RICOCHET

Chapter 1- With You

She felt as though the dream was wringing her neck, suffocating her as she tried to wake up.

She could hear SUNNY's voice, or rather, she knew it was meant to be SUNNY's voice. It was vague, far away and didn't sound like him at all, but in the haze of a nightmare she could barely tell the difference.

He was calling her name, over and over again, repeating it louder, the notes in his voice more frantic each time he said it.

She felt numb and disoriented, as she tried as hard as she could to open her eyes as she saw SUNNY. He was so far yet so close, the blood dripping from every part of his body and trailing on the ground like a path behind him.

This time she heard a gentler voice, one that sounded less familiar in the fog of the dream and so recognisable to her outside of it.

"MARI? Are you alright?"

Her eyelids snapped apart, the blur of the ceiling fan coming into focus as she blinked repeatedly at the figure standing before her.

"Did you have a bad dream?" SUNNY asked, as MARI sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I think so," she groaned, the soft purple quilt encasing her in the bed as sunlight shot out from the window behind her.

"You were shouting a lot," SUNNY continued, as he sat onto the bed, folding his pale arms and looking at her with his solemn but kindly eyes. "I tried to wake you, but you told me to go away."

MARI blinked. "Did I?" She asked, the words coming out more obtuse than she expected. SUNNY looked to the door of their room before turning back to MARI.

"Well, look. We've got a long day ahead of us. Go brush your teeth and get changed and all, and I'll make breakfast, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," MARI yawned as her socks hit the wooden floor of their bedroom. The screech of the door as SUNNY closed it startled her even more awake as she crossed over to the wall to her left. She picked up a pen, and then marked another notch into the wall.

1,541. Four years and eighty days.

Four years of what? She wasn't sure. All she knew is that one day she started counting and she never stopped. MARI picked up useless little habits like that all the time.

It felt criminal to ruin this wall, anyways. MARI and SUNNY's room seemed to be alive with colour and intricate designs by SUNNY, and to MARI it just felt illegal to write on it, even though she tried her hardest to avoid SUNNY's work.

MARI went to go grab clothes from their closet, rifling through the selection she'd inherited from her brother. It was all surprisingly formal and bland for his taste; MARI struggled to remember a time where SUNNY wore anything like this. She chose the most vibrant outfit she could find: a collared shirt, a purple sweater vest, and shorts that were some sort of creamy pink hue. MARI made sure to snatch up her necktie from her bedside as she passed it (she was always able to make all of SUNNY's old clothes pop slightly more with it), throw it on, and leave the room with one quick glance back at the wall.

As she passed along the second floor of her house to the bathroom, her feet creaking against the floorboards as she did, she heard sizzling downstairs. The air smelled of breakfast, and she was almost certain SUNNY was cooking something good.

Opening the door of the bathroom, MARI crossed over the tiles to the sink, and as she squirted the toothpaste onto her toothbrush and started to brush her teeth, she studied herself awkwardly as the taste of mint began overwhelming her mouth. She needed to brush her hair, it looked like a mess.

"MARI! Breakfast is ready!" she heard SUNNY call as his voice floated through the crack in the bathroom door. MARI brushed her teeth quicker, fearing the food would get too cold, and then rushed down the stairs as the sweet aroma of SUNNY's cooking hit her in the face.

SUNNY blinked as she entered the dining room and sat herself down at one end. "Did you brush your hair?" He asked softly, and MARI tutted in soft annoyance as he set her food down onto the table, before sitting down himself.

MARI's fork scraped against the porcelain of the plate as she shovelled forkfuls of bacon into her mouth.

"So, what do we do today?" SUNNY asked.

MARI swallowed her food before answering. "Well," she began, thinking hard about a schedule she could arrange for the day they had ahead of them. SUNNY may be older, but MARI took charge on these things.

"We should start with your violin practice, first of all. You know how MOM gets on your case when you don't do that."

SUNNY nodded. "Good call."

"Then, we should..." MARI furrowed her brow in concentration as she racked her brains for something new and exciting the pair could take part in.

"What's wrong? Finally run out of things to do?" SUNNY asked, and MARI shook her head.

"Well, I'll think of something," she assured herself. "Come on, let's do the violin now. That will probably help me think."

SUNNY nodded as he finished his food, stood up, and made his way over to the music room, where his violin awaited him.

MARI followed him and sat cross-legged on the floor as SUNNY prepared his bow. He looked at her, and then past her, into the hallway. "Looks like we've got a visitor."

MARI looked behind her to see MEWO slinking into the room, fixing SUNNY with a look of curiosity as she sat in MARI's lap.

"MEWO wants to hear you play as well," MARI said, smiling at her brother.

"Okay. What should I play?" He asked, knowing the answer already.

"The same thing you always play," MARI told him as MEWO purred contentedly.

"Got it," SUNNY affirmed, and then he began.

As the bow glided across the strings of the violin, SUNNY's fingers moving, performing manoeuvres MARI didn't understand, she listened, and she thought. The song... it was so much more beautiful, especially when he played it, than he gave himself credit for. It sounded lonely, sure, but still complete when he stood there, eyes closed in concentration, as he let the bow ricochet of off the neck.

Flawless, like always.

MARI made a small clap when he finished which startled MEWO, who scurried off towards SUNNY, who petted her in between her ears as he tucked his violin away into its case. She liked that.

"Alright... I've got a few ideas now, now that I've had time to think," MARI informed SUNNY as he followed her back into the hall.