Genesis - Entangled

Autumn comes to Moominvalley.

— ...If you're still young, still young, still young!...

A choir can be heard out of the woods. Midsummer is long gone, yet the fun never ends for the Moomins.

— …Tomorrow old you will be, old you will be, old you will be!... Unless the heart holds, the heart holds, the heart holds... The youth that will never die!

— ...There are young people in their eighties... And old men who are only twenty-six!... – Little My stood upon a rock and raised her voice to high heavens.

— …Because old age does not matter! Youth always comes around again!... – Moomintroll sang a duet with Snorkmaiden, following Little My's sudden weariness.

Snufkin played the guitar. Snork calculated the guitar tuning and he came to the conclusion that the song was being performed in D2 A2 D3 G3 A3 D4.

— And you are as young as you feeeelaaaargh!... – Sniff took the lead. He made a funny noise as he rolled over the hill. He rolled and kept rolling until he laid on a dandelion field.

— You bet! you're young for real!... – Despite the dry throat, Little My sang once again, until she couldn't take it anymore.

— …Old is the one... who loses purity... One who... who stops learning... – Ophelia took her place. The Fillyjonk felt shy at beginning, with everyone looking at her with judging eyes, yet with a kind of fascination. They really liked her, and so she felt confident singing again. – …Don't say no! To the life that awaits you...To celebrate the joy of living...

— YUPPIE! – Little My jumped but nobody catched her. She fell on a water puddle.

— Are you okay, Little My? – Said Snufkin, who left the guitar behind to rescue Little My.

— If I'm okay? Like a squashed tomato. – Despite the complaints, Little My was fine. She was born with that frown, it was the first thing she did before smiling, or opening her eyes. – I think I ate a baby frog...

— Technically speaking, it's a tadpole. – Snork said, being smart.

— Technically speaking, you're a nitwit! – Little My replied, in her usual mood.

— Please, Little My. It's Autumn. – Moomintroll intervened.

— So what? It's not like Midsummer where we get to make bonfires and survive a flood and rescue children. Nothing exciting really happens.

— Look at the trees and their colors. From green to pink to orange to yellow… I find it beautiful. – Said Snorkmaiden, watching the forest in the distance and the leaves falling from the trees.

— Well, look at that mess! – Little My said, looking at the huge amount of oak leaves upon one another. – I won't clean it.

— It really isn't Midsummer, but I like it anyway. – Ophelia collected all kinds of flowers she found. Most of them stay dormant on earth until Spring comes, but if a flower can survive the harshest of winters, then they can grow in Fall. – There is a kind of Peace when November comes... I can't describe in words better than peaceful. Yes, peaceful. Everything is quiet this time of the year.

— You mean boring. – Little My was such a pain in the butt... but adorable.

— I do enjoy life's stillness, though. – Snufkin sat on the grass and watched the clouds slowly moving. – I wish days like these lasted forever.

— Oh hey, look! It's Moomin! – Snorkmaiden said, filled with joy.

— Yes, I'm here. – Moomintroll pointed at himself.

— Not you! – To which Snorkmaiden pointed at the skies. – There it is... a Moomin.

— Where? I don't see it. – Snork said, confused.

— That cloud up there! It has the shape of Moomin's nose. – Snorkmaiden said to her brother, still confused.

— It's a cloud.

— Yes, but that cloud looks like Moomin.

— Does it?

— Yes, it's a cloud, but it kinda reminds me of Moomin.

— Well... – Snork scratched his head, avoiding eye contact. – That's a cloud, and it will forever be a cloud.

— Gee, and I thought you were a sucker at birthday parties. – Little My could not keep the things she wanted to say in mind. Snufkin admired that kind of freedom, but sometimes it went too far. – Look, it's Snufkin!

— Snufkin!? – Moomintroll asked. His voice... It's like the emotions of horror and awe decided to have a child.

— I'm right here, Moomin. – The real Snufkin said, holding on to Moomintroll's hand.

— Looking for your precious Snufkin, eh? – As for Little My... That was just Little My being a prick.

— I don't see any Snufkin. All I see is a cloud. – And Snork being Snork in his own special way.

