Chapter Text
It was the first day of Spring again in Moominvalley, the morning sun was rising in the sky, and the sound of Snufkin’s spring tune could be heard. Moomintroll followed the song to find his best friend sitting on the bridge in front of his family’s home, where they both always meet every year. Upon realizing Snufkin’s return, Moomin had rushed to reunite with him as soon as he could.
“Snufkin! You’re back!” Moomintroll said while catching his breath.
“Hullo, Moomintroll.” Snufkin replied as simply as ever.
“It’s so wonderful to see you again! In the first morning of spring no less!” Moomintroll said joyfully. Snufkin smiled at his friend’s happiness, he always loved the anticipation, of returning to Moominvalley during his favorite time of the year, of seeing his closest friends again. But this year there was something he needed to address, a tug at his mind. Although he wasn’t sure yet how to deliver the news about his new title to Moomintroll.
“It’s good to see you again too.”
Snufkin followed Moomintroll back to the house, where Moominmamma was already cooking up breakfast. Moominpappa was sitting at the dinner table still half asleep, while it seems that Sniff and the Snorks haven’t even woken up from their hibernation yet. It was very early after all.
“Good morning Snufkin! Happy spring!” Moominmamma greeted him with a smile.
“Huh- ah.. Hello Snufkin..” Moominpappa awoke for a moment, before dozing back to sleep
“Good morning.” Snufkin greeted back. Moominmamma set a plate of pancakes on the table for him and Moomintroll. She was humming little bits of Snufkin’s spring tune while pouring them coffee.
“It’s always so lovely to hear your spring tune, you’ve really outdone yourself this year!” She complimented.
“Thank you, Moominmamma.” Snufkin replied, reaching to grab a cup for himself.
“Snufkin! What happened to your paws!?” Moomintroll cried upon noticing the strange marks across his friend’s palms. Snufkin immediately hid his paws behind his back.
“Oh! Well… it’s nothing serious-” he started. “I might've had a bit of an accident, but it’s all fine now-” Moomintroll reached for Snufkin’s paw to observe the marks closer, his entire palm had been covered in intricate swirling marks, they look almost like water ripples that carved into his skin, although it looked quite beautiful, the size and color of it was worrying. Moominmamma came over to see for herself. Snufkin managed to pull his paw away, but Moominmamma had a good look at it. She couldn't identify what exactly could have made such marks, but it was definitely some kind of burning scar.
“Snufkin dear, did you burn your paws?” She asked him worriedly, but Snufkin closed both his paws tightly together, concealing his palms from view.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore...” Snufkin said in an attempt to cease their worries. “I just burnt them by accident.” This did not make Moomintroll feel any better.
"Are you sure it's okay?" Moomintroll asked.
"Yes, please don't worry about it now Moomin." Snufkin replied quickly.
Moominmamma sighed, if it doesn’t hurt anymore, it doesn’t really matter to worry about it now, yet she feels like there’s something important about it. She pat Snufkin’s shoulder and gave him caution. “Do be careful next time, dear.” Snufkin nodded at that.
After breakfast, Moomintroll and Snufkin headed out to check on their friends. The spring day was quite pleasant, and many residents of the valley have already started their spring cleaning.This particular afternoon, the flowers seem to blossom more abundantly, and the hills of the valley were draped in colorful flowers at every turn, and the sky was clear and warm. Indeed, this Spring day felt more beautiful and more colorful than the past years. Snufkin couldn’t help but glance at the sun a few times along the way. Soon enough they come across Sniff who was on his way to the Moominhouse.
“Moomin! Snufkin! You’re back early.” Sniff said
“Happy spring Sniff!” Moomintroll greeted him. “Mamma made pancakes, there's still a bunch left.”
“Oh!! See you two later then.” Sniff said before taking off. He’s in good spirits, Moomintroll observed.
After a while, the two of them spotted the Snorks in the Hemulen’s garden. The garden was blossoming with fresh spring flowers and plants, the flowers were very large and abundant. There were many more of them compared to the past springs. The Hemulen seemed to be discussing something with the siblings.
