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All was quiet in Moominhouse, with Moominmamma cooking in the kitchen and Little My futzing around in the pantry, until a loud slam of the kitchen door broke the peace of the household.
“I...I SAW SNUFKIN NAKED!! BY ACCIDENT!”
The two ladies in the kitchen gave the sweating and panting Moomintroll a confused look. A bright red covered his face as he stared forward with wide eyes. It was the look of absolute embarrassment, like he saw something he was never meant to have seen.
“And in what situation did this happen, dear Moomin?” asked Mamma.
Little My smirked and put her hand to her hip. “Must’ve been up to no good, if you know what I mean-”
“Little My!” exclaimed Moomin. “This is no joke! I’m so so embarrassed…ugh…I accidentally walked upon him bathing in the river.”
“Oh Moomin dear,” started Moominmamma, “That could happen to anyone. I’m sure he wouldn’t be offended.”
“Yeah, well I’m offended...so embarrassing…”
Moomintroll sulked as he made his way upstairs to his bedroom, to hide in embarrassment from the situation. Moominmamma and Little My looked at each other.
“Geez, what a drama queen. He’s even worse than Snufkin,” said Little My.
Earlier, it was about mid-morning when the incident in question happened. Snufkin had woken up a little later than he wanted to, but he didn’t let that bother him, nor did he let it interrupt any of his usual morning rituals. When he woke up, he set up breakfast to cook and coffee as well. Once things were all set, he made his way to the nearby river.
People usually assumed the traveler wasn’t the cleanest guy on earth due to his wandering lifestyle, but in reality he had a regular ritual of bathing about daily. It was another good moment of solitude in life; Most people don’t bother you while you are bathing, after all. Plus, he’d get compliments on how he smelled of lavender when people would hug him; It bemused him whenever Moomin especially would compliment his scent. When he made his way to the river, he sought out an area where the cattails were growing tall, in order to provide a little privacy. Then, he disrobed, pulled out his soap- goat milk soap he made himself, complete with lavender flowers for scent- and then sank into the river, covering himself to about his shoulders.
He quietly enjoyed the peaceful morning and the cool water on his skin. It was a little warmer than his usual bathing time due to it being a little later in the morning, but he was unconcerned. As he bathed, he let his thoughts roam freely, undisturbed by anything…
...Until he heard some footsteps running in the area. He stopped a moment to listen closer and to try and determine the source of the sound. Quietly, he inched closer to his bag, which contained a pocket knife, just in case if trouble was coming his way. Soon though, he heard a familiar voice coming by.
“Snuuuufkiiiiin! Snuuuuuuufkiiiiiin!”
Moomin! He forgot that his dear friend usually came by about this hour, which made him blush in embarrassment. It would be a little awkward to be caught bathing right now, he supposed. In order to try and spare any potential awkwardness, Snufkin remained silent for a little longer, in order to convince Moomin that he was away for the moment and would return to his camp later.
After a while of calls for his name, Snufkin then heard Moomin say something else.
“Snufkin must be out right now...I guess I’ll do something else then for a little while.”
Now knowing that Moomin was done looking for him, Snufkin returned to his bathing, quietly washing up. He retreated back into his thoughts and feelings, a comfortable place for him.
Perhaps, that place was a bit too comfortable, for he didn’t notice the sounds of rustling of cattails behind him. Suddenly, he heard a squeal and he turned around.
Moomin was standing at the edge of the river, frozen in place as he stared at Snufkin, who was completely nude (though not particularly exposed, as the water was up to his shoulders). In his paw were a bundle of cattails and flowers; He must’ve been spending his time collecting some local flora and accidentally stumbled upon his bathing spot.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. Moomin seemed unable to speak, and Snufkin wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation. Finally, Moomin broke the silence.
“Oh! S-Snufkin I didn’t mean to...uh, um… Oh! Uh, look at the time!”
He tapped on his wrist, on an imaginary watch.
“I better get going you know? Uh-”
Suddenly, the Moomintroll ran off without another word, faster than he had ever seen him run. Snufkin looked at himself, and then looked out again at where Moomin ran off too. He wasn’t really sure of what to make of the situation, never having been caught bathing before. Hopefully, his dear friend would be alright.
Moomin sulked in his room, repeatedly going over the incident in his head, trying to figure out what to do about this awkward situation. No, as much as he wanted to dig a hole for himself and not leave until Snufkin dies of old age, that was not a good course of action. Neither was never see Snufkin ever again- what a terrible thing to do! Maybe he could send someone like Snorkmaiden or Sniff on his behalf to talk to him...but that would require him to tell others that he walked in on his friend bathing.
