A Visitor In Their Dreams

Basil

A light smell of tea filled the dining room as Basil entered the living room with a mug filled to the brim with some green tea. He sits down onto his couch and sighs.

Basil had a pleasant day today at his flower shop. His business has only gained more traction due to the wide variety of the many different types of flowers that is grown in his shop. He sips on his tea, satisfied with how today ended.

... Suddenly, drowsiness started overtaking him. There was a growing strain on his eyes to keep them open. "Woah... this tea must be making me tired..." He yawns while he puts down the cup of tea. "Maybe I should go to bed..."

Basil stands up and walks towards the hallway, then towards the doorway to his bedroom. Without even taking off his slippers, he plops down onto the bed and quickly shuffles under his bedsheets to get nice and cozy...

~~~

Just like the previous two visitors, Basil finds himself in a white space, where the only thing he can see is just white.

Basil sits up, rather confused as to where he was. "H-Huh... Where... am I?"

He stands up and looks around. He squints as he spots something in the distance. Unable to make out what it is, he starts walking towards it.

...

As he approaches the thing he saw, he can make out several items. Sitting on top of a red and white checkerboard designed picnic blanket, he sees a small TV, a basketball, a cast iron skillet, and...

Basil's heart begins to race. He's recognized this before in his nightmares. "N-No..."

Mari lifts her head up upon hearing a new voice from behind her. She chuckles to herself. "I can never seem to be facing the right direction!" She stands up and turns around.

She smiles and starts walking towards the blonde haired man. "Hello Basil! Remember me?" She likes the green sweater and blue shorts that he is wearing. He even has the flower in his hair! Very nostalgic.

However, Basil panics as she steps closer. "N-NO, STOP!" He shouts, taking a step back. "P-PLEASE, NOT AGAIN!!"

Mari stops and stares at him in shock over how he was reacting. "... Basil?"

She could see tears coming down his cheeks as he continued. "Please, I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't want this!"

... Mari starts walking towards him again, causing him to flinch and shield his face with his arms. Mari wraps her arms around him and begins to slowly speak to him in a light voice. "Basil... I need you to calm down... Can you listen to me?"

"... mhmm..." He hiccups, trembling as he listens.

"Okay... Follow my lead... Take a deep breath with me..." As she takes a deep breath, Basil does the same. Mari was teaching him how to calm down, just like how she taught Sunny all of those years ago. "... And breathe out..."

Basil learns how to CALM DOWN! His breathing begins to steady, and his heart begins to slow.

Mari lets go of him and takes a step back. "Are you feeling better?"

Basil nods slowly. "... I'm sorry... I-I just..."

"It's okay, Basil." She reaches over and grabs his hand. "Come and sit with me Basil. We have lots to talk about!"

Basil hesitates, causing Mari to stop when she tries to pull him towards the blanket. "... M-Mari... Is... Is this really you?"

Mari nods. "I'll tell you what's going on, okay? Just come sit with me."

... Basil eventually follows Mari over to the center of the picnic blanket and sits down. Mari couldn't help but notice that Basil looked scared. "... What's wrong? Are you okay?"