Chapter 4 A Surprise and a Promise
Sitting in the back of Bowser's Koopa Clown Car, Wendy felt more relaxed than she had in a while. She looked down at the Koopa Kingdom below her, smiling as she did. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this entranced by the mundane sights of home. She couldn't remember the last time she was this entranced with ANYTHING. Maybe this was what made her eighteenth birthday so special; this was a day where she just felt happy to be alive. She felt happy to just be HER.
"Having fun yet, baby?" Bowser asked from his spot at the front of the Clown Car.
Wendy chuckled. "I mean, I'm not NOT having fun." She chuckled some more, pulling a compact and a tube of mascara out of her hammerspace. "What's in the schedule for today, if you don't mind me asking?"
Bowser turned to give her a smirk. "It's a surprise?"
"A surprise? Come on, that's not fair!"
"It's not? What about it is not fair?"
"Well…" Wendy stopped to think about how to answer that question. "Uh…" she must've pondered for a very good, very long twenty seconds. "It's unfair because… I say it is!"
Bowser burst into laughter. "Sweetie, the only person in this car who can use that excuse is me. I'm the king of the Koopa Kingdom."
"And I'm the princess AND the birthday girl, so I don't see your point."
Bowser giggled as Wendy walked up to him with a cheeky grin. "Oh, you're really adorable sometimes, Wen." He paused and blinked. "I'm not trying to be condescending, I'm actually being genuine. You are as cute as a button."
Wendy smiled. "I am?"
"Yes. You are." Bowser turned back to look at the path they were flying. "You're the cutest princess in the Koopa Kingdom."
Wendy snickered. "I'm the only princess in the Koopa Kingdom."
Bowser turned back to her, his red eyes sparkling. "Exactly. Literally no one else compares to you."
Wendy laughed. It wasn't just a humorous laugh either; she laughed because she was genuinely touched by her father's words. She laughed because they brought her spirits up on a day when her spirits were already in the stratosphere. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world, or at least the Koopa Kingdom.
Speaking of which, she and Bowser started flying over Stonebrim. As they did, some people on the ground noticed them and pointed up to them. Some cheered. Some waved. Some whooped.
"Happy birthday, Princess Wendy!" One person called out.
"I love you so much, you rock!" Called out another.
"Have an absolutely blessed day!"
Wendy's face was growing warmer than the lava her li my kingdom was famous for. Getting this much love from MULTIPLE different strangers was something else. Honestly, sometimes Wendy forgot that she was a princess, mostly because she didn't typically view herself as above other people. She was just a regular girl, a regular girl who happened to be the adopted daughter of a king. Times like this, when she was reminded of her royal status and the fact that everyone in the kingdom knew her name, was so humbling. It might stroke someone else's ego, but with Wendy, it put things into perspective. It made her grateful for the life she had. It reminded her that, despite the bad hand that life had dealt her from time to time, she was VERY fortunate.
"Oh boy," Bowser said. "These bozos are really noisy, aren't they sweetie?"
"Bowser! You don't have to insult them! They're being nice! They're taking time out of their day to acknowledge us and wish us well."
"I know, I know." Bowser chuckled. "I'm just teasing." He looked over the edge of the Clown Car and waved to Stonebrim's denizens. "Have a good day, citizens! Don't get stomped by any plumbers!"
Wendy chuckled, rolling her eyes as she did. She leaned back in her seat, seriously wondering where Bowser wanted to take her. He had said it was a surprise, and that he wasn't going to outright tell her anything, but she could still speculate! Bowser hadn't imposed any rules about that! So, she sat back and pondered. She pondered and pondered, looking down at the ground to see if she could pick up on any clues based on their general direction. She didn't see anything, as they had passed over Stonebrim entirely and were now flying over empty landscape. Well… at least she knew that the place where they were going wasn't in Stonebrim? At least there was that?
"Okay, this is killing me." Wendy looked back at Bowser. "Can you at least give me a hint? Can you tell me what town we're going to?"
Bowser chortled. "Eighteen years old and you still haven't learned patience." Wendy glared at him, and he laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" He shook his head as he calmed himself down. "I'll only reveal that we're going to Sparksville."
"Oh." Wendy nodded. "That's cool, there are a lot of nice things in Sparksville." Unfortunately, there were so many that Bowser's words of confirmation did little to narrow stuff down.
"There are." Wendy could see Bowser smiling even with his back to her. "Indeed, there are."
Okay, was Bowser just trying to tease her again? The tone that he spoke with sounded taunting. Sure, it was taunting in a playful way, but still. It was like he was dangling their destination in front of her with a stick, keeping it out of her reach and making sure that the suspense could build to the point that she would have a heart attack.
