "Isn't there some way to make her visible again? Maybe we should take her to a doctor. A few dozen injections with large needles always make people change colour...literally." She giggled in Ninny's direction, who gasped, recoiling at the thought of such a 'cure'.
"Now, now, dear," said Moominmama, "You heard Too-Ticky. Maybe we should just wait and see what happens."
"Fine! In the meantime, we can just keep looking at empty space," scoffed Little My, "On the other hand, it would be perfect for giving Sniff another ghost scare!" At the other end of the table, Sniff, who was busy cleaning mushrooms and then eating them, rather than put them in the jar of vinegar, jumped in alarm.
"A ghost?! Where?" he screamed, looking frantically around, as if expecting to see a ghost lurking around the room. Although he had gotten used to Ninny, having an invisible person, the closest thing to a ghost, around him still made him nervous. Little My burst out laughing, thumping her hands on the table.
"Look!" cried Moomintroll suddenly. Where there should have been just empty space was a pair of girl's hands floating in mid-air, crossed together, as if trying to suppress a giggle. Ninny's hands! The Moomins gasped. Their guest was staring to come back into visibility! But then, Little My ruined everything with her big mouth.
"It's all very well, showing us your extremities," she said dryly, "But you must have a face like a pug if you insist on keeping it hidden." Ninny gasped at the insult, stifling a sob, her hands instantly vanishing again. The Moomins were furious.
"Little My!"
"What?" she asked, "I was just making an observation."
"Don't listen to her," Martin said to Ninny, "That idiot has got a brain like a hardboiled egg... Ow!" Little My had hurled a mushroom at his forehead.
"Don't call me an idiot, you idiot!"
Although they heard Ninny giggle at their antics, her hands didn't reappear...
That evening, the Moomins, exhausted after a long and tiring day, retreated to bed. They had moved Ninny into the guestroom, usually occupied by Martin, giving her some privacy, while Martin temporarily moved into the spare bed in Moomintroll's bedroom, usually occupied by Snorkmaiden during her sleepovers at Moominhouse.
"Do you think Ninny will ever be visible again?" Moomintroll asked Martin, who was sitting up in bed, thinking.
"Who knows?" said Martin, "Maybe, if Little My learns to keep her trap shut and stops upsetting her. Fat chance of that happening though."
"You've been awfully quiet all evening," Moomintroll told his stepbrother, "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about that mysterious letter Ninny brought with her," said Martin, lost in thought, "I wonder what's so important about it?"
"Nothing's important about it," said Moomintroll dismissively, "You saw it, it's just a blank piece of paper. Ninny obviously got the wrong envelope or mistook it for something important."
"Then why would she insist on holding onto it, even after we all saw it was blank?" insisted Martin, "There is something more to that letter and she knows it. I just wish she weren't so shy; it would make clearing up this mystery a lot easier, if she just were a little more talkative." Moomintroll was suddenly struck with suspicion.
"You don't think she's involved in some sort of trouble?" he whispered, careful so that his voice wouldn't carry to the guestroom right underneath the floor, where Ninny was sleeping, "You know, like Thingummy and Bob?"
"I don't know," said Martin doubtfully, "Somehow, I can't imagine someone as timid as Ninny being involved in any sort of skunk work. That nasty aunt of hers could be a whole different story though," he added, "I wonder why she kept Ninny in the first place, if she hated her so much? Why not just give her to the orphanage?" Moomintroll shrugged, feeling at a similar loss as Martin.
In spite of their concerns, it was too late at night to be making deductions like Holmes and Watson, so, bidding each other goodnight, they blew out the candles on their bedside tables and settled down to sleep. In the guestroom on the landing below, their guest slept with one eye open, dreading the moment when her aunt would discover her absence...
The following morning, work resumed as normal. Moomintroll, Martin, Sniff, Little My and Ninny were out, collecting more apples. Back at Moominhouse, Snorkmaiden was assisting Moominmama, who was turning the apples into jam, while Moominpapa was chopping the last of the firewood in the yard and storing it away in the shed.
