A malnourished ninji jumps up and down continuously in front of the large door leading to my father's chamber. I look into his eyes and see nothing. No fatigue. No anger. No joy. Nothing. His small feet hit the ground softly, and without a sound, his knees propel him back skyward.
I can no longer stand it here. The endless armies of koopas patrolling the outside perimeter, wandering the hallways, looking for something to do. The suffering of my fellow siblings, seven of us locked in large damp gray rooms, each of us slowly being consumed by madness or our own devices, while the newest addition to our ranks is put on a pedestal, worshiped like the second coming by our deadbeat father, while we seven are forgotten. Most of all, though, I can no longer stand being associated with my father, the eternal failure. Endless attempts to capture a princess for no real reason besides the fact that she's of a different, more highly-looked-upon species, only to be defeated by a fat man in a mustache and his cowardly brother. Tired of seeing him defeated by that fat man at anything you care to name. Kart racing, tennis, baseball, eating, bomb dropping, fire-throwing. I cannot take life here any longer.
Today, I will leave this place. But before I do, I have to have one last word with my father.
Roy stands next to me in front of the large red metal door leading to my father's chamber. He is sweating. When is he not sweating? The boy has a self-image problem. He is constantly working out, always trying to compensate for his unfortunately-colored shell and head. He wears sunglasses where ever he goes, to hide his scared, shifting eyes. He's a nice boy, he really is. I just wish he'd get over himself. He adjusts his sunglasses nervously, then glances over to me.
"This is it, eh Luddy?" He says to me. I can smell what he had for breakfast. It annoys me.
"Yes. Father will not be pleased with our decision. Are you sure you are willing to go through? I will not hold it against you if you pull back," I answer him. I'm not sure were I picked up the European accent from. Comes with the name, I suppose.
"N-no way, man! I'm totally ready! Just go in there... go in an' tell 'im what's what! Then, we're out!" Roy says. I can hear he is very nervous.
I am nervous, as well. I have never thought of living outside this castle. Sure, I have spent my time in fortresses in different lands, but they were all modeled after my home. All of them, built of dark gray stone, all dark and damp, torches used sparingly to light the way for the fat man's inevitable break-in. I close my eyes tight, and try to remember why I am here.
I think of my current living conditions. A large room with an old cot, a feeding trough and a broken chemistry set from Koopa knows when. I think of the birthdays my father's missed, the successes I've accomplished while my father rooted for my failure. I think of Larry begging father for permission to attend community college, so he could make something of himself and not become a monster and failure. I remember my father's anger, throwing fireballs at Larry until he ran screaming from his chambers. I remember the wails of sorrow coming from his room for nights after.
I remember Wendy being kicked out of the castle by father for being insubordinate. The night before she left for Del Fino, she told me she'd send letters to me every other day. She was gone for a year and a half. I received exactly two letters. The first, a few days after she had left, was a rather cheery affair, describing her excitement and mild fear about a new life on the island, how she had gotten a job selling churros, and the odd-looking inhabitants of the island, and how they looked upon her with disdain. The second came about a year after the first. It was scrawled on dirty paper with what appeared to be lipstick. She begged me to tell father to let her back into the castle. The creatures on Del Fino hated her. She lost her job in weeks, and with no talents besides being a trained child terrorist, took to living on the streets, first panhandling for coins, then taking up petty robbery. Naturally, I asked father for permission for Wendy's return. He looked me in the eyes, and told me he would in a few months, after she suffered a little more. When she finally returned, she was a husk of the vibrant young girl I grew up with. She spends her days locked up in her room, living in a catatonic state of fear.
I remember Morton's coin troubles, and my father's refusal to intervene. To this day, he's in such massive debt, it seems like all he does is work in those caves. I remember the day Iggy finally succumbed to his psychosis, and my father's lack of emotion to his son's illness. I still visit him every day; he lays in bed all day, either convulsing violently or ranting about things that make no sense.