"Ugh…!" Wendy shook her head. "Can you please give me one more hint? Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
Bowser chuckled. "Well, I do like me some cherries." He nodded his head. "Alright, since you were so polite, I'll give you one more hint." Wendy perked up, adjusting her position as Bowser gave the clue. "We are going to a very special place. A place you liked to go as a kid, a place that you haven't been to in years. You've constantly begged me to go back, but we never got the chance." Bowser paused. "Until now."
Wendy snickered. "That's way more than just ONE hint."
"I know! I just decided to be generous today."
"Fair enough." Realizing that now was the time where she should put her thinking cap on, Wendy leaned forward and bit her lip. "Hmm. A very special place that I liked as a kid and haven't been to in a long time…" Were there any places in Sparksville that fit that criteria? She supposed there was the Bridge of Flowers. That was a nice place, and she did enjoy going there, but… no, that couldn't be it. She never went to the Bridge as a kid, at least not to her recollection. No, there didn't seem to be any places in Sparksville that fit this set of criteria. No place except…
Wait. Was it…? Could it… was it…. Was it actually…?
"No way." Wendy looked back up at her father, her heartbeat sped up. "Bowser, are you actually…?"
"Uh dat duh, I'm not saying anything else!" He giggled, sounding as though this was HIS eighteenth birthday. "You're gonna have to wait and see!"
A sentence that would probably make Wendy frustrated under normal circumstances just made her even more excited. Even though he said he WOULDN'T confirm anything, in a way, he kinda sorta did. The place that Bowser was taking her was the exact place she thought it was. A place she loved with all her heart, a place filled with beauty that made her appreciate the world she lived in and all of its wonders. A place that she had wanted to go back to for so long, but a place she could never return to due to the fact that Bowser had always either been busy or otherwise had some other kind of excuse.
Wait… wasn't one of those excuses Bowser saying that he was waiting for the perfect moment to take Wendy back, saying that he wanted to reserve this experience for the most special occasion of them all?
"Bowser…" Wendy walked up to stand beside him, smiling as she did. "You're really doing it. I thought… is this the special occasion that you always told me about growing up? Were you waiting for this exact day, thinking that this would be the perfect time? Are you fulfilling a promise that you've made for years on end?"
A twinkle appeared in the Koopa King's eye. "Maybe."
A warmth spread throughout Wendy's body. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing what little of his enormous body that she could. "You're the best father I could've asked for. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie," Bowser said, sounding so gentle and happy.
Wendy squeezed even harder. "I really don't tell you that I love you enough." She let go of him and looked up into his face. "In fact, you know what? I'm gonna make that my new mission as an adult. I'm gonna tell all the important people in my life that I love them more often."
Bowser beamed. "Sounds like a plan." He patted her on the head, which was a gesture she always appreciated. "Now, go sit back down. Just because you MIGHT have figured out where we're going doesn't mean that you can't practice patience still."
Wendy giggled. "Sounds like a plan." She went and took her seat back, letting out an enormous breath as she did. Yes, she was fortunate. She was fortunate, lucky, and above all else, blessed. Dear God, did that sound corny…? Well, it didn't matter if it did; that was the truth. Wendy fully believed that, and she wasn't going to feel bad for believing that either.
After about ten more minutes of flying, the father and daughter finally got to Sparksville. Oh, Sparksville, you will always be beautiful. Yeah, there was a reason why many people in the Koopa Kingdom loved this particular town. And, like most things, Wendy was starting to think she hadn't appreciated it in her youth as much as she should have. It was gorgeous. The colors were vibrant and popped out in ways that inspired the best kind of positivity. Wendy could plainly see why people she knew, like Aria Shellcreep and Bob Duckswan, decided to live here. Who wouldn't; wouldn't moving to a place like Sparksville just be common sense? This place could cure depression. Wendy REALLY needed to appreciate it more.
In fact, she wanted to appreciate EVERYTHING more. She didn't want to take anything for granted, whether that be her family, her status, or her life in general. Now that she was officially an adult, she was going to appreciate everything. Even those things that on paper didn't seem worthy of appreciation, as they made life complete. They helped her grow into the person that she was today.
As she thought that, Wendy chuckled. Again, she recognized that this thought pattern could be considered corny, but honestly… she didn't care. Adults needed to appreciate things more. Adults shouldn't take life for granted, so that meant she wasn't going to. She was going to go through life with a joyous smile.
Speaking of which, the first destination on Wendy Koopa's birthday outing was coming up in the distance, and it was exactly the place Wendy had hoped for. She couldn't stop smiling as she and Bowser lowered the Clown Car to the ground. She was so eager to jump out of the car and run up to the entrance immediately, but she composed herself. She wanted to experience this with Bowser, after all. Bowser put the car in park, turned off the engine, and turned to his one and only daughter with a record-setting grin.
"Well, Wendy… we have arrived at The Butterfly Garden."
