Imagine if on that supposed dreadful day, Mari still lived. And Mari knew that Sunny pushed her on purpose. She could tell everyone, but she also has a secret Sunny knew about. They have to keep quiet about each other's dirty unrevealed. What if eve...
After the incident, Basil came by to visit Sunny. He entered Sunny's home without a warning, and saw the scene at the stairwell. "S-Sunny..." Basil stuttered, clearly afraid of what he was seeing at that moment. Mari was unconscious, but Basil assumed she was asleep. At least that was what he wanted himself to believe. Sunny stood on the middle area of the stairs.
"Basil..." he spoke in a quiet voice. Basil looked at Sunny then back at Mari. He walked toward them slowly, then kneeled to examine Mari's resting but greatly injured body. At least she's still breathing, Basil thought to himself. Sunny noticed that Mari was still taking deep anxious breaths. They both knew she was still alive.
"W-what happened, Sunny..." Basil asked as he looked at him, unable to remain eye contact. "You didn't do this... did you?" Sunny took a deep breath. He looked at Basil, trying to speak boldly, hiding his guilt. "She... she..." But he couldn't. He would feel like such a horrible person if he lied about his fault, especially if he told lies to Basil, an innocent friend. "I know it isn't you, Sunny. Don't worry," Basil spoke since he noticed Sunny couldn't. "There must have been... something behind you. Yeah, th-there was something else that pushed Mari down here. And it's not that big of a problem, sh-she's still alive." The two boys looked at Mari, who was still unconscious.
"After all," Basil continued, "you're perfect, Sunny. N-no way you'd do this."
Sunny felt a strong wave of guilt wash over him. Hearing Basil say that made him feel worse. Why did Basil have to look up to him so much? What would happen if Basil actually knew the truth?
"Basil..." Sunny uttered, "can you... get some help?" Basil stood from his position and nodded. He rushed out the door to ask for help from their friends. While Basil was busy, Sunny carried Mari down the stairs. He walked down each step slowly so he could keep his balance. While he carried her, he could feel tears roll down his cheeks. He couldn't stay neutral, he just needed to allow the water to pour down his face. Despite the tears, he maintained the strong expression he always had on his face.
When he went outside, Basil together with Hero, Kel, and Aubrey found Sunny and an unconscious Mari. Sunny used all his energy to bring Mari outside, and he was tired. He spent the whole day practicing violin, so his hands ached. He couldn't think of anything else, all he felt was dizziness. Then it was lights out for Sunny. The last thing he heard was Hero's muffled voice shouting for Mari's name. But Sunny fell on the ground.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Next thing he knew, Sunny was in the hospital. He woke up on a comfortable hospital bed, alone in a bright white room. He heard beeps from the monitor on his left, but that was about it. Why was he alone? He wondered where everyone else was. Until he remembered what just happened.
He pushed Mari down the stairs.
His own sister, the person who understood him the most. He hurt her, nearly killing her. He needed to apologize to her before she got the wrong idea about him. But then negative thoughts came flooding in Sunny's mind like a strong typhoon. Let's think about it, Sunny's in the hospital, but nobody's there. Where else could his friends be? Exactly, they could be with Mari, who could tell them what happened... Oh no.
But Mari wouldn't do that, right? Unless... right... She's still mad at me. We didn't exactly make up after the argument... since I... Sunny thought to himself. He stood up slowly from his bed, trying not to make too much movement. Mari wasn't the only one affected in the incident anyways. He stepped out of the room and found himself in the uneasy hallways of a hospital. There was lots of noise, and too many people rushing here and there. What was worse is that Sunny's hospital room was near the Emergency Room, so he could see pretty much a lot of disturbing or violent things being rushed into the room.
He tried to walk, but the hallucinating white lights blinded his vision. Just then, a nurse came by. "Hello there! You're... Sunny, right?" Sunny looked at the nurse, not giving any answer. He's still a bit... new to the hospital atmosphere. The nurse continued after an awkward pause, "Ah, your ID says so. Do you want to see your sister?" Sunny's lifeless eyes suddenly widened as he let out a soft gasp. Another awkward silence between them starts. "Okay..." the nurse continued, "I'll take that as a yes."
The lady nurse led Sunny around the crowded halls. As they were heading toward Mari's hospital room, the nurse started asking him some questions. "If I may, what exactly happened to you and Ms. Mari? One of your friends mentioned a staircase-accident, but none of them ever confirmed it to me." Sunny didn't answer her nor even look at her. He just continued to walk forward, eager to see Mari. Yet the expression on his face looked otherwise. "Uh..." the nurse cleared her throat, "well, she's still asleep at the moment. But we found two fractures on her spine, three broken ribs, and a minor injury to the right area of her head. She's in no condition to walk or do much physical activity."
Sunny stopped walking for a while, sadness plastered on his face. Or it seemed like sadness. "Hey," the lady assured, "it's going to be okay. She isn't going to die. No need to be so sad, she'll awaken soon." She rubbed his back in a reassuring, comforting manner. But he didn't feel sad. He felt guilty. Only he and Mari knew what he did. He and the nurse continued, until they entered a room with the label being "Room Number 143." "Okay, this is your stop, Sunny," the nurse declared. She patted his shoulder before rushing back to other patients. Sunny was in front of Mari's room, staring at the door. What was he waiting for?
He took a slow, deep breath then gathered his thoughts. He tried to calm down, but his heart was still beating so fast out of fear. He couldn't calm himself, but he could be brave enough to finally go inside.
And there they were. Mari, still unconscious on her hospital bed. Hero, holding her hand and sobbing quietly. Aubrey, really distraught, watching and hoping Mari would wake up. Kel, trying to cheer everyone up. And Basil, the first to notice Sunny entering the room.
