Forgive and Forget: but what about Now? (suntan fic :))

Home Again

Home.

It is where the heart is.

A quote long etched into her memory from the happy stickers in her English class that said sappy things.

But now, Mari understood what it truly meant.

Her heart was Sunny.

Home was wherever he went.

Floating as a ghostly apparition above Basil's room, she could observe the group sleeping soundly, sending waves of nostalgia over her.

Kel and Sunny snuggled together under a blanket (It reminded Mari of herself and Hero), Aubrey had cards scattered all over her lap as she slept, leaning against the wall. Basil leant on her shoulder, doing the same. A little egret orchid plant sat in a pot next to him.

Hero was the same, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, as usual giving away the bed to his younger friends.

Mari smiled, a ghostly white glow illuminating her friends as she moved closer.

Over the years, she'd observed them to see how they were doing. It had become a routine for her in the past four years.

Sometimes it got too painful. Sometimes she wanted to bang her head into a wall and punch it with her fists after seeing their situation.

She'd seen how they suffered. Everyone had dealt with the grief in their own way, and it destroyed Mari to see them.

If only she hadn't pushed her little brother so far.

If only she were a better sister.

Those were the words on repeat in her head for two long years.

She was trapped in her own mind.

She didn't want to get out

Then...

A slow acceptance.

More logical thinking.

It was still hard for Mari not to blame herself for the situation.

She sure as hell didn't want to blame Sunny at all either. She didn't care that she died because of his shove.

Words couldn't describe how happy she was when she saw Kel and Sunny had got together.

Kel had a heart of gold. He would treat her brother right. Mari had full faith on him.

As for Basil...it was hard coming to terms for what he'd done.

At first, she couldn't forgive him. He was the reason that their friends had grieved so wrongly for the past four years, and Mari couldn't bring herself to watch over him, from the anger consuming her heart.

Then she saw the bullying, when observing Aubrey one day.

She was curious and followed Basil instead.

She saw the guilt.

She saw his delusional side.

All the times he'd hurt himself.

Those goddamn gardening tools were used for something else.

It made her bawl and sob over it.

Basil hurt himself and let others hurt him for the guilt of his actions. Mari was angry at him, but she would never wish pain like that upon him.

He was still her friend.

After a while...

An year and a half..