19C - An International Getaway
It has been three days since Peach's brunch party was held and Jim permanently left the Mushroom Kingdom. For Mario, Jim's departure made him so depressed that he couldn't think of anything but him.
In fact, it got to the point where Mario was unable to sleep or eat from the time the party ended up until now. He would cry almost all the time and look at the photo albums that showed pictures of Jim with the Mario Bros in years past. To make matters worse, Mario was left alone in his pad because Luigi had to leave for vocal lessons in Boston's Berkeley College of Music and wouldn't be back until the next day.
Mario's stomach was growling constantly, and his eyes felt like shutting down before Mario drank his daily cup of coffee. Today, Mario felt like no one was around him and that he was the only person in the whole world. He was thinking about talking to someone that cared for him, so he slowly walked out of his pad and through Toad Town with his head hung toward the ground. He was intending to go to Peach's castle again. Because of how slow Mario walked, it took him 17 minutes to reach the castle's front door.
Upon entering the castle, he initially didn't know where Peach was residing at the moment. He then figured she was in her library reading some of her favorite books, so he walked toward the library and creaked open the door before sliding through the crack. He couldn't walk any further and dropped to his knees.
All he could do now was cry out, "P-PRINCESS P-PE-EA-ACH...!"
From the middle of the library, Peach immediately heard Mario wailing and ran up to see him collapsed on the floor. She immediately picked him up and hugged him tight.
"Oh my God, Mario!" Peach said with concern. "What's the matter?" But Mario couldn't answer Peach's question, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please, Mario. Please say something."
"I-I'm... I n-need...y-you...!" Mario cried.
"I know, darling. I'm glad you found me," Peach replied.
"I-I... P-Princess...P-Peach..." Mario stuttered.
"What?"
"C-can w-we...s-sit s-somewhere e-else...?"
"Sure, we can." Peach stood back up with Mario and put her arm around him before taking him to her bedroom. Peach then sat Mario on her bed before sitting to his left.
"Why are you crying so hard?"
"I-I... Th-there's no o-one...on th-this E-Earth...b-but me...!" Mario sobbed.
"What? You know that's not true."
"It...i-is...! I f-feel...s-so l-lonely...!"
"I'm sorry, Mario... Don't cry..." Peach coaxed Mario before hugging him again.
"I-it's a-about...J-Jim...!"
"What do you mean?"
"I-I...h-haven't e-eaten or...s-slept for th-three...f-freaking d-days...!"
"Wha- Are you out of your mind? All because Jim left for good?"
"Y-yes..."
"Mario, I know you feel depressed about Jim, but that's not the way to handle it," Peach said.
"H-he...w-was my...b-best f-friend...! I-I'll n-never...see h-him again...!"
"You're right. He said he has to move on with his life," Peach replied. "But that shouldn't give you the right to starve yourself or stay awake all the time. There are other ways to cope with your depression."
"B-but...I s-still f-feel...l-like I'm...th-the o-only...p-person here...!" Mario wailed.
"No, you're not, darling," Peach reassured Mario. "You have Luigi, your brother out of all people. He loves you so much. And you have me, your girlfriend. Think about it: the love of your life, always there for you even though Bowser kidnaps me almost all the time. There's Toadsworth, who's like a second father to me just like he's the same for you too. All the Toads that serve me, they care about you so much. They even look up to you for advice." Mario took a couple deep breaths.
"And to top it all off, in your original world, you have hundreds of millions of fans who also look up to you," Peach went on. "They've played your video games and related to family and friends having paid close attention to the plotlines. Your fans love you so much like all of us at the Mushroom Kingdom do for you."
"Okay..."
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Peach offered. "Do you want something to eat?"
"Yeah... I need to..."
Mario and Peach got up and headed to the kitchen where Peach made Mario scrambled eggs and bacon.
"Thank you, Princess Peach," Mario said, having calmed down completely.
"You're welcome, Mario. I could tell you were really hungry." Peach sat next to Mario at the dining table.
"I don't know why I said I was the only person in the world, but it felt that way to me."
"I understand," Peach said. "When a great friend of yours leaves to live a new life, it's hard to accept his departure. I'm sure it was hard for Jim to leave you and Luigi behind."
"Yeah. He was crying just like I was earlier," Mario responded. "You weren't there to see it, though."
After a half minute of silence, Mario asked, "Has there been a friend of yours who left to live another life?"
