Dear Homeland [SnufMin]

2

He had been living in his house for four days now.

He had fully cleaned up the house, and he was pretty proud of what he had done. The house looked fresher, and he had been sleeping inside for two days now. He had established himself in his old room, but he had still tidied the others rooms. When he was little, he didn't really acknowledge of how tiring the chores were, and how praiseful Mamma's work was. Now he could only feel amazement thinking about Mamma. Ah, how he missed her tea!

His food resources were slowly decreasing day after day. He had still a ton of food stocked in his flying ship, but he preferred to watch his back, and wondered if he should go to the forest in order to find anything edible. He went, and came back with fruits and mushrooms – he had learned which ones were edible by now. His adventures and the numerous friends he made had helped him to learn what was edible and what was poisonous. Somehow, it was like he was on a new adventure; he had to rediscover the Moominvalley, its qualities and its flaws. He was having fun. If the others were there with him, that would have been even funnier.

He was barely in contact with Sniff and Little My anymore. Well, he knew what they have become, and when he was going home, Papa would tell him; but it's true he hadn't seen them in a while. It's hard to keep in contact with anyone when you're an adventurer. You spend most of your time moving, you can't receive letters!

After he ended up cleaning the house and gathering food for himself, since he hadn't much to do but strolls, he spent most of his time walking around. He went by all the houses that were now abandoned and dusty, walked along the beach and stared at the sea, made long, long walks throughout the forest. He thought about the people that didn't want to go with them; where did they go? What have they become? There was no trace of anyone anymore. No campfires. The abandoned houses that could have been used hadn't been touched. No one but him.

During his walks, Moomintroll was either humming, or playing his harmonica, or silently reminding himself of the memories that were laying in these places. He collected shells, and that reminded of Snork Maiden; he climbed in the trees, and that reminded him of when they played Tarzan; he went into the cave near the cliff, and that reminded of Sniff. Back in the days, he and his friends weren't thinking about tomorrow: they were just excited to go on another adventure and delighted to discover new places, new people, new feelings! Exactly the spirit he felt right now. Moomintroll was glad he hadn't lost the spirit of adrenaline and need of discovery many lose when they grow up.

He had thought about Snufkin, too.

He hadn't cry since the other day, but he was still a little gloomy thinking about him. That reminded him the time he waited for him to come back, which was a very painful time. But he knew it was stupid to focus on the bad memories. He was may more than that! He recalled how funny it had been going on adventures with him: the sight of his friend fishing on the grass, or the sight of him playing his harmonica on the bridge! A Snufkin who wasn't afraid to commit crimes, or a Snufkin wise and smiling, with good advices! There were plenty of things to remember besides that hard time. Snufkin hadn't left without leaving anything behind. He had left many things: his hat, his harmonica, and precious memories.

The seventh day, Moomintroll had been surprised to see smoke coming from the forest.

At first, he didn't believe it, but the next day, he realized there was definitely smoke coming through the trees. There was no mistake. Moomintroll felt excited to know there was someone else here. He immediately went to see. Oh, who could that be? Was that recent, or was there someone living in the Forest of Witches for long? He ran to the forest to know the answer of these interrogations. He really hoped it was someone's fire, not just some fire accident – which would be way more concerning, actually.