Chapter 24 More Sorbet

Tostarena wasn't that far away at this point, and thankfully, flying in his Koopa Clown Car made the journey go by quickly for Iggy. He sailed over the various parts of the Mushroom World, his attention fully fixed on getting to Tostarena and bringing Morton's Depression back.

Well… okay, that statement wasn't entirely accurate. While he was focusing on getting to the desert, there was also something else. Something that made him squirm, something that made him feel incredibly sad. That being, the question. The question he had been asking himself before he had volunteered to get Depression back.

He wasn't… the cause of Morton's depression, was he?

Logically, he probably should have recognized that that was a silly question, and that he shouldn't be stressing about it or asking it. But he couldn't ignore it. No matter how many times he tried to logic the question away, he just… couldn't. It stuck in his mind like some sort of mental splinter, and he just didn't have the right tools to remove it.

This question was killing him. If he really was the root of Morton's suffering, if he was the one who had caused his brother so much grief, he didn't know if he could live with himself. After all, it was never his intention to do that to him. Honestly.

Somehow, that small fact made the possibility even worse.

Iggy sighed. "It's fine," he whispered to himself. "You're not the cause." He increased the speed of his vehicle. "I promise you you're not." He began to sweat. "Just… just try to recover Depression. Once you find him, you'll be able to figure out what the true root is. And I promise you with every fiber of my being that you weren't the cause."

Hopefully, that promise wouldn't be in vain.

…

I walked around Tostarena with Antonio and his kids. Watching Lupita and Pedro running around, laughing at the top of their lungs as they kicked sand at one another, was pretty sweet. I mean, the two of them were absolutely adorable together. There was this sort of energy the two of them had together, an energy that only the closet siblings could create. Despite my sadness, I was able to smile at them. I was even able to laugh at their antics every once in a while, because… well, how could I not?

"I'm gonna get you!" Pedro called to Lupita. He picked up a handful of the burnt orange sand and chucked at her, causing Lupita to shriek in delight. Pushing the sand off of her clothes and face, she charged at her brother. Based on the way she held her hands out, she looked like she wanted to catch him and give him a noogie of some kind. Unfortunately for her, Pedro ran faster than she ever could. This resulted in a game of chase, with the two running around in circles while Lupita called out after Pedro to slow down. He never did.

"Pedro, come on!"

Pedro laughed out loud. "Nya nya nya nya nya, you can't catch me!"

I chuckled, despite how cliche that phrase had become over the course of… well, the history of the world. There was something so charming about all this, about these innocent kids playing around without a care in the world. It filled my heart with glee, a familiar type of glee. Even though I didn't have the clearest memories of my family, I was still able to sense that I had done similar things with my siblings. We were kids, once upon a time, and we played with each other in the most unhinged yet funnest ways possible. It was nice to think about that.

That is, until the last image I had ever seen of Iggy popped into my mind. I gasped out loud when I thought of it, pulling back as if it was a fire that burned me. My eyes grew wide and unblinking. I even shivered, trying to get my breathing under control as the image became clearer and clearer.

"Morton?" Antonio asked. "Is everything alright?"

I couldn't answer; I really couldn't. All I could do was try to keep myself from bursting into tears and turning into a puddly mess. My stomach churned, threatening to make me throw up.

Iggy tried to kill me. He actually tried to kill me…

"Muchacho," Antonio said. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

It was only the sound of Lupita and Pedro's laughter that was able to finally allow me to reel my emotions back. I let out a breath, putting my hand on top of Antonio's as it patted me. "I'm fine." I paused. "Just thinking about some things."

Antonio's brow furrowed. "Does this have anything to do with Iggy?"

My stomach turned sour. "Y… yeah." My hand shook, and the tears threatening to escape my eyes grew bigger, wetter, and hotter. "It's just… it's difficult."

"I understand." Antonio gave me another pat on the shoulder. "I mean… it's terrible what happened to you. I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

Not even those words, delivered the softest, silkiest tone, were enough to make my emotions go away. A dark void filled my heart, the kind that makes everything and anything you see feel wrong. It sat there, wrapping around my heart like the tightest, most painful chain ever. I tried to breathe, but the void just felt so… awful. I felt as though I was the dirtiest, lowest lifeform to ever walk on the surface of the planet, and thinking about Iggy holding the gun in front of me only made me feel even worse.

"Tell you what," Antonio said, finally breaking the silence, "I think I know a way to make things better." He turned to his kids, still playing around in the sand. "Pedro! Lupita! We're going to Carlos'!"

The kids stopped in their tracks and gasped. "Carlos'?" Pedro asked.

"Are you serious, Papa?" When Antonio nodded, Lupita started jumping up and down. "Oh, my goodness! We haven't been to Carlos' in forever!"

"I know!" Antonio chuckled. "I thought it would be nice to do it now!"

While Pedro and Lupita jumped around in celebration, I sent Antonio a confused look. "What's Carlos'?"

