It was Halloween in Moominvalley. The nights had grown longer as the days became shorter. The air was bitter and cold. The leafs on the trees have slowly become different shades of orange and the grass was in almost the same condition. The blades of grass were almost dropping in response to the cold, not even attempting to stand upright again. Some of the branches were left bare as a harsh Autumn wind battered them, stealing the leafs away from them. The leafs drifted through the air, almost in some kind of dance. They drifted to the ground, only to be harshly picked up again by the next wind that came. The sea had become too cold to swim in unless someone was that crazy enough. The residents have started to collect firewood, wanting to get a head start on preparations of the winter hibernations. They also started to collect some rations before the cold killed off all the berry hedgerows and collected their harvest. The time of summer had come and gone, almost making it seem like it had been long forgotten.
Moomin woke up, feeling the bitter coldness in his room. He shivered at the feeling of the cold. He hesitated before he pushed the covers off of him. It felt colder now in his attic bedroom. He stood from his bed and walked over to his window. The condensation on it blocked the view from his window. He raised a hovering paw and opened the window. He pushed it open and shivered even more as the autumn wind intruded into his room. Moomin closed his window shut immediately after that. He felt more awake now after feeling that surprise. Deciding that it would be better to move around instead of standing in his room, Moomin walked downstairs. He heard movement from around the house. He heard Snorkmaiden and Little My moving around one of the guest rooms, waking up to the same experience that he had in his room. Moominmamma was moving around in the kitchen and moved to the drawing room. Moomin found her putting some wood in the fireplace and strike a match. She placed it on top of the wood. The fire made a crackling noise before it was muffled by Moominmamma closing the doors. She brushed her paws on her apron before spotting Moomin on the staircase. She smiled brightly at him, the bitter cold had seemingly disappeared from the room.
"Good morning, Moomin." She smiled, making the room even warmer with her kind voice. There was a rustle of paper and Moominpappa made himself known. He was sitting on the rocking chair, with a newspaper in his hands. He looked up and smiled at the young troll.
"Morning Moomin. How are you this morning?" He smiled.
"Morning Mamma, morning Pappa." Moomin greeted. He took a seat at the small table before looking outside at the scenery. He shuddered at the notion that summer was over. It meant that winter was approaching fast. It meant that it was soon going to be time to hibernate. It also meant that it was soon time for Snufkin to be leaving for the South. It wasn't always the best time of year for Moomin, saying goodbye to his best friend. Even though he slept, Moomin had always felt that Winter would always b the loneliest time of year for him. However, at the same time, he felt a little excited knowing that Snufkin would come back in the Spring. It was something that he was used to. It still saddens him though to say the least. In the distance, past the bridge, he could see a faint trail of smoke. He knew that Snufkin was awake now. And he also knew that it was almost time for the young traveller to get ready to leave. There was one thing that he wanted to be certain of however before the traveller left.
Right after breakfast, Moomin made his way towards Snufkin's campsite. The morning dew remained on the ground, making his feet wet as soon as he stepped on the grass. No doubt about it, Snufkin was wide awake. He was sitting by his campfire. Hanging over the flames, was a pot that had some porridge being kept warm. He was holding a mug of freshly made coffee in his hands, keeping them warm from the chill that breezed though the whole valley. 'At least Snufkin looks a lot better compared to how he was a few weeks ago.' Moomin thought, noting how bright the traveller looked. Just only a few weeks ago Snufkin had been going down a terrible emotional state. That was because he had found out that his father, Joxter, had been hiding in Moominvalley for a while and only Moominpappa knew about it. When Snufkin had found out he took a bad turn for the worse emotionally. However, his father came forward the same night, helping Snufkin get back to normal, letting them rebuild a relationship as father and son. It had been a hard road to get Snufkin to recover, but he was finally back to his old normal self at last. What made everything more crazy was the fact that Little My was Snufkin's older half sister, and it took a fair time for everyone to get used to that fact. Now she had demanded that Snufkin should just call her "My" since she was older than him. Needless to say he agreed, but he occasionally called her "Little My" just to wind her up sometimes. There were still a few unanswered questions that Snufkin needs answering, but for the time being, he just wanted to enjoy the time that he had with his family.
