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Sunny woke up from a final nightmare, his now single eye staring up at a plain ceiling. He began to process his final dream and he started crying, one mantra running through his mind:
“I should just die.”
He sat up and through his tears, he took in his surroundings. His room was filled with plants. As he got out of bed, his eye caught a card attached to a loaf of bread. It was those bread twins, thanking him for spending time with them.
He wanted to rip it up.
“I’m a terrible friend. I don’t deserve this,” he thought.
Looking around, he realized that all the gifts were from the people he met in his last three days. All expressing gratitude, all wishing him well. He wanted to scream. He didn’t deserve these gifts. They’re all wasting their gratitude on a murderer. He wanted to rip it all up, trash it like all the good memories he ruined.
Then Omori’s voice spoke. Not judgmental, not spiteful, but speaking in a neutral tone, as if stating an objective fact:
“You should just die.”
Sunny nodded to no one in particular. He had something important to do. He didn’t deserve these wishes, anyway.
He left the room.
In a better place, in a better time, Sunny woke up from a nightmare, his now single eye staring up at a plain ceiling. He began to process his final dream and he started crying, one mantra running through his mind:
“I have something to tell them.”
He did so much wrong, but now is the time to make things right.
He sat up and through his tears, he took in his surroundings. His room was filled with plants. As he got out of bed, his eye caught a card attached to a loaf of bread. It was those bread twins, thanking him for spending time with them.
He was touched, and his emotional vulnerability was his once again when he realized that all the gifts in the room expressed the same sentiment. Every person he helped in the last three days were all expressing gratitude and wishing him well. He pored over it all. The hooligans, Kim and Vance’s dad, Angel’s sister, that new couple in town, etc, etc…
Sunny just wanted to take it all in, but Omori’s voice spoke to him. Not judgmental, not spiteful, but it was warm. Not quite friendly, but accepting:
“Waiting for something to happen?”
Sunny nodded to no one in particular. He’d love to read more, but he had something important to do. What was he waiting for?
He left the room.
Sunny wasn’t sure what he was looking at. A daydream? A figment of magical realism? Whatever the case, Sunny followed.
The Headspace versions of his friends, the ones he betrayed, beckoned to him. They wanted to follow him, wanted him to take charge of his own fate. He looked at those nostalgic figments, those younger figments from better days, and started leading them like Omori did.
He walked up the hospital steps. It felt like passing through the Neighbor's Room for one last time. The sun shined down, the open sky calling to him. There was a piece of railing that had fallen away…
There was only one way to finally free himself from the guilt.
It’s a long way down…
Sunny wasn’t sure what he was looking at. A daydream? A figment of magical realism? Whatever the case, Sunny followed.
The Stranger, that strange figment of Basil, the friend he abandoned, led Sunny down the hall. He stopped in front of one door before fading away, wanting Sunny to take charge of his own fate.
Sunny took a deep breath and opened the door.
His real friends were there, crowded around Basil’s bed. Their heads turned to face him. The bright hospital lights shined down, the low ceiling making the situation feel more claustrophobic than it should be.
There was only one way to finally free himself from this.
“I have something to tell you.”
Sunny’s friends went to his room. There was nobody there.
“Did he already get discharged or something?” Aubrey asked, eyes looking over the flowers Sunny got, briefly lingering on the cactus her friends got him.
“No, that’s impossible with the injuries he got,” Hero said. He rested his chin in his palm, pondering on, well, everything. But now he thought, “where could Sunny be?”
“Maybe he went to the restroom?” Kel suggested as he reached for the bread.
“Don’t eat his gift, Kel!” Aubrey snapped, smacking his hand.
“Maybe, but I don’t know if he’s well enough to do that..” Hero took in all the plants, seeing the impact of all Sunny did, from the humble flower to the beautiful bonsai.
They all heard hurried footsteps in the hall outside. They all turned expecting Sunny.
It wasn’t Sunny. It was a doctor. He looked like he saw a ghost.
“A..are you his family?” He quietly asked.
Sunny’s friends excused themselves from Basil’s room, needing to take time to process things. One way or another, they found themselves in Sunny’s room.
“W-why…?” Aubrey openly asked. She gritted her teeth, tearing up. However, as she cried, her eyes lingered on the cactus her friends got him, her complicated mix of emotions just expanding.
“…” Hero just rested his chin in his hand, thinking about everything, ignoring the light tears streaming down to his fingers.
“…I believe that it was an accident… he wouldn’t do that on purpose…” Kel murmured. He already came to a conclusion, but he wasn’t sure if he should voice it.
He distracted himself by looking at all the flowers. In particular he was taken by the bread. He reached over, but Aubrey smacked his hand away. “Don’t touch his gift, Kel,” Aubrey said in a quiet tone, one that didn’t reveal emotion.
“…” Hero still wasn’t sure what to say. Instead he took to looking at all the plants, from the humble flower to the beautiful bonsai.
They all heard footsteps outside.
Sunny walked in, single eye wide, not expecting to find them in here.