— I kinda see a hat, but other than that... nothing. – The Fillyjonk said, as she smelled the flowers at hand. – I'm sure aunt Emma will like these. I missed her a lot on my birthdays, and it warms my heart knowing she's fine and cares for me. Oh, sorry... but, whenever I smell a flower, some old memories come back, and they are very pleasant. Do you feel the same?

— You mean if I borrow some sort of audiovisual memory? I don't know. – Snork though hard to come up with an answer. Eventually, he did. – There are times I remember things that happened ages ago but not actually how they happened, just fragments of things I did but that I do not really remember. Those memories lack the sensation of the time, perhaps they transcend time itself in a way we can't explain. Maybe the worst moments of our lives are forgotten and replaced by something good, or something good once thought to be bad turns into a thing one laughs at. Is that what you meant by, or was it something else? Like, I'm not really sure what you mean but that's the best I could come up with.

— ...Now I am confused. – Ophelia took a few seconds to internalize all that information left by Snork. – I mean, when I smell a flower, it's like I smelled it before, but it was another flower. This very flower has the same scent as the one I smelled before as a kid. Same scent, different flower, different age, same me. Does that sound right? Does it make sense?

— I know what you mean. – Snufkin said, feeling a warm and soft breeze hit his face. He did not want to let go of Moomin's hand, but he had to so he could play a tune with its guitar. A melancholic tune. – You're feeling nostalgic over little things. It happens.

— It's more than that. Somehow I feel safe, even knowing the sky could crack and fall at any minute and I just don't care, because... I feel safe, that's it.

— Hard to describe emotions, young miss. they're like clouds, constantly moving and changing shape with time. – Snufkin looked around Moominvalley all introspective. – For a Fillyjonk, you sure are calm and collected.

— Not quite so. I was deeply worried that Aunt Emma never came to my birthday parties. I thought she didn't like me, that maybe she hated me, that perhaps she thought I was boring, maybe... yeah, just maybe, but when you're on your own, all you have are such awful guesses.

— Don't you worry. You are not alone anymore. – While Snufkin pretty much enjoyed living on his own, he cared a lot for the close ones.

— My, you got tons of flowers with you. Mind if I borrow some to make a hat? – Snorkmaiden gently asked, to which Ophelia nodded.

— Sure! – Ophelia had a whole bunch of flowers. She didn't mind giving some to the beautiful Snorkmaiden.

— Has anyone seen Sniff? – Asked Moomintroll, to which a creature with large, pointy ears came from behind.

— Right here. – It was Sniff, with a dreadful voice.

— What happened, buddy? – Moomintroll was shocked. A while ago Sniff was the living definition of happiness. Now, the poor Sniff's expression is that of a kitten who had not been given enough love. Or food.

— I don't know, Moomin. Suddenly, I feel my heart ache in my chest. My stomach hurts. My head is spinning. And the flowers... They make me feel queasy.

— What's up, Mr. Sniff? – The Fillyjonk asked, concerned a lot by seeing her friend... what was that stare devoid of life? Sniff looked so goofy and funny, it felt so long seeing him depressed all of sudden.

— Nothing. I feel nothing...

— Was it because you rolled down the hill? – Snorkmaiden took a guess. She too felt bad for Sniff and wanted to comfort him.

— No, not that. My head hurts, but... I don't feel pain.

— Are you hungry, Sniff? – Moomintroll asked. He wanted Sniff to feel alright in any way.

— Come on guys, it's nothing serious. Sniff fell in love with a girl, that's it. – Little My connected the dots. Everyone dropped their jaws, raised their ears and stared at her with a static look in face. Even Snork. – What? Haven't you noticed? I did.

— You fell in love with a girl, Sniff!? – Moomintroll was startled.

— Again? – Snufkin... not really.

— Oh, Mr. Sniff fell in love, how great! – Ophelia clapped her hands.

— You really scared me! – Snorkmaiden was angry, but it was alright. Nothing really bad happened to Sniff.

— And I thought for a second that Sniff saw something horrifying, like the Groke wearing pants. – Little My said, to which everyone pictured that nightmarish scene in detail.