"Good morning Snufkin." Moomin cheerily called out to him.
"Morning Moomin." Snufkin smiled. As Moomin sat down, the traveller put down his mug and picked up a saucer. Moomin watched as he put some porridge in it. "How are you this morning?"
"Cold. But other than that, I'm okay. You?" Moomin smiled as well. He felt a little bit warm as he sat near the fire. Snufkin nodded as he started eating. Moomin noticed someone was missing from the scene. "Where's Joxter?"
"Father's gone off somewhere. He actually left last night. Don't ask me what he's doing because he didn't tell me. I don't even know where in Moominvalley he is." Snufkin shrugged a little.
"He has a habit of doing that, doesn't-" Moomin tried to ask.
"My! Don't even think about it." Snufkin suddenly scolded. Moomin looked around the traveller to see Little My behind him. She looked like she would have pounded on her younger brother and frightened the living daylights out of him if Snufkin hadn't caught her out.
"How'd you know I was here?!" Little My shouted, not happy that the traveller had somehow sensed that she was going to try to scare him.
"If I've told you once, then I've told you a thousand times by now: I'm used to your tricks. You can't get me that easily." Snufkin smiled smugly. Little My huffed and sat down bitterly next to Moomin. "Tell you what though? You might have a slight chance of getting me at the party tonight up at Moominhouse." Moomin had almost forgotten about the party up at the house tonight. Everyone in Moominvalley had said that they'd come. Moomin liked to dress up, it was one of his favourite things to do during the holiday. He helped his mother bake some of the Halloween treats such as spider cookies and some cranberry juice that looks like blood. He also helped with some of the party games such as a skeleton puzzle and picked some apples for the apple bobbing game. He even spent most of the night before making his costume.
"What are you two going to be this year then?" Snufkin asked, trying to avoid having a bit of typical sibling argument that Little My might drag him into.
"I'm coming as a ghost this year." Moomin grinned, feeling excited.
"I've decided to come as a creepy little rag doll." Little My smirked, already thinking of ways to prank everyone at the party, especially Snufkin. Snufkin rolled his eyes a little, already knowing what she may be planning. "What about you? Wait! Let me guess! You're going to to be a not-so-scary scarecrow again." Little My went into a laughing fit, falling off of the log that she and Moomin were sitting on. Moomin and Snufkin sighed and shook their heads in sync. She was going to be like this for a while.
"Actually, I was going to go as a zombie this year. Something a little different for me I think." Snufkin said, talking over his sister's annoying laughter. "Mymble's actually helping me a little bit with that."
"So you finally give big sister a chance to doll you up! That's going to be fun to watch!" Little My cackled, causing Snufkin to roll his eyes. When his eldest sister found out about who he was, she had tried to take every opportunity she had to make him look more presentable. Obliviously, Snufkin had turned down the offer every time when she offered to sort out his hair and give him some new clothes (one of the many things Snufkin never really liked). She even offered to get him a new hat, which filled him with horror and refuse the offer profusely. It was only up until yesterday that he asked her to help out with his face paint and making an old shirt and trousers that he had to help make him look more like a zombie. It was the only way that he felt like would satisfy her enough to try to not make him look all awfully new and clean. Now that Little My knows about what he planned to do tonight, she's never going to leave him be about it for a long time. He shuddered at the thought of her possibly taking part in his "doll up" as she put it.
"I think it'd be cool. I could be your ghost companion." Moomin smiled, getting a little excited.
"Do zombies even have ghost companions?" Snufkin pondered a little in a confused matter.
"Who cares? It's Halloween." Moomin giggled at Snufkin's confused face. Snufkin smiled, happy at the fact that it really didn't matter. He suddenly stopped smiling at something that he needs to tell Moomin. It had something concerning his trip south. He knew that when he gives the news, Moomin's going to be disappointed and upset. Maybe he shouldn't tell Moomin tonight, not when they were having a party. It would probably be best to tell him tomorrow when there was still a chance before he had to go south and Moomin had to go into hibernation.
