Mari's return

Danger

It was dark, there was nothing around her that she could see. She tried to feel around herself, but her arms felt too heavy to move. It reminded Mari of that moment. Even if it was sudden she wouldn’t forget. The moment she died. But one thing was different, Mari could still hear what was around her. Voices. Lots of them.

“My only daughter… Gone…”

“He is not my son.”

“What… What am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t leave me...”

“How… How could we do this?”

“Oh… Mari...”

“The sun... shined brighter when she was here...”

It felt like eons as the voices continued to mourn the girl. Each of their words belonged to someone she loved, and it tore her apart being unable to comfort them. Eventually, they stopped, and in place of their macabre expressions, the sound of footsteps filled the room. She felt as hands brushed upon her face and tears drenched her shoulders. Then silence filled the room.

Finally, Mari could see where she was. It appeared to be an empty white church, perhaps the same one where she fought Aubrey the day before. Either way, the source of the voices was gone. Examining the room, Mari saw Sunny leaning against a pew, but his body looked different. He wasn’t moving, and even from a distance, Mari could see bruises surrounding his neck, as if someone put their hands around it. On the other side, Mari found another version of Sunny, it was the same pale boy she saw before crashing into her roof.

“Sunny?”

“They loved you and he killed you.”

As the sun reached her bed, Mari awoke and examined her surroundings. It was the same familiar room that she remembered years ago. The morning light and soft bed reminded her of when she would wake up after running to her parents after having a bad dream. How fitting considering the sad dream she just had. And that version of Sunny… Why did he show up in her dream again?

Climbing out of bed, Mari walked into the hall and towards her brother’s room. Then suddenly rampant knocking could be heard coming from down below filling the house with noise. The door to Sunny’s room then opened ajar revealing her thin pale brother who still appeared rather sleepy. In any case, Mari was glad to see him alive and well.

“Good morning, Sunny! Did you sleep well? That’s probably Kel downstairs. How about you brush your teeth while I go check on him?”

Sunny gave his same old nod at her suggestion and entered the bathroom. Mari warped past the stairs and arrived at the front door. Upon opening it, she was greeted by her tall tan friend, Kel.

“Heya, Mari! Is Sunny ready yet? Hero’s coming home today! Oh boy, I can't wait to see him! We’re gonna compare heights, and we’re all gonna be back together again! It’s going to be great! Did I mention that we’re gonna compare heights?”