translucent | invisible snufkin

six

moomin didn't know what he had just seen. it was snufkin, of course, he could tell by the hat. but he couldn't see his hands or his face. it was probably just the angle, he thought. so he started walk towards him. he felt a mix of anger and relief run through his body, but he wasn't sure which was stronger.

"snufkin, wait! i-

oh my god."

as he caught a good look at snufkin, he realised. snufkin was... invisible.

he ran back home, almost missing his footing on the veranda. he couldn't quite process what he just saw.

" MAMA, PAPA!" he wailed from the bottom of the steps.

"goodness, moomin. what is all this racket for this early in the morning? are you alright?" mama asked, groggily tying her apron as she walked down the stairs.

"s-snu- he-he- i can- i cant-" moomintroll stuttered,  tears streaming down his face and into his fur.

"calm down, dear. let's go fetch you a cup of tea, and we can talk about it when you've calmed down." moominmama replied calmly. moomin had never seen her lose her temper or get upset. he wondered how she did it.

"o-okay mama."

about twenty minutes had past, moominmama had seemed to get moomin to cam down, and moominpapa had come downstairs soon after. porridge and raspberry tea had seemed to have done moomin some good.

"so, moomin, can you try to explain what happened?" moominpapa asked.

"well, i was out for a walk and i saw snufkins fire was lit, so i assumed he was out doing something. i went to grab my lantern, and then-"

"you saw him?" moominmama asked

"uh- well sort of." moomin replied, trying to keep himself collected.

"what do you mean sort of? is he alright?" moominpapa asked, confused.

"i- he- i don't know." moomin whispered, beginning to tear up again.

"hmm, perhaps i should go pay a visit. make sure he's alright." moominpapa said, rising from his seat.

snufkin has dashed into his tent, burying himself under his sleeping bag. he had gotten too cocky and got caught. he was doing so well, why did it have to go downhill? he started to sob, letting out silent chokes as he curled himself up into a ball.

he quickly snapped out of it when he heard a voice outside of his tent. he instantly recognised who it belonged to. moominpapa.

he was about to say "what is it?" but then realised he couldn't talk, so it would be useless. he sat there for a second, evaluating his options. he decided to let moominpapa speak to him. he knew that he wouldn't get scared or make a fuss.

reluctantly, snufkin unzipped his tent.