Luigi
His alarm woke him up a few hours later, which he quickly turned off. His head was throbbing painfully; he was panting and his vision was blurry. He's always been one to get sick easily, but he'd only been this sick once in his childhood. After he had slipped on a frozen lake, he had got hypothermia and a fever all together and was bedridden for a week.

He groaned, struggling to get out of bed. He reached for his phone, calling the school's number. It was currently 8:00, very late, since school starts at 8:30. The receptionist answered, and he got himself a sick day. He was in terrible shape. But he didn't have the money for medicine other than paracetamol, which didn't help.

His mind drifted off to his memories of his late parents.

— 2 YEARS AGO —

"Luigi! Hurry, we'll be late!"

Luigi hurriedly tied his shoelaces and ran out of the house, his dad, Anouar, right behind him, closing the door.

"You little monster!", his dad grumbled as he hurried to the car as well.

His mom, Rosalina, sighed in the passenger seat, waiting for her son and her husband to finish getting ready.

The door suddenly opened, surprising her, as Luigi quickly got inside and shut the door. Anouar got in a few seconds later, panting.

"This kid-! How can he outrun me already?"

She chuckled as he started the car. "Lou, fasten your seatbelt."

Luigi grumbled, fastening his seatbelt. Anouar pulled out of the parking lot, and they headed on their way to the airport.

A few hours into the ride, Luigi was playing games on his phone while Anouar and Rosalina argued.

"Did you really forget your passport?!"

"Ah, Amore, don't fret it, it'll be alright; I've got a digital version on my phone."

"Mio Dio, Anouar, don't scare me like that.."

He held her hand and smiled. Luigi watched them as he made a playful 'Ew' sound. The parents laughed, Luigi joining them.

You'd never guess something bad would happen to them, right?

Well, watch as a car dangerously swerves on the opposite lane, making Anouar concerned.

"Rose, that car's about to crash. If I slow down, the car behind me will crash into us."

Luigi had been listening, as he turned his game off. "What are you saying, papà? Are you saying we're about to crash?"

Rosalina hit her husband's shoulder to silence him and turned to her son. "Don't worry, Lou, we'll be fine. We can just avoid the car."

But the car was swerving dangerously, making Anouar's anxiety spike. He panicked. "Rose," he called out, his voice trembling, "I don't think-"

"Anouar!", she yelled. "Don't say that. Keep driving. Lou, make sure your seatbelt is on and sharp things are out of reach."

Luigi did as she said, not yet realising why he had to. He saw the fast approaching car coming right for theirs. He started yelling in distress: "Mom! The car is coming!"

Rosalina kept quiet, though. She turned to him, held his hand, and kissed it. His dad did the same. Both of their eyes were teary. They kissed each other as the car was about to crash and told Luigi: "We love you."

- A FEW HOURS LATER -

Luigi sat on the side of the road, shivering despite the warm blanket provided to him. He was completely fine, but his parents weren't. He didn't have to look at the pitiful faces of the surrounding people, the officers, the medics.. He clasped in his hand his mother's necklace, one he had made for her years back. It was heart-shaped, and when you opened it, you could see their family smiling brightly. He silently cried, his face in the blanket, muttering to himself, 'Mamma... papà...'