Dare To Be DIFFERENT

Chapter 1: Luigi

When Luigi opens the door to the room, he is greeted only by darkness.

Fearing what might be lurking in the shadows, he hurries to turn on the Poltergust 3000’s flashlight and illuminates the room. It is the same one where he first entered just an hour ago and where he ran into Professor E. Gadd, who tried to capture the orange ghost that sprung on him. Luigi swallows with a shudder and sweeps the beam of light around the room. He knows that, at any moment, that same ghost may reappear, and that this time, he will have to catch it.

Will he be able to do so?

At least, he thinks, the lobby and entrance stairs are clear and well-lit. At least, as soon as he leaves that room, he will no longer be immersed in the deepest blackness. He grips the end of the Poltergust 3000 tightly and repeats to himself that he can do it, that he has learned how to use the machine, that he has practiced with the professor before returning to the mansion, that he will be able to capture the ghosts.

He has to.

For Mario.

His brother went to the house before he did to make sure that there was no danger, that the contest was not a scam, that Luigi had really won that building that looked so bright and colorful on the flyer. His brother, always so committed to protecting him, always looking out for his welfare, has chosen to go ahead and risk entering the place alone.

And now, because of Luigi’s stupidity, Mario is being held in some place of that gloomy mansion.

Luigi is going to rescue him whatever it takes. He will do anything for him.

He reprimands himself once again for having been so gullible. When he received the brochure, it did not even occur to him that it might be a fraud. He only saw that sudden reward as a chance to help the impoverished, for the house could certainly serve as a place of refuge for the ones in need. Luigi and Mario would make sure to check it from top to bottom and tidy it up so that everyone would be welcome, so that no Toad in the Mushroom Kingdom would be helpless. He even thought of setting aside a wing for tourism, so that creatures from all corners of the world would have a place to stay while enjoying the enchanting landscapes that the Mushroom Kingdom had to offer.

Luigi purses his lips while taking quick glances at his surroundings. If he had not been so naïve, he might not be there now. He would be at home, getting ready for bed, as he has always liked to go to sleep early, even if he does not manage to do so every night. His brother would have not gone missing, but would most likely be in the living room, watching one of those horror movies he loves so much, before going to bed some time later.

A sigh escapes from Luigi’s mouth. He would give anything to be living such a daily scene instead of the one he is experiencing, composed of darkness and terror.

Luigi takes a deep breath. He can no longer turn back. His only option is to go forward, explore the mansion and find Mario as soon as possible, so, on shaky legs, he begins to walk around the room. He finds a rectangular table covered with a tablecloth that, when vacuumed, presents him with a few coins. To the left he comes across another table, this one round and small, with a bottle and two glasses on it and a chair right next to it, and behind it he glimpses a cupboard that does not seem to contain anything interesting.

Suddenly, at his back, the sound of a candle being lit.

Luigi gasps and turns immediately, his heart racing. To his bewilderment and horror, he glimpses a bright purple flash coming from more than one candle, although he cannot see how many from his position. He swallows and walks slowly to the center of the room, the end of the Poltergust clenched in his fingers.

As he approaches, he begins to distinguish some candles from others. As if the color of their flames, far from the orange tone of conventional fire, were not creepy enough, Luigi notices that there are six candles, held by two candlesticks hanging on the wall.

And in the middle of both, more blackness.

With his body cringing, Luigi looks from one to the other and several questions begin to assault his mind. Why are those candles purple? What are they supposed to illuminate despite the paltry light they emit? Should he let them burn, ignore them and continue to search for his brother?

Or maybe he should… extinguish them?

Panic paralyzes him just thinking about it. Vacuuming those feeble flames would mean to remain, once again, plunged in the deepest darkness, with no other source of light than the one coming from his flashlight. Yet, somehow, he knows that this is exactly what he must do, for only in this way will the ghosts finally show themselves to him.

And, therefore, he will be able to start hunting them down.

So, plucking up his courage, Luigi grits his teeth, points the end of the Poltergust 3000 at the first candelabra and presses the vacuum button. Before he has time to regret or think twice about what he is doing, he slides the machine towards the other candles without lifting his finger from the button and, in just a few seconds, the little dim light that remained in the room disappears.

Immediately, he hears a laugh that makes him shriek in horror and his blood run cold.

Then, right in the middle of the two candlesticks that Luigi has just extinguished, a luminescent glow emerges, allowing him to finally glimpse the portrait hanging between them, which had remained in the shadows until now. On it, he can make out the image of a man with a dense mustache and a bristly beard, dressed in one of those jackets that used to be worn in times past, and Luigi cannot help but wonder who it could be.

