Hello fellow mario obsessors! Yes I am starting another new story before I finish my other one. I'm crazy like that. Actually this one is a one shotter to keep me in your face whilst I'm busily making chapter 4 of vendetta everything I wish for it to be! smiles of joy this one is a little bit…err…diferent…and quite sad…so here you go!
He visited her every day, depsite the fact that he was no longer very young himself and not so mobile anymore.
Despite the ache in his bones he would head to her place every day to chat about the good old days over cups of tea and gently squeeze her hand as he gazed at the glint in her eyes…still youthful after all these years.
When he spent time with her, the wrinkles seemed to fade away, the liver spots were gone, and the back pains had never been felt. They were once again a couple of crazy kids, and life was an adventure they'd yet to fully see.
Right now he was sitting on the sofa inside of his modest, if not shacklike abode, collecting memories. There was a box with some tacky floral design on it sitting in front of him and inside of it were things he would always treasure- Photographs, news clippings of he and his brother's remarckable feats, journals, and even tiny keepsakes that had no other place to go.
One of her hankies was in there. It was lily white with a small rose stitched at the very bottom. It still smelled sweetly of her trademark perfume, which was a bit fruity with a small zing to it.
His crinkled, aged face glowed and the most genuine of smiles found its place upon it as he picked up one of the photos. "This I remember." He said happily as a finger stroked the celluloid image.
It was him…many years ago- back when he had hair (though truthfully more on his face than his head) and there she was, on his arm. It was one of the first times he had rescued her, back when their feelings were an unspoken, but very apparent thing. They would laugh when people mentioned the slightest idea of them together, and they would never have said a word in serious conversation about it to one another, but they knew it as well as everyone else- they were mad about eachother.
She would get these crazy beautiful far off looks in her eyes and say "Someday we're going to leave this place. You and me. We're going to go back to your demension. And we'll never look back."
Of course, he was never surprised when those looks came about, he could never find the destinction. Everything about her was crazy beautiful.
It was sometimes hard to look at her without smiling for no reason. She'd whirl around as the sun highlighted her big blue eyes and strands of blond hair cascaded all around her, and say simply "what!" through one of those big grins. She obviously knew how happy she made him.
"Nothing…" he'd say through an even bigger grin, obviously knowing what he really wanted to say.
One day they finally made it official. They'd been walking through the courtyard together talking about life. He asked her what she wanted out of hers.
"I don't want money, I don't want a prince, I want the one person who's made me feel beautiful just by looking at me."
They stopped for a moment, blushed as they looked at eachother, and then focused their attention at one of the impossibly gorgeous sites around them, and then she continued, "What do you want?"
He turned to face her and smiled "The one person I'm insane enough to rescue each time she gets herself kidnapped!"
"hey!" She said, with just a tad of anger in her voice.
He just looked at her and laughed. She looked so cute when she was pouting. They both shared a laugh then, until suddenly he stopped and looked at her in all seriousness.
"come here" he said softly as he pulled her in close.
"You see, I don't believe that words mean a thing…so instead of telling you, I want to show you something."
And then he kissed her.
"Does that mean you love me?" she asked, sounding as if her every breath had been stolen.
"If you have to word it…then yes."
"well than I…" she said…interrupting herself midsentence to kiss him back.
"you too!" she continued.
They both giggled and then continued walking again, gradually placing their hands together..
He still loved the girl. He would still sacrifice the world for her. He'd done many things in his life. He'd saved an entire kingdom from the most terrible of creatures, he'd rescued beautiful damzels and traveled through dimensions.
Yet, if you asked him what his greatest achievement was, he'd tell you-
"Giving her a shoulder to lay her head on."
The elderly man took a deep breath as he continued to go through the box. There was his old cap and his old gloves. There was an old baby picture and an embarrassing snap shot of him in 7th grade with a full mouth of braces and a short pudgy body. There was his plumbing certificate, and even a valentine he'd gotten when he was 14.
Finally he found it.
His old cologne. He'd been savoring every last drop for the past 10 years or so. He wasn't sure if they made this stuff anymore, and scent was the strongest sence tied to memory.