"Yes," Peach replied. "There was the princess of Seaside Kingdom, Princess Coral, who I've known since I was three years old. She was like an older sister to me, given she was born a year earlier. Her mother died a year and a half ago from hepatitis and Coral had to replace her as queen of Seaside Kingdom. Coral promised she would keep in touch with me frequently, but she procrastinated so much to the point where I felt depressed too. But I didn't starve myself or stay awake all night. What I did to calm myself down was to go as far away from the Mushroom Kingdom as possible and vacation for a couple weeks to relieve my stress."
"So, what does that mean?" Mario asked.
"Well, I suggest you do the same. Think about where you want to go to. It could be anywhere in your original world. It could be in another kingdom besides this one."
Mario closed his eyes for a few minutes to come up with potential places to visit. Finally, a lightbulb went off in his head. "Princess Peach?"
"Yes, Mario?"
"I think I know just the place to go to."
TWO DAYS LATER
"You're welcome, Mario. I'm glad you're enjoying your meal."
Mario had just thanked a flight attendant who had served him dinner. More than a day ago, Mario packed a suitcase with half of his belongings and took off for the JFK International Airport in New York, where he flew to Los Angeles and got on a Boeing 777 aircraft bound for Sydney, Australia. Mario had never been to Sydney before and wanted to see what it was like there.
At the present time, it was night outside and the plane was flying west above the Pacific Ocean. After ten minutes, Mario finished his dinner and took out a video camera that he stowed in a carry-on bag he brought with him in addition to his suitcase. Mario turned on the camera and pointed it toward him with the intention of recording a message for Luigi.
"Hi, bro. It's-a me. You probably know by now that I'm not in the pad or anywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. Not too long ago, I packed some stuff and left for the JFK Airport. And here I am, flying over the Pacific in a 777 plane headed for Sydney. Yes, I'm vacationing in Australia for ten days. Why? Because after Jim left for good, I was feeling like I had empty nest syndrome and I couldn't eat or sleep for three days straight. Luckily, Princess Peach suggested I take a break at a faraway place to chill out, so that's what I'm doing. Thank you for understanding me, Luigi. I'm just doing what I need to do to relieve my stress." Mario let out a sigh.
"All right-y. I'm gonna go now. I love you, bro." Mario turned off the camera and put it back in his carry-on bag. He would connect it to a laptop he had stored in his pad's basement and send the video message to Luigi after arriving at his hotel.
12 hours later, Mario landed at Sydney Airport and picked up his suitcase before taking a taxi to a downtown hotel. The taxi driver was surprised to see Mario in real life but understood why he was in Sydney.
After settling in his hotel, Mario decided to relax in his own room for the rest of the day and got up early the next morning to start walking around the city.
At approximately 10 AM, Mario found himself walking near the Sydney Opera House and was awed at seeing it in person.
"Mamma mia..." Mario murmured. "I'd love to see a show in there sometime this week."
Suddenly, a kid's voice called out from behind, "Mario!"
Mario turned to see a seven-year-old boy hurry toward him and waved hello with his fingers. But just as he kneeled, Mario looked at the boy's face and harked back to when he first met Jim.
TEN YEARS AGO
"Looks like a lovely day to go for a walk," Mario said.
"Yeah. Nothing like spending a half-hour out and about in the fields," Luigi replied. At around the same time Mario and Luigi exited the castle, Jim hid behind a tree to the left-hand side of the front door and peered at them for a brief second. This was his chance to officially meet his favorite video game characters.
"Mario!" Jim called out after showing himself. Mario and Luigi stopped in their tracks and turn to see Jim next to the tree.
"Oh, hello, my friend! How are you today?" Mario asked as he knelt and waved to Jim. Jim walked up to Mario and Luigi, excited as can be.
"I'm so excited to see you! I'm one of your biggest fans!"
"That's great! I'm so happy to see you too!" Mario said as Jim gave him a hug.
PRESENT DAY
Just as Mario visualized Jim hugging him, the boy hugged Mario without him knowing it. During the flashback, Mario compared the boy with Jim and cried while returning the hug.
"Mario? What's wrong, mate?" the boy asked.
"Y-you remind...m-me of my...b-best friend..." Mario cried before the boy let go of him.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Y-your f-face... You l-look...exactly l-like th-this...k-kid named J-Jim...!"
"Jim? Who is he?" the boy questioned before Mario took a deep breath.
"His name is Jim Heeding... I first met him when he was seven years old in the Mushroom Kingdom..." Mario explained. "He told me he was me and Luigi's biggest fan..."