“It’s a very rare phenomenon, I’ve only heard news about it maybe once or twice in my whole life…” Hemulen muttered.
”The crowning of spring! Such a beautiful name that is…” Snorkmaiden pondered in awe.
“How does that work Mr Hemulen?” Snork asked. Hemulen continued his musings. “Well, I’m sure there’s a natural explanation for it, but it’s usually tied to some tradition or ritual I think…”
“Oh! Moomintroll! Snufkin! Good morning!” said Snorkmaiden upon spotting the two approaching the garden.
“Morning Snorkmaiden! Morning Snork!” Moomintroll greeted back, “Mr. Hemulen, your garden looks so much bigger than before.”
“We were on our way to your house, but she re-routed us to see this place.” said Snork, giving a single pat on his sister’s head.
“Isn’t it beautiful here? Oh I’ve never seen a springtime like this one… ” Snorkmaiden said dreamily.
“Yes yes, it seems that there’s a rare phenomenon occurring in Moominvalley right now, the crowning of spring. It’s when the seeds germinate and blossom at the perfect time, altogether, and in a dramatic proportion…” Hemulen cited from his botany almanac. He looked at Snufkin and remembered something, “My morning glories have been particularly dramatic this year… please wait a moment.” Hemulen said before heading behind his house, and returning with a white morning glory flower that doubled in size compared to a regular one, much to the children’s surprise. Hemulen promptly placed the oversized flower on top of Snufkin’s hat. The flower was just a bit larger, and Snufkin’s hat was completely hidden underneath it.
“Yes, this hat is what those flowers reminded me of.” Hemulen chuckled. The sight delighted the others, and they began to giggle as well. Snufkin imagined wonderful how he looked right now.
“Is it alright to take some flowers from your garden Mr Hemulen?” asked Snorkmaiden.
“Well, I have so many flowers… it doesn’t matter, go ahead.” Hemulen said, happily looking around his yard.
The children spent the morning picking flowers, Moomintroll picked out the best ones to bring back home for his mother. The rest of the day went perfectly fine, just like the years before, and to the point that Snufkin had forgotten to bring about the news to Moomintroll after spending a delightful first day of spring with his friends.
That evening, they all returned to the Moominhouse for dinner. The sky glowed orange, and before they reached the house, Snufkin looked up to see the sun descending on it’s way down to him again! Their surroundings started to glow brighter, and brighter, curious of the new light, the others looked up to their absolute shock, at the flaming star that was making it’s way down to the earth so suddenly.
“A comet!?” Moomintroll cried in fear. Moominmamma and Moominpappa broke out of the door, ushering the children inside the Moominhouse as they all clambered inside in full panic. Snufkin stayed outside, gripping his flute in his paws, and running away from the house, eyes pinned to the falling sun which is now only meters above him.
“SNUFKIN!!! What are you doing!!?” Moomintroll cried in fear, and without waiting a moment, he rushed out from the door.
He knew it was foolish, he couldn’t understand what Snufkin was doing- what he’s thinking, but Moomintroll ran over to his best friend, he needed to bring him back to the safety of his home. But before he could reach Snufkin, the sun had fallen upon his best friend, and there was a bright flame that blinded him. In a moment, Moomin opened his eyes again, adjusting to the brightness to see Snufkin, who was holding the sun itself in his paws. An impossible sight to see, yet he’s looking at it with his own eyes, and it was real. He looked at Snufkin, his face held a complicated emotion that Moomintroll couldn’t quite understand. Yet it was a beautiful thing he witnessed, Moomintroll thought.
“I uh- I have something I need to tell you.” Snufkin muttered.
“You’re the new Spring Herald!?”