He spritzed some on himself reliving wonderful thoughts of being in the arms of the woman he loved, and then edged his way slowly across his living room to fetch his cane.
The little old man started his daily journey once more. On sunny days, on blistery snow spitting days, on crisp fall days- any day, he would walk slowly but surely (and tirelessly) all the way to her place, cane in hand. Nothing ever stopped him. He didn't care that he wasn't as spry as he once was and couldn't amble as quickly. He calmly proceeded onward and that was all he focused on- moving forward. His mind was only set on how much further he had to go, how many sidewalks lay ahead of him.
He finally made it and didn't even have to knock at the door before he was greeted warmly and led to her room.
"Miss Toadstool! He's here!" Toad said. Toad had always been very young for a retainer and still looked after Peach in her old age.
"who?"
"I'm sorry." Toad whispered to Mario. "Its looking pretty grim today. She can't remember a single thing. She was shrieking in fear this morning when I came in to bring her her breakfast."
The old man couldn't help but feel a bit of a pinch in his chest and a tear trying ot find its way out. "Every day brings new hope." He sighed.
Toad smiled in a sad way. "It's an old friend." He said to Peach glancing at Mario.
"Who is he?" she said squinting her eyes.
"surely you remember. It's Mr. Mario."
The princess didn't say a word.
"I'll leave you two alone." And with that Toad shut the door behind him and left.
Oh god. Here it was. He was already choking on his tears. It would take everything inside of him not to cry this time.
"um…how was your day?" he asked her.
She stared at him with wide, thoughtless eyes.
"I don't know you…"
He tried to ignore the stab that sent to his gut and forced a big smile. "Sure you do. I'm mario. We go for a walk every day and I tell you stories about all the adventures I used to go on."
"You're the plumber" was all she said.
A lot of times that was the first thing she said. A lot of times it was also an unsuccessful memory. Sometimes it would end with her only remembering him as a man who used to take care of the palace's pumbing…and that hurt more than anything.
"yes." He said sadly.
She said nothing.
"would you like to go for a walk?"
She had a far off look in her eye…
"yes…"
The little old man and his little old lady walked through the small downtown area of the mushroom kingdom. The elderly woman would stop at every window and press up against it with a childlike glee pointing at everything and wanting everything.
They stopped at the window of a dress shop and those gorgeous blue eyes were gaping.
"Ohhh…this is beautiful." She said in awe putting her hand to the glass as if she could walk through it and touch the dress.
"you used to wear a dress just like it." He said with a warm smile.
"Did I look pretty in it?" she said happily.
"…like a princess."
She looked down at the pavement sadly. "Oh I wish I could remember you. You're very nice."
"Its okay, maybe if we keep talking you'll remember." He said, holding onto her arm to guide her down the street.
"I like you!" she said giddily on a whisper, like a school girl telling a secret.
"I like you too." He said in the same manner.
Soon they made it back to the castle, and sat in the common room sipping piping hot cups of tea"Would you like me to tell you a story?" He asked.
"I'd like that very much."
And so he went on to tell her about He and Luigi's life. About their plumbing business and how they used to spend all their time in the pipes killing the monsters that came out of them.
"oh how exciting!" she said with delight. "tell me more!"
He told her all about the day he accidentally slipped into a magic pipe that led him into the mushroom worlds.
"the people there were under a lot of grief." He said. "their princess had been kidnapped by a mysterious king of the koopas named Bowser."
"oh no!" she interjected.
"Luigi and I traveled through many different lands, batteling goombas, and pihranna plants, and bullet bills. We narrowly escaped death many times. All we had to get by on was mushrooms and fire flowers. I'm not sure what exactly kept us going. We for some reason felt like this was an adventure ment for us. Fate was pointing us in the direction of that princess."
"We finally made it to the very last castle, where we met King Koopa. He was terrifying. The biggest koopa you'll ever see in a big spiky shell with tiny red slits for eyes. It took all of our courage to battle him, but we won! We sent him falling into the oceans of lava below and we found the princess."
"Oh I love when stories end happy!" she said cheerfully.
Mario's voice got quieter. "she was beautiful."
He looked at Peach for a moment, and then felt his voice crack once he continued speaking. "I loved her…with all of my heart."
