Comari

A Change of Scenery

Monitors quietly beeped in the mostly silent room. A nurse wrote on a clipboard that held several papers, the scratching of the pencil punctuating the beeps of the monitors.

A pale, dark-haired girl lay on the bed in the middle of the room against the wall. Several cord-like things were attached to her wrists and other places which connected to the monitors. Multiple doctors and nurses had been in and out of the room to monitor the girl, who was currently in a medically induced coma.

A mother quietly walked into the room and began talking to the nurse, who was still writing. Murmurs were exchanged, including information about the girl on the bed. Their words were quiet as if the girl would wake up upon hearing them. Unfortunately for the girl, she could hear the words but sadly would not wake up.

Darkness filled the house. She didn't dare check down the stairs, let alone go near them. It led to this mess. No, he led to this mess...even in the dark Mari could feel and see the blood that covered her arms and legs. A couple of stains sprinkled her dress. She took another glance around the room. However, this time there was a glow from the bottom of the door.

She stumbled to her feet and opened the door which led to a white room with tile floors. Sunny stood in the middle, facing the wall.

"Sunny." She was surprised by the disdain in her voice. Sunny didn't seem bothered by her presence or sudden irritation towards him, and she walked over. As she reached him she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sunny, what are you doing he-" She was interrupted as he grabbed her arm and shoved her back, causing her to fall down the stairs that had now appeared and a quiet gasp escaped her mouth.

Sunny stared at her as she fell to the bottom of the stairs. He quickly walked down them and kneeled next to her, but his face was overcast by shadows. Basil suddenly appeared, also kneeling as they stared at Mari. The two seemed to talk, and Basil ran off, but Mari couldn't see where to. She was stuck in place and couldn't move, but she could feel Sunny's violin under her. The sharp wood poked into her sides, and her neck felt tighter, her breathing heavier. Sunny hadn't moved either. He just sat there and stared, saying nothing.

Eventually, darkness filled her vision, and when she opened her eyes she was back in her and Sunny's room, blood once again on her arms and legs. It felt harder to move, her whole body ached. She heard whispers, different from the usual moving of objects or scratching of a pencil.

"Hey, Mari...Your friends are in school right now so they can't visit until the weekend, but Sunny's here. Say hi to your sister sweetie."

There was no hello from Sunny, just sniffles and something she couldn't understand. Maybe an apology, maybe something else. She wanted to say something, wanted to greet her mother. But she couldn't. Even if she spoke they wouldn't hear her. By now, she had gathered that she was sleeping and possibly in a medical setting rather than home.

Quiet beeps could be heard in the dark. Occasionally they'd pause for a moment, but they usually came back. Mari heard what sounded like footsteps. Mrs. Suzuki and Sunny were most likely leaving. She held up a shaky hand as if to keep them there, to tell them to stay, but she knew they didn't see it. They could see her, but nothing that she did or said would reach them, even if it were words of comfort to attempt to help her friends, like when Hero would visit and lean on the side of her bed while he quietly cried and told her about recent events.

It was the worst when the whole friend group came, because they'd each let her know about what was happening in their lives but she could never do anything. She couldn't be happy for them, sad for them, comfort them, or give advice. All she could do was lend an ear and speak in an empty room.

The room filled with silence once more, and the glow from the door was gone. Mari sat on the floor in a dark mimic of her room, with no light from anywhere to provide comfort or lessen the strain on her eyes. She ended up closing them since it would be dark anyway, and there was no point in hurting her eyes if her whole body was already aching.

Somehow as Mari lay there in dark silence, her mind drifted to Sunny. Any time she thought of him or this strange place conjured a mimic of him she got a deep pit in her stomach. She reasoned that she simply hadn't yet forgiven Sunny for the accident. But she didn't know how long it had been, and she was yet to forgive him. He was her little brother and also a child. Surely she'd be able to forgive him for a simple accident...Even one that landed her in the hospital...and put her in a coma...

Maybe that was the exact reason. Sunny had made plenty of mistakes, and so had she, they were human after all. But none ever led to the other being hospitalized. Especially not to this degree...Mari lazily sat up against what she assumed was Sunny's bed, but she couldn't tell for sure in the dark. The glow at the bottom of the door returned. She once more wobbled to her feet, prepping herself for the however many-th time for the scene to replay. When she opened the door and entered the room, she was met with a mirror instead of Sunny.

The first time she found the mirror she was startled and confused at the change. But now, she was used to it. Occasionally the mirror and Sunny would switch and she would be met with her reflection. Blood covered her arms up to her elbows and her legs seemed to match with it going up to her knees. Her white dress was sprinkled with bits of red and had several tears. Mari ran her fingers through her long messy black hair attempting to straighten it out a little. Often people described Mari's appearance as perfect. Not a hair strand out of place or a wrinkle in her clothes. However, if she were to describe her appearance she would say rough, and messy. Raggedy, even.

She let out a raspy sigh and turned to the door, ready to either go back to her room or once more be put through the worst experience of her life. She put her hand on the handle and could suddenly feel herself falling, she tried to look around, but it was dark. Her hair swirled around her head, hindering her vision. She started to slow, and her feet touched gently the ground. She blinked and the room lightened a little. The floor was cold on her bare feet, but even with the light she couldn't tell where she was. A flower pot holding a Gladiolus sat near a wall with the name "Aubrey" and a water can next to it. Mari remembered something she heard however long ago from Aubrey.

"He said that Gladiolus reminded him of me! Maybe I can bring you one some other time...so you can be reminded of me too..."

Mari smiled and carefully picked up the pot and watering can. She went to find the way back to her room, but when she turned around she was there. She blinked a few times in confusion and set the flower by the door. Everything else in the room was still dark but the flower seemed to almost glow a little. Mari leaned against Sunny's bed and smiled again. Even if she still didn't know how this place worked or if she'd ever leave, at least she had a small remnant of her friends other than the occasional whispers in the air.

She closed her eyes and tried to get some rest, knowing the happiness was temporary but still calming. When she reopened her eyes she was unaware of how long had passed, but the door beckoned her once again. She got up and gave the flower a bit of water, then went through the door to repeat the unpleasant cycle.