Ninny was quick to adjust to her new life with the Moomins. Although she remained timid and hardly ever spoke, she was always eager to help out with the work or join in with whatever games or activities they got up to. Martin suspected it was some unspoken sense of gratitude on her part for them giving her a new home, away from her cruel aunt. The only exception was Little My, who seemed to have made it her mission to snap her back to visibility her way.
Ninny was up on a ladder, picking apples off the tree and tossing them to the others below, who were putting them in baskets. None of them noticed Little My climb the tree from another ladder on the other side, and suddenly jump out from the leaves, right in front of Ninny.
"Boo!"
"Ah!"
Caught by surprise, Ninny toppled backwards and fell off the ladder. Martin barely managed to catch her before she could hit the ground. Bursting into tears, she ran to hide behind a bush, sobbing her heart out.
"You idiot, Little My!" yelled Moomintroll angrily, "You could have hurt her! Can't you leave her well enough alone?!"
"Ha! Her problem is she's too timid," scoffed Little My, "She'll never be visible again unless she learns to stand up for herself! Just look at me: I may be a shorty, but I still stand up for myself, and guess what? I always make those taller than me cower, should they dare cross me!"
While Little My may have had a good point, her reckless approach in trying to make Ninny visible again was certainly not working and was only resulting in making her upset. Since catching a quick glimpse of her hands the other day, she had shown no further signs of visibility whatsoever. When they got back to Moominhouse, Little My was given a well deserved dressing-down by Moominmama.
"Ninny is our guest, Little My, and you're not to upset her again!" said Moominmama crossly, "I absolutely forbid it! All guests in this house are supposed to feel happy, not driven to tears by such mean pranks!"
"You mean I should find ways to make her laugh?" asked Little My, either not getting the message, or perhaps only wanting to be a smartass, "No problem! You lot can hold her down while I tickle the daylights out of her! We'll have her visible again in no time at all." The Moomins rolled their eyes; sometimes, Little My was simply impossible.
"Oh, no, that's not the way, Little My!" said Moominmama sternly, "What she needs is love, care and, above all, not to be made to feel weaker or less significant than anyone else around her. We just have to be patient."
It was nearly suppertime. All the mushrooms had been pickled in vinegar and now sat in sealed jars inside the cool darkness of the larder, where they would stay fresh for months. The cabbages from the garden had also been chopped and preserved in salty brine, becoming sauerkraut. And with the last of the fruit harvested, the Moomins could start preserving it in sugary syrup, turning it into jam that would keep for ages. But they had collected so many apples, it soon became apparent that they wouldn't have enough jars to preserve them all. Then, Martin, remembering from an old English recipe, had come up with the idea of using the remaining apples to make cider.
At first, Martin had had some reservations, thinking Moominmama would not approve of her family indulging in alcohol. Surprisingly enough, she was perfectly fine with the idea, confident that her children would be responsible enough to control themselves, and supplied him with all the necessary equipment.
The apples were mashed and squeezed of all their juice, which was collected in airtight wooden barrels and mixed with yeast, where it would wait to ferment, becoming cider. If all went well, by next spring, they would be enjoying a homemade frothy brew, just like Victorian-era English farmers. A little taste of home for Martin, wherever that was now.
With their work nearly complete, they finally decided to call it a day. While Moominmama prepared them her special pumpkin soup for supper, Martin and the others gathered in the lounge, playing chess on Martin's computer. Ninny had been most intrigued when the Moomins told her where Martin came from and was utterly fascinated by all his strange gadgets.
"Checkmate again, Little My," said Martin, watching the computer move the black rook into position, trapping the king into a corner of the chessboard. Little My was furious. She was confident she could beat the computer on the first try and had already been beaten by it three times in a row. "I told you, beating a computer at chess is not easy... Hey, don't you damage that!" he added, noticing her about to smash her fist through the screen in frustration and quickly taking the laptop away from her.
