Her Forgiveness

A Confession

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The aroma of flowers greeted Sunny as he opened his eyes. He looked down, but the bandage rubbed against his eye and brought with it a stinging sensation. In an instant, everything returned to him: the fight with Basil, the face-off against Omori, and the repressed memories of his sister.

Oh, Mari, he thought, so sweet and loving. She was truly the greatest sibling he could have ever asked for. Slowly, he struggled out of the white-clad bed. Around the room was a plethora of flowers brought by those he assisted in Faraway town, a silver lining to this dreaded moment. And a dreaded moment this was, for he knew not what would come from his next action.

Step by step, he weakly nudged the hospital room door open. Laughter invaded the room, as he peered out to see Aubrey, Kel, and Hero. The group formed a circle in the middle of the hallway. On cue, Aubrey spotted Sunny.

"Hi Omori," she said, her purple hair and eyelashes glistened. "We're gonna go out and play, come with us"

"Yeeeeaaah!" Let's hurry up and get out of here" Kel exclaimed.

"Wait for me guys. C'mon Omori, Keep up!" Hero said.

The colorful trio ran off towards a long hallway. A cool breeze came from their direction and welcomed him towards the balcony. He shook his head and began to walk elsewhere. He walked for a while, lost in thoughts of his memories.

He remembered the hot summer sand as Aubrey took a big chomp of a watermelon. He remembered trying out Hero's first dish of scrambled eggs and bacon, and how delicious everyone thought it was. He frowned after remembering how Kel stole some of his food. He smiled as he walks down the white corridor, reminiscing on long talks with Basil.

He looked up. A door cast a faint shadow on the white hospital floor. Fear overwhelmed the boy; his chest tightened, his lungs felt constricted, and his vision slowly started to fade. What will happen if he reveals the truth that has haunted him for years? Will they remain as friends to him? What will come of Basil, who will remain here? The boy looked at the door, his reflection clear. A black shadow formed behind him. Something is there. Something is always there.

Sunny shook his head. Remember what she taught you, he thought. Sunny calmed down. He focused and persisted in, taking hold of the steel metal door handle. Sunny remembered Mari. Her scent and comfort as she lay in bed with him, her cookies love-laced, and her illuminating smile. No longer was Sunny constricted by regret. He entered the room. Something followed closely behind.

A girl with long pink hair leans over the bed, pressing her jacket on the white bedsheets. A tall man with stylish hair looks aimlessly to the bedsheets, searching for a way to be helpful, eyes filled with concern. Next to him, a boy in an athletic orange tank-top paces back and forth, nervously sneaking glances towards the patient. On the bed, Sunny sees a familiar face but is distracted by a black substance encapsulating the bedsheets. Everyone in the room turned to Sunny, whose entrance alarmed them. They may have expected the doctor to enter the room, but were taken aback to see the unexpected visitor. He spoke. His expression was apathetic and his words choppy.

I have something to tell you.

The group stared at him in disbelief. It was the first time sunny initiated a conversation, much less performed a monologue since they had reunited after Mari's suicide, which still weighed heavy on the group's hearts.

Sunny spoke in short statements, and his expression grew gradually shallow as he neared his conclusion. His voice was soft, but not soft enough, instead was more stoic, like an informer. He spoke of his frustration before the recital, and of how he destroyed his violin. He apologized for that since the group had worked hard together to come up with the funds for it. He talked of the argument with Mari, and the terror he felt as she tumbled down the stairs. His voice became hoarse as he shared how he cried out her name, again and again, but received no answer as she lay peacefully on the bed. Everything after that seemed unreal. Without Mari, his life seemed meaningless. Death's call grew louder as each day passed, and Sunny intended to answer it this summer. To die like his sister, to his own hands, in the same house, in the same town. A final musical coda, a fitting conclusion. He shared all of this.

The group listened in silence. At one point, Aubrey turned her head. Omori looked at Basil. Basil looked back at him. It seemed that he could not hear Sunny. However, Sunny smiled, free of all regret and agony. Basil smiled back, as both shadows behind them disappeared. The silence broke.

"Dude, I know that you haven't been social in a while, but that joke doesn't really stick," Kel said, somewhat flustered.

"Huh? Yeah. A joke... right, Sunny," Hero said.

It went silent.

"You're not playing around, are you," Hero placed one hand over his face.

Aubrey remained silent.

"Then that means..." Kel turned back to Basil.

There was a brief moment of silence before Hero left the room.

"I n-need some time to process this," he said as he left.

Sunny caught a glimpse of his face. Anger, sadness, confusion, pain. He never thought he could see such emotions on someone so perfect.

"Wait, Hero, I said wait!" Kel chases after him. "Sorry, Sunny. I don't know what to think right now, but I gotta go make sure he doesn't do anything crazy." Kel left the room.

Aubrey remains silent, sitting next to the bed with Basil, whose injuries have forced him to lay flat, looking at the hospital ceiling. What a cruel view for him, Sunny thought. For someone who always appreciated the beauty of nature, being forced to stare at a white ceiling for so long must be miserable. The white space. Memories of dreams flooded back, as Sunny collapsed to the floor. The girl glanced in his direction, waited a moment, then got up and walked towards the door.

Before exiting, she stopped to help up Sunny.

"C'mon, let's go back to your room."