One Complete Heart

Chapter 15

Dimentio decided to take the next day to himself. He told himself that he was just enjoying the scenery and going on his own little adventure. After all, there was nothing more relaxing than a walk alone in the snow with the sun rays streaming through the clouds and snowflakes slowly fluttering to the ground all around. 

What he was really doing was looking for reflective surfaces. Someplace where he could see his reflection. Windows didn't work and there were no mirrors around, so his next idea was ice. 

He tried not to admit to himself that he was doing this, as if he was afraid of being arrested for having these thoughts. 

He wondered if Mr. L noticed the lack of mirrors. The man in green seemed to be more prone to noticing things like that. Why did no one else talk about how there were no mirrors? Did anyone else even remember what mirrors were? Were mirrors ever real, or were they something Dimentio just made up in his mind, like Super Dimentio? 

He didn't think of Super Dimentio as often anymore, but he still saw it for a fraction of a second every time he closed his eyes. He didn't like to think of why he was getting that vision over and over, but it was hard not to when he was alone like this. Perhaps it was just a nightmare, maybe even a manifestation of all the unknowns in the world coming to get him. 

Or maybe it was a memory. 

He didn't have many of those anymore. 

He didn't miss them, though. At first, he felt incomplete, but he didn't anymore. He had everything he needed right in town with him. He didn't need any of those memories or answers to be happy. 

All he needed was his life. 

He didn't want to die. 

He was careful while crossing the river. The last time he crossed, Mr. L was there to catch him, but there was no one to jump in and save him this round. He wasn't as nervous, though. He got across in about half the time it took last time. There was something strange about the way the exact same things were no longer scary the second time around. It was as if the river was a monster he had already conquered. 

He couldn't find his reflection in the water. Once he safely crossed, he looked back just to check. All he could see was the deep blue color and the frantic ripples as the stream dashed away, carrying more water than he could even begin to fathom. There was so much water covering the world surrounding him. He wondered how high it would stack if he took all of it and crammed it into one square foot of space. All the snow, all the river water, all the clouds above, how high would they reach? Would it break away from the earth and reach the stars? 

Was it selfish for a place like this to hold so much water while others didn't even have enough to get by? 

Did other places experience drought? Now that he thought about it, he had no idea where these places would even be. He couldn't remember. He didn't even know if they actually existed, or if they were yet another idea his mind created. 

A place without water, that seemed ridiculous.

He couldn't find his reflection in the ice at the waterfall either. All he could see were colors. The blues were more faded than last time, likely because the sky was darker. The clouds covered more, preventing sunlight from bringing the scene to life. It looked like a painting instead of a real place.

"Dimentio, do you know who Luigi is?"

Dimentio flinched, then looked to his side, where Mr. L was waiting. 

"Sorry. I bet you didn't expect me to be here," the man in green explained with a tired quality to his voice. 

"Were you following me?"