Reunion.

Chapter 4

Moominmamma quietly opened the door to the guest room upstairs. In her paws she carried a tray. On the tray was a small bowl full of medicine, some cotton and some bandages. For two days this had been her routine. Clean the wounds, treat them and change the bandages. She came into the room to find Moomin sitting on a chair beside the bed. He would spend most of his time there. The only times he wasn't was when he was having something to eat or when he was sleeping. If he even was sleeping at all. There were evident bags under his eyes and he looked like he was ready to drop dead in his chair, indicating a poor night's rest. He had kept himself by Snufkin's side almost all day since he was found. Snufkin had not regained consciousness since that day. He was sleeping almost peacefully. Bandages and plasters covered his burns, each one treated and was steadily healing. However, Snufkin hasn't showed any signs of him waking up. He mumbled a few times in his sleep, but nothing else. It only showed that he was merely dreaming. That was all he really did. Nothing more. It this was scaring everyone to the point where they were thinking that he might never wake up. Moomin tried to deny that fact by staying with him, so he could wake up to a familiar face.

Moominmamma sighed and quietly approached the bed. She needed to change Snufkin's bandages again. Moomin looked up. He knew what it was time for. Without a word, he got up from his chair. He moved out of the way so Moominmamma could set to work. She placed the tray on the bedside table. Moomin watched as she removed the bandages. He winced a little as he saw the burns as they were uncovered. Some of them have healed into being faint scars. However, some of them still needed to be treated. As Moominmamma gently brushed the medicine covered cotton over the wounds, Snufkin's face twitched and he winced a little. That was the first time he had responded like that ever since he was brought to Moominhouse. That was a good sign, right? Moominmamma redressed the burns with fresh bandages, watching Snufkin's face carefully in case he suddenly woke up. He didn't.

"Mamma?" Moomin asked quietly. Moominmamma looked at him, her eyes wide with questioning. "Will Snufkin ever wake up?"

"I...I'm not sure Moomin. Maybe one day..." she said, looking into his desperate eyes. He sighed in disappointment. That wasn't the answer he was hoping for.

"So then, why hasn't he?" He asked.

"Moomin, recovery can take time. And, in Snufkin's case, it might take longer than we all think." Moominmamma sighed, pulling her son into a hug. Moomin surrendered into her arms, silent tears running down his cheeks. "Is something else on your mind?" Moomin pulled back gently and looked up at her.

"It's just...I know that we've discussed it already, but I'm still confused about how Snufkin could've made it to the riverbank in the first place. I saw marks on the ground where he was found, like someone dragged him out of the river. I don't think we were anywhere near the river either when the fire started. There was no way he could have found his way there on his own." He explained, letting out all of the concerns that he had contained for the past two days. Moominmamma brushed away his tears.

"Moomin, we don't know the full story. Snufkin will tell us everything when he wakes up." She tired to cheer him up with a smile. Moomin sighed and looked at the floor. His mother only raised his chin to look back up at her again. "Snufkin always comes back. Remember when he was late for Spring? He came back eventually. He'll wake up soon, dear. We just need to be patient." Moomin nodded and once again he was pulled into a warm hug by his mother. Over her shoulder, he looked at Snufkin, who was laying perfectly still and silent. 'Wake up soon, Snufkin.' He prayed, hoping that somehow, Snufkin could hear his desperate cry.

——————————————————————————————————————

Snufkin didn't know what was happening to begin with. All that he knew was that he was trapped in darkness again. Again he was wrapped up in something warm. But his surroundings felt different. He didn't hear any water like last time. He couldn't hear anyone crying either. In fact, he couldn't sense that there was someone else there with him. It was like he was completely alone. He was completely relaxed as well, laying on something soft. It was odd to think, but he somehow felt like he was sleeping in this dream. 'Dreaming about sleeping? Something I never thought I would do.' Snufkin thought, not even wondering why he was in that state to begin with. He then remembered that his first dream was similar to this one. But he still didn't understand why he was having these dreams to begin with.