Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

Flashback #3

A year had passed since Timpani had last seen Blumiere. She and Merlon had been counting the days. She used to see the boy from the Tribe of Darkness on the 19th of each month, but now with each 19th day that passed she felt a small pang of sorrow and emptiness.

Merlon had aged what looked to be about twenty years in that year alone. He was much quieter than normal and spent a lot more time reading through the Light Prognosticus. He hardly spoke of his dream of uniting the two tribes anymore. It was heartbreaking, seeing him let go of something that once filled him with so much hope. It was like his entire life's purpose had vanished.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but blame him. It wasn't his fault, of course, he was just trying to do what he thought would be best for both tribes, but if he hadn't offered to take the Dark Prognosticus, maybe she could still see Blumiere. She never missed anyone this much before. It was strange, she saw him practically everywhere she went now, even though she hadn't seen him in a year. She saw him in the flowers that decorated her village and in the sky whenever there was a particularly clear night.

She saw him in that meadow where they used to meet. On the 19th of each month, she usually found herself still going there, hoping that he'd come back. He never did, though, and after two months Merlon stopped coming with her. He gave up on that hope.

She was an adult now. Maybe it was time for her to wake up and give up on waiting too.

That night, she stayed inside instead of going out to the meadow. After all, it had been one year. It was time to accept that Blumiere was gone from her life, and he wasn't coming back. As much as she tried to deny it earlier, this was the indisputable truth. She had to let go of him and accept that the part of her life with him in it was over.

Her chest felt tight and her nose felt itchy. She felt this way a lot whenever the heavy weight of reality settled in on her. She tried not to let it get to her, but the thought of never seeing him again, never hearing his voice, it was all almost too much to bear. She couldn't keep waiting on something that would never happen, though. 

She wondered what was going on in his mind. Did he ever think about her? He seemed like the kind of person who would, but at the same time, maybe she wasn't special. Maybe he was that way with everyone. She used to feel like they had this special connection, but that might have just been because she didn't have any friends in her village. Blumiere was special to her, but maybe she was just another person to hang out with to him. 

She didn't like thinking that way... but if she was special, he would have come back, right?

She tried to go to bed early, but sleep wouldn't take her. The swelling of sorrow kept her awake, even though she was dreadfully tired from spending the day in such sadness. Though her eyes were closed, she could sense the sun setting from the way the brightness in the world seemed to fade. 

Usually, she kept one light on at night because there was something about the dark that always frightened her. 

Blumiere was from the dark, though...

So, she kept the light off. Besides, keeping a night light was childish. It was about time she got past that. There was nothing to be scared of, the Tribe of Ancients was a strong group, and her village was one of the safest places in the world. It was weird to think about, but Merlon and the other ancients were amongst some of the strongest, most powerful beings in all of existence.

There was a light tapping on her window, but this wasn't unusual. Tree branches did this whenever the night air grew windy. It used to scare her when she was younger, but she was grown now.

The tapping briefly stopped and she allowed her body to relax slightly.

Then, it repeated again.

Oddly enough, the taps were even. Usually, the taps of tree branches were sporadic, but this felt very calculated. Three taps, a brief pause, then three more.