translucent | invisible snufkin

four

another week or so had gone by, snufkin trying everything he could think of to become visible again. he had finally cleaned himself, waiting until the middle of the night and sneaking down to the lake. his body may be almost gone, but you could still see his hat, tunic, trousers and his chunky old boots.

next part might need a tw for eating disorders, please stay safe!! scroll to the next part of bold text for the end of the passage and a basic, censored summary.

as he was washing himself in the stream, he was startled as he realised he could feel his ribs poking  from his skin. he was always quite thin, but not like this. he realised that he had barely eaten since he got back to moominvalley. moomin had brought him leftovers every few days as always, but he wasn't catching fish for himself. there was still a few hours until daylight, so after he had dried off, he tiptoed back to his tent, which was luckily close by, and grabbed his rod.

HEY TW OVER!! BASICALLY HE JUST CLEANED OFF AND CAUGHT FISH OKAY YOU CAN KEEP READING NOW!!!!

he returned to his tent around dawn, with his rod in one hand and a bucket containing four good sized bass in the other. it would have been a peculiar sight, seeing floating clothing and fishing equipment. snufkin (kind of) chuckled at the thought. the closest he had gotten to laughing in a long time.

he started a small campfire behind his tent, and started cooking his fish. it was an unseasonably cold morning, so he sat by the fire and reached for his harmonica. he knew he would have to be quiet as to not alert moomin. he pressed the instrument to his lips, and played last years spring tune. except no sound came out. snufkin was upset, but not surprised. he placed the mouth organ back into his satchel and checked on his fish. they were nicely done, so he dished himself up a plate. he had found some coffee and sugar in his bag, so he made himself a cup too.

after his breakfast, he decided to risk it and go on a walk. he needed fire wood, and he may as well get it now. he didn't think twice about leaving his camp fire, it was cold and was keeping him and his fish warm.

moomin was cross again, he had spent most of the night arguing with himself about snufkin. does he hate him? does he miss him? is he being silly?
he was angry, upset and tired, three things that don't mix, so when he finally got up, he decided to go on a walk to try and clear his mind.

he didn't want to wake the others, especially little my, so he was sure to be extra quiet, and crept down the stairs and through the front door, making sure not to slam it behind him. as he walked, he started to smell something. he wasn't sure what it was, so he decided to investigate. he walked up towards the stream.

and there he saw. snufkins tent, and a lit campfire.

heeheehoohoo this was a long one,,, enjoy the cliffhanger lmao