"So, is Joxter coming? Or is he going to leave you behind again like he did years ago?" Little My asked, a little bitter. Snufkin wasn't surprised by her behaviour towards his father. Ever since she found out about Snufkin and Joxter being his father, she had been a bit bitter, well, more bitter than usual towards him. Snufkin keeps trying to keep the peace between them, try to help them get along. Joxter was trying but Little My just keeps trying to avoid it because of what happened to Snufkin a long time ago.
"Father said that he'll come tonight, he just might be a little late." Snufkin sighed, trying his best again to have Little My warm up to his father. Little My just pouted and didn't bother answering back. Snufkin sighed. Another try failed. Maybe it'll be better to try again tonight at the party. It was worth a try at least.
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That night, the party had gone underway. The table was taken outside and was set up to look like a full on buffet. There were many foods that were Halloween orientated. All of the food were freshly baked and one could smell their sweet scent at least a mile away. Decorations were hung up at all sides. Paper chain ghosts, craved pumpkins and paper mache bones were seen all around. Lanterns were hung up as well. Using black paper, they made silhouettes of pumpkins, ghosts and witches on broomsticks. All the guests were dressed up as a variety of monsters. No matter where you looked you would find ghosts, witches, scarecrows, vampires and all manner of ghouls and monsters. Moomin and his friends and family were no different. Moomin had decided to go quite simple with his costume. He had taken an old bedsheet and cut a hole in the middle big enough to slip his head through it. With some grey painted paper, he was able to make some chains, to try to give his costume a more haunting effect. Snorkmaiden had decided to come as a witch. She wore a black pointed hat with a dark green bow around it, a black cape with stitched on skulls that she hand crafted herself and emerald green gloves. She also sported a tall broomstick, which completed the outfit nicely. Sniff had decided to come as a mummy again, since he didn't know what else to be. Only this time he added a little twist. He had asked Moominmamma to make him a headset, which almost looked like Tutankhamen's mask only without the face, making him look like he was a pharaoh. Moominmamma and Moominpappa had decided to go for a Day of the Dead theme. Both of them had their faces painted to look like skulls with the tips of their noses painted black and big black circles painted on and around their eyes, with red petals painted on the outside of them. The only difference between the faces was the way they were decorated. Moominmamma had her face decorated with a red rose on her forehead and Moominpappa had what looked like a fraction of a spiderweb on his forehead. His top hat was also decorated with a fake spider and Moominmamma had a rose tucked behind her ear.
"So Joxter might not be coming?" Snorkmaiden asked, looking around for the man in question.
"Well, Little My's convinced, but Snufkin said that he might just be late to the party." Moomin answered.
"I can still hardly believe that those two are siblings. How on earth does that work?" Sniff pondered, tightening a bandage on his arm. Moomin only shrugged, not completely sure on how he should answer that.
"Speaking of which, where are those two? I haven't seen either of them tonight." Snorkmaiden asked, once again trying to catch sight of one or both of the siblings.
"Well, wherever those two are, I promise I will not be scared by the sight of either of them." Sniff bragged, puffing out his chest, trying to prove a point.
"Hey Sniff." A voice said behind the animal and laid a hand on his shoulder. Sniff gulped before he turned around. He suddenly let out a shriek of fright before he fell to the floor, after he tripped over his own bandages when he tried to run away. Moomin and Snorkmaiden looked to see that it was Snufkin that frightened the animal. Although, they could see why Sniff got frightened by him. His hat was not on his head, where it usually was, showing his full head of messy brown hair. He wore an old shirt and trousers that were literally dragged through the mud with a few tares in them, all had red paint around and dripping down from them. He still wore his usual brown walking boots, not really sure what else he could've worn on his feet. His face, neck and arms were painted grey. His left cheek and forearms were decorated with painted wounds, to make it look like he had been attacked. At the junction between his neck and shoulder on his right side, there were what looked like teeth marks painted there.
"Sorry Sniff. I didn't realise I'd scare you that badly." Snufkin sheepishly smiled as he offered a hand to his friend on the ground.
"You didn't scare me. I was just...testing you." Sniff pathetically argued back as Snufkin pulled him to his feet.
