January 1st,
The moon is bright. It's round and full on this night of celebration, reflecting the sunlight into our darkness. When I look around, I see people smile. I am surrounded by flowers blooming and gentle songs playing. I am surrounded by others who are celebrating another year of joy. Another year of happiness. I, on the other hand, do not know what I wish to celebrate. Perhaps another year of simply being alive. I'm unsure. Is something as simple as that even worthy of being celebrated?

January 1st,
Tonight, I met a girl with the most beautiful eyes. They were round and practically glowed, like the moon. However, they were also deep, dark, and mysterious, like the night sky. She was too beautiful for words to even begin to describe. Her hair was the color of blue and purple flowers in bloom, her hands were soft and gentle, and her smile was radiant and cheerful. I know that I just met Danielle today, but I already know that I would do anything she ever asked of me.

Blumiere read over the two entries at least twenty times, trying to decipher what they meant. Trying to find any information that could possibly be helpful. There still wasn't a year dated, so he couldn't tell when these were actually written. However, the ink was quite faded so it had to have been quite some time ago. 

The words were just slightly blurry to him, so he adjusted his monocle, squinting.

"Must you still wear that?" Dimentio questioned.

"Yes," Blumiere blankly replied. "My vision is terrible. If I didn't wear it, it wouldn't be able to read at all."

"Then wear glasses like a normal person," Dimentio huffed. 

Blumiere rolled his eyes. He actually did have glasses at one point in his life, back when he was just a child. However, his father quickly got rid of them for reasons he never bothered to share with Blumiere.

"Well, never mind that. We finally got a name!" Dimentio chimed excitedly. "I don't know what it means... but maybe if we find this Danielle person, we can figure out who wrote this, then they can tell us what to do!"

"That may be rather difficult..." Blumiere trailed off. "Considering the fact that we only have one first name to go off of-"

"HEY, MR. L! DO YOU KNOW ANYONE BY THE NAME OF DANIELLE?" Dimentio blurted out, bringing his hands to the side of his mouth as if trying to amplify his voice.

There was no reply. Dimentio briefly clenched his fists, noting that Luigi seemed to have fallen back into his habit of ignoring him. It was as if all the progress he was making was completely erased.

"You say that Luigi just took the book, then these pages revealed themselves?" Blumiere questioned.

Dimentio nodded, bringing his attention back down to the book. "Just these ones, though."

Blumiere frowned slightly. It seemed odd. He wondered what exactly Luigi did to trigger the new pages to reveal themselves. He would have to remember to ask the man in green about it later. 

Blumiere let out a sigh, then looked out the window. It was springtime, he noted. It had been quite a long time since he had seen the spring flowers bloom. 

"Do you suppose they'll let us outside?" Blumiere questioned.

"You? Maybe, because you're the class pet," Dimentio shrugged. "Me on the other hand..."

Blumiere rolled his eyes, then walked over to the living room, where both Luigi and Mario were quietly reading. It was a little weird to see them with their heads down in books. He wouldn't have suspected them to be readers. He didn't really think about what legendary heroes would do in their free time, but he assumed it would be stuff along the lines of celebrating and partying with friends. Heroes do tend to be popular, after all.

"Um, hi, sorry to interrupt," Blumiere awkwardly started. "I have two quick questions..."

"No, we do not know anyone by the name of Danielle," Mario tiredly breathed.

That did happen to be one of Blumiere's questions.

"Glad to know at least one of you heard me!" Dimentio beamed, teleporting right next to Blumiere and floating so he could cross his arms and rest them on Blumiere's tophat as if it was a school desk. The former count rolled his eyes, then shooed Dimentio away before clearing his throat to speak.

"Okay. Second question; do you know if we would be allowed to go outside?" Blumiere asked, ever so slightly quieter than before. 

"You technically can," Mario explained, still buried in his book. "According to Merlon, we'd just be required to keep an eye on you two so you don't, you know, summon an evil heart and try to murder us all. Why? Do you need something?"

"Blecky here wants to pick the flowers and make flower baskets and daisy crowns," Dimentio teased.

"I don't want to make flower baskets," Blumiere corrected. "I just..." 

Want to pick the flowers. 

He wanted to feel the soft petals on his fingertips. When he was young, he used to love the flowers in the tribe's village. It was one of the only times when he could feel completely at peace and at home during his youth. Whenever he was surrounded by flowers, he would feel at safe and at home.

Luigi nodded then closed his book, stretching his arms slightly as he stood up. Without saying another word, he waved for Blumiere to follow, then stepped out of the house.

Blumiere hesitated for a second, not sure whether to go or not because even though Luigi clearly gestured for him to follow, he didn't actually say anything. He knew that Luigi was somewhat introverted, but he never really took him for the quiet type. Luigi was always a little extra soft-spoken in Dimentio's presence now, but it was still something that Blumiere was trying to get used to. Especially since Mr. L had such a loud personality.

"Well? Let's go, Count!" Dimentio chimed, pushing Blumiere out after Luigi. 

Once they got outside, the air was actually quite warm. It smelled of pollen and blooming roses. Mario and Luigi's house was located in a nice place, just close enough to town for them to be part of the community, but far enough for them to have their own space. They weren't far from the forest either. Their home was surrounded by grass and blooming wildflowers of all kinds of colors. Luigi took a few steps, then sat down in the tall grass, pulling his book back out. 

Blumiere honestly thought that reading wasn't the smartest plan, considering the fact that Luigi was supposed to be watching him and Dimentio. However, everyone was probably well aware that if Blumiere and Dimentio wanted to leave, they could have very easily escaped by teleporting long ago.

