Her Forgiveness

Going Home

Heya guys! Hope you all are enjoying the story so far. If you make it to the end, please consider clicking the VOTE button and leave a comment.

In this chapter, I'm going to try a lengthier approach but stay with it because it gets a little good in the end. 

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Sunny looked at the clock. Being confined to the darkness of his room for the better part of his teenage life made it difficult for him to relax in an unfamiliar environment. He stared silently, watching the minute hand move slowly in a rotation, waiting for something to happen. The chatter of hospital noises echoed as darkness slowly crept through the windows.

But Sunny was not alone. Next to him, a girl with pink hair slept peacefully on a medical chair. Her arms snuggled underneath her chin, raising up her face and exposing it in open view. From Sunny's perspective, her head tilted towards the right. A gust of wind could reach her, and perhaps knock her blue knot-tied bow off. The boy worried as he realized this, as he had grown accustomed to looking in one direction.

Coincidentally, the clock happened to be right above her head, and the door only a few feet away to the left. Turning his head right allowed his eyes to see all three, and he hated the thought of his perfect view being spoiled. If she was to be disturbed and awaken, she may decide to leave. Sunny would no longer have much incentive to ignore the left side of the room.

The boy loathed the possibility of looking to the left side of the room. There was nothing particularly special about it. While leaving the hospital room towards Basil's, he noticed a bookshelf, more flower vases, and another desk. On the desk, medical papers were scattered on the surface. Pencils and pens rested in a clay cup, in a way that they were easily accessible to one's left hand. And on the left upper mount of the wooden surface, there was a phone.

Remembering the messages his mom sent him daily made Sunny uneasy and disheartened. When he had decided to end his life, he had already discarded all the apparent feelings he had for his mother. It was a complex and puzzling situation. He pondered how she was able to forgive him before he was able to forgive himself. From his perspective, he could not care for a woman who could acquit her daughter's murderer so effortlessly.

At this point, he began to question whether his mother had forgotten him and left for the city baggage-free. Night had sneaked up fast, but his worries came faster. What had happened to Hero and Kel? Had they returned to Basil's room? Or did they go home for the night? He looked at the clock. 6 p.m, Sunny sighed.

Aubrey's slumber was disrupted by the ringing of the phone. She put her hand on her head and tightened her eyebrows, standard practice when suddenly forced out of the dream world.

"Geez, what time is it?" she asked, as she slowly pushed the chair aside and walked towards the phone. "Hello?" Aubrey stayed silent as Sunny made a puzzled expression. "Here, it's for you"

Sunny took the phone.

"Hi, Sweetie!" His mother's voice was loud and exuberant. Aubrey looked away and smiled. "It's Mommy. Are you ok? I heard what happened from Kel's parents. I already called the hospital and they said that you can stay there as long as you need. Oh, my baby is getting into a fight of all things! I sure hope you didn't get hurt too badly." How embarrassing, Sunny thought.

"I'm really proud of you for doing your chores, and I have some good news. The buyers for our house withdrew their offer. Now I know that sounds like bad news, but the company offered me a management position at a nearby prestigious headquarters? Isn't that great! Sunny, know that Mommy loves you and I'm waiting for you to come home. We can talk all about what you've been up to with your friends when you get back. Bye now, honey!" Sunny's mom hung up the phone.

"Well?" Aubrey questioned. "What did she say? Do you have to leave the hospital"

Sunny stopped to think about his answer. He thought about telling her the whole truth, but then reconsidered. If he informs her that he has no obligation to leave the hospital, then Aubrey will leave. The possibility of being alone in an unfamiliar room for a night made Sunny shudder. It wasn't the dark he was afraid of, it was the loneliness. The silence brought unwanted regrets, and Sunny preferred not to reconsider ending things in a moment of temporary weakness.

"I can go home," he said weakly, his tongue felt dry.

"Can you walk?" Aubrey asked.

"Yes"

Sitting up on the bed, Sunny placed both feet into his shoes and stood up. He started walking towards the door. He could feel his legs wobble with each step. His strides were erratic and inconsistent. Sunny wondered if he could make it home on foot.

"Here, let me help you," the girl said.

Aubrey ducked under Sunny's right arm, allowing it to rest over her adjacent shoulder. Being this close to a girl warranted a celebratory gulp in nervous happiness. More than anything, Sunny was pleased to see that she still cared about him enough to help him walk home. Thanking the receptionist and staff, the pair made their way out of the hospital. A bus stop welcomed them, with only a dim street light to illuminate the stone-carved bench. Aubrey stayed quiet, and before Sunny could consider any conversation starters, the bus had arrived.

The two friends stepped onto the bus. Empty, which was to be expected for a bus in the middle of nowhere. Aubrey pulled out a few quarters and dropped them into a machine next to the sliding doors. She made a gesture to the bus driver and started walking to a seat in the back. Sunny followed closely behind her to the best of his ability, like a dog staying close to its owner. Aubrey sat down in a back aisle with only two seats. At first, Sunny was hesitant to sit next to her, but an odd glance from Aubrey eased his insecurities. Or rather, Aubrey's look was a notification to Sunny that he was overthinking things, which seemed to be a recurring shortcoming of his recently. Aubrey stared outside the window, watching the darkness-saturated trees pass by.

Minds often wander in dull moments, especially when there is something to be avoided. Sunny searched frantically for something to occupy his mind, hoping that the cute girl next to him would not opt to re-spark any unwanted memories of the past few days. Many would assume that being reunited with his friends would alleviate his regrets, but in actuality, the past few days had been hell for him; being exposed to the drastic changes of the people in Faraway town only refueled his regret and self-loathing. If he had shared the truth from the beginning, perhaps much of the lost time spent apart from his friends could have been preserved. Sunny fantasized about these ideas, as his eyelids slowly closed shut.

On these occasions, he expected to awaken in a white room, illuminated by a black fluorescent light bulb, confronted by his sister's cat and tissue box, with the convenience of a laptop. Instead, the boy saw nothing but blackness and emptiness. His surroundings were stoic and expressionless, and it appeared as if the space he was in was devoid of feeling or creativity, but he was unalarmed by this phenomenon. Omori was vanquished, and the white space was purged from his headspace; for the first time, Sunny saw the area underneath it all. It was neither aggressive nor invigorating, but inviting, like a blank canvas to a painter well-versed in art movements.

Abruptly awakened from his slumber, Sunny felt a sharp pain from the top of his forehead. He lifted his arm to feel for any bumps forming, then looked around. It seems like the bus had come to a sudden stop right near the church in Faraway Town, which caused him to somewhat fly forward and headbutt the backrest in front of him. He looked towards Aubrey. She was rather disarrayed, her face was beet red and her eyebrows were shaking. She looked back at Sunny, scanning up and down as if trying to read his expression. 

Seats on the bus were more often than not uncomfortable. In that case, how was he able to stay asleep, considering his unease around unfamiliar surroundings? Sunny became flustered, as he began to consider a wild possibility. Could he have been sleeping on her? Had his head fallen due to gravity, or the shakiness of the bus ride, and rested on her shoulder? And, fearing that she would disturb his dreams, had she allowed him to remain there, cradling her jacket, hair rubbing against her nape? Sunny looked away from the digital clock in the bus. It read 2100. The two looked nervously at each other, then left the bus.