Sigh, Back At Home

This day should be ending right now. Yes, I wish I could be looking out my window at a fiery sunset or at the beautiful stars lighting up the sky, instead of seeing a blazing hot sun. It is not the heat that bothers me, but the sense of unreality. To have such a unique experience and simply return home and still have half a day to spend in boredom is certainly not what I want. I forgot how short my journey back home was; if I remembered, I probably would've stayed with Blumiere longer. What I wanted to forget was a sign I saw hung near the bell in the town center. I shivered slightly.

A knock on the door and my father peeping his head into my room broke the spell of my own thoughts. "Hello, dear. I thought I heard you come in. Why didn't you say hello to us? Your mother was beginning to worry."

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking a lot and didn't want to disturb you."

"It's alright. You should join us in the living room when you're ready to face the rest of the day and get out of bed. Miranda wants to know how your vacation was… You aren't sick, are you?

"No, no, no! I'm fine, just thinking."

"Alright, it does no good to lay around all day though, so please do join us in the near future."

"Ok, Daddy." I paused for a moment, and then added on. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiled at me and gently closed the door. I was shaking slightly, thinking about what I should say to my parents about my vacation. Should I tell them about Blumiere? What were their thoughts on "the Tribe of Darkness?" Would they disapprove of my newfound friend? Could I bring up the topic of "the Tribe of Darkness" without arousing their suspicion? Most importantly, if I did tell them, would they understand?

I considered my for a moment…

"Mom and Dad haven't ever been that angry with me. They have always been understanding when I told them about my problems and my life. I think they don't mind strangers much, like the time that young man from Yold Town came to our castle and Dad had to show him around. They didn't seem to mind him, a foreigner… Would they consider Blumiere a different kind of foreigner, though? A worse kind? I guess I'll just ask about the Tribe of Darkness and see what they think. If they don't mind, I will tell them, if not, I had a very boring vacation. I hope I'm doing the right thing…"

I sighed, walked out of my room, and quietly entered the living room. "Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad."

"Ah, sweetie! You should've dropped in earlier. Your father and I were discussing a nice dance you could attend and maybe talk more with that very nice boy… Oh, what was his name?"

"Cedric," I said quietly. He was nice, but rather dull. Cedric also smelled like a musty old library, which is where he spent most of his time. It made sense to me.

"Yes! Cedric! I think he's a very nice boy. You could do worse than him, Tippi."

"I know, Mom. Please, though, can we talk about something else?"

"Just consider it. What do you want to talk about then?"

I steeled myself quickly because I was very afraid of what I had seen. I wanted to appear unconcerned and not frightened out of my wits, "Well, on my way home I saw an edict that said, 'Whosoever has information on the whereabouts of or captures a 'member of the Tribe of Darkness' seen recently by the Royal Guard must come to the King with the tribesman or information and shall receive just compensation for their assistance.' What is the Tribe of Darkness?"

My parents thought for a moment. Mom said, "Well, I don't believe in whatever the officials say about them. I've never seen any of them, and I definitely haven't seen or even heard of a 'Tribesman of Darkness' hurting anybody all the time I've lived here."

My father continued on hesitantly, "Well, dear… I think you shouldn't worry about that edict. They seem to avoid us as much as we avoid them, and so I think this was just a false alarm. You're safe, Tippi.

But if you do see someone with very dark blue skin and feel unsafe, then you can tell the authorities because that is what Tribesmen supposedly look like. They are rumored to have the Dark Prognosticus, and it caused great havoc a long time ago; you've heard the stories, I'm sure. Because of that and some of their weird fabled abilities, most everybody in town believes they are evil. I have no proof for or against this though, and I think we should just let the past die. They apparently haven't touched that book of prophecy in hundreds of years, if there ever actually was one."

"Ok." I said still being very quiet and very unsure of how to proceed. Dad might not mind me telling him about my weekend… "Mom, what do you think of them?"

"I agree with your father on this one. They don't mean any harm, haven't ever hurt anybody that I've heard of in the past century. I don't think they're out to get us or anybody else." I thought for another moment. I guess I would have a story to prove their suspicions. I became friends with a Tribesman and wanted to see him again. What was wrong with me?

His kindness. His smile. His laugh. Becoming friends with Blumiere was not a mistake.

I spoke softly with my heart racing like a sprinter, "Well… I have an interesting story to tell you guys about my week in our cabin, and it involves a Tribesman."

