The next morning, the entire group went out for tea. The wind had blown out the heating in the cabins, so they all went to town and visited the small tea shop Dimentio had briefly passed by. It was even more charming on the inside than it was on the outside. There were more flavors than Dimentio knew existed. The shop had different kinds of sugars as well. It was almost overwhelming. 

Count Bleck told everyone he'd treat them to one cup of tea, but to make their choices fast, so Dimentio ended up going with basic chamomile tea with regular sugar. He wasn't feeling bold enough to try something new. 

"Where's Mr. L?" Dimentio asked once everyone was settled down at one of the tables. The room was quite homey. Instead of fancy seats, there were cushioned couches and chairs. The table had a flower vase with a set of white lilies inside. Dimentio couldn't tell if they were fake or not. 

"Helping with town," Count Bleck answered. "The heating went out everywhere, so he's working on fixing it."

Dimentio nodded. It seemed like the kind of thing he'd do. The jester hadn't even thought of the heating going out in town as well. The tea shop felt fairly warm. 

"You should probably find him, lad," O'Chunks hummed, sipping from his teacup. It was quite a humorous sight in Dimenito's eyes. Never would he have ever expected to see O'Chunks holding a tiny little teacup with floral patterns on it. "'E was a wee bit upset ye didn't visit 'im last night."

"I'm sorry," Dimentio quickly said, not wanting to come off rude. He didn't want to leave Mr. L hanging. "I just... felt like I shouldn't. It's hard to explain-"

"We aren't the ones you should apologize to," Nastasia explained, adjusting her glasses slightly. Her tea smelled strongly of cinnamon. 

"I know," Dimentio nodded. "I'll find him soon."

Everyone moved on from that aspect of the conversation and began talking about meaningless things. Mimi's tea was flavored with tropical fruits. She claimed it made her think of warm sunny days on the beach, to which Dimentio replied that she just liked the beach for the lifeguards. She didn't disagree. 

O'Chunks' tea was pine-flavored. It made Dimentio think about the tree lot. He wondered who was running it with Mr. L working elsewhere. Probably someone who actually got paid to work.

Count Bleck drank rose tea with rose sugar. He said the flowers made him think of Tippi. Dimentio wasn't sure how rose flavoring would taste, but it certainly smelled nice. He wondered how Tippi was doing. It must have been strange, being confined to that dome. She acted like she didn't mind, but if he was in her place he'd certainly feel uncomfortable. He never liked the idea of being stuck in one place for too long. Sooner or later, that place would start to feel small. Like a prison. Even if it looked as beautiful as that indoor garden. 

After tea, Dimentio set off to find the man in green. As he passed the tree lot, he briefly considered stopping inside just to see who was working there but decided against it. After all, did it really matter? Sometimes it was best to just let curiosity be curiosity. 

"Dimentio!" Mr. L called out from above him, making Dimentio look up. Surely enough, there the man in green was, up on the roof yet again, waving cheerfully. He was standing next to the chimney with a toolkit in one of his hands. There was a latter on the side of the building which he must have used to get up there, but the ash covering his face made it almost look like he crawled up the chimney. 

"What are you doing up there?!" the jester exclaimed. "Isn't being on the roof how you got hurt yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" Mr. L asked.

Dimentio blinked a few times, noticing that the cast that had been around Mr. L's arm had completely vanished. 

"What...?" he muttered to himself as Mr. L scrambled to the ladder and quickly climbed down. 

"You didn't visit my cabin last night like you said you would," Mr. L said. "I made cookies and everything."

"You cabin?" Dimentio questioned. "Weren't you in the hospital?"

Mr. L seemed to still for a second, though it was brief. 

In a flash, his smile was back and he was shaking his head. 

"I was at home," he said. "It's funny you mention that, though. I had a crazy dream where I broke my hand. In the dream, I fell down the stairs or something. It felt pretty real, too. But when I woke up back in the cabin, Mimi told me I had been there all night."

"A dream..." Dimentio echoed, trailing off slightly. 

That was different than what he remembered. He was certain that Mr. L jumped off the roof yesterday.

He very clearly remembered Mr. L being hurt. But there was no cast on his leg. No signs of a concussion, either. 

"Yeah. Anyway, this is my last house. I just finished," the man in green chimed. "Did you need anything?"

"No, I just came to make up for not being there last night like I promised," Dimentio admitted. "I just... I didn't go because I felt you wouldn't be at the hospital."

"Well, I'd say your instincts are pretty good," Mr. L chuckled. "Because I was never at the hospital."

"Right..."

Dimentio shook his head as Mr. L waved him forward and asked him to walk with him. He quickly followed as the man in green slowly walked through town, swinging his arms casually as if nothing had ever been wrong. A large Christmas tree was being set up in the center of town, though it wasn't decorated yet. Christmas was about a week or so away, so he felt like the town should have been a little further along with the decorations. Not that he minded them taking their time. Sometimes, it felt like some places rushed into the Christmas season too quickly. Although, that wasn't exactly bad either. There was nothing wrong with being excited. 

He wondered why he never felt that same kind of excitement for Christmas. 

"L?"

"Yes?"

"What's Christmas like?" Dimentio questioned. "I mean, you have a brother. Do you remember what it feels like in the mornings, waking up as a little kid to see all the Christmas presents under the tree? Did you ever get that?"

