Winter Orchid

The Snowy Midnight

Moomintroll lay awake in bed. He was quite tired after the exciting day he'd had, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. He was thinking about whenever Snufkin played his harmonica. He played it after they'd gone ice skating, and after Moomintroll told the story about the mushroom, and after they'd finally made some successful pancakes.
"Perhaps he plays it when he's happy," Thought Moomintroll. And then, he heard it. The sound of a harmonica being played two stories below. If Snufkin was playing his harmonica, he must've been thinking about something that made him happy. With that, Moomintroll was at peace and drifted off to sleep.
A few hours later, Moomintroll woke up again. He couldn't tell what time it was since there was no sun, but it felt like nighttime. He decided to get up and go outside, and was very surprised to see Snufkin sitting on the veranda table.
"Snufkin!" He said happily.
"Oh, good evening," Replied Snufkin. Moomintroll sat down next to him, and they listened to the crickets for a while.
"You know," Snufkin said, interrupting the silence, "I'm going to be leaving soon, since I'm better now." There was another long silence.
"I know," Whispered Moomintroll, "But I don't want to know. I want to pretend you'll never leave." Yet another silence arose.
"Could you do me a favor?" Asked Moomintroll suddenly.
"What is it?" Replied Snufkin.
"Too Ticky said the sun is going to rise in a few days," Said Moomintroll, "please stay with me until then."
"Alright," Snufkin answered thoughtfully, "But I'm going to leave that night."
"But I want to say goodbye to you first!" Argued Moomintroll.
"I knew you'd say that," Sighed Snufkin, "but I just can't. Every time we say goodbye you.. you always look so sad. It makes me want to go against my nature, and I know I can't do that. I told myself, I've told others.. if you admire someone too much, you can never be free. Yet I still can't stop thinking about you."
"Really?" Asked Moomintroll, "To be honest, that's not the reason I thought you avoided goodbyes.. I guess we won't have to say goodbye then. And, I'm sorry if I made you feel bad about leaving. I'm just always worried that I might never see you again."
"Of course you'll see me again," Said Snufkin, "I.. I don't think I could go that long without seeing you." That statement caused Moomintroll to cry. Not because he was sad, though. Quite the opposite. He was so happy that Snufkin really did care about him, that he embraced him. Snufkin sat in his arms for a good few minutes, and they both fell asleep as the snow beyond fell.