Chapter 10 Miracle Baby

Lemmy came in, all smiles and grins. His little self looked so happy that it made Junior smile. That was the thing about Lemmy; his laughter was infectious, his smiles were contagious. He could turn literally any situation into one big party, all without even trying.

"Hey, Ludwig." Lemmy gasped and his eyes lit up. "Hey, Junior! It's so nice to see you!"

Junior laughed. "Thanks Lems." It wasn't often he called his brother by the even shorter nickname of Lems, but he decided to do it right now because...well, just because.

Lemmy giggled and made his way over to his bed, sitting down next to Junior. "Whatcha up to, mi amigo?"

"Junior here has a little project that he's doing," Ludwig said with a smile of his own.

"Ooh, I like projects!" Lemmy said. He bounced up and down on the mattress. "What kind of project is this, Junior? A group project?"

Junior shook his head. "No, it…" he then thought about it and shrugged. "Kind of. I'm not one hundred percent sure.

"Oh?" Lemmy looked curious now. "Why is that?"

Junior opened up the notebook. "I'm trying to make a scrapbook. Basically, I'm going around asking everybody to tell me stories of when they were growing up."

"Hmm," Lemmy said. "That sounds interesting."

"He's already asked me," said Ludwig. "He originally came into the room wanting to ask you."

Lemmy giggled. "Well, then, it's a good thing I showed up then!" He beamed at Junior. "Would you like me to tell you about my past now?"

Junior nodded. He was genuinely looking forward to this. As insightful and inspiring as Ludwig's stories had been, Junior knew that he would get a real appreciation of the world out of Lemmy's.

"Awesome!" Lemmy readjusted his position on the bed. "Let's see; what can I tell you that you don't already know?"

Ludwig chuckled. "That shouldn't be a hard question to answer Lems. He's nine, remember?"

Lemmy laughed. "True. That is true." He put his hand to his chin. "Ohhh, but what can I tell him? There's so much that's happened in my life! So many strange and wonderful things."

Junior loosened his grip on his pen. "If you want, I can get back to you."

"No. I want to tell you now." Lemmy scrunched up his brow, thinking as hard as he possibly could. "I guess…" Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Got it!" He turned to Junior. "Are you familiar with my birth story?"

Junior almost snickered. An odd question to ask and a basic story to tell. But….he actually wasn't familiar with it. Realizing this, his face fell.

"No."

Lemmy beamed. "Well, I guess we can start there." He turned to Ludwig. "You were one at the time, so I don't think you remember this."

"I've been told about it," said Ludwig. He grinned. "You were a miracle baby, Lems."

Lemmy's chest puffed out. "Yep! I was! I even have a shirt that says it."

"Wait, miracle baby?" Junior asked, confusion grasping him.

"Mmhm," Lemmy said with a nod. "You see, Junior, I was born prematurely; almost three weeks prematurely. As a consequence, I was underdeveloped. My legs were shorter than the typical Dragon Koopa's, and overall, I was smaller."

Junior snickered. "That's not a surprise to me."

"Yes, Junior, but you've gotta understand that it isn't good for babies to be born that early," said Ludwig. "It's actually very dangerous."

"Exactly," said Lemmy with a nod. His face grew serious. "Because I was so little, people were worried that I wasn't going to make it. I was stuck to a feeding tube for a good two weeks after I was born."

Junior blinked. The air around him seemed to get that much colder. "Wow. That's….wow."

Lemmy nodded. "Even after it was clear that I was going to survive, I still wasn't completely out of the woods." He looked down at his legs. "Since my legs were so tiny, people thought I would never be able to walk."

Junior looked down at Lemmy's legs as well, fascination taking over him. "Then...how'd you do it?"

Lemmy smiled. "I'll tell you."

…

I was four. Up to that point in my life, I have never even been able to stand up. I was a sitting duck, I guess you could say. At most, I just crawled everywhere, sometimes having to use a wheelchair to get around. But, you see, I wasn't satisfied with my disability. I wanted to walk. I would have given anything in my power to learn how to walk.

"Come on, come on," I said. I grasped onto a railing, trying to stand for longer than three minutes. My tiny legs wobbled. They were clearly unstable, but I wouldn't let that stop me.

I couldn't. Not again.

After a little bit, my legs stopped wobbling. I smiled and slowly let go of the railing. That proved to be a huge mistake. I fell face first onto the floor.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't. My body wasn't strong enough to lift itself up. I tried and tried with all my might. But, unfortunately, trying wasn't good enough. It wasn't getting me any closer to accomplishing my goal.

So, I cried. I cried and cried and cried, hoping someone would hear me. Eventually someone did, and they happened to be Bowser. He rushed over to me and picked me up.

"Lemmy," he said. "Were you trying to walk again?"

I nodded, wiping my tears as I did so. "I have to walk, Papa. I have to."

Bowser looked at me with sympathy. "I know, son. I know. But now isn't the time." He carried me to my bedroom. I continued crying as I laid down in my bed.

