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And with a splash, a certain little Mymble awoke from a very peaceful nap with a start. She jerked as she opened her eyes, blinking further in the bright midday sun. She rubbed them with petite hands, unable to stifle a huge yawn.
Little My took in her surroundings, post-nap mind a little foggy. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she remembered that she was no longer in Moominvalley, as alien as that was to her, despite living there for only a year or two. Scrubby beige grass barely rippled in the sea’s winds, stunted trees had leaves that barely rustled in it. Dark gray rocks, smoothed by years and years of erosion dotted the landscape, serving as an effective wind shield for someone hoping to get in a quick afternoon snooze.
She turned to the source of the splash. A small rock tumbled down the side of a stony hollow which, from My’s thorough exploration, she knew was filled with a seemingly bottomless pool of black seawater. She didn’t even have to see the lighthouse keeper’s hat floating elegantly down into the hole like a leaf to know that Moominpappa had jumped in. After all, who else would have jumped in there? It seemed that he had tried to hold a rope in place with the rock that had tumbled down the side. How Moominpappa thought that would hold his weight, Little My would never figure out. Perhaps he didn’t realize that Moomins as a species were much heavier than Mymbles or Fuzzies, or maybe it was just something a father did, not that Little My would know. It was always just her, her siblings, and her mother.
She blinked as she heard the soft patting of furry Moomin feet stomping their way down from the top of the pool and quickly ducked behind the rock once more, only barely peeking out this time to see who it was.
Of course, it was Moomintroll, looking very sorry for himself. In his paw he held something small and shiny, which Little My quickly recognized as the horseshoe he had found on the beach on their first day at the island. It seemed as though it had been polished, and by process of elimination, Little My suspected that it must’ve been Moominmamma’s doing. Pappa had no such time for things, Moomintroll was lacking in his skills, and Little My certainly hadn’t done it. In all honesty, Mamma had done a great job with it even though the limited supplies on the island must’ve made it difficult. Little My suspected that one must be able to see their own reflection clear as day in that horseshoe.
She watched Moomintroll pad over to a rock, tail dragging dejectedly across the ground. With an overdramatic sigh, he heavily plopped himself down next to the rock, beginning to sketch in a drawing of a seahorse he had encountered last night using the horseshoe. His pointed white ears drooped forwards and Little My could only imagine how pitiful his eyes must’ve looked.
Something sparked in her mind and a small snicker tugged at the corners of her mouth, eyebrows furrowing to give her quite the sinister look. She placed her hand over it in order to not burst out laughing from the idea she had just come up with. She popped up behind the rock like a hattifattener emerging from the ground for the very first time.
“Didn’t fancy going for a dip with your dad?”
Immediately, Moomintroll’s ears flattened against his head, tail beginning to flick in annoyance. He stopped his sketching and although Little My couldn’t see his face, she knew him well enough to know that a grimace was plastered across it.
“Save it. I’m not in the mood,” Moomintroll grumbled, going back to sketching.
“But I’ve got something important to tell you!”
Scoffing, Moomintroll leaned back, stopping his sketching once more. “What? That I’m stupid and ugly and wasting my time?”
“No!” Said Little My, irritation edging her voice. She jumped nimbly over the rock and waltzed straight over to him, turning around and letting her back rest on his rock, arms crossed. Eyebrows raised and smiling nonchalantly, her next words came naturally. “That you can’t draw for toffee.”
Moomintroll, who was inspecting her with curiosity in his eyes, began to scowl, his fur prickling. He wordlessly stood up and began stomping away from her, throwing the horseshoe behind him. Little My narrowly dodged it as it bounced off the rock, clinking as it made contact. But it became still when it lay on the grass, ringing quietly.
“Hey!” Yelped Little My. “I was only joking!” She bent down, picking up the horseshoe, beginning to run after who was, at this point, essentially her adopted brother. “Wait up!”
He did not slow down.
“Those seahorses really like you, you know?” She fell into stride behind the stomping Moomin.
“Yeah, right,” he said, venom lacing his voice. Little My knew he was definitely rolling his eyes, even if she wasn’t able to see them.
Pity panged in her chest. Suddenly she realized it must not only be the seahorses’ rejection that had left him in a foul mood. He already was an extrovert, thriving on the interaction with his friends. But here he only had Little My and his parents.
Without Snorkmaiden and Snufkin, who did he have to talk to? Who did he have to love?
Little My was mostly disinterested in romance and the like, but she knew what she had to do. As much as she poked fun at Moomintroll, she never wanted to see him sad.
Though she had little experience with romance, she did have a sister who fell in love seemingly every heartbeat, and her best friend, Snorkmaiden, could be much the same. Her sister’s constant swooning always had bothered her, though she didn’t mind talking to Snorkmaiden about it, oddly enough.
Moomintroll was sad. That’s not something Little My liked in the slightest, and lucky for him, she had picked up on what makes some people tick.
She stopped, taking a breath to center herself. Her hands firmly found their place on her hips. “Why do you think they came back to see you?”
Moomintroll stopped, snapping his head behind him to give Little My the death stare of the century, though with his round and fuzzy face it was hardly threatening. His body turned with him and he gave a dramatic little flourish with his hands, his rolling eyes following close in suit. “To insult me?” He growled.
Little My smiled and softly shook her head. “My poor little sea pumpkin. So much to learn,” she held out the horseshoe, beckoning Moomintroll over. “Come here.”
He hesitated, looking at her, then to the ground, then to her again. Dubiously, he turned and walked over, lowering himself to his knees in order to be able to hear her whispers of advice.