It was an unexpected day of mourning. Word spread around quick, and it felt like a cloud of misery descended on Faraway Town. People barely knew Sunny. But they knew that he was a kind, quiet boy in the small amount of time he was with them.
Needless to say, the funeral service was packed. From longtime residents like the recycling lady to the newcomer neighbors, it felt like the whole town was there to pay their respects.
There were words to be given by the ones Sunny cared about the most.
...
Kel was first. The local bundle of optimism felt alien to those who knew him, clear devastation plastered on his face.
“Sunny, I… I wish I got you out of your house sooner…” Kel stammered out between sobs. “...Maybe I could have prevented… prevented you from..”
Kel completely lost his composure, breaking down in front of everyone. He could hear other people following suit, Sunny’s bonds making itself known.
It was a day of unexpected mourning for everyone, old wounds opened back up thanks to a dreadful truth. The friends thought they knew everything, but now…
Sunny tried to avoid their gazes, instead running his eye over the plants, from the recycling lady to the newcomer neighbors.
His shame prevented him from seeing Kel approach him first. He did not expect Kel to pull him into a hug.
“Sunny… I know you didn’t mean it and… you’ve felt so guilty about it, right?” Kel hugged him tighter. “That’s why you locked yourself away for so long, right?”
Sunny was surprised. He didn’t expect to be forgiven so easily. “But… I hurt all of you…”
“I know you didn’t mean to, I know you’re a good person! Look at all the gifts you got! A bad person wouldn’t have all that!”
Hero put a hand on Kel’s shoulder, coaxing him to step away from the podium. Kel obliged, hiding his face in his hands.
Hero looked out toward the crowd of mourners. He tried to keep on the face of a stoic older sibling, but his eyes spelled out his grief as plain as day.
“...Sunny was a good kid. I saw myself as a bit of an older brother to him, but…” He lowered his gaze. “I was not a good older brother. If… if I was better, I could have seen the signs. I failed to see the signs in Mari and… I failed to see them in Sunny. I was supposed to be the responsible one… Sunny… I’m so sorry…”
Hero just stood there, unsure of what else to say. Some murmuring started in the crowd. People remembered that this wasn’t the first time this happened, the newer people learning about Mari for the first time.
Sunny felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Hero had approached him. Hero had a small smile on his face, but his eyes spelled out his grief as plain as day.
“...Sunny. I’m glad you told us. For the longest time I just… thought I missed signs in Mari,” Hero admitted.
Sunny looked down, refusing to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry…”
“...But really, I missed the signs between you two,” Hero said. “If I had known about the tensions, I could have stepped in. I could have prevented all this from happening…”
Sunny snapped back up, looking at Hero’s mournful eyes. “D-don’t blame yourself!”
Now it was Kel’s turn to lay a hand on Hero. “Hero, please, it was nobody’s fault, it was an accident…”
“I know that…” Hero sighed. “I just… wish there was an easy answer to all this.
Hero excused himself, pointing wordlessly at a still crying Kel and going to join him. With the podium free, Aubrey stepped up. She was the terror of the town, but at that moment, people didn’t see a rude, mean-spirited delinquent. They only saw a broken little girl.
“Sunny, I’m so sorry… I-I wish I was a better friend to you these last few days. If… if I was a better person, I wouldn’t have ditched all of you. I thought you all ditched Mari but… I ditched you…”
Mere days ago, the usual church crowd dismissed her as a troublemaker. But today, they looked at her with sympathy. Aubrey wandered away from the podium to join Kel and Hero in crying. She wanted to hug them, but… it wouldn’t be the same.
Someone new entered the church. Aubrey saw who it was… and became consumed with rage.
Aubrey stepped toward Sunny, and he felt a twinge of fear in all that guilt. She had become a terror of the town and while that softened up when everyone reunited, would hearing the truth make her regress?
Aubrey answered with a resounding no by pulling Sunny into a hug. “Y-you idiot…”
“...Are you mad?” Sunny asked.
“...I want to be, but… I can’t. I can’t pretend I’m a better friend,” she sniffed. “I almost got you and Basil killed the same way you did Mari. And… I know Basil did that to protect you but… I don’t know if any of my friends would protect me. Hell, Kel probably would have thought I did it on purpose…”
“Hey, no I…” Kel tried to object, but he stammered off.
Would he have forgiven Aubrey, at that moment?
…Would he have forgiven Sunny if he was on the scene and didn’t know it was an accident?.
Hero looked around at everyone. He seemed to be thinking the same thing. “...It was all just an accident, everyone. Sunny… I’m upset but… I know you didn’t mean it.”
Aubrey let go of Sunny. “Yeah, and Kel said it:” Aubrey swung her arm around to gesture at all his hospital gifts. “You’re not a bad guy. Better than me, at least…”
“You’re not a bad person, Aubrey,” Sunny said.
“...Why are you forgiving me?”
“Because… you forgive me, right?”
"..."
