Chapter 2

The Nosegay

The Mushroom Kingdom was filled with bustling fungi. Lined up along the streets were booths, markets, stands and stalls covered with food, items, stuffed animals, games and many more. It reminded Mario of a carnival without the rides. The whole place seemed very well organized and the Mushroom People seemed happy. It was amazing how a small community could produce such a successful festival.

He continued down the street when something caught his eye. Between an inventory and a fortune telling booth was a small stand. Everywhere around and behind the stand was covered in flowers of every kind imaginable. Roses, daisies, violets, bleeding hearts, wild hearts, rare flowers, flowers that Mario never knew could display such colour and appearance. Some drooped, while others resembled firecrackers. They were huge, miniature, leafy, thorny, all showing the beautifully grown blossoms.

It was lovely overall. A young Mushroom girl stood behind the stand watering tiny forget-me-nots. She had curly brown hair, and wore a floral apron suitable for her booth. She smiled cheerfully at Mario, and waved. She was known as Minh T., the flower lover in Toad Town.

"Hey!" the little girl said. "I'm glad you came to the Mushroom Festival. Are you staying long?"

"Actually," said Mario, "I'm on my way to visit Peach first."

"Um, Mario," she said, "I'm forever grateful for what you did in Flower Fields. Here, " she took out a small bunch of roses tied together with a red ribbon. They were yellow with pink shadings at the edges of the petals, "I want you to have these. They are called peace roses."

Appreciating her kindness, he accepted the little bouquet.

"You know, Mario," Minh hinted, "the Princess loves flowers, too."

He blushed slightly. Recently many of the Mushroom folk gave indirect suggestions that were connected with Peach, like saying he should take the Princess to Shooting Star Summit. Also, there the admiring comments of them being together.

"She does?" said Mario. "I'm sure she'll be happy to receive this posy then."

"You're blushing, "the girl pointed out, which only encrimsoned his face more. "You like Peach, don't you?

"Uh, well, if I didn't like her, " he replied, flustered, "I wouldn't bother visiting her, right?"
"Oh," she said, slightly disappointed, as if she wanted a different answer, "yea, I guess."

"Thank you for the flowers," he added, which cheered her up. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Bye, Mario."

Mario left the booth, his mood lifted by Minh's joyful personality, although he started to wonder about his relationship with the Princess. He did like her a lot, maybe even a bit more, but he wasn't sure if Peach had the same feelings for him like he did for her. What if she didn't love him after all? Mario wasn't exactly perfect, and he did have some personality flaws. Plus, his job didn't give him a princely status.

"Who am I kidding, Peach deserves better… She wouldn't go for me," he said aloud to himself, or so he thought.

"Trouble with your love life, hm?"