"You'll see," he said with a wink. He took my hand, gesturing for the kids to follow him. He led us all through the colorful town, all while Pedro and Lupita giggled with excitement. On some level, this made me feel more interested in what going to this mystery place. After all, if it was nice enough to garner such a positive reaction from little kids, then maybe it would be able to help me. Maybe, it'd be enough to make my troubles seem small. Sure, that was wishful thinking, but I was willing to believe it was possible.

Anyway, Antonio continued leading us through the town square. After a little bit, he pointed toward a building up ahead. A very… familiar building. "That's Carlos'." His eyes glittered. "It has the most amazing sorbet; you would not believe it!"

My eyes grew wide. "No way." I smiled. "I've been here before! The vendor gave me some sorbet on the house!"

"Ah, so you know how good it is." Antonio chuckled. "Yeah, Carlos always likes to serve people new to the town like that." His face fell a little bit. "Kind of turns his business into a bit of a tourist trap, but…" he chuckled as shrugged. "It's still a nice place to go."

I beamed. I thought about the pink sorbet that Carlos had given me when I first got here, a thought that was surprisingly good about helping me feel better. Sure, I also felt that I was missing something crucial when picturing the sorbet as if I was supposed to appreciate it more than I did… but you know what? That didn't matter. I still enjoyed the sorbet regardless of that feeling, and I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to enjoy it here too,

We finally got to the front window, and Carlos was there to greet us with the most welcoming smile ever. "Bienvenido, Antonio!" he exclaimed. "It feels like it's been ages since I've seen you." He chuckled. "I take it your kids are doing well?"

"Oh, they're doing better than well; they're doing fantastic!" Antonio laughed. "Lupita is going to be in a school play sometime next month."

"Muy bueno!" His eyes traveled to me, and he gasped. "I know him!" he said as he pointed to me.

A small wave of embarrassment came over me as I chuckled. "Yeah. It's… it's nice to see you again." I hesitated. "My name is Morton, by the way."

"Well, it's nice to see you again, Morton!" Carlos beamed. "I was wondering what had become of you. You seemed so downtrodden." His grin got bigger. "But you look so much better now!"

I chuckled. "I… I guess I am."

Carlos nodded before turning back to Antonio. "So, what does everyone want?"

"I WANT ORANGE!" Pedro shouted.

"I WANT GRAPE!" Lupita shouted at an even louder volume.

"Guys, settle down!" Antonio said. His bony face turned red as he looked over at Carlos. "Sorry; they're a little rambunctious today."

"That's perfectly fine, mi amigo."

With that, Carlos started getting the sorbet ready. When he handed the kids their flavors, they immediately started wolfing it down. It was a fun sight to see, and it was made even better when Carlos handed me the pink colored sorbet I had enjoyed so much before.

"You read my mind, Carlos."

Carlos chuckled. "What can I say? I know what my customers like."

Once Antonio got his, he paid and led us all over to a bench nearby. Pedro and Lupita never looked so happy as they ate their icy treat, which was also a sight that brought me back to earlier times. I started eating my own sorbet, somehow enjoying the flavor even more than I did the first time. It was… therapeutic. Yeah. that's the word; therapeutic.

"How do you feel now, Morty?" Antonio asked from right beside me.

"Better," I said as I took another bite. "Still not one hundred percent, unfortunately, but I do feel better."

"I'll take it." Antonio took a bite of his grapefruit sorbet. "Sometimes, the best thing one needs is just a nice, simple treat."

I chuckled. "I agree." I looked back down at the sorbet, frowning as I did. "Still… I feel weird. Like… like I should be feeling a certain way about this, yet am not capable of feeling that way right now."

Antonio blinked. "That's… odd."

I sighed. "Yeah." I took another bite. With each one I took, it seemed that the inescapable void that had been inside me before was clearing up. Again, I wasn't one hundred percent but… well, I didn't feel so low. The sadness that had defined me for so much of the time I had originally woken up in Tostarena was significantly dimmer. Sure, it was still there; I don't think anything would make it go away. But… well, I felt like more of a person now. A weird way to describe my mood, but also the best way.

"I'm glad we met, Morty," Antonio said.

I smiled. "Thanks." I thought about that nickname he gave me, Morty. It once again brought me back and made me think of the family that I came from. They called me Morty. They used that nickname in the most endearing way possible. "I'm glad we met too."

Antonio beamed. "Good." He put his hand on my shoulder again. "I know that things might not be the easiest for you right now, but I'm here to help. I'll help you in any way I can."

I sniffled, wiping a tear from my eye. "Thanks." I wiped another tear. "I appreciate…"

"MORTON!"

I blinked, as did Antonio. We both looked around in confusion, trying to see who had called my name. Antonio in particular looked heavily confused. "What in the world was…?"

"MORTON, I"M COMING!"

A pit formed in my stomach. That… that voice… No. It can't be. There's no way it can be…

"MORTON!"

I directed my gaze up toward the sky. My heart skipped a beat when I saw a weird, bowl-shaped vehicle, being operated by none other than my brother Iggy.

Oh… no!