Her Forgiveness

A Promise

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Sunny and Aubrey make their way towards his hospital room. The air conditioner may have been working overtime, but the warmth of Aubrey's body around his made the journey bearable. Sunny gradually started to realize how awkward this situation was. Just a moment ago, he revealed that he murdered his sister, the only one who truly cared about him.

She wasn't just a sister. To Hero, she was a lover and a motivator. They cared about each other dearly. Out of everyone in the group, Hero was the most likely to be unforgiving. Kel viewed her as Sunny did, a big sister who lightened up the rainy days. Every day, Kel would wake up extra early (which was around 8 a.m for Kel) to wave at Mari doing chores in the front yard. Mari and Aubrey were best friends. They did everything together, like buying clothes, wearing the same makeup, and learning to cook with Hero as their mentor.

Sunny's thoughts were interrupted by a nudge on his chest.

"We're here," Aubrey said softly.

Aubrey takes quick glances around the room, appearing surprised at the number of vanities left by the neighbors of Faraway Town. She leads him inside the room, traversing through the vases of flowers scattered around the floor. They made their way to the front of the bed, still supporting each other with their bodies. Aubrey slowly positioned herself in a way that she could lay Sunny on the bed without causing significant discomfort. With a shift of weight, Sunny eases his head back onto the pillow.

Aubrey reaches for a nearby chair next to a desk with surgical books. The boy waits patiently for her to say something. She hates me now, he thought. It was understandable, and quite frankly, foreseeable. He had previously considered the possibility of his friends forgiving him, but it seemed unlikely from the start. All the pain that they had endured over the four years since Mari's death had been overwhelming, and now they had a person to blame it on. He selfishly spent the years in solitude. Alone in a dream world, though he was never alone.

Sunny nervously glanced around the room. Yes, he was never truly alone. Something was always with him. Something was a monster that represented Sunny's guilt, while Omori was a manifestation of his own self-loathing. Both entities were created to haunt him and remind him of his deeds. With his acceptance of the past and confession, both entities no longer tormented him. He wondered how his dreams would be from now on. Would he still see the fantasized versions of his friends, now that his real friends despised him? Would Mari still be there, waiting on a red picnic blanket with delicious treats for everyone?

"Sunny," Aubrey interjected, startling Sunny. "I want you to answer me honestly. Why did you decide to show up now, out of nowhere?"

He thought for a brief moment, then answered stoically.

"Kel knocked"

"Don't lie to me." She rejected me. "When I would walk towards the park, I would sometimes see Kel outside your house knocking. He's basically done it since the accident" Aubrey's head turned towards the ground. "So why..."

Why he wondered. He thought back to the deep well coral in the dream world. Many times before, he attempted to come to terms with his guilt but never succeeded. Many times before he heard Kel knock on the door. Why now, she asks.

"I was moving away, but I didn't want to leave," Sunny said. "I thought of Mari and felt guilty. I wanted to die,"

Aubrey looked up.

"I thought that dying would make everything better." Sunny continued.

"If I told everyone the truth, it would hurt. Hurt me, hurt Basil, and hurt all of you even more." Sunny started to tear up. "Also, I could not forgive myself."

Mari was the only one who truly loved me, and I killed her, Omori thought.

"Stop it, Sunny" Aubrey exclaimed, standing up. "How could you be so dumb. Couldn't you see that we were all suffering because you weren't there?"

"Everything happened so fast, and I was left all alone. I felt so helpless, and everyone seemed like they didn't care about me anymore. Kel went off and focused on sports, Basil got more serious about his flower collection, Hero left for college, it seemed like everyone had everything figured out except me,"

"When Mari died" Aubrey continued "I wanted to see you the most." she sat back into the chair, looking exasperated. "You were probably hurting the most, but I kinda m-missed you a lot."

The boy sat in disbelief. He had never considered that his absence would have caused so much pain for Aubrey. He remembered how much everyone cared for him. Hero and Mari would always go out of their way to make sure he had lunch prepared. Kel looked out for him and Basil at the playground, keeping all bullies away. He recalled how Aubrey would stick up for him when girls called him boring. In his self-hatred, Sunny forgot how much people cared for him.

"I had no idea what to do. I remembered how I and Mari talked about dying our hair, and decided to do it for her" she paused, and for a moment there was silence.

"I'm not sure I'm ready to forgive you." She said, looking at the ground.

Her words hurt. Sunny really cared about Aubrey. She was difficult to understand but often went above and beyond to help others in need. He admired her persistence and how she was always true to her feelings. When they were younger, he would secretly look at the photos Basil took of her. She was pretty cute. But none of that mattered anymore, he thought.

"But," Aubrey continued. "I don't want you to die."

She looked up, tears in her eyes.

"Even after all this time, you're still you," She said. "The past few days have been really crazy, but you stayed and helped me, even after I attacked you and Kel. It seems like we all made mistakes," 

"I know I can't blame you for the accident, but it's hard to process what you and Basil did afterward," she looked up at Sunny.

Sunny looked back at her. Time slows down as the boy and girl stare back at each other. He thinks back to all of their memories, both in real life and in the headspace. Sunny smiles and Aubrey blushes in response.

"W-what're you smiling for, idiot," she remarks.

Aubrey closes her eyes, then opens them. Her expression becomes serious.

"Promise me," She pauses, then begins to speak again. "Promise me that you'll keep in touch with us. That you won't run away from this anymore."

Sunny closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He opens them slowly and focuses in Aubrey's direction. Birds sing from the hospital balcony. The sun shines brightly into the hospital room and the flowers glisten around the room. Sunny promises.

"Good." Aubrey relaxes in her chair.

Time passes, and the sun begins to set off the horizon. The room is illuminated in yellow-orange hues that could disguise an orange joe. Aubrey had fallen asleep in the chair, arms crossed over the chair's backrest. Her face was peaceful. Her eyelashes were lightened up by the sun, and her pink hair hung low near the chair seat. She really was cute, Sunny thought.