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Pinocchio has always been quiet ever since he woke up.
He is a good listener, when others talk to him, he listens and if someone ever asks a question, he nods or makes other gestures to indicate what he is feeling. He can count with his hands the number of times he has spoken because he is good a listening.
Listening to what he is told to do.
He does it without question, of course, others mean well, specially his father, and Pinocchio is the only one that can help all of them.
Pinocchio stays quiet when he listens, and he has a faint smile on his face but it’s not a real smile, he just doesn’t want to worry anyone else.
He doesn’t want to bother them.
So he does what he is told and returns to share that he succeeded, they tell him that he is a good boy and they thank him.
And then they send him back outside to do other errands.
Outside where he gets hurt, he gets burned, and electrocuted, where the petrifaction monster throws acid at him, he gets poisoned.
But he returns with a faint smile on his face and shows everyone that he did what he was told.
They thank him again, they always look at his faint smile, but they never look at his eyes.
Eyes filled with sorrow.
One day while outside, Pinocchio feels tired and sits down, but he feels like he can’t get back up, he buries his face in his knees and grabs his legs for comfort. Gemini asks what’s wrong but he stays quiet, Pinocchio always stays quiet.
Tears start running down his face, he doesn’t feel well, but he can’t explain why, no one is hurting him, and he can’t understand why he doesn’t feel well.
It starts to rain but he doesn’t get back up to look for refuge, he stays there and cries because at least the rain covers his tears
——
Sometimes after others are done talking to him, Pinocchio just stands there and stares for a few seconds, he can tell that they wonder why he does that but they just dismiss it as a fun quirk.
He stands there and wants to say something but he can’t.
He wants to say that he isn’t feeling well, that something is wrong but the words can’t come out of his mouth.
He wants to ask for help but he can’t.
So he just stares, until he realizes he is making others uncomfortable with his staring so he leaves again.
——
As Pinocchio keeps wandering around the barren swamp, he finds himself on top of one of the small towers so that he can destroy some of the enemies that hurt him and prevent him from advancing.
When he is done, Pinocchio stares for a few minutes at the horizon, he is close to the edge and he looks down for a moment and for a moment, he feels something strange.
He feels the urge to jump.
He looks away and walks in the opposite direction, Pinocchio doesn’t feel well but he has to continue
He has to do what he was told.
——
Pinocchio is next to his father, who thanks him for doing what he asked of him and calls him a good boy.
Once again, Pinocchio stares at his father for a few moments, the father he loves so much, so dearly.
His father repairs him when he is hurt, Pinocchio wants to speak up and tell his father that he isn’t feeling well, that something hurts
His chest hurts.
But he can’t say it, and Pinocchio can’t do it.
He can’t do this anymore.
“I love you father”
That’s what he says instead, he has always loved his father but this is the first time he has been able to say it. He can tell that his father didn’t expect him to say that but he calls him a good boy and tells him that he is precious to him.
And he tells him to be careful while outside.
Pinocchio walks away, he finds a small table, and puts Gemini in; Gemini is asking him what he is doing but Pinocchio doesn’t respond, he just gently touches Gemini’s cage before leaving him there. Pinocchio walks away from his best friend and goes upstairs, leaving for somewhere else.
Everything is quiet inside Hotel Krat, extremely quiet, everyone too consumed in their own thoughts, trying to distract themselves from the situation they are facing.
Everyone is startled when they hear a loud piercing crash, it comes from outside the hotel walls, at the exit to Elysion Boulevard. They go to investigate, it’s odd, clearly something is wrong.
Geppetto walks downstairs and makes his way to where the loud crash was heard and his heart sinks, he becomes pale, he starts to shake.
His son is lying on the ground.
His son jumped.
——
Geppetto repairs his son with the help of Venigni, technically he could have done it himself, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t stop crying and shaking, Venigni had to be there for him, to help him pull himself together.
He is a horrible father, he is the worst father in the world.
He lost Carlo and he almost lost Pinocchio.
Pinocchio is unconscious, lying in one of the beds of the Hotel, his father staying next to his side. The others come to check on Pinnochio from time to time, and they try to reassure Geppetto that this isn’t his fault.
But it is his fault, he should have been a better father.
Although the truth is that Geppetto isn’t the only one blaming himself, everyone else is blaming themselves as well, because they all finally realized that Pinocchio was crying for help and they didn’t pay enough attention.
They didn’t see how much pain he was in.
But for Geppetto is different, this is his son, the son who keeps neglecting, the son he uses as a tool, the son who loves him unconditionally.
The son he made to replace Carlo.
He was trying to force his son to be Carlo, no, he was forcing his son to be Carlo. Geppetto was forcing his son to be someone he wasn’t.
He sees now that Pinocchio also knew that, he just pretended he didn’t notice.
Pinocchio had to leave and face the dangers outside and Geppetto as his father never even bothered to ask how that made him feel.