— ...I thought you were dying. – Snork briefly said, while adjusting his glasses.

— Tell me, whose girl have you fallen in love with? – Asked Ophelia, to which Sniff looked closely at her with drowsy eyes filled with tears.

— Uh... Uh... Hnng... Oh... Hnng...– Sniff's words became one word monosyllables in front of Ophelia. His cheeks turned red, he began to sweat like a horse and his tongue twisted like a shoelace.

— Sniff? Are you okay? Hello?... – The Fillyjonk felt both shy and uncomfortable with the scene. It could not be her, or could it be? – Oh, Sniff... We are just friends, you see... as much as I like you, I... I don't feel these things. You know. Besides...

— Urgh!... – It was then that Sniff lost its equilibrium, falling above Ophelia's flowers.

— I don't think he's in love with you. – Said Moomintroll, booping Sniff's huge nose.

— Whew. – Ophelia breathed in relief. She wanted Sniff to be just a friend, after all. – I wondered what Aunt Emma would say, if that was the case.

— Sniff is too immature to be in love with someone. – Little My looked at the pathetic and somber figure Sniff became. – Last time he did...

— ...Houska. – Sniff said, between sobs and cries as he woke up.

— Yes, Houska. That's what happened.

— Houska? What is Houska? – Ophelia asked, in doubt of what a bread roll did to Sniff to make him feel that awfully bad.

— You mean who. Sniff can tell. – Little My replied, pointing at Sniff.

— Houska... sob. Houska, Houska ... Houska... sob...

— Did he just got rejected again? Quick, bring Moominmamma's pancakes! – Little My shouted in distress. – The amount of pancakes he can guzzle in a single bite, let me tell you...

— No time for jokes, Little My. – Snufkin got suddenly serious.

— Or, maybe I could just use a frying pan, it works every time in this kind of situation. – Little My didn't listen. Regardless of her mean attitude, deep inside she wanted to help Sniff.

— Something happened to Sniff and has to do with this Houska. – Ophelia wanted to know more about the girl who broke Sniff's heart.

— You have to try to forget Houska, my friend. I see no other way of healing your broken heart. It never happened to me, like I told you before. – Snufkin had no idea of how to help Sniff, but he tried throughout his wise words.

— I can't... I... I can't... Houska... – Sniff felt a bit calm, but it was not enough. It still hurted. – When I rolled down and down the hill, I... I saw her taking care of a tree... and then... I remembered... I was mean with her flowers, she slapped me and yelled at me and cried at me...

— I don't understand. What exactly happened between you two? – The Fillyjonk approached, without any fears except the ones emanating out of Sniff. – You can tell me, because if I don't know, I might not be able to help you out.

— I don't need help! I... I... I... – Sniff began to sound like a crybaby.

— Please, Mr. Sniff. – Ophelia comforted that Poor little thing. She knew how courageous of a... 'Sniff' was Sniff.

— ...Okay. I'll try. You don't know what happened, but I do. – Sniff proceeded to talk about his first love, a mix of comedy and tragedy. – A time ago, the Moomins freaked out because they thought the ants, the birds and the bees became smarter, way smarter than usual.

— I remember. Snorkmaiden and I were at the garden, where we found an ant with a splint for its broken leg – Moomintroll said.

— And Moominpappa found a tea warmer in a bird's nest. – Followed by Snorkmaiden, who recall the past events. – And Moominmamma found a broken jar of honey in the ground, surrounded by a horde of bees!

— Colony is the correct term, my sister. – Snork interrupted the flow, and the tension as well.

— I see. Moominpappa said back then that the bees realized that it was easier to get honey from a cellar instead of making it themselves.

— That's ridiculous. – Snork said, following an awkward silence. For the first time he dared to look at their dull faces, and then he did not want to ever again.

— So, the birds and the insects seem to have changed, but that was not the case. – Moomintroll began to recapitulate. – It was all Houska's doing.

— Houska? – Ophelia asked. That was unexpected for her.

— Yes. She is the one who broke the honey jar to make the bees happy... – Moomintroll explained. – The one who put the tea warmer on the bird's nest... The one who put a splint on the ant's leg because it looked like it had hurt its leg...