Suddenly, the portrait shakes, as if the man in it were jolting, and an angry voice reaches Luigi’s ears.

“WHO put out my candles?! YOU, Mr. Lime-Green?”

Luigi’s mouth opens so wide that he thinks his jaw is going to fall off. He cannot believe it. Did that portrait, that man who is nothing more than a painting, really just speak to him?

Is he going crazy?

Before he has time to process it, a new glow, this one somewhat dimmer, arises to his left, drawing his attention to a painting depicting a woman in one of those antique dresses of bygone eras. Her voice, so soft that it sends shivers down his spine, soon fills the room.

“Well, dark rooms are very dangerous around here… Did you know that?”

If it were not for how terrifying her words are, Luigi might have believed that the woman was trying to seduce him with the delicate cadence of her tone.

A new racket, coming from his left, makes him turn around once more, so that the first portrait is at his back. This time he discovers the picture of another man, with big ears, a pointed nose and a bow tie under his chin, and Luigi freezes as he hears his mocking warning.

“They love the dark… and now they will come to get YOU! Bloo-heh!” he adds, prolonging the vowels.

“No…” Luigi mumbles, shaking his head as he takes a step back.

Catching still another din, Luigi turns to face the portrait of another woman, this time slightly older, with her hair pulled back in a wide bun on top of her head and a dress so tight around her neck that Luigi cannot help but think it must be choking her.

“Be prepared,” the lady threatens him in a shrill voice. “You are about to find out what it is like to be afraid… Now you are in for it!”

“No!”

Luigi covers his face with clenched fists. He closes his eyelids tightly and shrinks in on himself, wishing that it would stop, that the portraits would stop talking to him, that this nightmare would finally end.

But the ghosts of times past are not done. A new voice fills Luigi’s ears, barely a hiss, a whisper, as if its owner does not really want him to hear it. His words, however, reverberate through the room like an echo before fading away.

“Just like that little guy in red who came before you…”

Luigi gasps and lifts his head like a spring.

“Mario?” he asks urgently.

But only the first portrait answers him, and his words offer him not a scrap of comfort.

“May you wander lost in the entrails of the night… forever!” he sentences, his voice echoing in the blackness.

Luigi jumps, frightened, and holds a hand to his chest, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. His gaze begins to wander around the room, but in his panic, he has not remembered to hold his flashlight again, so he is unable to take in anything around him, beyond the luminescent flashes of the five portraits that have spoken to him.

“Poor thing,” continues, mockingly, the voice of the first painting. “You are AFRAID of the dark, are you not, little man?”

Luigi wishes he could stop shaking, find his voice, try to coax some information about his brother out of those dead people, but he cannot get it together. All he can think about is what they have told him, their veiled threats, their taunts about how scared he is of the dark, their warnings about what is about to happen.

“Boo!” shouts the man in the first portrait, and a hysterical shriek escapes from Luigi’s throat. “Here they are…”

He prolongs the vocalic sound again for a moment before he becomes completely mute, and Luigi is left alone.

He gasps as he finds himself surrounded by darkness and hurries to reach the end of the Poltergust 3000. It takes him a couple of tries due to the nervous state he is in, and as he holds it and presses the button on the flashlight, he berates himself for being so easily startled and for having let himself be frightened once again. He begins to direct the light everywhere in a frenzy and tells himself that he must strive to remain calm, that he must act with composure, that he cannot allow panic to get the better of him again.

If he wants to save his brother, Luigi must do everything he can to overcome his fear of darkness and ghosts.

Mario needs him and Luigi will not fail him.

Still, when he hears a shrill chuckle behind him, Luigi jumps and lets out a loud gasp. He feels the urge to turn and focus the flashlight on whatever has appeared behind him, but fortunately he remembers the professor’s advice in time. Even though his whole body trembles up and down, Luigi does not turn around. He clenches his fingers tightly around the end of the machine and takes a small step forward. His attention lays on what is happening behind him, alert to any sound his ears can get.

It is not long before he perceives, too close, the cold presence of a specter, which is undoubtedly preparing to attack him.

Panic grips his body, but Luigi will win this battle.

He can do it. He can catch that ghost. He can take him and all the other souls waiting for him in the mansion. He will hunt them all down, one by one, until the only ones left in the whole building are him and Mario.

He will hunt them all down, and this is going to be the first one.

With a deep inhalation to try to build up his courage, Luigi counts backwards from three and, without hesitation, turns on himself in a single motion with his lantern held high.

The light illuminates a rather small, short, orange-colored ghost, which remains suspended with its arm raised and a frozen smile on his terrifying face, in which two entirely yellow eyes gleam, with no trace of a pupil in them.

