Chapter 3 Being Followed
What a beautiful day it was! The sun shined in the crystal blue sky, lighting up the surroundings as well as people's moods. Luigi couldn't help but smile as he felt its warmth and observed its light. Was this not the best possible day one could spend with Daisy? Sure, considering that she was the love of his life, he'd be willing to spend time with her even in a deadly hurricane. But… he didn't know. Somehow, this gorgeous day made the fact that he was gonna spend time with her all the more special in his eyes. He felt like everything was going to work out for the better.
Luigi was all smiles as he walked down the path to Toad Town. Once he was in Toad Town, something occurred to him, something that made him excited. He should get Daisy some flowers! That would REALLY be a nice thing to do! He could already imagine her face lighting up when she saw a bouquet of perfect roses. Or lilies. Or tulips. He didn't know what flower he wanted to get her. The only ones he knew for sure she wouldn't like, ironically enough, were daisies. She didn't like them; she never had. She had also expressed disdain for her name in the past because of her dislike towards daisies.
Oh well, that didn't matter. Luigi was still thrilled at the prospect of getting the beautiful and boisterous princess a bouquet. Patting his pocket just to make sure that his wallet was in it, he started walking in the direction of the nearest florist shop. As he did, toads of all kinds came out to get ready for this day. When they saw him, they all waved and smiled.
"Luigi! It's nice to see you!"
"Having a good day already, I see!"
"You look awesome! Green always did look good on you!"
Luigi felt his face grow warm. To think; for the longest time, he didn't get ANY recognition from the Toads. He had lived most of his life believing that he would always be in Mario's shadow, and it took an entire body swap and a journey across the eight worlds with Daisy to get that to change. Was it worth it? Definitely. He wasn't one for being famous; in fact, when he was a kid, he dreaded the idea of being famous. But a little recognition here and there was more than enough to help him feel good.
"It's so good to see you guys!" he said, waving back at the Toads. They all looked so pleased, so incredibly touched that he would even acknowledge them and say hi to them. This just made the scene even sweeter in Luigi's eyes. It was a mutual relationship to be sure; he made the Toads feel special, and they did the exact same thing for him. Everyone wins.
Of course, he couldn't let the approval of the Toads distract him from his mission. He picked up the pace, focusing entirely on getting to the florist. Without even realizing what he was doing, he broke out into a run. Sure, he didn't have any reason to hurry, as he knew that Daisy was willing to be patient with him. Even still, the idea of making her wait longer than she needed to didn't appeal to him at all.
Finally, after a run worthy of a marathon, Luigi got to the florist. Smiling, he entered, feeling pleased at the sound of the bell ringing when he came in. The Toad at the checkout counter, upon noticing him, gave him a grin.
"Hey, Luigi! It's nice to see you!"
"It's nice to see you too, Clover!" Luigi walked up to her, knowing that she would be the perfect help when it came to impressing his love. "I'm looking for something for Princess Daisy."
Clover snorted. "Of course you are. That's literally the only reason you ever come into my shop." Her eyes glittered as both she and Luigi laughed. "Well, don't worry; I have something I think you'll like." She gave him the sign to wait for just a moment as she went off into the back. As he waited for her, Luigi's heart fluttered. He didn't need to see the flowers to know that they were gorgeous. Clover always had the best flowers, always. Luigi had met quite a few florists in his time, but Clover was by far and easily the best one. Her roses could make anyone fall in love with you, her orchids made people want to embrace their inner child. Luigi would trust no one else to get him flowers for a princess.
After a little bit, Clover came back out. When Luigi saw the bouquet she had in her hand, he gasped. They were roses. GOLDEN roses. Dipped in the most eye-catching dye Luigi had ever seen, just looking at them made his excitement grow. Clover handed them over, looking justifiably proud of herself. Seriously, the roses looked like the sky during sunset!
"Clover… I don't know what to say; these are incredible!"
"Thank you, Luigi." Clover beamed. "Ever since the last time you came into my shop to get something for Daisy, I knew that I couldn't just give you basic roses or lilies. I needed to give you something that would really wow your girl."
Luigi sniffed the roses, wanting to swoon as he took in their delectable aroma. "Oh Mama Mia; you really went above and beyond." He got his wallet out, giving her more coins than the roses no doubt cost. "Keep the change, you deserve it!"
Clover's face turned pink. "Thank you, Luigi. You are just too kind." She took the money and smiled at him. "I imagine I'll see you later?"