— ...And the one girl Sniff fell in love with. – Little My added.

— Oooh... Now I see why Sniff fell in love with her. What a nice girl! – Ophelia felt a heartwarming sensation.

— A rather silly girl. – Little My said, feeling like the voice of reason.

— Houska might be silly, but her delicacy, tenderness, her... her huge... huge, perfectly shaped, so distinctive, so beautiful... so huge... Nose. – And then everyone looked at Sniff with a straight face. They could not believe Sniff just said what he said. Snork got distracted with a monarch butterfly.

— Don't judge Sniff. – Snorkmaiden left a sigh. – I mean... really, her nose?

— Uh huh. – Sniff nodded, a bit ashamed of himself. – Houska had a wonderful nose. Not only a nose, but Houska... She is beautiful. She has awoken feelings in me that I never felt before, and those feelings were wonderful too. They were real, I felt something... I fell in love with Houska!... but no. Houska felt nothing back in exchange. I didn't know what she felt, but I decided to tell her.

— And it goes downhill from here. – Little My gave a sincere warning.

— Houska was at the flower field, taking care of her flowers. She really liked them, a real lot. So, I came near Houska I yelled 'I LOVE YOU!" with all the air in my lungs. Houska fell on top of her flowers and she was so scared and she slapped me for scaring her, sob... and I thought, I will pick up some flowers for Houska, she likes flowers, and I picked up the flowers and she... she slapped me again and yelled at me and told me to never see her face again and she yelled again and cried and I made her cry... BWAAAAA HAAAA HAAAA!

— Calm down, Sniff. – Moomintroll laid his hand upon Sniff's shoulder, as he cried and cried an endless river of tears.

— I'm sorry for you, Mr. Sniff. – Ophelia cried too, but not as much as the all sensitive Sniff.

— ''If something upsets you, just think of something else''; a philosopher once said. – Little My said.

— Whose philosopher? – Sniff looked at a blurry red figure that resembled Little My.

— You.

— Me?

— Listen... Haven't you grown up and overcome the crush you had on Houska? – Little My had this weird habit that she disliked Sniff and found him annoying at times, but whenever someone else disliked him, My is the first who gets protective

— Yes, I did! I don't feel anything for Houska. But I saw her again and it came to mind that I never apologized for what I did to her. I want to say I'm sorry but I feel like it can't be done. Houska will turn at me and yell at me and...

— You are creating harmful expectations that do nothing but make you feel disappointed, and that's no good. – Snufkin considered Sniff more than a friend, but a sort of little sibling he never got. – Why don't you try? Instead of giving in yourself to anxious feelings, talk things through. I'm sure Houska will understand.

— I will, Snufkin... I will... – Sniff felt relief, but he still cried. – Thanks.

— Sniff is so complicated. He is either really nice or he would sell you for one gold coin, no middle ground. – Moomintroll said, looking at Sniff sitting on a thinker pose upon a rock.

— Is Mr. Sniff that greedy? – The Fillyjonk asked. She has made new friends at Moominvalley and wants to know them better.

— Greedy enough to consider Houska would fall in love with him. They don't even know each other. – Snorkmaiden said, taking care of the flowers in head while combing her fluffy tail.

— Or perhaps they do... through their spikes. – Snork put on his glasses and gave everyone a deep philosophical statement that came right on head. – Imagine two hedgehogs in Winter…One would say the hedgehogs need to stay together to not freeze and die, right? But hedgehogs have spikes, and so they end up hurting each other. We all have spikes, we all end up unveiling them to one another. We are alone by definition, but no one walks through life's terminal frost on their own, and no one lives to hurt, even though we end up doing so. But that's how life works, my friend. It's a paradox by itself, we're both good and evil. You choose what you feel like doing, the hurt is all yours. Some of us might be happy simply knowing we're together, feeling each other's spikes equally and in harmony.

— I feel bad for Mr. Sniff, but I know he'll be alright. – Ophelia gave a flower to Sniff which he sneezed at. – My aunt Emma suffered a lot with her husband's demise, but she once told me "fair is a weather condition". Like the clouds, they turn from white to gray, the sky from blue to orange... You'll feel better again, Sniff, but that will only happen if you do something about it.

