One Complete Heart

Chapter 6

Despite not getting much sleep, Dimentio awoke the next morning feeling calm and refreshed. No longer did his mind feel so fuzzy and confused. 

He decided wasn't going to worry about anything anymore. Sometimes, the world was strange. Not everything had to make sense. Not everything had to add up. It was like Mr. L said. There was so much unknown about the world. Trying to understand would never get him anywhere.  

Winter vacation didn't last forever. He wanted to make every moment count. 

"Hey!" Mr. L beamed, waving from his own cabin the second Dimentio stepped outside. He ran through the snow and over to the jester. A bright aura of energy seemed to surround him as the white powder scattered about him with each leap he took. 

"Hey," Dimentio replied, briefly turning his head to check for the others. "Is anyone else up?"

"Not yet," Mr. L smiled. "Come on! We have an adventure to get to. Would you be okay with spending the day with your favorite forgettable man in green?"

Dimentio rolled his eyes. It seemed Mr. L was never going to let that go. 

"Don't you want to wait for the others?" the jester asked. 

"Nah, you're my favorite," he shrugged.

Dimentio drew back slightly and shook his head, a mixture between stunned and offended on his other friends' behalves. How could Mr. L say something like that so casually? 

"Shh, don't say that too loud," Dimentio hushed, fearing that Mimi would hear and start a fight. She always strived to be everyone's favorite. 

"Why not?" Mr. L asked with his usual smirk. He then placed both his hands around his mouth as if creating an artificial megaphone. "Dimentio's my favorite!!!"

"Stop that!" Dimentio cried out, grasping Mr. L's arm and pulling it away.

The man in green shook his head, his smile still bright. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but instead, he pulled Dimentio away, back toward the forest. 

The jester wanted to ask him what it was they were doing, but part of him liked the mystery. 

"In all fairness," Mr. L started while swinging his free arm merrily, "You're the only one I feel comfortable enough to be myself around. I mean, everyone else is nice, but as the man in green, I constantly feel like I have to live up to their expectations of me."

What expectations? Wait, was Man in Green a title or something? Dimentio always assumed it just meant he wore green clothes. 

No... it meant something else. He couldn't remember what, but Mr. L joined their group because he was the man in green. So, that title had to mean something important.

"You think I don't have those same expectations?" Dimentio asked. 

"Oh, no, I do," Mr. L admitted with a smile and shrug. "But... it's different. You see the man in green as less of a tool and more of a person. Like, yes, I have my purpose, but I also have my personality. You see that."

"You're not giving the others enough credit," Dimentio chuckled. "They all see you as a person."

"They all tell themselves they do," Mr. L said. "You actually do, though. I just... it's different. With them, I feel like I'm part of the team, but still separate. With you... I feel like we're in the same place. That probably doesn't make sense."

Dimentio felt his shoulders shrug slightly. 

The more he thought about it, the more sense it did make. He didn't know why, though.