🌿Moominvalley and the Stones of Emotion
Chapter 01 : Wonder traveler in Moominvalley
One beautifully sunny summer day.
Y/N walked along the river, passing through the forest, and came upon a small village nestled in a valley.
Yes, this was Moominvalley.
The green hills were soft and fluffy, and the river sparkled as it reflected the sunlight.
A gentle breeze brushed against Y/N’s cheeks, carrying the sweet scent of flowers past their nose.
The sound of the flowing river, the chirping of summer insects, and, faintly, the melody of a harmonica filled the air.
“What a beautiful…”
Clink. A yellow stone fell from above.
Y/N sat down to pick it up and pulled a jewel box out of the large backpack they carried.
It was a small village, so business might not be promising, but places like this often yielded plenty of stones—or so Y/N thought.
He were a stone seller, traveling the world while trading in stones.
“Hey, you’re a new face. And what’s with that ridiculously huge backpack? Are you a traveler?”
A little girl in a red dress poked her head out from between the tall grass and flowers. It was Little My.
“Yes, I’m a traveler.”
“Hmm.”
Little My stared at Y/N intently, sizing them up from head to toe.
“OK! I’m Little My. What's your name?”
“I’m Y/N.”
“Is this your first time in Moominvalley?”
“Yeah.”
"Then I'll show you around. Follow me."
With that, Little My grabbed Y/N’s hand and started pulling them along forcefully.
“W-Wait a sec! I appreciate the tour, but why are you in such a hurry?”
“I’m not in a hurry. You’re just too slow.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you are.”
“Oh… okay.”
Impatient as ever, Little My dragged Y/N down the valley at a brisk pace.
“I promised to play with Moomin and the others. It’s over there, in the flower field.”
“Moomin? Your friend?”
“Yep.”
Y/N let Little My lead them, parting the tall grass—higher than their own height—without even a moment to savor the flower-scented breeze.
Small white flowers swayed at their feet in the wind, and above, the clear blue sky stretched endlessly, sunlight pouring down into the valley, making the morning dew on the grass glisten like jewels.
But Little My marched on without so much as a glance around, pulling Y/N along silently.
Insects hopped playfully around them, but with Little My walking so fast, the beautiful scenery of the valley flashed by in an instant, and before Y/N knew it, they’d arrived at the flower field.
Y/N, who’d been enjoying a leisurely journey until now, felt a little dizzy from the speed.
“Hey, Little My! Who’s that?”
“This is Y/N. A traveler, apparently. Just met them.”
Little My let go of Y/N’s hand and brushed off the grass clinging to her clothes and hair.
“I'm Moomin. The one next to me is Snorkmaiden, and the one playing the harmonica is Snufkin. Nice to meet you, Y/N!”
Snorkmaiden smiled and said, “Nice to meet you,” while Snufkin kept playing his harmonica, greeting Y/N with just a glance from his eyes.
“N-Nice to meet you.”
For Y/N, this was the first time he’d ever talked so much outside of hes stone-selling business.
“Hey, Y/N, why are you traveling? Tell us about your journeys!”
Moomin’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he asked.
“Uh, well… sure. I travel because I love seeing beautiful things.”
“Beautiful things… that’s wonderful! So, what kind of beautiful things have you seen?”
“Hmm, let’s see… Oh, there was this underwater city that was so dreamy and beautiful.”
“A city underwater? No way that exists!”
Little My interrupted. Moomin and Snorkmaiden looked skeptical too.
“It’s real. It was a city on land long ago, but over hundreds—maybe thousands—of years, it sank into the sea. Thinking about its history… it makes my chest feel warm.”
Clink. Another yellow stone fell onto Y/N’s head, and they picked it up.
“Oh, and there was this endless snowfield too. The pure white snow sparkled under the sun, so bright it almost blinded me. That kind of scenery stretched on forever.”
Clink. Another yellow stone fell.
“And I can’t forget this glowing blue cave. It was half-submerged in the sea, and light streamed in between the rocks, reflecting off the water and making it shine blue in the dark cave. It was absolutely stunning.”
Clink. Yet another yellow stone dropped.
“Hey, I’ve been wondering for a while—what’s with those stones? It feels like they’re falling from above your head,”
Snufkin said, pausing his harmonica and pointing at the stone in Y/N’s hand.
Moomin, Snorkmaiden, and Little My nodded in agreement—they’d been curious too.
“Oh, uh, I was going to explain that too, but I didn’t know where to start. Um… I call these ‘stones of emotion.’”
“Stones of emotion?”
“Yeah. Here, try holding one tight.”
Y/N handed a yellow stone to Moomin.
“W-Wow! This is amazing! It’s like… my heart’s going whoosh!”
“Me too!” Snorkmaiden and Little My chimed in, so Y/N gave them stones as well.
“It’s true! It feels like something’s welling up inside me!”
“It’s kinda cool.”
Moomin passed the stone to Snufkin, saying, “You try it too!”
“Hmm… yeah, this is pretty incredible,”
Snufkin admitted, impressed.
“Yep, that’s the stone of emotion. When you touch it, you feel moved. And I travel around selling these stones. They’re pretty rare, and—not to brag—they fetch a good price.”
“What? You’re selling stuff that just falls out of nowhere for a high price? That’s a scam!”
“Little My!” Moomin scolded her, but Y/N waved it off with an “It’s fine.”
“They don’t just fall out of nowhere. Um… it’s actually a condition I was born with. A really rare illness. When my heart’s deeply stirred, that feeling turns into a stone and falls. They say it’s something that happens to people born with faint emotions, so we can learn to feel important ones.”
“An illness…? Faint emotions… you mean you don’t understand feelings?”
Moomin looked worried.
“Yeah, sometimes I don’t get the feelings everyone else takes for granted. But I do know the important ones now—like the emotion in these stones.”
“So earlier, when you were remembering those beautiful sights and getting moved, that’s why the stones fell!”
“Exactly.”
“So if something super fun happens, will a ‘stone of fun’ fall? Or if something super sad happens, a ‘stone of sadness’?”
“Yeah, I think so. I haven’t seen a fun stone or a sad stone yet, though.”
“What?! You’ve never had a fun stone fall?!”
“So you’ve never felt fun?!”
Snorkmaiden and Moomin were shocked.
“That’s right. No fun stones yet. But I’m happy enough knowing the feeling of being moved. I’ve had a fulfilling journey so far. I’ve got plenty of stones of emotion.”
Y/N proudly pulled out their jewel box, letting the stones jingle noisily.
“But… not knowing what fun feels like… that’s so sad,” Moomin mumbled softly.
“But if no sad stones fall either, maybe it’s not that sad,” Little My retorted, turning her face away as Moomin glared at her.
“Wait, I’ve got it!” Snorkmaiden exclaimed.
“We should make a fun stone fall from now on! If we all play together, Y/N will definitely have tons of fun!”
“Yes! That’s a great idea!”
“Eh, sounds decently amusing,” Little My added.
With Snorkmaiden’s suggestion, Moomin cheered up, and the three of them started plotting what they’d play.
"You'd better be prepared. They'll be clinging you around for a while."
Snufkin said with a quiet chuckle.