While he was considering his next course of action, he heard a quiet knock on the door. Moomin mumbled a “come in,” and then saw his mother enter the room.
“Moomin dear?” asked Moominmamma. She took a seat next to him on his bed.
“I just don’t know what to do,” complained Moomin. “I feel so, ugh, embarrassed. I don’t know what it is about it, it’s so awkward.”
Mamma kept some of her more all-knowing-mother secrets to herself, regarding why he might think it was extremely awkward; Now was not the time to give any awkward “talks” to her son and potentially embarrass him more. Instead, in all of her motherly wisdom, decided to offer up the simplest solution:
“Why don’t you talk about it with him? Snufkin is a resilient fellow, I’m sure he’s mostly forgotten about it now.”
“Wouldn’t it be...weird though?” asked Moomintroll.
Mamma said, “It could be, but it’s kind of like ripping off a bandage. Once it’s done, it’ll be off your mind, and it won’t be weird anymore.”
Moomin stared out the window, seeing the afternoon sky slowly turn to orange. Then, he got up.
“I’ll go talk to him then,” said Moomin. “I want to make sure he isn’t bothered by it.”
“Don’t stay out too late dear,” said Moominmamma, who started to head to the kitchen for more housework.
To make up for lost time, Moomin ran across the meadows towards the camp which his friend had set up. In fact, he had a bit of a boost of energy in him from his mother’s pep talk. In the moment, he felt as if it would be a piece of cake, to approach the awkward situation.
Until he actually reached the campsite.
Not that there was anything unusual about the campsite itself, no. There was no one outside right now, but Moomin could hear guitar playing from inside the tent; This was not unusual, since Snufkin tended to stay inside during the evening, until everyone else was asleep. He could feel his feet start to become glued to the ground, though. A nervousness bubbled up inside of him, providing plenty of excuses to just run away right now.
Despite these anxious feelings, Moomin pressed onwards to the tent, feeling his feet drag along the ground as he traveled. Eventually, his dragging on led him to the front of Snufkin’s tent, which was closed up.
In a much quieter voice than usual, Moomin called out, “Snufkin?”
For a moment, there was little acknowledgement that he was heard. The guitar playing stopped, and there was some shuffling inside of the tent. After what felt like an eternity, the opening of the tent opened up.
“Hey there, Moomin,” said Snufkin, face devoid of any unusual expression.
“Haha, hi Snufkin…” Moomin said, a bit of nervous laughter escaping him. After a brief pause, he asked, “Can I talk to you about...something?”
Snufkin nodded in agreement and motioned for Moomin to enter his tent. They both sat on the ground, where the Moomintroll twiddled his paws quietly. It felt as if his friend was listening a bit too intently right now.
Moomin started, “Right, so, um...I guess...about earlier today...I was thinking about.”
A weird flush came upon his face as he talked. How embarrassing. Meanwhile, Snufkin was as nonplussed as usual.
“Well I was thinking…I...I don’t know, if I’m completely honest.”
His friend tilted his head a bit, out of curiosity.
“I just feel so embarrassed about seeing you, you know, bathing,” said Moomin. “I violated your privacy. That’s the best way I can describe it.”
Snufkin looked down at the floor and closed his eyes for a moment, deep in thought. For a moment, Moomin thought that Snufkin was mad that he brought it up with him. However, a small smile crept onto his face, an indicator that he’s given it adequate thought.
Looking back at Moomin, Snufkin said, “It could happen to anyone. I think of that one bath house I entered by accident while traveling. It’s not a problem at all, Moomin.”
His friend’s soft smile put him at ease. He allowed himself a pleased giggle in response.
“Thank you, Snufkin.”
Moomin closed in for a hug, which Snufkin gladly accepted. Then, he sat back down, as his friend picked up his guitar and played it for a little while. After a while of admiring his guitar playing though, Moomin had a question in mind.
“Hey Snufkin?”
“Yeah?”
Moomin twiddled his paws again, a weird blush forming on his snout again.
“...Is that why you smell like lavender flowers?”
Now it was Snufkin’s turn to blush, which was accompanied by a coy smile.
“It is. I’ve made my own soap. In fact…”
He reached for one of his traveling packs, and pulled out a few blocks wrapped in thin paper.
“I wanted to provide some for you and your family, too.”
Surprised, Moomin let out a “whoa” noise and took the blocks of soap. He tore back the paper a little on one of them and took a sniff at it.
“It smells like...a flower?”
“Chamomile,” stated Snufkin. “I thought of you when I smelled them.”
Touched by his friend’s kindness, he threw his arms around Snufkin again.
“Thank you so much Snufkin! You’re too kind!”
As they hugged, Moomintroll took his time. He wanted to bask in the familiar lavender scent of his friend once again.