"She said she loved me too… I…miss her very much."
Again, silence. He felt like he was overflowing with pent up tears, he wanted to scream, then suddenly…
"but…words don't mean a thing." She said, causing him to glance at her with alarm.
"Its better to show people things.." she continued.
"Peach?" he asked hopefully.
"I'll show you…" she said.
And she kissed him.
"Oh Peach! It is you!" he said, a lucid tear finally escaping him.
"Oh mario.."
She began to cry softly into her hands, he took them and held them inside of his own and looked into her eyes.
"Don't cry."
"I don't want to forget you again…." She said in a voice that broke his heart even more than it already was.
"You won't Peach…" he said, even though he knew time was already running out…and she'd be losing her memories of him again shockingly soon.
"Then hold me in your arms again and make me feel young."
So they sat by eachother one the loveseat, his arms wrapped around her, and he told her how much he loved her and showered her in kisses.
And he knew that he only had a few moments left.
"There's one more thing I want you to always remember.." he said, even though he knew in a minute she'd forget.
"You're crazy beautiful."
He couldn't help himself…she was stunning. She was the only woman he loved and he only saw her once in a while, and only for a few moments at a time. He wrapped her ina tighter embrace and kissed her passionately.
And then...
She suddenly moaned and wailed in terror. She was practically clawing at him to push him away so that the shrill sound could be heard throughout the entire castle. He could feel her fear pulsing through him as shetried toscream through his lips.
Finally he pulled away.
Her eyes no longer held that glint. They were sleepy and unknowing once more.
"Who are you! WHAT DO YOU WANT!"
"Peach…its me…Mario.."
"WHO ARE YOU!" she said, terror stricken, cupping her hands together and glancing all around her in paranoia.
"I love you…" he said, moving towards her with open arms.
"Help me… HELP! HELP!" she cried with tears streaming down her cheaks.
Instantly, toad and some other retainers came charging in. Peach was going insane, beyond restraint. Two bulky guards held her by each arm as two others charged toward Mario, grabbing onto him and dragging him away. "what do you think YOU'RE DOING?" they cried "You're coming with us!"
It was the same act they played every time Peach lost herself. They would pretend Mario was highly dangerous and had crept into her room, and that nobody knew who he was. And then once they carried him out into the hall they would shoot Peach with a tranquilizer that would knock her into a deep sleep, and once she awoke she wouldn't remember a thing.
They would let Mario remain in the castle, sitting on a chair by himself, blubbering like a fool as his heart ached so badly he physically hurt.
"she won't remember a thing after.." they always told him when he arrived at the castle.
"she won't remember me" he'd think to himself as another tear would fall. "she'll forget every story again, she'll forget she even knows me…she'll forget that she's crazy beautiful."
He pulled out her hankie and whiped his eyes. He'd never been so powerless.
Once he finally regained his composure, he would once again find his cane, once again head for his home, once again take off his coat, untie his shoes, reply when Luigi asked him how it went, and somehow ignore the lurch in his stomach every time Daisy would come in the room to give her husband a kiss. And then he would somehow ignore the regret he felt having to be taken care of by his younger brother because his wife couldn't remember loving him…
And then he'd say a prayer for the girl the he could never forget…
And then he would cry himself to sleep.
And he would do this every day. No upsets. No surprises. He knew how every day would start and every day would end.
But he'd already done it once before. He'd rescued her countless times and staved off the feeling of monotony…this was no different.
Peach had had Alzheimers for many years now…he'd kind of lost track. All he really remembered himself was the gutting pain he felt every time she stared at him blankly, as if he were an alien.
But he also couldn't even give a name to the unmistakable joy he felt every time the glint reappeared in her eyes and she said his name.
However brief…it kept him coming back. He would do this every day until he died, completely living on the one minute he made her feel a live again…
Which also was the only time he ever felt a live.
"Words have no meaning." He said to himself in bed that night, through tears. "but they're all we have right now."
And then he closed his eyes…
And they never again opened.
Okay yes, I can tell you now, this was inspired by the notebook. I thought it would be fun to write a story like that for Peach and mario because we all could use more sadness in our lives!
God I need to write something happy for a change…
As always…read, review, and so on and so forth