"Why can't I walk?" I asked...no, demanded to know.

Bowser sighed. "Lemmy, some people just have a hard time doing certain things. You have trouble walking. It's just a challenge you have to deal with, that's all."

I sat up, drying my eyes. "Do you...think I'll ever be able to walk?"

Bowser hesitated. "I don't know, son. I just don't know."

…

Junior scribbled that down. Once he was finished, he stared at Lemmy. "That must have been really difficult."

"It was. Believe me, it was." He sighed. "Part of me wishes that I had just been born normal. I mean, look at me. I'm eighteen, and still have the appearance of an eight year old!"

Ludwig nodded. "Yeah, you haven't grown that much since you were a kid." He smiled. "But at least you're doing well now."

"Yep," Lemmy said. He turned back to Junior. "But, the other part of me wouldn't wish away my struggles for anything. They were obstacles that I overcame, and they made me who I am today."

Junior nodded. "That makes sense. So how did you learn to walk?"

Lemmy smiled.

…

The day I finally managed to walk is a day that will forever be planted in my memory. It was a big day that started out normally enough. A big day that proved that even the smallest, weakest people can do big things.

I had just been hanging out in the common room, doing a puzzle. It wasn't as complex as the puzzles that I do today, but it was still fun to do. I remember smiling when I completed it; it looked like a cat. I wanted to take it apart and do it all over again.

But before I could do that, I heard a scream.

I crawled as fast as I could to the hallway. I saw that Roy was at the bottom of the steps. He was crying. He also had a very nasty gash in his head.

I gasped. "Roy!"

Roy continued crying. His head was starting to swell, which I knew wasn't a good sign. I began crying myself. What would happen to him?

"Don't worry Roy, I'll help you!" I looked around. "I just need to figure out how."

That's when I spotted a telephone on a side table. The side table was tall; I couldn't reach the top if I just crawled to it. I gulped. I realized that in order to reach it, I would need to walk.

So, I tried to stand up. But, even then, I couldn't do it. My legs were just too weak, too small. I swallowed some tears as I fell back to the ground.

"I can't do it," I said to myself. "I...I can't."

Roy let out another cry, this one louder than the others. I looked back at my three year old baby brother and swallowed another batch of tears. Roy was in pain. He was crying up a storm, and nobody was coming to help him. I knew that I needed to be the one. I needed to be the one to save my brother.

"Come on, Lemmy." I tried to stand, but wobbled and fell again. I began to cry.

But then, I remembered a story I was told. It was the story of the Little Engine That Could. In that story, a little blue train volunteered to take stuff up the mountain when no one else would do it. The train struggled, but kept repeating the mantra "I think I can, I think I can." Ultimately, they were successful in getting the stuff up the mountain.

So, with that story in mind, I took a deep breath. "I think I can," I said quietly. I lifted myself up. "I think I can, I think I can."

My legs wobbled, but I didn't care. I stuck my arms out for balance. "I think I can, I think I can."

Eventually, I got my legs under control. I glanced back at the phone on the table and swallowed a lump. "I think I can, I think I can."

Before I knew it, I put one foot forward. Then the other. Then the other. I managed to keep my balance, all while keeping my eyes on the phone. At the time, I didn't think much of it. But I. Was. Walking.

"I think I can, I think I can."

Roy needed me. I wasn't going to stumble now. Roy needed me. I wasn't going to stumble now.

Finally, I got to the phone on the table. I picked it up and called the ambulance.

"Hey," I said. "My brother's been hurt; he fell down the stairs. You need to get down here right away."

...

Junior stared at his second oldest brother. He wasn't even writing anymore. He just stared at Lemmy, a new kind of awe taking over him.

And then, he applauded. He applauded harder than he ever had before. He applauded so hard that Ludwig even got in on it.

Lemmy blushed, his face turning lava red. "Oh, stop it."

"No!" Junior exclaimed. "Lemmy...that was incredible! You actually walked!"

"And you saved Roy," Ludwig said with a grin. "That was amazing."

"I certainly was!" Junior exclaimed again. "You're like a superhero!"

Lemmy smiled, still blushing as hard as he possibly could. "I just did what I had to do." He let out a breath. "After that, I slowly managed to perfect my ability to walk. It wasn't easy, and it took a lot of time and a lot of effort. But...I did it."

"Yep. You did it, Lems," said Ludwig. "And we are so glad that you did."

Lemmy smiled. "Thanks."

Junior nodded and wrote down the rest of the story, putting great emphasis on the fact that Lemmy actually, legitimately walked. Seriously, his own heart was soaring. He never imagined he would feel this proud of his brother.

Finally, when he finished, he smiled at Lemmy. "Tell me another story!"

Lemmy blinked. "Another story?"

"Yes! Please!"

Lemmy hesitated. "Um...okay." He put his hand to his chin. "What can I tell…." his face lit up and he snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"