"That's nice. Did Jim help you save Princess Peach?"
"He did. Jim may have been a young boy, but he showed how brave he was and did the final attack that defeated Bowser." Mario stopped to think about something. "What's your name, my friend?"
"Jason."
"I'm so happy to meet you, Jason," Mario greeted Jason before shaking his hand.
"Me too, mate. I'm sorry you got upset."
"Don't be. I got myself upset," Mario said.
"How?"
"I had a flashback of when Jim hugged me the minute he said hi and I cried at the same time you hugged me too," Mario explained.
"I understand, Mario. Where is Jim right now?"
"Well, he's in high school right now with his dream job being an author. But not just any author. He wants to write books that can have the readers relate to the characters. He's in the middle of writing his first novel, which talks about his first time adventuring with us to save Princess Peach in this paradise called Dinosaur Land."
"Dinosaur Land... I think I've heard of that island," Jason said. "I remember watching this cartoon called 'Super Mario World' where you, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi lived at for the whole series."
"But that show was based off a video game with the same name, Jason," Mario added in. "Have you played that game before?"
"No, but I know what it was like for you except for Jim being a part of the adventure in real life," Jason replied.
"Thank you. Anyway, three days ago, after this party at Princess Peach's castle, Jim had to go back to school and made himself clear that he would NOT be able to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom because of his commitment. Not that he doesn't want to, though."
"That makes sense. I know you miss Jim a lot."
"Yeah. He was like a second brother in addition to Luigi," Mario said. "That's what made me upset was that it felt like a family member died in front of me."
"I'm sorry, Mario. I'm sure he'll call you every now and then," Jason reassured Mario.
"No. I don't think that's gonna happen," Mario responded. "He may remember the fun times we had together, but I have a feeling he'll unlist me and Luigi's contacts but not delete them."
"Come on. You know that's not true, mate. Why would he unlist you if you are his best friend?"
"I don't know. It was the first thing came to me."
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Jason asked.
"Well... Yeah. You're gonna find this weird, but after the party ended, I couldn't eat or sleep for three days and I felt like I was the only person in the world. But Princess-"
"The only person in the world?" Jason interrupted Mario. "How could you say that?"
"I just felt lonely. That was how I described it to Princess Peach."
"And what did she say?" Jason asked.
"She reassured me that Luigi, the Toads, her steward, and even herself are all there for me and love me so much. She also said that there are millions of fans that look up to me as a hero."
"You're right. We all do," Jason said. "If all of us on Earth have played your games or watched the cartoons that showed your adventures, then that means they also care about you. Even those who don't like video games and have other interests can talk about other people who look up to them, but they understand your situation in terms of who loves you. Speaking of which, has Jim given you advice?"
"Not to me. He did to Luigi," Mario answered. "When Luigi wasn't feeling himself, he felt like everyone was against him, but Jim reminded him that he was not alone like you just said to me."
"How nice of him. This goes to show how great of a friend Jim's become," Jason explained. "The more advice he gives to you and Luigi, the stronger your friendship is."
"Thank you, Jason. It really means a lot," Mario thanked Jason.
"No problem, mate."
"Jason!" a female voice called out. Jason turned to see his mom approaching him and Mario.
"Sorry, Mum. I saw Mario over here and I wanted to meet him."
"I see. But next time, tell me where you're going," Jason's mom said.
"Sure."
"You know, since you're with Mario, how about I take a few pictures of you two?"
"That would be lovely!" Mario exclaimed with joy, having been motivated by Jason. He stood back up and put his left arm around Jason while doing the V-sign with his right hand. Jason also the V-sign before his mom shot about three pictures of him and Mario.
"It was nice meeting you, mate," Jason said before hugging Mario goodbye.
"You too, Jason. Thank you again."
"You're welcome, Mario. I hope I'll see you again soon." Jason and his mom walked the way Mario came, leaving him on his own again. Mario looked down Port Jackson Bay and imagined a ferry full of tourists waving at him.
"Jason's right," Mario sighed with relief. "Everyone loves me."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right. That's a wrap for "Mario & Luigi: The Seven Star Spirits". Thank you for reading this story and for supporting me as a fanfic writer who came a long way from lumping paragraphs together to conveying emotion to the characters I write about. Special thanks to mariobroultimate and StarlitDuck for their support too. Stay tuned for more game adaptations and/or original stories in the coming days, and this is nintendoscript15 signing out.
