It was deathly silent and impossibly still at the bottom of the treacherous gorge. Too deep for the howling wind to penetrate, too full of snow for the falling ice and rocks to echo. Massive piles of snow filled the gorge, burying Luigi beneath the frigid white flakes and shards of ice.
The hill was in actuality a long dead volcano. The intensity of the blizzard created an ice bridge that crossed from one rim of the volcano to the other. The building snow atop the bridge and along the rim made the top of the volcano appear as a singular solid plain. The blinding wind and ice made the illusion all the more difficult to distinguish.
From beneath the thick snow at the base of the gorge a slow stirring disturbed the mound. Luigi's hand broke through the surface of the suffocating snow and he took in a much needed deep breath as he pulled his upper body from what would've been his snowy grave. Shivering Luigi laid still in the snow trying to gather his thoughts and breathe through the intense pain burning in his side as the sudden chaos finally came to a halt.
Resting his head against his arm Luigi shut his eyes and finally allowed the sense of self doubt that he had repressed to wash over himself. "Daisy... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I tried..." A single warm tear rolled his and quickly froze over, stinging the side of his face as it froze. "I let you down. I let everyone down."
The sun had continued to set basking the gorge with shadow. The air chilled further and the wind blew stronger.
Luigi opened his eyes and stared blankly at the snow walls of the gorge through the puffs of his breath escaping and disappearing into the air. Every breath pained him but he was too tired to care or even react.
As the setting sun cast its final rays of fading light across the land the diminishing beam shone through a massive block of ice that had fallen into the gorge alongside Luigi. The crystal clear ice focused the ray of sunlight into a singular beam that traveled across the snow around Luigi, passing over something unusual poking out of the snow in the distance.
Luigi's tired blue eyes focused on the partially buried object curiously. It was yellow with a twinge of green attached.
"What... What is that?" He asked himself quietly, flinching slightly as speaking aggravated the pain in his side.
Mario was standing in the doorway with his focus on the Western trail of Toad Town. It had been hours since Luigi had taken off in secret to BrookeHaven Village and in those precious hours many of the patients had taken a turn for the worse. Wheezing had stricken many of the victims, while coughing fits affected just as many more.
"C'mon Weege," Mario sighed wearily to himself as he watched the trail unblinking. "they're counting on us. I'm doing what I can here, but you're the one who braved the storm. I know you can do this."
"Mario." Nurse Fungi approached the watchful brother with a mug of tea to offer. "Step inside. If you stay out in the cold too long you'll get sick too."
Accepting the tea Mario shook his head at the wise advice. "Not until Luigi gets back. I know he'd wait for me."
"Perhaps the avalanche slowed his progress."
"Avalanche?" Mario asked after a brief sip of the tea. "Where?"
Pointing toward the highest Western peak in the distance Nurse Fungi frowned. "We just got word from HavenBrooke Village. No one's sure what caused it our how severe it was."
Staring at the peak with a twisted sense of both dread and awe Mario swallowed nervously. "Luigi, you better be okay." He whispered to himself. "We still need you."
Pulling himself out of the snow Luigi limped toward the object in the snow. He pressed his hand to his side and held his breath as searing pain stunted his progress. Approaching the object he kneeled down beside it and brushed the snow away, revealing it in the quickly dimming light.
"A flower?" Wincing Luigi from pain Luigi gently put his now bloodied hand beneath the drooping blossom and lifted it slightly upward. The soft yellow petals of the flower rested against Luigi's palm like a good friend shaking hands. "A... a daisy! In this cold? But how?"
Despite the harsh and sudden freezing over of the forest; an extreme cold that caused the vicious Piranha Plants to become dormant, a single flower that had grown alone at the bottom of a deep dark canyon had survived.
"Hm. I guess even the delicate can be strong." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Just like my Daisy. Unbreakable."
Absentmindedly his hand found its way to his overall pocket and gripped the item inside. Still tucked away inside the pocket was the gift he had intended to give to Daisy. Despite the horrendous fall the little box was still intact and still with him.
"And I made a promise." Opening his eyes Luigi scaled the massive climb of the gorge and took a deep breath, flinching in pain but never blinking. "I've never broken a promise before, and I'm not going to start now."
His blue eyes honed in on something unnatural hanging from a awkwardly jutting stone about half way up the cliff side. It was the satchel that contained the medicinal vials.
"I'm not going to stop. I can and will do this!" Pulling his green cap down tightly over his hair Luigi limped toward the steep wall and put his hand on a rocky ledge. "I know Daisy wouldn't give up, neither would Mario or Peach. So neither will I!"
Weakly but surely Luigi began the perilous climb for the second time.
...to be continued...