"I did," Mr. L nodded, though his voice was slightly smaller than before. "But... I don't know. I mean, I know I had that, but I can't quite picture it in my mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Mr. L breathed. He quietly chuckled to himself. "It seems that this whole memory thing has been happening a lot to the two of us, huh?"

"Two of us?" Dimentio asked.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you don't get it too," the man in green teased. "I can tell. You don't hide it well. Sometimes, I almost think that the world is playing a prank on us, and everyone else is in on the joke."

"You're crazy," Dimentio chuckled.

"Don't pretend you're not just as crazy."

"Maybe I am. But I'm less open about my craziness," Dimentio pointed out. 

"In a way, that makes you worse."

Dimentio quietly laughed in disagreement. If someone was crazy, but never showed it, then were they really crazy? If their craziness doesn't shine through, then will it even count? Maybe everyone was secretly crazy.

The two continued to walk through town. Occasionally, someone would wave at the man in green. It was surprising how many strangers Mr. L knew. Dimentio had been in town just as long as him, yet still felt like an outsider. When walking alongside Mr. L, it almost felt like he was walking alongside a local. Dimentio supposed that's what happens when someone spends all their free time volunteering. 

He wondered if Mr. L was always like this. 

Oddly enough, he couldn't even remember what Mr. L was like before winter vacation. 

He couldn't remember what anyone was like before winter vacation. 

He couldn't remember anything before winter vacation. 

Well, that wasn't quite true. He had memories, but they were all broken. It was like he had fragments of what his life used to be. 

Did those fragments matter, though? 

He was happy now. Wasn't that all that really mattered? 

Or did the past matter too? It must have mattered at some point. 

He wanted to convince himself that he didn't need those memories, but deep inside him he felt wrong for being okay with forgetting. 

It was wrong to keep searching, though. The Light Prognosticus itself had said. 

What if that was wrong? 

What if wrong and right weren't quite so easy to differentiate? 

"Do you know what Super Dimentio is?"

Dimentio frowned, then looked at the man in green.

Mr. L had stopped. His gaze was forward, at the fountain in front of them. The water inside it was frozen. Similar to the waterfall, although Dimentio doubted there was any moving water inside of it. 

"What?" Mr. L asked.

"Do you know what Super Dimentio is," Dimentio repeated, just then realizing that it was him and not Mr. L who had asked the question. 

Mr. L swallowed. The suddenly tense and ridged appearance made Dimentio believe that he must have, but the man in green shook his head no. 

"Is it... like a superhero persona or something?" he asked. The question seemed like something he'd ask in a light, teasing way, but his entire being had turned cold and uneasy.

"No," Dimentio breathed. "It's... like a machine. It's just this strange memory have. But I can't quite remember much. I just remember... it had my name, but your face."

"And you called me crazy?"

"I'm serious," Dimentio exclaimed. "I think it's dangerous. Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I see it and I get this strange, uncomfortable feeling. I've been trying not to think about it, but... It's there. It's always there. I just didn't realize it before. It won't leave me. I think it's going to kill me."

Dimentio's hands began to shake. He felt chills run up and down his spine, like an icy river. He could practically feel cold needles pricking the back of his neck. 

"I don't want to die," Dimentio breathed. "I just want it to disappear. Forever."

Mr. L remained frozen, though he wasn't looking at the fountain anymore. He looked at Dimentio in a way he never had before. Dimentio didn't like it. It made him feel only more afraid. 

"I know," the man in green eventually said. "If something happens, I'll save you."

"Oh, like I need a hero," Dimentio sarcastically snapped, unsure what had changed inside him. He suddenly felt less like himself, yet more like himself at the same time. 

"What do you want from me?!" Mr. L asked. "You're talking about something completely made up in your mind! If it becomes real, I'll help you. Not as a hero, but as someone who cares about you."

"You're not a hero."

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do," Dimentio cried. "I think you think you're someone you're not."

"I think YOU think I'm someone I'm not."

"I don't know what I even think anymore!" Dimentio yelled. 

He felt afraid. That was what caused him to snap. He knew fear could make anyone lose it. He just felt ticked off that fear decided to swallow him whole in front of Mr. L, of all people. He never liked appearing vulnerable. Or had he? He couldn't even tell. 

He wanted to cover his face. Was his face already covered? What was he even wearing? He couldn't see himself, and there weren't any mirrors around. He could hardly remember going to sleep the night before. He could hardly remember waking up that morning. 

"I'm sorry," Mr. L muttered, looking down. "This is my-"

"Don't you dare say this is your fault," Dimentio said, taking a few deep breaths and lowering his tone slightly. "I just... I miss him. I miss him so much."

"Who?"

"I don't even know," Dimentio answered. 

He couldn't remember a single person besides the people who were in town with him. He couldn't remember his parents - couldn't remember himself. He didn't even know what this Mario person looked like. All he knew was the name. 

"I'm sorry," the jester repeated, slowly catching his breath and finding that calm feeling within him yet again. "It doesn't matter... none of that matters."

He brought his attention back from his own spiraling thoughts, away from that darkness and toward the present. 

"I just need to focus on right now," he muttered. "Focus on the happy."

Mr. L remained stiff, seeming smaller than he ever had before. But he nodded.

"Focus on the happy," the man in green whispered back.