"That stupid machine is just cheating, that's what's happening!" she snapped, "And will you stop giggling your stupid, invisible head off!" she added in annoyance, noticing how Ninny was smirking behind her back, obviously enjoying watching her frustration. Martin was sure it felt good for Ninny to see the shoe on the other foot for a change.
Dinner was just about to be served, when there was suddenly a loud knock on the front door. The Moomins looked at each other in confusion; they were not expecting visitors at this hour. Moominpapa went to answer the door. He was surprised to find the Inspector there. Accompanying him was a porky, arrogant-looking woman with thick spectacles and a face like a bulldog. The Inspector was frowning.
"Sorry to disturb you at this late hour, Moominpapa," apologized the Inspector, "This lady says her niece has been kidnapped. We're conducting a house-to-house search. Have you seen anything?"
Caught by surprise at the Inspector's unexpected arrival, Moominpapa found himself unable to formulate some sort of reply that would convince the Inspector he was looking in the wrong place and send him on his way.
"A kidnapping you say, Inspector? Oh, well, you see... Well, my family and I, we..." The Inspector frowned suspiciously. Why was his friend and neighbour, who was always so eager to invite him in for tea, suddenly acting as if he didn't want him here? Could he be hiding something?
"Are you all right, Moominpapa?" he asked, "Have I come at an inconvenient time?"
"Well, yes... I mean, no, everything is fine, Inspector..." But the woman accompanying the Inspector, who somehow seemed to realise this was the right house, looked over Moominpapa's shoulder. One would have thought she wouldn't be able to see anything, as Ninny was still completely invisible. But the sly old woman knew exactly what to look for.
Looking to where Ninny was standing, Martin noticed something none of them had realised so far: her invisible self, although completely transparent, still cast a tell-tale shadow against the wall – and the old woman was staring right at it! In an instant, the damage was done.
"There she is!" yelled the old woman. "These walking hippos have her! Arrest them, Inspector!"
"Excuse me!" retorted Moominpapa angrily, "We are Moomins, not hippos!" Martin remembered having heard that associating a Moomin with a hippo was highly insulting. But the old woman couldn't care less. Barging into the house and shoving Moominpapa out of the way with no decency whatsoever, she furiously made her way towards her niece. Ninny, seeing that big, horrible creature that had mistreated her most of her life approaching her, yelped in terror and run to hide behind Moomintroll. Her aunt angrily continued to advance, like a Grim Ripper.
"So this is where you've got to, you little tramp! Thought you'd run out on me, did you? I'll give you such a thrashing, I will...!" She raised her large cane menacingly.
"Leave her alone, you big bully!" yelled Moomintroll, as he, Snorkmaiden and Sniff shielded the frightened Ninny from her gaze, "You're frightening her!" The woman ignored them, trying to shove them out of the way and get to Ninny. Before she could reach her however, she found her way blocked by Martin.
"Keep your hands to yourself, lady, or I'll deck your fat backside all over this floor!" While, under normal circumstances, he'd be extremely uncomfortable punching a lady, this old biddy was no lady and obviously had no qualms about using her hands against her innocent niece. A taste of her own medicine would be more than she deserved to be sure! The woman gasped furiously at the insult.
"How dare you speak to me like that, you young hoodlum!" she yelled in Martin's face, who didn't even flinch, "Do you know what happens to those who stick their noses where they aren't wanted?!"
"Oh, yes," said Martin, unfazed, "This!" Reaching up, he twisted the old woman's nose like a knob on a busted cooker. The woman shrieked in pain, clutching her nose. She seemed about to strike Martin, who balled his fists, ready to thump her one good right in the face if she tried. But before any blows could be exchanged however, the pair was separated by the Inspector and Moominpapa, who jumped between them, pulling them apart.
"That's enough, Martin!" said Moominpapa sternly, "No fighting in my house!"
