CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A SECRET
While
everyone else slept, Peach cried all through the night. This whole
thing was too much for her. She would never be the same; she was
traumatized. It
would be better, she
thought, to
end it sooner rather than later if starvation is my fate. I don't
want my life to end that way.
Shy
Guy heard her sobbing and entered the room stealthily. Peach stopped
crying.
"What
do you want?"
"What
seems to be the problem?"
Peach
sniffed. "Oh nothing… except that I'm going to die a horrible,
unpleasant death."
"That's
not much to worry about."
There
was silence for a few moments.
"This
is great, just great…" said Peach after a while. "Everyone
dying all around us… what if Diddy WASN'T the killer? We may all
be in danger!"
"Diddy
WAS the killer. There is nobody else who fits."
"Well,
either way, there is no way I'm starving."
"You
don't mean…?"
Peach
got out of bed and left the room as she spoke.
"I'm
ending it fast and painlessly."
She arrived in the kitchen, followed by Shy Guy. She found a notepad and began scribbling something down. Shy Guy could see some of it.
Dear
Mario,
I
can't let life end this way. I do not wish for the inevitable pain
that is soon to come. Thank you so much for everything that you have
done for me. Words cannot describe my gratitude for you. My only
choice is to
"So
how are you going to do it?" asked Shy Guy.
"I
don't know," she replied. "If I can find any pills in this
place, I'm taking them, though."
"No
need for that," said Shy Guy. "There's an easier way. I'll
help you."
Peach
paused a minute before speaking. "Why should I trust you?"
"I
have a secret that I've never spoken to anyone before," he said.
"And it has to do with why I wear this mask. Listen closely…"
he spoke his next words in a whisper.
"I
am the embodiment of death."
Peach
froze. If this wasn't a confession, she didn't know what
was.
"Doesn't
that mean, you're… you're…"
"No,
I am not the killer. I have never killed anyone in my life. Let me
explain.
"In
ancient times, Shy Guys were not known as Shy Guys, but Gods of Death
– Shini gami, if you will. We worked in the Underworld, harvesting
souls in the simplest manner possible: tracking down our victim, and
making eye contact with them. Any soul who looked at our face would
die instantly. The departed soul would either go up to Heaven, or
join our ranks and begin an infinite existence of collecting
souls.
"Excuse
me," Peach interrupted. "But what about people who are…
murdered? Where do they go?"
"Souls
who are taken by one other than a God of Death are plunged into
nothingness; they no longer exist. Such is the worst fate of
all.
"Anyway,
at that time, Gods of Death typically reaped souls after about thirty
to forty years of life. But at some point in time, we started getting
lazy. We waited for them to become fifty to sixty, and even seventy
to eighty years old. The King of Death wouldn't have it, so he
started sending the lazy Shini gami to earth to live a mortal life
with the rest of the folks, only to be sent into nothingness when we
die. I was one of the Gods of Death who was sent to earth when I
didn't kill anyone at the age of thirty to forty. I retained my
killing powers, however, and I contain them by wearing a mask at all
times, as do all other Gods of Death who suffer my fate."
"So…
if you were to take off your mask while I was looking at you… I
would die?"
"Correct."
"When
you're ready, Peach."
She
cleared her throat and breathed deeply, tears welling in her eyes.
"Goodbye, Shy Guy."
"Goodbye,
Peach. It's been… fun."
He
slowly began to remove his mask.
"WAIT!"
He
paused. "What is it?"
"Am
I going to be frightened when I see it?"
"I
don't know. I've never seen a Shini gami face before, or I would
be dead. Do you still want to do it?"
"Yes."
Shy
Guy resumed taking off his mask. As he held it in hand and brought it
down from in front of his face, as his hood fell back, Peach turned
pale and her eyes widened; her mouth open in a silent scream. She
collapsed; Shy Guy caught her as he slid the mask back onto his face.
Peach still wore her expression of frozen horror.
Shy
Guy took Peach back up to the bedroom and on her bed next to Mario.
He tapped him on the shoulder. Mario slowly opened one eye.
"Wuh…
wum… what? Who is it?"
"It's
me. I didn't want you to freak out in the morning, so I'm going
to tell you now."
Shy
Guy explained what had happened, showing Mario the suicide note Peach
had scrawled down earlier. In its entirety, it read:
Dear
Mario,
I
can't let life end this way. I do not wish for the inevitable pain
that is soon to come. Thank you so much for everything that you have
done for me. Words cannot describe my gratitude for you. My only
choice is to end it all now, before the worst part comes. I'm
counting on you to keep everything together from now on. Be a leader.
Be a fighter. God bless you, Mario. I love you.
Princess Peach Toadstool
"Thank
you, Shy Guy. She is at peace now."
"It's
my duty, Mario."
"Goodnight."