"Okay tough guy. I'm just glad you didn't injure yourself after tripping over your bandages there." Snufkin chuckled. Sniff looked down and looked at the loose bandage in his leg. He bent down and tightened the bandage before tying the ends in a knot so he wouldn't trip over it again.
"Wow, Snufkin! I barely recognised you there with all that face paint." Snorkmaiden exclaimed, looking up and down at his costume.
"Yeah, Mymble's really outdone herself this year with your costume." Moomin agreed.
"You can say that again. Although I barely got away from her when she offered to put a comb through my hair." Snufkin shuddered, remembering when his eldest sister said that she would make his hair neat for the party. He was glad that he was able to convince her that neat hair wouldn't go very well for a zombie costume.
"Where's Little My? Didn't she come here with you?" Moomin asked, noticing that the small girl wasn't with the traveller.
"Search me, I haven't got a clue. As soon as I was ready, she barked at me to get out so I wouldn't see what she looked like when she was ready." Snufkin shrugged.
"Really?" Snorkmaiden gasped, a little surprised.
"Well, knowing her, she'll probably try her best to scare me again. I wouldn't at all be too surprised if she somehow manages it this time." Snufkin sighed, shaking his head a little.
"What about your father? The Joxter?" Sniff asked, feeling a little brave in knowing what Joxter was coming as.
"I'm afraid that there's no point in asking me Sniff, because I have no clue about where he is or what he's going to be." Snufkin shrugged again. This made Moomin wonder a bit on how the rest of the night will go.
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The night had rolled on by smoothly. Moomin and Snufkin were on the veranda watching the night go by. Most of the food was already eaten (partly thanks to Sniff) so a lot of the guests were amusing themselves by doing a variety of the activities that were provided. Most of guests were dancing along to the music that was playing out a record player. Most of them, though it was mostly children, were playing some of the games such as the skeleton puzzle, apple bobbing and pin the skull on the skeleton (which is pretty much like pin the tail on the donkey). A lot of the guests however were just standing around and talking. Most of them were holding fresh warm drinks while the others were standing by small bonfires since the night had grown much colder. The paper decorations blew a little as the night breezed right through them.
Moomin shivered a little in response to the breeze. Another grim reminder that Winter was just around the corner and Snufkin would have to leave for the South. He looked up at Snufkin, who was sitting on the banister of the veranda, his back against the post, watching the party go by. He then remembered the main reason why he went to Snufkin's tent in the first place that morning as he had forgotten about it when Little My had come to try to scare her younger brother.
"Snufkin, when are you leaving? For the South I mean." He asked sadly, his ears dropping a little.
"As soon as the snow starts to fall." Snufkin answered, not looking at the young troll.
"And you'll be back on the first day of Spring, right?" Moomin asked again. Snufkin suddenly looked down and sighed. Since Moomin brought up the subject, he may as well tell him now instead of tomorrow.
"Actually Moomin, I might be a little late coming back this year." He sighed, looking down at his friend.
"What?! Why?" Moomin exclaimed, filled with horror. Having Spring without Snufkin was like finding Moominmamma losing her handbag and not being able to find it.
"Dad is taking me to see Mother. I owe her a long overdue visit. And because of where she lives and how long I may stay there for, I might be a little late coming back this year." Snufkin explained sadly, looking at the despair in his friend's eyes. "I'll be back. It just might take me a while."
"But you'll be seeing your family. That's the highlight of the trip." Moomin smiled a little. Yes, he was going to be sad if Snufkin was going to be late coming back from his Winter wonderings, but this was very important to him. He was just reunited with his father and found out that he had siblings here in Moominvalley, so it makes sense that the traveller would want to meet his mother as well.
"You don't mind?" Snufkin asked, a little unsure about his choice.
"A little, but if you're going to be seeing your mother for the first time since you were really young, then it makes up for it." Moomin smiled again, happy about his friend's decision on what to do. After all, Snufkin is a free spirit, he has the power to choose on what he should do.
"Thanks Moomin." Snufkin smiled, glad that he was able to get that off of his chest.
"Does Little My know? After all, you both do have the same mother." Moomin asked.
