Chapter Text
Sunny sat quietly on his bed, his face pressed against his knees as he sat in a ball-like position.
Sunlight slowly crept in through the window, illuminating the floor in the spots where the beams of light shone through the barely open curtains.
Basil had also woken up, only half an hour after Sunny, but the blonde hadn’t said anything to him so far. The two just sat in silence, waiting for the others to wake up as well.
Mari would've gotten up by now, Sunny bleakly thought to himself. She had loved to get up early and go downstairs to practice her piano. Eventually Sunny started joining her once he got his violin, which now sat in a toy box broken and untouched, tucked away for no eyes to see.
"Sunny...?" Basil finally whispered. Now seemed like a good chance, in their eyes anyway, so they figured they would ask about what to do before the others awoke.
Sunny slowly moved his dark eyes to look over at Basil and stared silently as he waited for the blonde to keep speaking.
"Uhm...I-I wanted to ask..." He paused and looked around at their friends. They were all still fast asleep, especially Kel, for someone with a beam of sunlight streaming directly into his eyes.
Basil hesitantly continued, "D-do you wanna tell them..? About uhm, what happened yesterday?"
Sunny froze.
No. No. No. No. No.
He opened his mouth to speak but felt himself choking up at the mere thought of telling the truth.
After all, what would his friends say?
What would they think of him if they knew what he'd done?
Basil guiltily glanced down at the floor. They felt bad for asking, but he wanted to know. Sunny buried his face in his knees, which Basil took as a 'No'.
He clearly didn't want to talk about it, so the blonde-haired boy decided not to push too much. Basil looked at the wall instead, although it seemed dark, even with the sun coming in.
--
Hero woke up quietly, slowly sitting up near the foot of Mari's bed where he'd poorly slept through the night. His brown hair was a mess, and his eyes looked red from tears as he mumbled a good morning to Sunny and Basil before heading downstairs to the piano room.
The house was quiet as he trudged down the stairs, so he assumed Sunny's dad had already left for work and his mom probably wasn't up yet.
Hero reached the bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath before walking into the room to his left.
Quietly he sat on the piano bench and carefully lifted the cover off the smooth black and white keys. He gently placed his hands to play, but instead hesitated.
"Her piano, where we had played so many songs..." The brown-haired boy muttered to himself as he softly traced his hand along the keys. He smiled at the memories, but it quickly faded.
Their memories. They were a little sad now.
A dreadful thought crossed Hero's mind as he realized that, depending on her condition, it was likely the black-haired girl wouldn't even be able to play the piano anymore when she returned.
I'll play for you as much as you want Mari...Just, please. Wake up soon... He begged, his heart clenching at the idea that she'd never be capable of making such beautiful music again.
Suddenly, a voice loudly sounded from outside the room, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Heroooo!!"
He shot up from the piano bench and hurried to the door, but stopped when he poked his head out of it. No one seemed hurt, so he took a quick sigh of relief before turning his attention to his younger brother. "Kel, why are you yelling? Sunny's mom might still be asleep."
Kel frowned and pointed up at the top of the stairs where Sunny and Aubrey stood. "Sunny won't come down. He's been standing there for like ten minutes..."
Hero looked up at the black-haired boy, confused.
Aubrey had a hand on his shoulder, the other on his back as she tried talking to him with a worried expression. "Sunny? Come on, let's go down," she pleaded.
If the black-haired boy had heard her, he gave no indication as he remained frozen in place, his gaze fixated on the bottom step of the stairs.
The corners of his vision blurred, the backs of his eyes felt like the were being pushed out of his skull, and yet he couldn't look away. He couldn't move a muscle.
The room suddenly fell dark, and he noticed something looming at the bottom of the steps.
It moved, slowly crawling up the stairs with strings tangled around its throat, long dark hair covering its face in the shadows. It stumbled and crawled backward, its sharp eyes looking directly at Sunny.
He wanted to scream, run, and cry for help, but his limbs refused to budge.
Basil stood at the bottom of the stairs, camera in hand. They turned away as the thing got further up the stairs, still making no sound other than its bones creaking with each stiff movement.
Eventually, it reached Sunny, and something shook him right before it could wrap its long spindled fingers around his ankle.
