snufkin knew that what he wanted and what he needed were two very different things.
but, after he arrived in moominvalley on the very first day of spring, he ignored the sweet spring air and the beautiful fields of flowers he and moomin would lie in on sunny days. he immediately pitched up his tent and sat inside, with only one thought plaguing his head. he didn't want to see anyone, not even moomintroll.
when moomintroll did eventually arrive at the foot of his tent, all snufkin could muster was a "hello moomintroll." and an "i would like to be alone, please." this worried moomintroll for obvious reasons. he had never brushed him off like that, and he had never seen him so....pissed off? it looked like his best friend had been replaced with an imposter.
snufkin felt horrible about what he had done, but he didn't know what else to do. he couldn't stand company anymore. he was scaring himself. why did he feel like this all of a sudden?
he knew he had been neglecting his friends, much to their disappointment. he just couldn't bear to be with other people, it was all too overwhelming. even when moomintroll came to say hello, or to give him a plate of food, he felt like he was trapped in a cage, with no way out.
even moominmama and moominpapa began to get worried when snufkin hadn't left his tent for a week. they knew that he preferred to be alone sometimes, but never for this long.
he knew that it wasn't healthy to be isolating himself, but he didn't realise how bad it was until he woke up one morning and his hands had become translucent.