"Not yet, but I'll tell her as soon as I have the chance." Snufkin said, trying to plan out how he should tell his sister. Moomin suddenly spotted something over the traveller's shoulder. He was going to let out a scream as he realised that it was a doll but he held his tongue when it raised a finger to its lips. That was when he realised that the doll was Little My. Her face, arms and legs were painted in various dark colours, painted to look like she was made out of patchwork. Her hair was held up by a grey bow that had a fake spider sowed onto the centre. She wore a dress, her usual black gloves and shiny black shoes. Her dress was made to look like her painted skin, all different styles and colours of patchwork. It was torn at the bottom and the sleeves. It also had some small holes that had stuffing poking out from them to make it look like she had been abused by a careless owner. She was hanging onto the post, waiting for Snufkin to turn around to get the fright of his life.
"What?" Snufkin asked. Moomin gestured his head towards the traveller's shoulder. Snufkin slowly turned his head. He let out a surprised scream and lost his balance, causing him to fall on the veranda. Little My burst out into a full fit of laughter.
"Are you alright Snufkin?" Moomin asked as he helped the boy up.
"Ow! My hip." Snufkin winced as he got up, rubbing his bruised side. He looked at the laughing girl, giving her a disapproving look. "Very funny, My."
"It was! You should have seen your face!" Little My cackled, holding her stomach as she felt like her sides were going to split into two.
"Now I know why you didn't want me to see your costume. You weren't kidding when you said your were going to be a creepy rag doll this year." Snufkin muttered.
"You got that right! So, what's this about you and Joxter going to see Mother?" Little My demanded as she slowly came to a stop with her laughing fit. Moomin stood there silently, feeling a little awkward as the siblings were talking.
"Oh, you heard about that?" Snufkin asked, not too surprised that the small girl was more than likely eavesdropping.
"Right. So where's Joxter? I want to talk about this with him myself!" Little My demanded.
"I don't know. He hasn't turned up yet." Snufkin shrugged.
"Ha! He might not turn up at all. Face it Snufkin, he's left you for good this time." Little My scowled, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.
"My. Please. Can't you just-ah!" Snufkin exclaimed as someone covered his eyes from behind. Moomin whipped around so fast to see who it was that he almost tripped on his own costume.
"Guess who?" A voice behind the traveller teased.
"Dad! Really? My already gave me heart attack. Did you really have to give me another one?" Snufkin shouted, pushing the hands off his face.
"It's Halloween. Surely your sister and I can get away with that." Joxter grinned stepping back.
"Now, see, you two have gotten me on high alert now." Snufkin moaned as he turned around to face his father. Joxter grinned a little sheepishly. Moomin was quite amazed by the man's costume. He was dressed in a stripy jumpsuit with black shoes that were scuffed and muddy. On one side of the suit was a stitched on tag with some numbers on it. The top half had what looked like blood stains, as if to show the man had been in a fight. Tucked under his arm was a ball and chain. His left cheek had a streak of red paint with a trail dropping down from it to look like a cut.
"Wow! Joxter, I like your prison outfit! It looks so real." Moomin gasped in amazement.
"Thanks." Joxter smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Hmph! Wouldn't be too surprised if it was." Little My grumbled.
"Excuse me?" Joxter asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Come on! I've seen you fight with policemen before! I wouldn't be too surprised if that so called "outfit" was real." Little My shouted, looking at the man square in the face. 'Here we again.' Snufkin thought as he hid his face in one hand.
"Look, Little My. Can we not talk about this now?" Joxter asked, trying to not start a scene.
"Oh and this coming from the criminal that had replaced my father." Little My shouted. "I don't know what Mother saw in you, but Snufkin is clearly the result of that mistake."
"Little My!" Moomin gasped, not quite believing his ears. He couldn't believe Little My would say anything like that.
"Young lady, I am not trying to replace your father. You don't even remember him if I recall correctly. Now apologise." Joxter calmly argued back.
"I'm not apologising to you!" Little My yelled.
"It's not me that you need to apologise to." Joxter sternly told her, not trying to raise his voice too much. Little My looked at Snufkin, who looked shocked at her words himself. Her scowl deepened at what the man was suggesting.
