7.

"My?"

Never had he been happier to see her. One moment he was alone in a cell after a long days' work, and in the next he heard the faint sound of small feet and then an all-too familiar and hideously piercing voice calling his name.

It was almost too good to be true. Yet now here she was, sitting on his chest and smiling her usual broad smile in her usual red dress and everything. Yes, she was really there and when that realization finally dawned on him, he launched himself at her without thinking.

"My!"

She giggled in his arms.

"Oi! You're choking me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." He loosened his grip and reluctantly let her go. "I'm just so glad to see you. How… How ever did you find me? Did you come alone?"

"Long story, but nope, I'm not alone. The whole bunch is here."

"The whole 'bunch?"

"Yes! You'd think they'd let me go alone? Forget it! No, Mamma, Pappa, Moomin and our own inspector came too. They're all waiting back in the hall. Strange place this is."

"Yeah…" Snufkin curled in on himself a little. It was like relief flooding through his veins as she talked, but he still felt scared. He hadn't pictured this kind of scenario in his head over these last weeks. Him getting to them, yes, but not the other way around. How would this end? Would they be able to free him? Would that idiot of an inspector listen to other grown-ups when not to him?

"Hey, what's happened to your arms?"

Snufkin jumped. Little My had caught sight of his sore wrists and he quickly hid them beneath the blanket. But he wasn't fast enough. Little My managed to grab one of them and held it up to inspect. He pulled it back.

"It's nothing, My."

She bore her eyes into him. Something between worry and growing anger floated in her gaze.

"Those are from cuffs, aren't they?"

"How did you find me?" He wasn't very keen on following the path which this conversation seemed to be going. He tucked in both paws under the blanket and refused to look at her.

"Don't change the subject. Is the other one just as bad?"

She dived for his other paw and Snufkin fought to keep it out of her reach,

but in the end she won.

"Both are sore. You should put bandage on that."

Snufkin yanked his paws away from her.

"As if I've had any available…" he muttered in a whisper so low she almost didn't hear him. But she did.

"Those bastards…"

She glanced around the cell and Snufkin watched her doing so. Her piercing eyes wandered around every corner, as if she was searching for something. In the end, they came to settle back on him again.

"What is it?" he said.

Little My frowned. She tilted her head and gave him a quick look from top to bottom.

"How on earth did they persuade you to wear those silly clothes?"

Snufkin curled further in on himself until he wasn't much more than a small bony red ball with yellow stripes.

"They didn't", he thought as the involuntary shivers began shaking his body and he was grabbed by a strange feeling of wanting to disappear. He wanted an armour of thousands of blankets to shield him from the memory of paws tugging and pulling mercilessly at him… holding him down. Humiliating him.

"SNUFKIN? Snufkin? Do you hear me?"

He gasped and became aware of Little My's worried face looking straight at him. She had placed herself on his thighs and held onto his shoulders for dear life.

"What happened?" she went on, worry shining in her face. "Was it something I said?"

"W-what?"

"You just zoomed out and I kept calling your name for like three or four times before you heard me!"

"Did I? I'm sorry." Snufkin swallowed hard as he tried to bury the horrific memories surging up inside him. He was still shaking badly and that didn't go unnoticed by Little My.

"They've taken your things…"

Ah, so that was what she had been looking for!

"Please My, stop it…" He was close to tears now. Why couldn't she just shut it? Why did she have to remind him of all these things? Yes, he knew they had taken his things! And yes, he already knew they had forced him into these clothes! He knew that. So why mention it?

He felt her feet stepping a little closer.

"You know", she said carefully, "I'm just asking so that I'll know how hard I shall bite the vile creatures who did this to you."

At that, Snufkin managed to smile. A warm, sad smile.

"I actually wouldn't mind if you did. Though I'm afraid you'd end up here too then, and I couldn't possibly let that happen."

"Ah, but then at least you wouldn't be alone." Little My pressed herself against his chest in a loving hug. "And then we could bite them together and they could hate us together and we could face the same punishments together until we break free together."

