Winter break (Snufmin)

Winter break

Snufkin felt cold, moomin was already hibernating when he decided to leave moominvalley.
He was already wondering around the woods, with the snow piling up around him, making it harder for him travel further.
He kicked at the snow infront of him with his heels, leading a path behind him, quickly being filled up by the hail, he cuffed his palms lifting it up to his mouth then breathed out.
Its freezing,
he thought
He decided it would be best for him to make a quick bonfire before he continued his journey, he pulled out a small knife from his backpack and went around the forest hunting for sticks.
He walked around, cutting off branches as fast as he could pick them up.
Winter felt more bitter and cold this year.
Moomin seemed sadder, lonier when Snufkin left, it wasnt like last year.
As autumn began to fade, as Snufkin walked away from moominhouse as the snow fell, he saw a glimpse of moomin by the window sill.
Eating a handfull of pine needles with tears in his eyes, moominmama comforted him, then the window was too condensed to see anything past that.
He'd assumed they slept after that.
Snufkin felt guilty for it, like he dissapointed Moomin.
He didnt want to leave, but he felt he had to.
He was already too attached, coming back to moominvalley year after year when the sun was out and the fresh smell of spring came, and a new spring tune waiting for moomin when he waked up from his long nap.
It was comforting, he didnt want to spoil the happiness he felt whenever he came back, the sigh of relief to gain a sense of familliarity again.
But why moominvalley?
Over the many years, snufkin has travelled far and wide, he could have stayed anywhere else aside from moominvalley.
So why here?
What made moominvalley so special?
He had a large amount of sticks on his arms, he pulled out a long piece of twine from his pocket and wrapped it around the logs.
This should do.
He walked back to a small area that wasnt surrounded with trees and dropped the sticks on the ground, he then lit a fire and sat on a near by log, he layed his hand on the log and there grew mushrooms, they were quite lovely.
He used the mushrooms on the log to make soup by the fire.
As he drank the soup, it began to feel like home again, last year during fall moominmama showed snufkin her mushroom soup recipe, it was moomins favorite.
He drank from the bowl and felt warmer.
And guilt slowly crept on snufkins shoulder, he shoulnt have left.
Or was it good that he did?
He blew out the campfire and packed all his stuff, good thing the hemulen didnt catch him.
He started walking again.
He couldnt shake moomin from his mind.
Why now?
It had bothered him before but not as badly as now.
He couldnt stand it any longer.
He passed for a minute.
Then began to run the other direction.
I want to see moomin.
I want to see him smile again.