Unwritten: Diary of a Lean Green Plumber

Best of Both Worlds

12 January 1986

Mushroom Kingdom

Dear Diary,

Our arrival here has really done wonders. Agnes told me that before we showed up, all of the Toads spent their days and nights in fear. Now, they don't have to be afraid, because now they have someone to protect them. I chose not to tell her that I also fought to protect them, too. She was so enraptured in her speech that she wouldn't have noticed, anyway.

The Mushroom Kingdom's economy is once again thriving, now that Koopa's curse has been broken. The Princess is establishing political and trade relations with neighboring kingdoms; day by day, she's re-learning how to play the political game after spending so long at the mercy of someone she despised. I also couldn't help but notice her growing closeness to Mario. She likes to invite him to her castle for tea and cakes, and they go for walks. Don't get me wrong, they're totally cute together, but I hope she didn't forget that I had a hand in her rescue. She was there during the final fight, after all. Maybe she should tell that to her subjects.

When we're not visiting the MK, we're back home in Brooklyn, trying to get a plumbing business of our own started up. Sal's severance pay will cover the startup costs, but we're looking for the right building to set up shop. We want this business to handle everyone's plumbing needs, so it probably won't survive if it's in the wrong part of town. I'm just happy that I'm not covered in grime anymore. I'll take fixing a sink, a faucet or a toilet any day of the week.

Luigi

28 January 1986

MK

Dear Diary,

Please excuse my rattled nerves. I've had a pretty rough day today. This morning, I watched seven people die a fiery death on national television. What was supposed to be another wondrous journey into space turned into tragedy.

After a delay, the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida. The delay was weather-related, and the program was considering cancelling the flight because of a dangerous build-up of ice. The shuttle had ran into a minor problem last year, and they had to partially abort the mission. I think they should've cancelled this flight altogether.

On this mission, an elementary school teacher would've been up there with the other astronauts, actually giving a lecture from the shuttle. That meant that young schoolchildren had also seen the launch and inadvertently bore witness to things going horribly, horribly wrong.

The Challenger gracefully propelled herself up from the launchpad and rolled to the correct orientation. Things were going well, and she was soaring into the sky, toward the final frontier. For 73 seconds, everything was perfect.

"Challenger, go at throttle-up," said Mission Control.

"Roger, go at throttle-up," acknowledged the commander.

Microseconds later, time seemed to suspend itself as the shuttle blew apart before my very eyes, vanishing into a red-orange fireball. The solid rocket boosters remained intact, careening every which way through the Florida sky. I knew enough about launch sequences to understand that something was happening.