Snufkin put his arms around her and held her close. It was so nice to have her there.

"What a pair we are." He nuzzled into her red hair. "Such obnoxious siblings."

"Yeah." She looked up at him, but when she saw that his eyes were still red-rimmed and felt his paws still shaking, she decided to change track:

"We really need to get you out, don't we? You look sick, little brother."

He did, and he was hot. She hadn't noticed that until now.

"It's not that bad."

"I should ask for Moominmamma to have a look at you. Then you can see the others."

At that Snufkin panicked.

"NO! Please no! No!" He couldn't bear the thought of seeing everyone right now, no matter how much he longed for them. He just couldn't. Not here. Not like this. Especially not Moomin. He would probably die inside if his dear friend had to see him like this and if the poor troll found out what had happened to him…. He would never stand the pity in Moomin's big eyes, neither his own shame.

He held onto his sister as if he were afraid that she would simply scurry off and call the entire gang in immediately. Little My struggled to get free.

"Calm down! I ain't going to! But why, though? Why don't you want to see them?"

"I do, but not here. Please, understand. I wanted to see you all in Moominvalley, as usual. Not here." He was crying now. He couldn't stop it anymore. Tears flooded down his face and fell into Little My's hair.

"I was on my way back to you! It would have been the same as every year if not… if not… if I only hadn't gone to that party."

It was really that simple when it came down to it: everything would have been alright, had he not gone to the party. And that in itself was ridiculous. Why on earth had he been so stupid?

"Well", he heard Little My say, "but now we're here anyway and we're going to take you home with us. I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to avoid everyone this time."

"Not everyone", Snufkin wiped the tears away, only to make room for some more. "Just not everyone right now. And I'm actually not so sure they'll let me go."

"Oh they will!"

She eyed him curiously. He truly did look terrible. Not at all like the usual calm Snufkin she knew. This Snufkin was pale and bony. That ghastly one-piece looked baggy on him. His eyes were sunken deep and slightly absent, as if he couldn't see her all the time. Above all that he was shaking and she didn't know if it was from cold or illness. And he looked scared.

A certain kind of anger started to grow inside her. They had hurt him for a month straight. They would pay. She would made sure of that.

Someone cleared their throat behind them and they both turned around. Oh, they had nearly forgot the guard! He was still waiting outside the door.

"Uh-hum", he said, "we only let in two visitors at a time in these cells", he informed and Snufkin sighed in relief. It seemed like he wouldn't have to face the entire moomin family yet after all.

"So", the guard continued, "would you like to see someone else of those people back in the hall? There's a whole family waiting there, claiming they know you. The time for visits is always one hour, so you have approximately forty minutes left."

"Only forty minutes…" Snufkin instinctively held onto Little My, desperate for her to stay. "That's nothing!"

She patted his paw reassuringly.

"Don't worry. We're not leaving you. We only just got here."

All of sudden, Snufkin's mind turned frantic. Who should he ask to see next? Moomin? No, no, no. He wasn't ready for that yet. Moominmamma maybe? Or the inspector? Perhaps the inspector was the one whose chances in getting him out were the highest… however, the inspector might be nice and well-meaning, but he wasn't terribly bright and...

"Could you bring Moominmamma?" Little My's penetrating voice brought him back to reality. She was talking to the guard.

"The one with an apron", she added for clarity's sake. The guard nodded.

"Alright, I'll do that. But unless you're coming with me, I'll have to lock you both in meanwhile."

"Fine. Go ahead", Little My replied before Snufkin even had a chance to. He shuddered a little as the door clicked into its frame and they heard the distant steps of the guard walking away.

"So…" Little My turned to her brother. "Why are you here?"

"Didn't the inspector tell you? I put some major's garden on fire."

Little My let out a gasp. Her face turned into something between surprise and horror and then possibly a bit of...admiration.

"What?! You really did that?"