"What do you mean?" my mother asked. My dad just looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, um, I met one during my stay there. He fell off the cliff right by our cottage, and I helped him recover. The Tribesman was nice and didn't try to hurt me, and I sort of want to see him again." I ended in a rush. My nerves were getting the better of me, and I was afraid I would not have the will to finish my story if I didn't tell it at that moment.

Still with a raised eyebrow, my father asked in a voice almost as quiet as my own, "You want to seehim again? I… I… I don't know what to think… He didn't hurt you and was nice." My father repeated my words even quieter and shook his head. "I guess I thought it was possible, but still, I never expected my own daughter to meet one and actually find this out. Miranda? What do you think of this whole situation?"

"I'm very nervous about it all. I may think it's wrong to hunt them down for what they are, but that does not make them safe to become attached to. They are considered criminals here, and I do not want my daughter to be associating with criminals, even nice ones. Spending time with this Tribesman would be just as bad as spending time with a murderer according to our law, and I will not condone that. Do not attempt to see him again. I'm sorry, but it's for the best," my mom told me sympathetically. Apparently she could see some of the emotion I was experiencing, even though I was trying my hardest to keep my face blank.

My father was also watching me with a very solemn face as he pronounced his judgment, "I agree with Miranda. She brings up very good reasons not to see him. It would be a very dangerous idea to try to meet with this Tribesman again. It is not because of what he is like: I trust you when you say that this Tribesman is kind, but it is because the law says they are criminals and will punish you for meeting him again."

"Alright, I won't go see him then." I broke eye contact with me father as I said that.

The fact that I was telling a lie made me want to cry even more, but I couldn't cry. My vision was already blurry from tears forming, and I held them back.

I thought, "Why is everyone so mean to one of the nicest people I have met? Why won't my parents let me see Blumiere again when they know nothing about him apart from what he is? They won't even attempt to see him to learn that he is kind! I am confident that Blumiere will not have the same trouble with the Royal Guard again, so we wouldn't have to worry about them to see him again."

I accepted the fact that my parents would not change their minds and felt very sad. Mom would be so happy if I met a normal human that had a personality anywhere close to Blumiere's, but instead she had to strongly disapprove because of that accursed law. I wiped my eyes and muttered something unintelligible.

"Hmm?" my parents spoke in unison.

"I'm going to my room to write some poetry. It looks very pretty outside, and I might be able to think of a good poem." I stood up, turned on my heel, and left my parents alone in the living room.

That statement was not a lie. I usually feel better after writing something. Usually, I write free verse poetry, and this would be no different. I hate the constrictions of all the other forms of poetry.

I got to my room and took out a blank sheet and looked out the window. My wish had finally come true. There was a flaming sunset outside, and I admired the view and quickly began to write.

"Sunset"

Finally, rays of red, orange, gold, blue, and purple alight
The sky is a rainbow as day turns to night
As light turns to dark

I am not happy though
Perhaps the darkness understands me
The fools who don't know anything
Are the ones who make the rules

They choose to worship light and despise the dark
They can see no beauty after the sun goes down
When the sun goes down, they do not see at all

Blumiere is dark they say
The fools hate him because of old wounds
The world cannot let the past die

They cannot see who he is
I see a spark of kindness
They see a monster!

It is dark
The stars are shining
Their light is cold though

It does not change that the men in charge
Still hate the innocent
And try to kill good people

The darkness cannot change who rules
It understands me, but it cannot help.
Why do you not help your brother, Darkness?

Blumiere is not understood either. Does anybody love him?
Is he alone like me? No friends that truly care.
I don't have a friend besides your brother, Darkness. Nobody is truly kind to me.

Darkness, you are not strong at all
Neither am I
We can't defeat this foe

My parents are under this cloud of hate
So is everyone else

But I just want a friend.
I want Blumiere to be a friend
Without the hatred of the world.

Why can't I have a friend?

I got close to tears as I wrote down my thoughts. When I thought of the last line, it struck me that I really didn't. The one friend I had really made, who was really kind to me, who didn't have any prejudice against me that I had seen, was the one I was forbidden to see again.

I looked at the stars one more time, and though someone somewhere must be saying they are dancing in the sky, I say they are just sitting there; they do not dance for me. Their beauty will not comfort me tonight.

I cried myself to sleep.

* Note: All characters and the basic plot line of this story belong to Nintendo and the creators of Super Paper Mario and any other group that owns the right to this story. I have only filled in the space between the first two flashbacks of Tippi as best as I could.

Any comments and/or criticism is welcome. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the love story/tragedy of Blumiere and Timpani. Sorry for such a long time between chapters. It's summer now, so hopefully I'll produce chapters in less than 3 months or however long this one took.