"I'm not apologising to any-" she started to yell.
"I mean it-" Joxter interrupted, losing his temper a little.
"Gah! Just STOP!" Snufkin suddenly shouted, cutting the two off. Everyone on the veranda looked at him. "Please, can't you two just get along for once?" With that, Snufkin walked off and disappeared in the crowd. Moomin, feeling useless at the moment, chased after him. He pushed his way past people, politely saying "excuse me" every time he had to force his way past. He was able to find Snufkin. He was standing all by himself, staring at the flames of a small bonfire.
"Snufkin? Are you okay?" Moomin asked tentatively. Snufkin nodded, not looking at him. Moomin stood next to him. "No you're not. You wouldn't shout at your family like that if that was the case."
"Can't hide anything from you, now can I?" Snufkin asked, a little spark of amusement twinkled in his eye as he looked at the troll.
"Nope." Moomin smiled, feeling a little smug.
"It's just that, every time they argue like that, I'm somehow caught in the middle of it." Snufkin sighed, almost hopelessly. "I just got back together with my family. I don't want to be divided between the two of them because of me."
"I'm sure that if you give them time, maybe...you know...they'll see eye to eye." Moomin suggested.
"I know. I'm trying, but I'm so worried that everything will just fall apart. There's got to be something that they agree on. If there is, then that could be the only way to stop them from going at each other's throats." Snufkin thought out loud. Feeling a headache coming on from staring at the bonfire, he turned to watch the party. He kept trying to think of ways to help his half sister and father get along. Yes, they're not biologically related, but there's got to be something that they have in common. Even if it's something as simple as a favourite colour or food or even a time of day, it could help them get along without fighting. The problem is that Little My is so quick to judge that they immediately start fighting and avoid trying to have a proper conversation like most people would do in situations like that.
"Why do they argue anyway? I don't see the point." Moomin asked, tilting his head a little in confusion.
"I don't see the point of it either, Moomin. My believes that Dad is purposely replacing her father, despite her having no memories of him." Snufkin sighed, wishing that his sister would just change her views about everything that she has a problem with Joxter. Snufkin suddenly shuddered. He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling a foreboding chill go down his spine.
"Are you alright?" Moomin asked, noticing the boy's uneasiness.
"Yeah. Just felt like someone just walked over my grave." Snufkin answered, looking around a little. That was when he saw it. At first he thought that it was a person. However after having a better look at it, it looked more like a shadow. A shadow with eyes? That doesn't make sense. However, after someone blocked Snufkin's view of it for a mere second, it was gone. Snufkin rubbed his eyes. He must be getting tired and had started hallucinating.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Moomin asks again, seeing the odd change in the boy's behaviour.
"I'm okay. Really. I'm just tired is all." Snufkin said, a little hesitant. He really wasn't sure what was wrong with him to be honest, but he kept putting it down to just him being tired.
WHOOSH!
BANG!
Snufkin was suddenly cut off from the foreboding feeling that he was getting. Both friends and every guest at the party stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky. Fireworks were launched into the sky. They exploded with tremendous bangs that echoed throughout the whole valley. The fireworks exploded to form different shapes that were Halloween themed. They formed to shape a variety of pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons. At one point, a firework exploded in the shape of the Groke. The bright and vibrant colours spread out from the centre of the explosion, as far and wide as possible, before they fade away into the darkness of the night. Blotches of smoke lift behind by the colours were carried off by the wind. Mr Hemulen rushes this way and that, setting off all of the fireworks that he had designed and created himself. And as Snufkin watched the fireworks, he immediately forgot why he had that chilling forbidding in the first place.
It watched as the boy watched the display of obnoxious fireworks. It hated fireworks. If it could do anything, it would force them to stop all together. In fact he'd ruin this whole party if it could because just the thought of getting everyone together and having fun made it sick. However it had a lot of satisfaction after seeing the struggle that the boy had with his family. So much turmoil, so much desperate feelings for wanting his family to get along. And so much despair after his sister referred to him as nothing more then a "mistake". The perfect thing to make the boy's spirit weak and defenceless. Just a little longer to wait. And then it would make everyone that he loathed pay for what they had done.