"I kind of did, actually…"

"We thought it was all lies!"

"...but it wasn't on purpose. I was running and accidently turned over a cresset when a safety guard tried to catch me. It fell on the grass and I...guess you can figure out the rest yourself."

Snufkin looked away. The memory of people screaming and fleeing from the fire still made him sick, even though none had ended up hurt. That dreadful inspector had in fact said as much himself at one point during his stay. However that of course didn't stop him from putting all the blame on Snufkin, and more.

"Alright, I see…" Little My looked as if she was in the early stages of plotting a cunning plan. "And what about the rest? The uhm, 'disorderly conduct'-thing? Did you do that too?"

This time, Snufkin took some time before answering and when he opened his mouth again, he spoke in a cool, steady manner:

"There was an elderly hemulen at the party with her orphanage children." He paused and offered Little My a brief smile. "Sounds familiar?"

She grinned and Snufkin went all seriousness again as he continued his story:

"I was standing only a short distance from them and heard one of the children asking the hemulen for candy multiple times. But the hemulen was irritated and hit the child, and that's when I threw my drink at her…"

"Well done! And-"

They were interrupted by the clicking sound of the door being unlocked and the most wonderful of all creatures emerged on the threshold: Moominmamma.

She looked like her usual kind, motherly self, except for maybe a little confused. Her huge brown eyes instantly fell on the pair sitting on the cot.

"Oh dear."

As she carefully approached them, the guard behind her checked his watch.

"Thirty-four minutes left", he announced. "I'll return and let you out by then."

"Thank you", said Moominmamma without turning around. The door clicked shut again.

"Dear me, I think I'm going to need to look up a few things in Grandma's book later. Hello, Snufkin."

"Hello Moominmamma."

She sat down beside them, Little My in the middle and took in the haggard appearance of the boy she called one of her children.

"It's rather cold in here, isn't it?" She reached out for the blanket and wrapped it around him.

"Yes, it is", he mumbled and curled up to cover his feet as well.

"But hey!" cried Little My. "That way she can't have a look at you and that's half the reason I sent for her!"

Moominmamma stared at her.

"It was you who sent for me?"

"Yes!"

"Ah, that explains it. I was actually pretty surprised when the guard returned and asked for me and not Moomin."

Snufkin squirmed. He pulled the blanket all the way up to his nose. He could only imagine how disappointed Moomin must have been to be left behind, twice now.

"I want to see Moomin", he was quick to reassure her. "Just not yet."

"And Moominmamma is more useful when you're hurt", Little My cut in.

"Now, My", Moominmamma warned her, "we don't want to be rude now, do we?"

She looked at Snufkin with sympathy painted all over her face:

"I'm afraid I can't do much at the moment, empty handed as I am. But don't places like this have their own doctors? I'm sure one as big as this ought to have at least one. Do you know anything about that, Snufkin?"

He shook his head, but it was a lie. He had in fact heard something about "the hospital ward" among the other inmates, but he had no intention whatsoever of going there. It didn't matter if he was hurt, he didn't trust them. If he was to succumb to anyone's care, it would be Moominmamma's. That would undoubtedly be embarrassing, but he couldn't think too much about that now. He just wanted to follow them back to Moominvalley.

"Snufkin? Snufkin, dear, can you hear me?"

He twitched. Had he zoomed out like that again?

"Ye-yes?"

"Could you take off that blanket for a little while, please?"

"Uhm, why? It's still cold."

"Yes, but I caught a glimpse of your wrists and Little My's right. I'd like to take a look."

Both had their eyes fixed on him and Snufkin reluctantly lowered the blanket. He held his paws forward for her to inspect. His poor wrists were still red and partly covered in blisters, with some small black spots of dried blood here and there. She took them in her soft, warm paws and examined them thoroughly. She shook her head sadly.

"I don't see why they would put you in chains. These look like they have been cleaned, although not properly. Have you had any opportunity to clean them?"