"Better believe it!" With a tip of the hat Luigi stepped out of the shop. Once he was back out in the open, he took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Oh wow." He took a few steps forward, right on the cusp of giggling in delight as he did. "This day is turning out…"
He stopped. Something caught his eye, or rather, someone. When he saw this person, staring at him, he froze. He couldn't take his eyes off of them, because… well…
The person, or rather, the woman was one of the strangest women that Luigi had ever seen before. Her hair was long, red, and wavy, and she wore a black mini-dress that would make the night sky during a new moon look like a rainbow. The shoes she wore were black, high-heel thigh-high boots, with bows down near the ankles.
But what really stuck out about this woman was her eyes. They didn't look like normal eyes, like human eyes. They were silvery blue, with white pupils as opposed to the normal black. If one were to see this woman for the first time, they would probably assume she was blind thanks to those pupils. Heck, Luigi was tempted to say that she was. The only thing that stopped was… well, she was clearly focusing on him. She glared at him with ire, with resentment, with hatred. These emotions on her face made an otherwise beautiful woman look terrifying, like she was a demon donning a human disguise.
Luigi gulped. He didn't know what to do here. Should he say hi? No, no; she looked dangerous. Giving a dangerous person a reason to talk to you was the last thing that any sane person would ever think of doing. Should he run away? That… was that even necessary? Sure, she looked dangerous, but was she actually? Cause if she wasn't, running away at top speed would be a little excessive and rude. No, he should probably just walk away. No reason to engage this person or give her any reason to think he was afraid of her (even though he definitely was).
So, he turned to the right and started walking. As he did, he decided that the best thing to do to forget about the stranger was thinking about Daisy. Daisy Daisy Daisy. She was going to love the roses; he knew it. They were the same colors as her dress, after all. Considering that her dress was already colored her favorite colors… oh yeah, he couldn't wait! He could already see her face lighting up! He could already feel the love emanating from…
Wait. Did he just hear footsteps?
Turning around, Luigi gasped a little when he saw the woman again. She stood about ten feet away from him to the right, which was about the same distance away from him that she had been when he first saw her. Luigi started sweating bullets, trying to think of any logical explanation behind this. Maybe she was going somewhere that was in the same general direction? Maybe? Hopefully?
Feeling his stomach start to churn, Luigi turned around and kept walking. He could feel the woman's gaze on his back, making every hair on his body stand on end. Or at least, he thought he felt her gaze on him. For all he knew, he could be mistaken. He could just be imagining things, letting his anxieties call the shots in his mind and make him worry about things that weren't necessarily real. Realizing that there was one surefire way to know for absolute certain, Luigi looked back over his shoulder…
And the woman was still behind him. Ten feet away from him; the distance between the two hadn't grown in the slightest. And sure, it hadn't shrunk either, but still. Luigi's breathing rate sped up. His palms felt clammy and his legs shook. What was going on here? Who was this woman? Why was she following him? Why did she look so angry and hateful whenever they made eye contact? What was her deal? What was going on?
For the most part, those answers were unattainable. And honestly, Luigi was happy about that. He didn't WANT the answers to those questions. He didn't! He just wanted to get away from this woman, get away from her scrutinizing and malicious gaze. He wanted to hightail it out of here, leave this potentially dangerous stranger who looked at him like he was the most sinful creature on Earth in the dust.
So, despite not wanting to earlier, Luigi broke out into a run. He passed some Toads as he ran, Toads who gave him some friendly greetings. He ignored them. Not because he was actively trying to be mean, but more so because his fear was what was controlling him at the moment. He had only one objective, one desire. His mind didn't leave room for anything or anyone else. All he knew right now was that he had to get away.
He put on a burst of speed. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt like the woman was right on his tail. He didn't know for sure; it was possible she was already a mile behind him. He didn't both looking either. What good would looking back do in this situation? It would just make him more anxious, more terrified. It would just serve to make him sick, make him worry about his life potentially being on the line when there was no guarantee that it was.
He ran and ran and ran. After a little bit, he finally came to a stop behind a Toad house. He stood in place, the roses still gripped tightly in his hand as he tried to catch his breath. It took a few minutes, more than he was comfortable with or even used to, but he eventually recovered. He peaked his head out from behind the Toad House, praying that the woman wasn't there.
Thankfully, she wasn't. Seeing no sign of her made Luigi want to sing hallelujah at the top of his voice. He put his hand to his heart, thanking every lucky star in the sky. Maybe… maybe he was just worrying about nothing. Maybe the woman really had just been going in the same general direction he had been. Maybe she was just a normal woman, a normal woman with weird-looking eyes. She hadn't looked at him so angrily, she hadn't glared at him. Everything was fine. Heck, everything was more than fine; everything was perfect!
Looking down at the bouquet of roses, Luigi chuckled and resumed walking towards Daisy. "Boy, do I have a story to tell Daisy when I arrive!"