Blumiere let out a shaky breath, then sat down in the flowers. He could see every color from the rainbow surrounding him. The world seemed alive. There were bees softly buzzing and butterflies fluttering around him.

He smiled to himself, then held his index finger out, allowing a small yellow butterfly to land on his fingertip. He smiled at it, feeling a sense of longing.

He missed Timpani so much...

"Why the long face, count?" Dimentio asked, plopping down next to him and lying back on the grass, folding his hands behind his head as he stared at the sky. "Ah ha ha, that cloud looks like a cowboy hat."

As Dimentio laughed, the butterfly fluttered away. Blumiere silently watched as it found a purple flower to sit on. Its wings looked soft and gentle. So beautiful, yet so fragile.

"We... she's always loved butterflies," Blumiere muttered. "That was our thing when we first met. I loved flowers, and she loved butterflies."

"Oh, no, no, no, we're not doing this," Dimentio huffed. "We're not doing the thing where you get all mopey and start ranting to me about how depressed you are because you can't see your girlfriend anymore."

"Technically, she's my wife," Blumiere corrected.

"That makes the emotional ranting worse," Dimentio shrugged. "Now instead of being an angsty pick-me boyfriend, you've become a complaining husband. This is why liking girls is overrated. Be gay, do crime, that's what I always say."

Blumiere couldn't help but snort and quietly laugh, bowing and shaking his head. "Since when have you ever said that?"

"Well, technically Mr. L said it. I still remember the day well. The rest of us couldn't stop laughing. Well, besides Nastasia. She was always a stick in the mud," Dimentio admitted. "HEY, L, DO YOU REMEMBER THAT?!"

Luigi ignored him and continued to silently read. Still, Blumiere couldn't help but smile at the thought of Mimi, O'Chunks, and Dimentio all laughing with Mr. L. He didn't often think of how close everyone had been, even though Dimentio had his secrets.

"Do you miss that?" Blumiere asked. "Being around all of them, I mean?"

Dimentio frowned for a second, squinting at the sky.

"...I don't know," he eventually admitted.

Blumiere nodded. He figured he would get an answer like that.

"I think you do. You're just not ready to admit it. You're not ready to accept the fact that there was love there-"

"Love?!" Dimentio interrupted, sitting up and looking at Blumiere with a flabbergasted expression.

"Yes. Not romantic love, of course, but love," Blumiere clarified.

Dimentio slowly nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. Blumiere was honestly not sure why the word seemed to strike a nerve within the jester. He was acting as if he had just gotten caught doing something illegal for a moment there.

"I think you're mistaken," Dimentio shrugged, much more at ease than he was a few short seconds ago.

Blumiere shook his head, knowing he wasn't. Everyone loves, even if it's not romantic. There's always something. For Dimentio, he loved his friends, even if he ended up betraying them in the end. Blumiere was positive that there had to have been love somewhere in Dimentio, buried deep down.

"I'm not," Blumiere stated. "Believe me, I know what love looks like, and sure, the idea of love is different for everyone, but it's still there. For me, I found love with Timpani, and-"

"Wait, wait, wait, is this just an elaborate ruse so you can start ranting about your stupid girlfriend?!" Dimentio interrupted.

"Wife, and yes," Blumiere chuckled.

Dimentio rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else, essentially making a silent statement that he would listen, but he wasn't happy about it. Blumiere quietly laughed, then looked back over at the small yellow butterfly, which was still sitting on that gentle purple flower, making the plant bend just slightly under the butterfly's weight. The insect's wings slowly fluttered, not enough to lift it into the air, but enough so its weight wouldn't harm the delicate flower.

"I suppose I just... being around Timpani makes me want to be a better person. The idea of her makes me want to be a better person. I suppose that's what love is. It's when someone inspires you to be better simply by existing. She makes me believe that love can conquer all. It's almost like... I wasn't really alive until I met her," Blumiere explained.

Dimentio stilled for a second, simply staying silent. 

The jester honestly didn't think of love often. He tried not to think of it all, actually, because all he ever viewed love as in the past was a distraction. Something that could only get in the way and lead to pain. Everything ended, including love, so what was the point of caring anyway?

However, there was something about what Blumiere said that stuck with him. The idea that Blumiere didn't really feel alive until he met Timpani. The idea that life wasn't really being lived until he found love.

Dimentio briefly looked through his memories, searching for the moments when he truly felt alive and like himself.

Surely enough, they were all moments when he was surrounded by his team.

He frowned slightly, then shook his head, remembering that those moments were gone. They were nothing more than memories. Memories that he could never relive because he burned all those bridges. He threw away any love he had in his life.

He briefly looked at Blumiere, who was still watching the small butterfly with a longing expression. For just a split second, Dimentio found himself longing as well. Longing that someone someday would care about him the way Blumiere cared about Timpani. A part of him wished with all his heart that he could have that. He wished that there was someone out there who he made better. Someone who he could make more memories with, someone he could feel alive with.

He paused, then sat up and looked over at Luigi.

Then, the longing feeling vanished.

He knew he could never get that feeling. He knew he could never find love. He ruined any chances he ever had for any type of love. He doomed himself to spend eternity alone. Everyone knew it.

It was unfair. Why should Blumiere still be able to feel that way? He had done just as many bad things as Dimentio, yet he still had love in his life. He had a reason to try to be good. He still had a small shot at happiness, a shot at feeling alive once again. He still had that chance to be happy.

It simply wasn't fair.