Snufkin nodded towards the sink against the opposite wall.

"With water and soap, yes. But…"

"But what, love?"

"They keep cuffing me up and… and so they never heal properly. I might have forgotten to clean them once or twice too."

"Why do they cuff you?" Moominmamma asked carefully. Slowly, she moved a little closer to him. Little My stayed in the middle, her eyes flickering between the two of them as if she was following a tennis match.

"Because I tried to escape..."

Little My's eyes grew to the shape of balloons.

"You never told me that!"

"... and after that, when they told me they would prolong my sentence, I sort of destroyed a cell. The furniture, I mean. That's why they cuff me."

He fidgeted with the pillow. Feathers were pulled out one by one. He let them sail through the air until they landed on the floor. Moominmamma rose and headed for the sink. It was old and discoloured but, she found, fully functioning.

"Would you mind coming over here, dear? I'd like to clean those wrists of yours. And ankle. Yes, I noticed that too."

Very cautiously, Snufkin put his feet on the floor and stood up. He made it to the sink alright enough on his unsteady legs.

"Sorry, I've become a little wobbly…"

He held onto the sink to steady himself while Moominmamma gently rinsed his wounds with water, one paw at the time. She didn't try to bandage them with anything (there were toilet paper available in the cell). She thought it better to let it breath. When it came to his ankle though, Snufkin had to sit down on. There was no way he could keep his balance on one leg in his current state. He sat silently on the edge of the cot while Moominmamma bathed his ankle with a tissue. When she was done, she reached for the blanket and wrapped it around him again. She had seen enough now to know that things were bad. His wobbly walking certainly hadn't gone unnoticed and her worry had increased even further when she saw that. She pulled him into a soft hug against her side and to her surprise, he nuzzled into it. He buried his face in her fur and she felt the heat of fever radiating from his pale skin. Something had gone very, very wrong and they needed to find out what and soon. She brought up one paw to caress the back of his head while the other supported his back. Little My settled herself upon his knee.

"You really should see a doctor nonetheless", Moominmamma whispered into the mumrik's ear after a few moments of silence.

"No."

"Yes, you should. Your wrists and ankle could get infected. I'll talk to them-"

"No!" His eyes flew open and stared at her, fear all too clear in them.

"Don't! I don't trust them! And I don't think you should either", he added after a bit of thought.

Moominmamma turned quiet. She nodded in understanding. Of course he didn't trust them, she reasoned, after what they've obviously done to him.

"It's alright, I won't let anyone hurt you." Carefully she reached out for him again and it didn't take long before his pointy little nose were buried in her fur for the second time.

"I understand that you don't trust them", she said and stroked his hair in an attempt to soothe him. "And I'd love to tend to you myself, I really would, but I can't at the moment. I don't think they'd allow a stranger from outside to do that. But what if I asked and there in fact is a doctor, would you agree to go there if I promise to accompany you?"

Snufkin shivered.

"I don't know", he said. "What if they don't allow you to come?"

"Then you're not going either. If I'm there and witness everything, they can't hurt you."

"But what if they want to inject me? Or give me something to drink? I don't want that! I think they're drugging my food already…"

"What?!" Little My rose to stand on her tiny feet and looked up at the bundle that was her brother. "This place is utterly twisted! There's undoubtedly gonna be suffering for some once I find out the rest of this bloody mess!"

"Hush, My. There's not going to be any suffering…" Moominmamma tried to calm her down, but in vain:

"Oh, yes, there will! And you know it too! You want the people who've treated our Snufkin like this to get away with it? I don't think so! And by now I think I know who deserves the first bite…"

"You do?" mumbled Snufkin from where he was curled up in Moominmamma's arms. He wasn't entirely sure why he asked that. He had never been one to advocate violence, but he supposed it may have been that small part of him that actually wouldn't mind this time. And by all means, he truly appreciated My's will to protect him, even if that was something he would never admit out loud.

"That wretched inspector!" she cried.