Simply, Little My told him what she’d gathered from her sister’s experiences.
It always seemed to be the aloof men, and sometimes women, that captured her heart. Little My didn’t quite understand, but she knew Moomintroll must feel similar in some way, considering how he got when Snufkin was around. And when her sister found an eager person vying for her affection, she would always play hard to get and be, frankly, mean. Counterintuitively, it made most men chase after her more, though women tended to be more sensible and turned away.
From their talks, Little My knew that Snorkmaiden operated similarly to her sister. My’s mother seemed to not have any standards.
Women being mean to men they loved seemed to be the norm, and she saw this as no different.
Moomintroll’s tufted tail began to wag, softly rustling the grass behind him. “Really?” He said, leaning back, tilting his head. “They like that?”
Little My half closed her eyes, crossing her arms. “Trust me, you’ll drive ‘em wild,” she rolled her eyes as she spoke, exaggerating her movements in perhaps in an unconscious jab at Moomintroll’s dramatic attitude.
He looked to the side in consideration, furrowing his brow and narrowing his eyes before looking back. “...What else do you know?”
A smile shot across Little My’s face. “Alright!” She chirped, raising the horseshoe and waving it in the air, walking down towards the beach. “Let’s rein you in a seahorse!”
In her peripheral, she saw Moomintroll watch her go before smiling and giddily getting to his feet, following her.
Night had fallen. The seahorses would be here soon.
Moomintroll was doing just as Little My had taught him, a swagger in his step, eyes closed, holding a lantern before him.
A splash sounded from the beach. No doubt the seahorses making their grand entrance.
Moomintroll jumped, the tuft at the tip of his tail fluffed out, fur bristling. He stopped in his tracks. “What do I do now?” He said, panic creeping into his voice like frost.
Little My, who was watching him from behind a rock, popped up. With an annoyed glare, she whispered as loudly as she could: “Keep flouncing!”
Moomintroll nodded, taking a breath and beginning to walk once more. Little My could see his fur slowly smooth, tail tip returning to its perfect spade shape.
“A-and no more questions!” hissed Little My, the scowl on her face growing. “They’re here!”
The Moomin continued his flouncing, making his way closer to the beach with every step. She heard rhythmic splashing coming from the sea; clearly the seahorses. They ran parallel to the beach.
Moomintroll stopped to look over.
“And don’t gawk at them!” Called Little My, hoping she was being quiet enough so that the seahorses wouldn’t hear her. Moomintroll would definitely look even more like a loser than he usually did if the seahorses figured out that he had a coach.
He fluffed up once more, startled by My’s voice. “O-oh! Yeah, sorry.” He once again took a breath and smoothed his fur, moving across the beach.
Little My heard the seahorses whisper amongst themselves before one of them, a green one with a small fringe, called out. “Hey! Little… Mushroom…” She said tentatively.
Moomintroll did not stop.
The green seahorse murmured something to her friend, surprise on her face. The other seahorse, a blue one, gave her a look of annoyance. They had stopped in their tracks.
The blue seahorse shook her head, moving forward, calling out to Moomintroll. “Hey! Do you still have my silver shoe?”
Moomintroll stopped elegantly, taking out the horseshoe. “Oh, you mean this one?” He said smoothly, looking away from the seahorses. Eyes round, he looked at Little My for guidance.
Little My moved her arm in a mock throwing motion. Hopefully, he would understand.
He nodded. “Right. If you want it…” He waggled the horseshoe, continuing to look away. “Come and get it,” he said, throwing it nonchalantly over his shoulder. It landed neatly on the branch of a piece of driftwood.
It span for a heartbeat before settling down.
Pride fluttered in Little My’s chest. “Nice throw, Romeo!”
Moomintroll smiled at her, pausing. If he weren’t trying to keep his cool, she knew he probably would’ve jumped for joy. Once again, he continued his flouncing.
The blue seahorse began trotting towards the beach. “N-n-n-no!” She cried, the green seahorse following her.
The green seahorse put her nose in the air, saying something too quietly for Little My to hear. Though by her leaving the situation she knew the seahorse must’ve said that she knew where she wasn’t wanted.
The blue seahorse gazed longingly at Moomintroll, eyes glittering in the low light. She turned around and began to follow her friend.
Little My saw the panic flash in Moomintroll’s eyes.
“N-no! Wait! Stop!” he cried, reaching towards her with an open paw.
Little My, completely forgetting that she was trying to stay hidden, popped up from behind the rock. “Hey!” She yelled, her face becoming cold as her blood raced to her heart.
Moomintroll was definitely about to embarrass himself.
He rushed towards the seahorses. “I-if you leave me now…” He held his paw to his chest before reaching it out. “Then you’ll never know!”
Horror dawned on Little My.
The seahorse stopped and looked back at him.
Then, voice like caramel, he began to sing. “You’ll never know how I feel…”
Little My’s heart began to race, secondhand embarrassment hitting her like a tidal wave. “He’s singing?!” She said out loud, rolling her eyes and putting her palm to her face with a hearty smack. “Oh, boy…” She turned around, flicking out her hands. “I’ve lost him.”
As she left, she could hear Moomintroll continue to sing.
And after all of this, this coaching, this unusual consideration of Moomintroll’s feelings…
Little My didn’t know if she’d return to Moominvalley at first, but now she knew that Moomintroll, after coming to his senses, couldn’t stand this embarrassment. He would surely want to leave right away.
Good riddance for kindness.