— That cloud reminds me of Mrs. Fillyjonk's hair whenever she gets scared. It's that easy! – Little My pointed her fingers to the afternoon skies, and then to Mrs. Fillyjonk's house, on the other side of the river. – Look at that ridiculous house surrounded by pointed fences.

— Those are Mrs. Fillyjonk's spikes, aren't they? – Said Moomintroll, whose eyes met a somber, frightened figure in the dark.

— Anything looks colorful outside Mrs. Fillyjonk's house. So gray, so dark, so out of life in and out... Dull as ditchwater. – Little My had a lot of living descriptions for Mrs. Fillyjonk and anything related. – That old crook's ankle tastes like codfish.

— Old crook? Where are your manners, Little My? – Snufkin demanded respect for the elders.

— I say whatever comes to mind. – But Little My being Little My, that would be a hard task.

— Isn't that same Fillyjonk who's afraid of bees? – Ophelia said, feeling the fresh breath of country air and the mellow scent of a honeycomb upon a tree. – Bees are only a threat when you make them angry. If a bee loses its sting, they, they... how do you call a bee without a sting?

— I don't know. Bees do not survive if they lose their sting. It is as important as their wings. – Snork said, climbing a leafless tree to study bee society.

— What do you call a rat without a tail? – Little My asked. She already had an answer. – A Fillyjonk. And what do you call a Fillyjonk with an extra limb, meaning a tail? A Fillyjonk with an extra shadow. And what do you call a Fillyjonk afraid of her own shadow?

— Is Mrs. Fillyjonk afraid of her own shadow? – Moomintroll took his eyes out of the figure that vanished from the darkened window of Mrs. Fillyjonk's house.

— Well, I don't think so. She must be proud of having one. – Little My continued her personal rant. – It always follows her steps, its quiet, and when a shadow talks, it has the same mouth as it's owner.

— A shadow can only be dark. – Snufkin looked at the mountains surrounding Moominvalley. They were pleasant to look at. The sound of freedom could be heard from miles away. – It has no heart, no will. It does not even live.

— Like those Fillyjonk kids...

— What do you mean, Little My?

— Oh, come on! You know very well. We all do. The Fillyjonkers... They don't even know how to jump hopscotch! Their mother is so afraid that they might tumble on the rock. That the rock is too sharp. That they might lose teeth, despite being the age to lose some. That their clothes might get dirtied... I've never seen someone worried sick the way Mrs. Fillyjonk is! And when she is not worried about her kids, she wants them to compete against us to prove they're better than everyone else at something, like when we made sand castles at the beach, we made it for fun, but Mrs. Fillyjonk does not know what it means to be fun. Was she ever a child, to begin with!? If so, a sad child. Not that children can be sad one time and another, but plain sad, uh... that's not a thing I ever saw, or will ever see.

Little My fainted on the grass, out of breath. She is doing fine.

— Mrs. Fillyjonk might be cold, but she ain't made of stone. For sure. Stones do not have blue eyes. Or wear hats. Or talk. Or have children. – Snufkin once went in trouble by running into Mrs. Fillyjonk's property. There was no such thing as property in the lonely wanderer's head, the earth belonged to everyone, but that was not the point. Despite the crusty attitude to everyone, Mrs. Fillyjonk was not a nuisance, just a training mama, and Snufkin knew better.

— Even if she was made of stone, don't you think she wouldn't let us hold and throw her at a lake, at a window, up in the skies? – Moomintroll knew how much Mrs. Fillyjonk was protective of herself and the kids. In a way, Moominmamma and Moominpappa cared for him with a bit of Fillyjonk in their hearts. A tiny little bit, the size of a flea.

— How are you doing, Sniff? – Snufkin heard no more cries.

— I am fine. I am actually fine. – Sniff said, with a smile that warmed everyone's hearts. – When it's time, I'll talk to Houska and say that I'm sorry.

— Go for it! – Moomintroll cheered. He knew Sniff was not a coward, but a courageous little fellow with a big heart.