What a Wonderful World

Chapter 5

The man in red had been up all night, trying to come up with a way to break the terrifying news to his poor brother. It took a lot of arguing with himself, but eventually, he decided the best thing to do would be to just tell the truth. 

He sighed and grabbed a stack of firewood, carrying it to the chimney so he could make a fire later. The temperatures were supposed to drop drastically that day, so he wanted to be prepared.

"Why are you getting more firewood?" Luigi questioned, watching his brother set it down in front of the fireplace and organize it.

"We're expecting really bad weather today. It'll be below freezing, so I need to be prepared." Mario replied, trying to avoid eye contact. He really was just stalling before he had to bear the bad news to Luigi.

"Below freezing?!" Luigi squeaked, sounding much more shocked than he meant to.

"Yeah. Below freezing. But don't worry. We have heating as well as firewood, so we're all set," Mario assured.

"Wh-what about people who don't have any way to warm themselves?" Luigi stuttered, though unsure why. All the houses in the Mushroom Kingdom had excellent heating. Princess Peach made sure of it since it was her job as ruler to make sure all her citizens were safe and comfortable during the winter season.

That was when he realized. He wasn't asking because he was worried for the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. He was asking because he was worried about Dimentio. Though he had NO idea why.

"Why do you ask? Most houses around here have heating." Mario replied.

"Uhh, no reason," Luigi nervously lied. 

Again, he felt something inside of him start to burn. Luigi knew with 100% certainty that Mario could tell he was lying. 

Mario was about to press on, but he didn't have time to wonder. He had accepted the fact that Luigi had an oversized heart and cared for everyone long ago, so there was no point in probing him. He needed to tell him about Dimentio. He nervously sat the last of the wood down and stood up, dusting off his hands and turning to Luigi, placing his hands back into his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels.

"H-hey, bro?" Mario nervously started with a soft, gentle tone. "I just have to tell you-"

"I need to go!" Luigi suddenly interrupted, surprising himself. 

His brain didn't tell his mouth to say that.

Before he knew it, he was quickly standing up and grabbing a stack of firewood. His brain didn't tell his body to do that either. What was happening?! 

"S-sorry. I just remembered something. I promise I'll be back soon. Breakfast is done, so help yourself! Peach and Daisy are coming over soon, right?" Luigi asked, confused as to what the heck he was doing.

What the heck was he doing?!

Mario just stood there, offering Luigi a slightly weirded-out glance. "Uhh, yeah. They should be over soon. But listen! I have to tell you-"

"We can talk once I get back, but I gotta get this to someone before it gets too cold," Luigi called while grabbing his scarf and wrapping it around his neck. "I'll be back in a few! I promise!"

He quickly shut the door and started running off, leaving Mario all alone.

"....Well that was odd..." Mario observed out loud, when the lights briefly flickered with a large gust of wind. It was going to be a cold winter day. "He better be back before the storm hits..."

Luigi ran through the woods, holding the firewood to himself so it didn't get wet. It was slightly windier and he could tell that the snow was starting to pick up. It was lightly snowing at the moment, but by the look of the clouds, he could tell it was about to get much colder and much more blizzard-like.