Snufkin explained the situation he caught himself in a few days ago, which had resulted in him obtaining the Herald of Spring title rather unwillingly. There were a million questions in the family’s minds, as well as Snufkin’s. The sun had been set down on the drawing room table, on top of Moominmamma’s oven mits. Although it’s flames had extinguished, anyone other than Snufkin who dared to touch it would get an otherworldly sharp electrical shock. The whole family was quite enamoured by the divine thing. Snork and Sniff especially have been studying every detail of it up close. Their fur was raised by static electricity as their noses hover above the sun’s surface. “Astounding…” Snork remarked.
“Do you think we could sell it for lots of gold?” Sniff wondered out loud, the idea fresh in his mind.
Snork turned his head, and looked at him flatly. “Your greed has no bounds.”
Snufkin looked over at the sun.
“It’ll catch on fire by morning, so I’ll have to move it somewhere safer.” Moominmamma gasped, she had the perfect idea of a solution.
“You could keep it in the stove! That way I won’t need to start a fire to make breakfast every morning.” Snufkin couldn’t think of a better thing, so he promptly picked the sun off the mits and shoved it into the kitchen stove’s fireplace.
“Now how come the sun didn’t sting you?” Sniff asked.
“He’s supposed to be the one carrying the sun, of course it wouldn’t sting him..!” Snork answered, rather appalled by Sniff. This reminded Moomintroll of the marks on his palms, it’s connection to Snufkin’s new ability seems to be more than plausible. The world works in such mysterious, and somewhat cruel ways, he wondered.
“Did the sun make the marks on your paws?” Moomin asked to confirm his thoughts.
“Yes, I suppose so.” Snufkin said, both palms facing up. “I’m fireproof now.” that made Moominmamma chuckle.
“It sounds like such an amazing job.” Said Snorkmaiden. “Bringing about the sun and the season of spring itself… It sounds like a fairytale..!”
“How does bringing a season even work…” Snork mumbled, more to himself than to Snufkin.
“Would you be famous for being a Herald?” Sniff asked with enthusiasm. “Do you get paid?”
Unfortunately, Moomintroll asked the question Snufkin was dreading the most,
“Does this mean you’ll leave once spring ends?” He asked, and Snufkin could sense a tinge of sadness in Moomin’s voice when he asked his question. He hated it.
“I don’t really know.” Snufkin said, a bit crossly.
The past Spring Herald didn’t leave him with anything to learn from, he was just as lost as anyone. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. Moominmamma seemed to have sensed the tension, and ushered the children to the kitchen to eat dinner, Snufkin couldn’t be more thankful for the break from that conversation. The dinner was such a delight, after the long winter without proper meals, Moominmamma's cooking tasted like the best thing in the world. Everyone greatly enjoyed the dinner, but as he ate, Moomintroll fidgeted at the tablecloth, his mind was wandering elsewhere.
Once dinner was over, the group of friends retreated to their own homes, the new title bestowed upon Snufkin still lingering in their minds. Snufkin himself stayed in the Moominhouse. He needed to talk to Moomintroll
That night the two of them sat under the verandah. Moomintroll rested his arms over the railing, looking far into the moonlit world outside. Far in the sky, clouds were rolling into each other, signifying the coming of rain. Snufkin sat on the rocking chair by the door, lightly rocking back and forth in some attempt of a distraction. He could tell that Moomin had a lot on his mind, but he didn’t dare to see his friend’s face, he didn't even know what words to say, if he had any.
“It’s not fair…” Moomintroll muttered quietly, but not quiet enough for Snufkin to miss.
This is going to be difficult, he thought. He knew that his best friend wouldn’t be very happy about the news, and as much as he didn’t want to talk about it, it was inevitable after all. Snufkin didn’t really know what to say, all he knew was that he needed to comfort his friend.
“Moomintroll-”
“Boys! I have something to show you both!” Moominpappa cried, barging open the door to the two’s surprise. He was motioning them to come back inside. Moominpappa ushered them over to the drawing room table. He had set out a large map of the earth, it was decked out in charts, calendars and scriptures, and scribbles of four roads for each season stretching along the earth.