Despite the shock of coming face to face again with that specter, the same one that attacked him the first time he set foot in that place, Luigi hurries to press the suction button and prepares himself for what is about to happen.

As soon as it notices the power of suction trying to capture it, the ghost reacts: he throws its hands to its head with a chilling scream and starts trying to get away from Luigi. But Luigi, despite the fact that the being’s deep voice has penetrated his pores, does not intend to let it escape. With a frown on his face and the determination to save his brother running through his veins, he plants his feet on the ground, tightens his grip around the Poltergust 3000 and pulls, pulls with all his might, not lifting his finger from the button.

The ghost resists, flies around the room, flails its arms as it tries to flee, but Luigi goes after it. He does not let go of the machine, he does not release the button, he does not allow the ghost’s strength to overcome him, although it does drag him somewhat around the room in its eagerness to escape.

Luckily, Luigi manages to avoid colliding with any furniture, as the orange glow of the spirit allows him to glimpse them in the darkness. His grip is strong, his will unbreakable, his hear emboldened by the motivation to rescue Mario, and the fear, inside him, has transformed into a rage that invades him from top to bottom. How dare these ghosts scare him? How dare they take Mario away? How dare they snatch his beloved brother, the most important person in his life?

If they think they are going to get away with it, they are sorely mistaken.

Luigi is not going to let them.

The growl that emerged from his throat due to the effort to maintain the connection with the specter becomes, little by little, a scream of anger. Luigi pulls harder, furious, and the ghost resists, flails harder, tries to flee, but does not stand a chance against the power of the Poltergust 3000 combined with the resolution that directs Luigi’s movements.

At last, the vacuum cleaner begins to swallow the orange spirit. Luigi’s scream is muffled for a second, only to be replaced by a mute exclamation of surprise that rises from his gut as the specter disappears through the end of the machine. Luigi, in disbelief, remains still for a few seconds, not varying the position of resistance he has adopted while struggling to catch the being, and pants as, slowly, his mind assimilates what he has just done.

He has succeeded.

He has captured his first ghost.

A stunned laugh escapes his lips. Wide-eyed, he finally relaxes his body and rests a hand on his knee as he tries to catch his breath. He keeps laughing, nervous. Did he really just do that? Is there really a spirit inside the vacuum cleaner on his back?

His laughter turns into a guffaw that prompts him to throw his head back. He raises a fist in the air and lets out a scream of victory, feeling more elated and self-satisfied than he has ever felt in his entire life.

“Yes!” he exclaims, still laughing.

He did it! He still cannot quite take it in, he still finds it hard to believe that he, Luigi, Mario’s little brother, who has always needed help and has never been able to face anyone on his own, has just captured a ghost. All by himself.

Oh, how he wished Mario could have seen him… Would he be proud of him if he did? Luigi would like to think so. He has never wanted anything more in his entire life than to make his big brother proud of him.

Of course, now that Mario is lost in some corner of that gloomy mansion, Luigi’s wish has changed: he just wants to find his big brother, rescue him, bring him back home safe and sound, make him well and happy and never leave his side again. He would do anything to see his wish fulfilled.

He would do anything for Mario.

And, armed with the Poltergust 3000, Luigi is sure to succeed.

Ghosts may still frighten him, but now that he is aware of how powerful the machine on his back is, Luigi knows he can beat them.

So, very proudly, in the middle of the darkness, he takes in as much air as he can and lets it out in a shout that he finds liberating.

“I ain’t afraid of no ghost!”

He bursts out laughing, exultant, and hopes that the remaining specters have been able to hear him. Maybe they will continue to scare him, maybe he will continue to be startled when he feels them appear, maybe fear will invade his heart again and the desire to find Mario and get out of there as soon as possible will paralyze him and make him wish he had never entered that mansion. Maybe the rest of the spirits will put up more of a fight than the first one and he will need to gather much more strength and courage to catch them.

But in that moment of happiness, Luigi allows himself to celebrate his first success with joy and to take those few seconds to think about the road ahead.

It is all right. He can handle anything. Whatever happens, he will save his brother and they will leave this place, never to return.

Clutching the Poltergust 3000 again, Luigi lets out a long sigh and closes his eyes as he conjures up the image of his brother, smiling at him, holding out a hand, counting on him. Luigi puts a hand to his heart and smiles.

“I’m coming, Mario.”

When he opens his eyes again, he is met with a new orange glow in front of him.

But for once, Luigi is not afraid.

He holds the vacuum cleaner in both hands and prepares to continue his mission.

Soon, he and Mario will be back home.