"Calm yourself, madam!" barked the Inspector, ushering the old woman away, "I won't have you starting a riot here, or raising your cane against an innocent child!" He turned to Moominpapa. His face was very stern.
"Moominpapa, if you know something about that young lady's presence here, you better start explaining now!" he said, gesturing in Ninny's direction – or rather at her shadow visible on the wall. "Kidnapping is a serious felony! You could all end up in prison for a very long time!" The Moomins all paled. But then, much to everyone's surprise, Ninny, who had barely uttered a word since arriving here, spoke up.
"Please, Inspector, they didn't kidnap me!" she cried, "I ran away! My aunt was going to beat me for burning her dinner! She's always beating me and treating me like a slave! The Moomins found me and took me in," she explained, conveniently leaving out the fact that it had been Too-Ticky who had helped her escape and brought her to Moominhouse. The Inspector looked at her aunt with a frown. One of the things that he couldn't stand for was child abuse.
"Madam, have you got something to say about this?"
"I refuse to comment, Inspector," said the woman snobbishly, her nose in the air, "How I choose to discipline my troublemaking niece is my business and you have no authority over her! And as for you," she added, glaring daggers at Ninny, "I'll teach you soon enough for spreading tall tales about me, you ungrateful little brat! I'll whip you within an inch of your life...!"
"You will not lay another hand on this child!" said Moominmama furiously, pulling Ninny into her embrace, as if to protect her. It was scary; no one had ever seen her so angry before, not even when Stinky had nearly killed Martin and Snork by sabotaging their glider. Her eyes literally flashed with anger, causing Ninny's aunt to back away. She may be a terrifying and intimidating bully, but had more sense than to provoke the motherly wrath of Moominmama. However, she had no problem turning to the police to do her dirty work.
"Inspector, I demand you make these criminals give me back my niece at once!" she shouted, "I am her legal guardian and therefore retain full custody of her! These foul Moomins have obviously brainwashed her so she's making up these absurd accusations. I demand you return her to me immediately, so I can take her home and punish her for causing all this trouble as I see fit!"
"Unfortunately, I cannot do that just yet, madam," said the Inspector coldly, who, having noticed the woman's rough behaviour and Ninny's fright of her, felt compelled to act, "Not until I have had a word with social services, regarding your conduct of your niece." The old woman's face turned brick red.
"How dare you presume I...!" she screamed, but was cut off by the Inspector sternly clearing his throat, warning her to be quiet.
"I presume nothing, madam," he said, "But the police always have a duty to protect the honest citizen and that includes children. Your attitude towards your niece is certainly not that of a caring or responsible guardian, which is why I'm obliged to take it up with social services. In the meantime," he added, before the woman could protest again, "On my direct authority, I am removing young Ninny from your care and placing her in the care of the Moomins until further notice."
The Moomins all cheered, feeling utterly relieved. Just when it seemed they had landed themselves in serious trouble and Ninny was to be returned to the clutches of her gargoyle of an aunt, the Inspector had thrown them a lifeline. While there was no guarantee social services would be able to help, for the moment, Ninny was safe. Her aunt was beyond furious.
"You can't do that! I'm her aunt and I love her!" she cried, suddenly playing the innocent victim who had been seriously misjudged. "All right, I might have gotten a bit carried away just now, but I was upset and stressed...!"
"Then, you have nothing to fear, madam," said the Inspector coolly, "The Moomins are a very nice family, who will take good care of Ninny while social services review your case. In the meantime, you can get a well-deserved break from caring from your niece. I'm pretty sure you could use a rest, madam." Although meant as sympathy, the sarcasm in the Inspector's voice didn't go amiss. "Now, if you'd like to accompany me down to the station, I can take down your statement. Good night, everybody."
With no other recourse open to her, the old woman turned to follow the Inspector out the door, but not before turning to glare at the Moomins.
"This isn't the end of it!" she hissed, "I'll have my solicitors all over you for stealing my niece away, you watch!"
