Chapter 21 Blessings

After they made their way to the bank, everyone followed Bob as he led them to the Bridge of Flowers. When they got there, the smell of the blossoms actually took Morton back. Often, the mane of the Rainbow Mare plushies he bought at the store as a child would be doused in a perfume that smelled of some kind of flower. Sometimes it was rose, sometimes it was lilac, sometimes it was honeysuckle. All three of these sweet scents were present on the bridge, as well as the everlasting scent of daisy and the alluring smell of violet. The smells, with their nostalgic sweetness, caused Morton to smile.

Lemmy, who walked right alongside him, noticed his smile and grinned at him. "Hey. Looks like someone is feeling good."

Morton paused. He didn't know if he was willing to admit that he was feeling good on Koopsmas. If he did, he knew that the giggly and bubbly Lemmy would never let him hear the end of it. So, he just cleared his throat.

"I'm feeling okay. Nothing to write home about."

Lemmy chortled and grabbed Morton by the hand. "Come on, Morty. You're allowed to let yourself be happy every once in a while. It's good for you; it's good for the brain."

Morton sniffed. "But what if I am truly not happy?"

Lemmy continued to grin as the others made their way down the bridge. "You know," he said, "I remember this thing that Iggy told me when we were really little. That being, you've got to fake it till you make it."

Morton stared at Lemmy, blinking as he did so. "Fake it till you make it?"

"Yeah!" Lemmy began to lead Morton across the bridge. "Believe it or not, if you tell yourself to put on a smile, then your brain releases chemicals that actually help you to feel happier!" He grinned, going out of his way to make the grin larger than it normally was. "That's one of the many things that I do to help give me a pick-me-up when I'm feeling down." He put on a warmer expression. "I think it might be able to help you a little bit."

Morton thought about this as Lemmy let go of his hand and skipped his way onto the bridge. Fake it till you make it. Hmm. Honestly….well, Morton didn't really know about that advice. It sounded scientific; after all, Lemmy did credit Iggy as his source. However, Morton didn't know if it would truly impact his thought process one way or the other. After all, he did suffer from depression.

Pfft, a little voice in his head said. There you go again, using your depression as an excuse.

Morton gritted his teeth and slowly made his way onto the bridge. This sounded all too similar to what Kura had told him when he was possessed by him. It was entirely negative, entirely wrong, and was a thought that needed to be avoided.

You don't have to let your problems define you.

Okay, now this didn't sound as negative. In fact, Morton had said it before. Not just to himself, but also to Ludwig. He had told Ludwig this when they had gone to find Junior when he ran away, all that time ago. He had told Ludwig that his vices shouldn't dictate his thoughts, his actions, or any other part of his existence.

So why was it that Morton himself wasn't following that advice?

Morton continued walking down the bridge, all while musing in a contemplative manner. He considered Lemmy, who was currently smiling up at Ludwig, Bowser, and Bob. How was it that he was able to stay as happy? Sure, Morton had thought that his brother had a fairly simplistic mindset before, which….may be true. He wasn't sure because, to be absolutely fair, he wasn't in Lemmy's head. It was possible that he was just naturally gifted with a happy dmeanor. But, then again, Lemmy wasn't perfect. There were times he strayed from that demeanor; times where he got sad, miffed, and angry. There were times where he let negative thoughts consume him. And yet, he always seemed to bounce back. He would use positive language, always give others the benefit of the doubt, always give them the biggest of smiles.

How was it that Lemmy had a happy demeanor and Morton didn't? Again, was it depression?

Depression is a vice, nothing more. If you dwell on it constantly, then guess what? You're going to be sad every single minute of every single day.

Morton sighed. This voice, which he was starting to believe was just his own conscience, was right. Morton spent way too much time wallowing in the muck. He spent way too much time dwelling on what was bad rather than what was good.