I remember the day Bowser Junior entered our lives.
I cannot STAND it here!
I clench my fists together. My maw scrunches up in anger. My fury is at it's peak. I will go tell my father what I think of him, then I will leave this hole on my own terms. I turn and glare at Roy. He jumps slightly at my visage.
He hesitates. "Dude... you ready or what?"
"Roy. Are you serious about this? Because when I leave, I will never return. I'm going to burn this bridge today, and NEVER look back. Can you make that choice?"
Roy stares in my angered eyes. He is terrified, I can see it. He takes a step back. He tries to say something, but nothing comes out. He again adjusts his sunglasses. For a moment, he is as still as a statue. Finally, he extends his hand to me. I take it. We shake firmly. Roy thrusts himself forward, and hugs me. I do not respond in kind. He turns his back on me, and walks down the gray corridor with his eyes cast downward.
I refocus my attention to my father's chamber. I summon my anger once again, and throw open the metal doors. They fly open, and hit the walls with a loud thud.
My father is sitting on that ridiculous metal throne of his. Bowser Jr. is jumping around, playing some silly game with which I care little about. Upon hearing the doors' thud, he quickly looks up from his favorite son and notices me for the first time in years.
"Ludwig?!", my father bellows. "What are you doing here?! Didn't I just buy you a new chemistry set to mess with?!"
"Chemistry sucks!" Bowser Jr. adds.
"Shut up, you stupid little runt! I'll rip your eyes from their sockets and cut open your belly until your entrails fall to ground!" I scream at the child. Obviously not used to such verbal abuse, Bowser Jr. retreats behind father's throne. Father stares at me with his jaw hanging. He takes a moment to gather his thought.
"How dare you speak to my son like that, Ludwig! If I wasn't such a nice guy, I'd-"
"I AM YOUR SON! You have six more sons and a daughter you care nothing about, and I am sick of it!" I yell. I begin matching toward my father. I feel my knees quake in fear and excitement. "I want you to know something, Bowser."
"What did you call me, boy?" father tells me. "You will adress me as "Father"."
"You are NOT my father! You are a horrible monster! I want you to know something! I am leaving this terrible place! And I am never coming back!" It gets hard to breathe. I am speaking so loud and so fast, it's hard to catch my breath. I must go on, however. "Before I go, I want you to know EXACTLY what I think of you, Bowser! You are nothing but a sick bastard and a horrible father! All I ever did was try to live up to your standards! I led the entire Koopa air force! I lived in that Godforsaken Dinosaur Land for MONTHS so you could fight that fat man you hate so much! All I wanted was your approval! And what do you do?! YOU ABANDON ME! You abandon all of us for that bastard you call 'Junior'!"
"Don't make fun o' my dad, jerk!" Bowser Jr. yells, poking his head behind father's throne.
"Stay out of this, you little shit!" I bark at him. He goes into hiding once again. Father tries to get a word in, but he appears speechless. I try to help him by adding some dialouge of my own. "I'm not living like this anymore! I know I can make it on my own, and not become a miserable, broken-down failure like you! I hate you! I will always hate you!" I say with all the anger I can muster.
I look into father's eyes as I glare with my fists clenched. I am prepared for the volley of fireballs or hammers he will surely throw my way. His eyes are filled with tears. His mouth quivers. His hands, clenched in fists as tight as mine, finally lay open, motionless on the arms of his thrown. He grunts. Then he turns his head away from me. I see Bowser Jr. poke his head from behind the throne once again. I bare my teeth and snarl, and he yelps and hides.
I turn my back on Bowser, the king of the Koopas, and the father who had abandoned me and six of his children. I walk silently to my room to get my things, already packed and ready to leave this place. My legs carry my swiftly. My head feels light. I feel like a great burden has been lifted. My time in this prison under my abusive father is over. Now, a future brighter than that of the sun of Desert Land shows itself to me. I smile for the first time in years.
Wish me luck, siblings. And... good luck to you as well.