"Your niece is her own person, lady, and not some piece of property to be stolen from you," snapped Snorkmaiden angrily. Like Moominmama, she had taken an instant dislike to Ninny's aunt, triggering her inner fighter instinct that very few people ever got to see, to protect those she cared for, "Now get out of this house!"
Once the Inspector and Ninny's aunt were gone, the Moomins turned to Ninny, joyfully hugging and kissing her. Just when it seemed they were going to lose their new friend, Ninny would now get to stay with them proper...at least until social services decided what was to be done.
"We're so happy for you, Ninny!" said Moominmama, hugging her tight. Ninny hugged her back.
"And standing up for yourself at last," commented Little My, clearly impressed by Ninny's change of personality. In her fear of seeing her friends, who had shown her such kindness, about to get into trouble, she'd mustered the courage to overcome her fear of her aunt and reveal the truth to the Inspector.
"Serves her nasty aunt right," said Moomintroll, still cross at the way she'd treated Ninny. That cow deserved the trouble she'd be getting from the police, and worse. "I hope social services never let her near Ninny again!"
"I am afraid that still remains to be seen," said Moominpapa solemnly. Having grown up in an orphanage, where the same social services that would now decide for Ninny, had placed him after the death of his parents, and where he had led a miserable early childhood before running away, he knew they couldn't be trusted to act with Ninny's best interests at heart. Adding the fact that Mrs Fillyjonk was a chairwoman on the social services' committee and whose aunt had been the head of the same orphanage where Moominpapa had grown up, didn't improve their chances either.
"Surely, they can't just hand Ninny back to that awful woman?" said Snorkmaiden, "She threatened to whip her!"
"I'm afraid social services don't believe anything other than what the law stipulates," said Moominpapa, "Even if we were to voice our concerns about Ninny's aunt to social services, it would be our word against hers." The Moomins were terribly depressed; it seemed it was still only a matter of time before Ninny was taken away from them, possibly forever, and there was nothing they could do about it.
"The letter," Ninny said, taking out the mysterious letter in question, which she had been holding onto nonstop since the day she had arrived at Moominhouse. "You have to read the letter."
"Read what?" asked Sniff, staring blankly at the apparently blank sheet of paper. "There is nothing written on it..." But Martin, suddenly struck by inspiration, took the letter from Ninny and began examining it using a different, scientific approach.
Taking out his pen-flashlight, he shone it across the surface of the paper, looking for any signs of faded writing that might still leave traces on the paper. Nothing. But then, he happened to notice the pool of light from his flashlight on the floor underneath the paper. Staring at it closely, he saw the outlines of some strange lines of markings, which, he realised, were letters. Invisible writing, which cast a shadow, not unlike Ninny's invisible self! The Moomins all gasped.
"It's a letter!" exclaimed Moomintroll, as Martin's flashlight scanned the surface of the paper, revealing more lines of writing, "A letter written in invisible ink!"
"Or invisible blood," suggested Martin, looking at Ninny. If someone would go as far as to use Ninny's blood to write this letter so that no one would read its contents meant it had be important. "Why didn't you tell us before? Did you write this?"
"No, I...I can't read," stammered Ninny, obviously embarrassed by her illiteracy. Alas, her aunt had never seen fit to send her to school, instead keeping her at home to do chores.
With Martin slowly reading the contents of the invisible letter using his flashlight to make the letters cast a shadow so they could be made visible, Snorkmaiden, who had the neatest handwriting of them all, took dictation, using a piece of paper and ink Moominpapa had given her. They soon realised, the letter was in fact a will, the last will and testament of a Sir Gaylord Gobble and his wife Lady Dame Elaine, naming their only daughter, Ninny, as sole heiress to their massive family estate. Then, followed a list, itemising all the assets of the estate: the family mansion, bank accounts, jewellery, an entire fortune. The Moomins were absolutely flabbergasted.
"You are the heiress to a massive estate?" gasped Sniff, who was already dreaming of all the possibilities of having a rich friend could mean for them, "Why didn't you tell us?!"