With that, Aubrey burst into tears and latched onto Sunny again. In that moment, Sunny didn't see a delinquent, but the kind girl he knew when they were younger. Hero and Kel shared a look and a smile.
“Kel, you know what this calls for, right?” Hero said, eyes looking warmer in spite of the tears.
Kel put on a big, sincere smile “Group hug!”
And once again, the four shared a group hug. No anger, just shared grief and positive vibes basking in the truth.
...
The moment was interrupted when they heard footsteps. A doctor? Another friendly face looking to give their well wishes?
Sunny broke out of the hug to greet the arrival. “Hi mom.”
“How dare you show up here!?” Aubrey snapped at Sunny’s mother. The older woman stumbled, taken aback by this hostility on what should be a day of mourning.
“Aubrey…” Hero tried to reach out to her, but she slapped his hand away.
“What kind of a mother are you!? First your daughter killed herself, and… and now…” Aubrey sniffed and rubbed her eyes, making her feelings clear. “You… you even came here late! Don’t you have anything to say for yourself!?”
“It… it’s not as if she wanted to be late,” Kel said. He tried to sound fair, but he wasn't able to wave away the bitterness in his voice.
Hero broke out of his despair to stare out at Sunny’s mom, who seemed to be growing distressed as members of the congregation started glaring at her, a clear sign that her son became beloved outside of his circle of friends..
But, Hero didn’t say anything. With so many unknowns in all this, people just wanted an easy answer. And while he didn’t say anything, he agreed with Aubrey on what that easy answer was as that answer left the church in tears.
Deep down, Sunny's mother wanted to defend herself with the truths she knew. But, she didn’t want to besmirch the memories of her son.
Sunny’s mom looked at him, tearing up as she took in his injuries. “Oh… honey, I’m so sorry I took so long to get you, I’ve just been so busy and I… I… I’m a terrible mother…”
“No, you aren’t,” Hero said. She broke out of her despair, acting as if Sunny’s friends had just appeared out of nowhere.
She snapped her head between them and Sunny. She looked at all the presents he got, a clear sign that he became beloved outside of his circle of friends. Finally, she looked down at Sunny with a smile. “You really did leave the house, huh?”
For the first time in years, Sunny smiled, which she seemed taken aback by. Then, “I told them, mom.”
She paled at that and looked at his friends, who were regarding her with curiosity. “You knew?” Kel asked.
The mother slowly nodded. “I… I know it was an accident, but I didn’t want any of you to hate him… My ex-husband hating him is already enough…”
Aubrey sneered at this news, relating to the family drama. “Well, we forgive Sunny! We know he loved Mari!”
“...And I can see everyone loves him,” Sunny’s mother said, surveying the room again. “...Sunny, what exactly have you been up to?”
Sunny smiled her. “A lot.”
Basil did not come to the funeral. He couldn’t come to the funeral. He was already deemed a risk to himself, but Sunny’s own suicide made it more likely.
Basil was confined in a room, apparently at the request of his parents. It was pretty bare. Not even bedsheets, in case he wanted to give himself the Mari treatment. Polly visited to provide him food and make sure he eats it right. His friends sometimes visited, but he could feel that it was strained, an underlying despair underneath it all.
He was never truly alone, but that presence of Something made it feel that way. Something surrounded his bed, and it felt like he was trapped. It was with him when he was awake, it was with him when he was sleeping. Any positive interaction Basil had just felt empty in the end, with it around.
Something’s been around for four years.
And it felt like Something would be with him forever.
And the days and the days seem to go on forever…
Basil was still unconscious when it all went down. When he finally came to though, he saw Sunny and… Something behind him. He felt that Something was also around him, making him feel trapped.
Sunny didn’t see it, but he understood that feeling. He’s been there before, and he wouldn’t wish it on his greatest enemy.
Sunny didn’t say anything, but he reassured Basil with a smile. The first smile Basil’s seen from him in years. It was sincere, it was freeing…
Basil could see Something fade away until there was nothing. Basil felt the room getting less crowded. He felt that he could share in Sunny’s joy. He was not sure what Sunny was happy about, but… he could guess.
Basil smiled back.
Sunny was buried next to his sister, with a wide assortment of flowers on his grave, dead with his song unsung and the truth buried with him.
His gravestone had a simple phrase on it: "Universally Loved"
When Sunny was discharged, he was given a little wagon to put all his new plants in. Basil had given him gardening tips before he was discharged, and Sunny intended to make good with it. He was grateful to everyone, and he'd gladly pay them back in this small way.
When he stepped out of the hospital, he fully expected to see his friends. He did not expect to see everyone he met in town. The Hooligans whooped and hollered for him, clapping him on the back. The younger kids,Angel’s sister and Mincy gave him drawings. Sunny could swear that he saw someone in a cultish robe watching from the distance. His own friends waited off to the side with his mom, wanting to give more personal goodbyes when things settled down
...
Sunny hopes that it settles down. He didn’t know how to handle a crowd this big.
…
Fuck it. “Thank you, I love you all!” Sunny shouted.