Mymble finds that she's missing something

Mymble cast a quick glance in her pocket mirror, before leaving her elegant and well planned cottage, heading for the Moomin Valley. She didn't really need to check that her bun was done correctly, she was convinced it was. Her shiny dark hair glittered in the sunlight. Confirming that everything was perfect – her hair, her ribbon, her dress – had just become a habit to her. Yes, indeed, everything was exactly as she liked it. Or was it, really? Lately, Mymble had begun to feel a gnawing sense of something missing in her life. Her contacts with that bohemian, petit bourgouis, but above all, un-mymbly Moomin family, had made her question her well-planned and practical life. What was missing, she didn't really know. If she wanted things to be unplanned, she could always spend a few days with Moomintroll and his irritating friends and his mother and father. Her little sister My enjoyed living with them, but surely that was only because nothing could get to her. Their Moomin-ness creeps out their ears, she would to say.

Mymble smiled when she thought of her little sister, who was one of the few she really cared about. She shook her head and wrinkled her nose. She did like others, of course she did, but soon she had dismissed the thought. Mymble was enjoying the sunshine and the relative silence. Soon the noisy collection of Troll sounds would be filling her sensitive ears. She really didn't know why she kept going back to the valley. Of course she wanted to see My, her headstrong and forceful little sister. Her train of thought was broken when she caught sight of an old acquaintance wandering around on the path before her. Before she knew what she was doing, she had responded to Fillyjonk's warm and welcoming smile. Mymble felt confused and surprised, which was completely uncharacteristic of her. Fillyjonk seemed genuinely pleased to see her, and that filled Mymble with a strange and unaccustomed feeling. Could it be joy?

"Dear Mymble, how nice to see you", said Fillyjonk, her nose trembling a little and her eyes wandering. "I mean, oh, dear -" She broke off and Mymble never found out what she was referring to.

"Fillyjonk", Mymble replied simply and for the first time in her life, felt at a loss for words.

Fillyjonk hurried after her and was considering what Mymble might have meant by what she said, but her statement had been accompanied by a smile, and that warmed her.

When they got closer to the garden in the valley, their ears were filled with a loud scream.

"You batty old scarecrow", came from closer to the ground.

Mymble felt hard little paws grab her legs.

"Oh, dear me", Fillyjonk cried. Her cheeks were flushed.

"My! You will let my legs go or I'll bite your tail off."

Mymble knew how to handle her little sister. She lifted the child off the ground and whirled her around, both laughing so hard they were crying.

"Oh, dear", Fillyjonk said at a near whisper and her cheeks took on a purplish red shade, when she realized that she wasn't the old scarecrow.

My smiled at Fillyjonk, but somehow she made her smile look like a growl.

"Don't look so glum, you old bat", said My. When she was set down on the ground, she pulled Fillyjonk's tail in passing.

"My", Mymble growled.

"Yes, I know. You're not a bat, you just look like one."

Soon My's laughter was filling their ears.

"Come on, we have to hurry. Moominmamma is serving us cordial on the veranda. Soon the fat troll will have eaten all the buns."

Before they even had time to blink, My was already on the veranda and Mymble could see from where she was standing, that Moominmamma had grabbed the dish with the buns and held it beyond the reach of My's paws. Around Moominmamma's legs, My was jumping as high as she could.