—-
When Pinocchio opened his eyes, he could feel his entire body aching, he was in pain, and everything hurt so much.
But the pain in his chest was worse, the pain that he has felt for a long time and it simply doesn’t go away.
His father sees him wake up and he starts to cry, he apologizes over and over to him.
Pinocchio feels worse, he made his father cry, what kind of son makes his father cry?
He isn’t a good boy, he is a bad boy.
Pinocchio is quiet and he is scared, everything is too much for him, he grabs the blankets off the bed and covers himself with them, hiding himself. He is shaking, he doesn’t want to be here.
He wants to disappear, he wants to stop being a bother to others. But he can’t, so he just hides because he can’t face them.
He can still hear his father apologizing and crying.
Why is his father apologizing? He doesn’t understand.
He doesn’t understand anything, the world around him just confuses him, and he doesn’t understand his emotions.
But why would he understand? He is just a stupid puppet, he just had to do what he was told and he couldn’t even do that.
——
“I’m sorry” Pinocchio finally manages to speak up.
Pinocchio is sitting on the bed, crying, and Geppetto knows that his son is apologizing because he thinks he is making everything worse for others.
Geppetto sits down on the bed next to his son and hugs him, Pinocchio hugs him back tightly, not wanting to let go of his father.
“No, Pinocchio, I’m sorry”
Geppetto is crying, he almost lost his precious boy but he has to stop feeling sorry for himself, he has to be a better father.
“The only thing I’ve ever done is hurt you”
Pinocchio stays quiet, he is crying while listening to his father.
“I’ve used you and I wanted you to be Carlo”
Geppetto knows that he was selfish and that he was an idiot, he wanted his family back, he wanted his son back and he was too blind to see that he already had a family, that he already had a son.
He just makes the same mistakes, he neglected Carlo and he neglected Pinocchio.
“But aren't Carlo and you never will be”
That puppet, the one that holds Carlo’s Ergo. Geppetto knows that he was to destroy the heart and that he should give his son the peace he deserves.
“Pinocchio you are my son and I love you no matter what, I love you and want us to be a family a real family”
Not the pretend family he had in his head.
——
His son is slowly recovering, everyone at the hotel comes to give him comfort and for a moment, Geppetto excuses himself, saying he’ll be back soon.
He opened the box.
He hesitates to grab the heart.
He can’t do it.
But the puppet touches his hand.
Carlo touches his hand.
Carlo takes his father’s hand to his heart.
Because he wants to be at peace.
Both of them use their hands to crush the heart, the Ergo floating in the air for a few seconds before finally disappearing.
——
Geppetto is hugging his son, both are next to the stargazer.
The puppets have stopped attacking, the others don’t understand why but they are all happy about it.
It’s going to be hard to explain that the frenzy was all his fault but he is prepared to face the consequences for that.
But for now, the petrification disease monsters are still at large and Simon must be stopped.
Meaning that his son has to go back outside now that he feels better, but Geppetto doesn’t want to let him go.
“Son please be careful, if you start feeling bad, if you start feeling sad please come back so I can be there for you,” Geppetto says as he kisses his son's forehead.
Pinocchio smiles at his father, this time, it’s a genuine smile.
Because for the first time, he is happy. Actually happy and not a front put as to not worry others.
Not to say that his last feelings have vanished, but he finally feels safe, he finally feels truly loved and wanted.
Pinocchio looks at the stargazer, Sophia is staring at him, she tells him to be safe and that she will always be there for him. That she will protect him from anything, even if it is his own dark thoughts.
Before he leaves everyone else gives him reassuring words as well.
Pinocchio kneels down and Antonia gives him a big hug, telling him that he is a good boy and that he will never be a bother to any of them. She might not be his mother but she sees him as a son.
As soon as he stands up Venigni also gives him a big hug, saying that he loves him and wants what’s best for him. That his uncle Venigni is always there to lend him a hand.
Eugéne almost doesn’t want to stop hugging him, but she eventually stops and tells him that she sees him as a brother and that he can always count on her.
Polendina and Pulcinella tell him that if something happens, he can always confide in them.
Belle is there too, she tells him that he is strong and that no matter what he faces, he can overcome it, but that doesn’t mean he has to overcome it alone. That it’s not weak to ask for help.
Alidoro isn’t one to be sentimental but he knows that the boy is in a lot of pain, so he tells Pinocchio not to forget that he isn’t alone in this.
Pinocchio activates the stargazer and is now outside, before he can even take another step Gemini speaks up.
“Buddy, I’m your best friend, don’t be scared to talk to me, I will always be by your side, literally, so just touch my lamp if you feel a little sad, or whatever you are feeling, I’m here for you the bad and the good times”
Pinocchio can feel a few tears running down his face but they aren’t tears of sadness.
They are tears of happiness