"You're the daughter of a rich lord?" gasped Little My, "Then why are you living with your whacko aunt, living as a servant? What happened to your parents anyway?"
"They died when I was five," said Ninny slowly, holding back tears, "My aunt is my only living relative; she was expecting to come into the inheritance herself, but couldn't find a will naming her as executor. Her lawyers have been fighting to give her power of attorney over my parents' fortune for years."
"What's power of attorney?" asked Snorkmaiden.
"It means someone who is given the legal authority to manage someone else's property on their behalf, for example an orphaned child's inheritance, until they are of age to claim it themselves," explained Martin, slowly piecing everything together, "That explains why Ninny's aunt wants to retain custody of her; she can't be named executor of this estate unless she's Ninny's guardian."
"Only she had the will right under her ugly nose all along, stating that the inheritance belongs to Ninny, not her," said Little My, laughing at the irony, "Oh, boy, I'd love to see the look on her face when she hears about this! She'll be green with envy!"
"And it gets better," said Martin, reading another section of the will, stating that Ninny's aunt, who originally had been slated to be executor of the estate in the event of Ninny's parents' deaths, as well as receiving a large part of the inheritance herself, had been disinherited, on accounts of being 'untrustworthy and disloyal to the family.'
"That explains why Sir Gaylord had the will written using his daughter's invisible blood as ink," said Martin, "Realising Ninny's aunt might make a grab for the inheritance when he and his wife died, he wanted to ensure his daughter would still receive what was rightfully hers. If Ninny's aunt had known about this document..."
"She'd destroy it on the spot," Moomintroll finished for him, knowing full well what would happen if Ninny's aunt found out there was a will lying around, one which explicitly disinherited her and named Ninny as the sole heiress to a massive fortune she wanted to keep for herself. She'd go at any lengths to make sure that document never saw the light of day. But not if the Moomins had something to say about this.
"We need to show this will to the Inspector, immediately," said Moominmama, "It's the only way to prove to social services that Ninny's aunt isn't the right guardian for her. They can't ignore this."
But Moominmama's confidence was soon found to be misplaced. Martin and Moominpapa had taken the will to the Inspector the very next morning, who, while impressed with their powers of deduction, had been obliged to disappoint them.
"There is no way an invisible document will be accepted by any lawyer. Unless the will is visible, so it can be read in the presence of the beneficiaries, as expected by law, it's inadmissible. Social services wouldn't accept it as evidence either, even if they believed you of its contents. I'm terribly sorry."
They returned to Moominhouse with the bad news. As expected, Ninny was absolutely devastated and fled from the room, crying her heart out.
"Poor Ninny," said Moomintroll sadly, "We can't give up on her, Mama!" he begged his mother, "We have to do something!"
"Don't despair, dear," said Moominmama, pulling her son into her embrace to comfort him, "As long as we keep trying, there's always hope."
"What hope?" scoffed Little My, finding the perfect moment to revert back to her dramatics, "We've got social services expected to come calling at our doorstep any day now to take Ninny away, a useless will that we can't make visible, anymore than we can make her visible, not unless we can magically snap them both back into visibility! This is what I call a rotten dung-heap of a disaster!"
"Language, Little My!" said Moominmama crossly. As bad as the situation was, she wouldn't tolerate foul language inside her house. But Martin, inspired by Little My's words, suddenly stood up.
"Wait a minute," he said, "By magic! That's what we need. Someone who might be able to restore Ninny and the will to visibility using magic!" The Moomins looked at him, thinking he'd lost his mind. None of them knew how to do magic. Then, it hit them.
"Of course," said Moomintroll, remembering. "We need Alicia's help..."
Author's note: Another chapter is up! For those of you who have seen the 1990 Moomin TV series, I have used parts from the episodes The Invisible Child and An Invisible Friend, as well as their 2019 series counterparts. Some names and details are also references to other episodes in the series. Coming up next, a visit to Gobble Hall! Enjoy and please review!