He blinked rapidly.
It was bright again, there was no strange shadow monster anymore, and his friends were with him. He looked down at Basil, who had a concerned look on their face but no camera in sight. Kel stood next to them, sharing a similar expression.
Shuddering, Sunny turned his gaze forward again, finally realizing Hero was right in front of him, offering his hand. "It's okay. We can go down together," he said with a smile, his words feeling like a thick warm blanket.
Aubrey moved from behind Sunny to stand next to Hero, a sympathetic smile crossing her face as well. "Together," she said, firmly nodding.
Sunny blinked once more, but slowly took Hero's hand, trying to keep his arm from shaking. The three of them slowly walked down the stairs, and Sunny had to keep himself from pausing when they reached the bottom.
Something had been there, he saw it.
But where did it go?
He shook his head as they grouped up with Kel and Basil, and the five of them made their way to the kitchen where Mrs. Suzuki sat at the island with a cup of coffee, dark circles tracing beneath her eyes as she stared into space.
"Mornin'!" Kel spoke loudly, causing the woman to slightly flinch.
She turned to them and smiled when she saw Sunny. She didn't know what had just happened, or what was at the bottom of the stairs.
"Good morning, everyone,” She said warmly, pausing to drink some of her coffee. “Sunny's dad is at work already, but if you'd like we can try to visit Mari today," she offered, sounding tired but hopeful.
Sounds of agreement rose from the children as they each got cereal, or a single slice of toast in Sunny's case, so once they finished eating breakfast they all loaded into Mrs. Suzuki's car and headed to the hospital.
--
Mari's room was cold and quiet as they entered, the growingly familiar white walls and tiles feeling unwelcoming.
Everyone took their turns saying their hellos to the sleeping girl, except for Sunny, who quietly stood next to her bed with tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." he mumbled almost incoherently, the beeping of the monitors punctuating his pitiful words.
He wiped his eyes and turned to look at his friends, but to his surprise, they were gone.
Where'd they go..? I thought I just heard them...
Confused, he looked over at his mother, who tiredly watched over Mari.
He thought about asking her, but couldn't find the words, so he stayed quiet, slouching in the chair he didn't remember taking a seat in.
Shortly after, Aubrey, accompanied by a nurse, walked in, her hair in a high ponytail that swayed as she walked.
Sunny quickly realized she was holding a small flower pot, with a small lily of the valley poking out of the dirt.
Is it a good idea to bring a poisonous plant into a hospital? Sunny wondered to himself as he eyed the black-haired girl.
Aubrey gently placed the pot near Mari's bed and carefully leaned on the side. "Hey, Mari. Basil told us about some of his flowers a few days ago," she explained.
Sunny found himself even more confused. He mentioned that only an hour ago...Or was it two..?
Aubrey continued, "They said that this one reminded them of you...I thought it was pretty, so I figured I'd bring it to you," She had a soft smile as she spoke. "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..." Her smile stayed, but her brows slightly furrowed.
Sighing, she quietly walked over to the side of the bed that Sunny was on and sat in the chair next to him. "The others wanted to come but couldn't. Basil's tending to their garden, and Kel and Hero are doing something with their parents today."
Sunny lightly nodded but said nothing.
A long moment of silence filled the room as the three sat quietly, and eventually, they left the hospital.
"Would you like to come over, Aubrey?" The keys jingled in Sunny's mom's hand as she unlocked the car.
Aubrey smiled but shook her head. "Nah, my mom wants me home. I'd appreciate a lift though?"
Mrs. Suzuki nodded, and the three quickly got in the car, with Aubrey rambling about something Sunny wasn't paying attention to.
The ride home was short, and the next thing he knew Sunny was back in his room. He sat on his bed with a quiet sigh as he glanced around, the only sound other than his breathing being the slow creaking of the ceiling fan.
The setting sun filled the room with an orange tint, but it slowly left, leaving his room dark and cold.
Silently, he got up, made Mari's bed, and then laid back down on his own, curling up on top of his blankets.
I wonder what happened earlier... Sunny wondered, but the thoughts quickly vanished from his mind.
Eventually, he managed to fall asleep, slipping into a dreamscape of wonder and terror.