Dear Homeland [SnufMin]

7

They had tried everything.

"It can't end up like this!" Moomintroll had cried, and he had started wailing at the same time despite himself. "Think of something, Alicia! Save him! You know you can save him!"

"I've tried everything, Moomin!" shouted poor Alicia at the tops of her lungs. "I can't think of anything! His heart doesn't beat! It doesn't beat! I can't do anything about it! He's dead! He's dead!"

"Of course you can!" had screamed Moomintroll in distress. "Try another potion! Don't you have a spell about resurrecting people? Or about heart attacks?"

"If I had that, I would have tried it already, dumbass!!"

"Don't yell at me!"

"Don't you yell at me!!" exclaimed Alicia furiously.

"Oh, dear," Moomintroll moaned in despair. "Oh, dear, my dear Snufkin..."

They both sat in a chair and sobbed, shaking with sorrow. Alicia put her face in her hands and wept. Moomintroll cried silently, not landing his gaze on anything but his friend. After they had taken the frozen Snufkin to the Witch's house, they managed to make the ice cover melt, but Snufkin's body was unresponsive. Not breathing. No heartbeat. Nothing. And they had tried so many things in order to wake him up, but nothing had happened. Moomintroll quietly checked in his head the things they had tried to wake him up. Medicine, check. Potions, check. Spells, check. Shaking him, check. Talking to him, check. The harmonica, check. He looked over his shoulder and watched Alicia who was sobbing with remorse, as everything she had tried was unsuccessful. Moomintroll sighed.

The Moomintroll stood up and went to his friend to ruffle his hair. His beautiful brown hair. His handsome face who hadn't changed a single bit even after ten years. He looked the exact same than what he recalled, which was even more painful, even more unfair, even more – even more everything! He sobbed and panted and touched his best friend's cold, unresponsive hand. "Wake up," Moomintroll begged faintly. Oh, please wake up. Oh please wake up! Oh, wake up! Oh Snufkin! He would do anything to see him opening his eyes! Anything! To see him waking up, and to hear him play his harmonica, and to hear his voice again, and to talk to him again! Oh, dear, oh, dear world, dear universe, what in the world, what could he do, what could he do to bring him back?

Alicia was still sitting in her chair. "I'm so sorry, Moomin," she said in the most pitiful voice. She twisted her hands together, still sobbing. "I don't know how to save him. I don't know... I don't know... I don't know anymore. Grandma would know," she complained.

"Your Grandma is no longer with us," said Moomintroll gloomily. "Neither Snufkin is."

And Alicia cried even more regretfully, holding her heart. "Sorry," she repeated. "Sorry. I'm such a failure as a witch." Moomintroll didn't have the heart to tell her she was not. He was way too concerned by Snufkin. Moomintroll looked at his friend and lots of memories flashed in his head. Just seeing his face was reviving all of his childhood memories with him, and even though he didn't have any more tears to spill, he wailed sadly. This couldn't end like this.

He remembered the times where Snufkin was coming back to the valley. There were always magical moments. One morning, he would wake up to the best, smoothest and most beautiful tune ever, and then he would jump off his bed to see a familiar figure standing by the bridge. He remembered the times Snufkin and he had gone on trips, even the smallest trips; that time where Alicia's grandmother was still alive and they had investigated like spies with him and Little My. He remembered when Snufkin was fishing by the bridge, and when he promised him not to go until he would start hibernating – and the joy he had felt at that time. Why couldn't he feel the joy one more time? He remembered Snufkin telling him about hattifatteners, about his perilous adventure involving the Park Keeper, and how he had scared him away by electrocuting him with the hattifatteners who just got out of their seeds, and how he was shining like a full moon. Thankfully Snufkin hadn't ended up in jail.