Going back to Koopsmas, maybe he really did let his own inner mindset dictate his view of the holiday. Maybe, if he actually opened his mind and looked at the world with fresh eyes, he could conceivably find something new and special about the holiday.

You know what? Maybe he should do that. If he was going to keep repeating the same day for the rest of eternity, he might as well learn why everyone liked it. Once again, he considered what Iggy and Lemmy had said to him, how they interpreted the holiday. Could what they believed possibly be true?

As he contemplated this, Morton slowly walked down the bridge. The Bridge of Flowers was narrow, more so than the corridors that were in Bowser's Castle. However, the flowers and the scenery on it were beyond colorful, which helped Morton to forget about his feelings of claustrophobia. He looked down at a blue flower with little bunches of blossoms. It honestly looked really nice.

Wendy, who noticed him observing the plant, came up to him. "That's a cornflower, you know."

Morton nodded. That made sense. While he hadn't seen cornflower before, he did know that of the phrase cornflower blue. It would only make sense that the blossoms were that color.

"Nice," he said.

Wendy nodded, bent down, and cupped the blossom in her hands. "Cornflowers are very special. They represent blessings in the language of flowers."

Morton blinked. "They do?"

Wendy nodded. "Yes. They do." She stood back up. "I honestly think that cornflower should be the true symbol of Koopsmas instead of the poinsettia. They convey the meaning of the holiday much better."

Morton snickered. Really? This was coming from the girl who had a wish list that was miles long?

Wendy noticed his snickering and shot him a glare. "Yes, ha ha ha. I'm so greedy and have a greedy attitude within me." She lowered her head. "You already established that this morning."

Morton blinked. "Wendy, are you alright?"

Wendy nodded. "I'm fine. I just…." She sighed and turned back around. "I don't want you to use me as an example of why you hate Koopsmas. Sure, you said you had bad experiences with the day, and I totally get that. But...you shouldn't blame Koopsmas for the stuff I do." She took out her list and scrunched up in her hand. Then, after a minute or two, she threw it over the side of the bridge into the Rio Shroom. She cast him a small smile. "If I am one of the reasons why you hate this day, then I will try to do better. I promise from the bottom of my heart that I will do better."

Morton sighed. "Wendy…." He shook his head. "There's no point in doing that."

Wendy smiled. "Sure there is. I'm helping my brother live a less miserable life and get enjoyment out of an amazing day. I think that's the point of doing that."

With that, Wendy turned back around. Morton watched her retreating back, tossing around what she said in his head. Sure, she didn't know about the time loop. But...she did say she was willing to do better. She was ready to try and be a better person. Despite knowing that it would all reset the next day, Morton actually smiled.

See? his conscience said. Don't you feel better already just with that smile on your face?

Morton nodded. He did, he really did. He decided that he would keep it on as he walked down the rest of the bridge. He noticed that there were a lot more cornflower blossoms growing in the soil. He thought of his siblings, how they had been there for him everyday of his life and were even doing their best to be there for him now, despite the limitations that the time loop presented to them. Morton decided to pick a cornflower and put it in his hammerspace. If Koopsmas was a time where he was supposed to count his blessings, he might as well keep something around to remind him of that fact.

When they finally got to the end of the Bridge, Bowser smiled and pulled out his camera. "Okay guys, time for a group photo."

Some of the Koopalings groaned, but this time, Morton wasn't actually one of them. He crowded in with everyone; Wendy, Lemmy, Iggy, Ludwig, Bob, Junior, Roy, and Larry. After Bowser took the photo, he looked down at it with a beaming face.

"Oh wow! This one really came out nicely! I like it!"

Bob separated from the rest of the group and grinned. "Good." He turned toward the others. "Now, who's ready for that pizza I promised?"

The others chimed in with their excitement. Morton actually laughed at the display and got in on it, for he loved pizza.

"Okay!" said Bob. He pointed west, toward the setting sun. "Let's make my way back to my house and then I'll order for everyone on the phone!"