"This is a map I made to record the paths of different seasons. I made it while observing The Autumn Herald! My friend, the Joxter's path back when we travelled together." Moominpappa explained in a manner of an adventurer showing off his most prized treasure.
The roads of each Herald were different, the oldest was the Autumn path that was drawn in black calligraphy ink, while the others were drawn by watercolor or colored pencil, which kept the drawings underneath it quite visible.
Snufkin looked at the old ink path that recorded his father's travels, the Autumn Herald had been to places much further away than he himself had ever been. Snufkin noticed a path drawn by green pencil that follows a similar path to Autumn's. In comparison, the green path is less defined.
"The green one is for Spring." Moominpappa said. "It doesn't differ as much from Autumn, although I made this path by other records since the Joxter never met the Spring Herald so I-" Moominpappa stopped himself as if realizing something. He looked at Snufkin with unease in his face. Snufkin looked disappointed. Moominpappa swiftly continued so that they wouldn’t have to dwell on it.
"The other seasons were added later on, the seasons we get around here at least.”
Moominpappa added, he started to point his finger about on the map. “Now by these records, you’ll need to be going down south, far down here by… late September.
“That’s the other side of the world!” Moomintroll cried. Moominpappa consoled his son “Now, now, boy. We live in modern times! To get there, Snufkin wouldn’t need more than two months. That means you have time until late July at most!”
Moomintroll’s brows were twisted, “That’s still a good chunk out of Summer!” he protested.
Snufkin stared at the map. His eyes bore holes into the mysterious places he had never even heard the names of. But in about five months, he will continue his wanderings there. In hand, it had shortened his stay in Moominvalley by a good three months, he didn’t know how to feel about that. But he knew how Moomintroll must feel. At the very least, maybe he didn’t have to leave as soon as Spring officially ended like he feared. Moomintroll was still visibly upset, and it made him feel terrible.
“It’s alright Moomintroll, we still have plenty of time.” Snufkin reassured him.
Moomintroll quite appreciated it, and he seemed to be less sad.
“Well, since there’s no trail left behind by the past Spring Herald, I suppose the only way to know the ropes officially is by the next Herald.” Moominpappa says. “Little My should be here in about two months, Summer keeps coming faster and faster with her.” he chuckled. Two Heralds in one family! What a blessing!
“Summer is always a thrill with her around.” Moominmamma piped in as she entered the room. “I know she’ll be delighted to see you, Snufkin, it will be an unforgettable Summer.” But for now, Spring has only started.
“It’s late and it’s raining out, the perfect weather to sleep. We should all get some rest now...” Moominmamma noted, upon peeking through the window’s curtain. Snufkin hadn’t even realized it was raining until Moominmamma said it.
Without a word, Moominpappa had walked up the stairs, yawning, Moominmammma took a good look at her husband’s creation on the table, almost like she was reminiscing, before giving Snufkin a nod and heading upstairs herself.
Soon it was only Moomintroll left, he looked at Snufkin seriously, “Goodnight Snufkin.” he said.
“Goodnight.” Snufkin said in reply.
Snufkin noticed a weariness that still lingered Moomin's eyes, though he didn't say anything about it, and he watched Moomintroll go upstairs without another word between them. It might be better to continue talking in the morning, after all, it's impossible to have any clear thoughts at night time.
He stepped outside of the Moominhouse, only to find that rain had been falling a lot harder than he had expected. Snufkin realized he forgot to set up his tent. He looked on at the hazy world outside, blurred by the streaks of rain falling from the heavens. If it were any other day of his life, the downpour would have delighted him. He went back inside of the Moominhouse, relishing in the warmth and the familiar smells, and dimming lights that painted the rooms in dark, warm browns. It felt like he was having a sleepover all by himself. Snufkin curled himself up on the drawing room’s sofa, and he stared at the map in all it’s glory still laid out on the table in front of him. In the darkness, he couldn’t make out a single thing on it, other than the black ink road of Autumn. Snufkin turned his head, and went to sleep.