What a Wonderful World

Chapter 8

"DIMENTIO?!" Luigi shouted, bursting into the cabin. It was equally cold inside as it was out. Luigi could even see his breath in front of him. It looked like a puff of smoke. He himself was feeling his own temperature drop, so he couldn't even imagine what Dimentio was feeling. The man in green hugged himself, shivering as he frantically turned around himself.

"D-DIMENTIO?! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" He cried, desperately looking around the dark room. It was nighttime, so the natural lighting didn't brighten up the inside. It was just dark and cold.

And silent.

"Dimentio?" Luigi begged. "Dimentio, please say something! I-it's dark! I can't see you!"

There was a long pause of silence, each second making Luigi's heart drop more and more.

"Oh Grambi," He muttered under his breath, when he finally spotted the jester, lying hopelessly on the floor. "DIMENTIO!" Luigi shouted, immediately dropping his bag on the floor, running over and kneeling down.

The jester didn't respond.

He wasn't shivering. His teeth weren't chattering.

This was worrying.

"Oh, Grambi, please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." Luigi cried, scooping his arms below Dimentio's back and under his knees so he could pick him up. His skin was ice cold.

"H-here! I've brought more firewood! I'll make a fire and get you warmed up in no time!" Luigi assured, bringing Dimentio close to the fireplace and setting him down in front of it. Then, he scrambled backward and picked up his bag with all his supplies. "I-I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I should have come sooner. Grambi, I'm such a screwup."

He organized all the firewood over the fireplace, trembling violently. The cold started making his hands go numb, making this even harder. Once the wood was organized he fumbled around, trying to remember where he placed the matches. He let out a nervous laugh as soon as he found them and quickly lit one, holding it to the wood and lighting the fire.

Luigi let out a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly once he felt the heat of the fire, but instead of leaving he scooted forward and gently picked Dimentio up, just sitting there and holding him.

"Come on, please wake up..." Luigi whispered, looking down at him. "I mean, think about it. Freezing to death sounds like a really dumb way for someone like you to die."

Luigi tried laughing to himself, but it wasn't a true laugh. It was incredibly forced and almost sounded like a sob instead. So, that's what it turned into. "Please," Luigi sobbed, squeezing his eyes shut and looking down. "Wake up. I'll never be able to forgive myself if you don't wake up."

Luigi opened his eyes and looked down at him, hoping for something. Anything. Just some kind of response.

"...Okay," Luigi breathed, voice sounding almost heartbroken. "You don't have to wake up right now. I'll wait..."

And he did. For about three hours. He had no idea what time it was, but Luigi was guessing somewhere around midnight, but he waited for Dimentio to wake up, each minute losing a little bit of home.

But, before he was about to give up and go home, he felt Dimentio adjust slightly, filling the man in green with hope all of a sudden. The jester began to shiver and his eyes slowly fluttered open as he looked up at Luigi, blinking in confusion.

"Y-y-you c-came back?" Dimentio whispered, voice soft, but there. Luigi wanted to cry.

"OH, THANK GRAMBI!" Luigi exclaimed, torn between laughing and crying. "I-I thought you were a goner."