Just as he thought, then. He leaned into Moominmamma's warm embrace. She smelled of flowers, sweets and coffee. He could die for any of that right now. He stayed there and let her cradle him, not wanting to leave this small spot of warmth and safety. It had become so rare lately. He had nearly fallen asleep, when she once again whispered into his ear:

"How long have you been here?"

At once, he was wide awake. Oh, how long had it been? He tried to think through the fogginess of his fevered mind, but to his horror, he couldn't seem to remember. Everyday was just the same. There was a clock on the wall in his cell, but no calendar and there was none in the laundry room either. And since they had started to drug him every evening, it had been even harder to keep track of the days. Had it been a month? Six months? A year?

The air was caught in his lungs as the realization dawned on him. Was he losing it completely? He really did not remember. The only thing he knew was that it felt like an eternity.

"I...I don't know", he stuttered and felt like throwing up as he said it. "What's wrong with me? Why don't I remember? I should know…"

"Hush, love, hush… there. It's been a month. Only a month." Moominmamma held him a little firmer to keep him still while the panic slowly evened out and she could feel him relax against her chest. Under her gaze, Little My mouthed:

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's ill", she mouthed back. "And scared."

"Where are your belongings?" she asked out loud. She knew how much the old hat and harmonica meant to the little mumrik and seeing him stripped of all that, pained her immensely.

"I dropped my hat in the forest when they first caught me", Snufkin said. "And my backpack and clothes… I don't know. They took them."

"I'll send Moomin out to search for your hat", Moominmamma assured him. "If we're lucky, that inspector might tell us were he found you. About your backpack and clothes, I'll ask for them as well. My intention is to take you home."

He hugged her even tighter when she said that.

"And if you, for some reason, can't make them release me", he mumbled into her fur, "then maybe you could try and make them agree to move me to our own inspector's cells back in Moominvalley?"

He actually laughed a little at that. A sad, uneven laugh full of inner misery. The whole thing sounded so silly, but he would so much rather spend two years in that small station with their silly but kind inspector and close to his friends, than staying here one day more.

"Oh, that won't happen, love", Moominmamma almost laughed a little herself and nearly started crying at the same time. "No, you'll be released for real and then you'll come with us, just you wait and see."

With that, she placed a moomin kiss on the crown of his head. Then the door was unlocked again and the guard showed up.

"Time's up."

"I don't want you to leave", Snufkin admitted in a whisper when Moominmamma gently lowered him to the mattress.

"We're not leaving, I promise", she kissed him one more time. "But we need to talk to the others about what to do. You understand that, I know you do. Rest now and we'll see you again tomorrow as soon as hours allow."

"Yeah, you bet", Little My chimed in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Reluctantly, they walked to the door where the guard waited. Just before she stepped over the threshold, Moominmamma looked up at him and tried to match his stern expression when she said:

"He's sick. You should bring him another blanket or two. Could you do that?"

The guard frowned and looked troubled but Moominmamma held her gaze until he eventually gave in.

"Yes, sure. I'll see to it."

"Good. Can you do it now?"

"Now?"

"Yes, now, if you please. I'd like to be sure it happens."

"Why, you have my word."

"I appreciate that very much, thank you, but I still would prefer if you fetched a blanket now while I can see it. It certainly can't be that much trouble?"

The guard muttered something about "wait here" then strode off along the corridor until he reached a door that had to be some sort of storeroom. He returned with a blanket identical to the one that Snufkin already had, and gave it to Moominmamma.

"Thank you."

She walked back into the cell and draped the second blanket over the now sleeping form on the cot. He moved a little when she touched him and she placed a third kiss on his head before heading back out to the others. The guard locked the door.

"And I suggest that you put him off work for for the time being in regard of his health", Moominmamma went on, confidently. "Nobody should work in that state, if you ask me."

"Not if you ask me either", said Little My.

The guard grimaced.

"Humph! Maybe not", he muttered and Little My cast Moominmamma a small look of triumph.