Chapter Text
It had been a few years since Sunny had last visited his old town. The town where everything happened, where he lived, where he went to school, where he made friends…
The first few years were difficult ever since the accident happened. When he got into an argument with his older sister Mari, and in a fit of desperate rage pushed her down the stairs of their once familiar home. She never got to see how well he had gotten at the violin…
Basil, his best friend, witnessed the occurrence. And to hide the murder, they hung her in the backyard. Everything afterwards was a blur.
Sunny refused to leave his home, and Basil kept quiet. Anything for his best friend, right? Four years passed, it took four years for Sunny to willingly step foot outside of that home again to face his friends. But he was going to leave the town soon, and after meeting with his friends at a sleepover the days prior to his departure, Basil and Sunny got into a fight in the bathroom at the dead of night. The next day was spent with the two of them in a hospital, where Sunny at last, had the courage to reveal the truth to his other friends.
What were they supposed to think? Sunny is lucky that they chose not to alert the authorities. Hero was the first to distance himself from Sunny, what would go on in his mind Sunny would not know. Kel followed in the footsteps of his brother, but showed much less disdain towards Sunny. Aubrey needed her time to process everything, especially now with everything that had gone on in her life. They did not leave Sunny, but they, like him, needed time to process the events of that day.
So in the end, Basil, his best friend, was the only one who would stay by Sunny, and keep in touch with him. It had been a few years since Sunny had last visited his old town, and Basil had invited Sunny over to stay at his place for however long he felt like staying.
Sunny arrived some time in the evening, when the sun rested on the hills and had only just begun to sink past the horizon. The taxi dropped Sunny off in front of the driveway. He carried a black backpack and a small black suitcase. It was rather chilly, he wore a warm brown jacket and a pair of long brown pants. Nothing too flashy, just the right amount of dull.
He began slowly walking towards the home with the lime green roof. It looked just like how he remembered, as if time had stopped passing and kept the house preserved in this happy state.
But Sunny was older now. His face looked somewhat aged for a young adult like himself, and faint but visible bags had started to form under his eyes. His hair was short, and just a little messy. He had grown taller, but the child within him still lived. The years after his incident with Basil have been difficult, but he was still here.
More plants and flowers could be seen outside of the house, so Sunny knew for a fact that he had the right address. However, as he continued his approach, he could feel his body hesitate.
What would Basil think of him now? Were they still, really friends? Would friends have hurt each other like that? I made a mistake coming here. I never should have come back. Why would-
The front door swung open, and the bright and warm yellow light from within poured out and into Sunny’s eyes.
“Sunny!” Basil exclaimed as he held his arms out, walking quickly towards his best friend wearing an apron decorated with patterns of flowers and underneath it a green, fuzzy long-sleeved shirt.
Sunny tensed up, sucking in air between his teeth as he felt Basil’s powerful arms wrap behind him and nearly lift him up off of the ground. Awkwardly, Sunny patted his hands on Basil’s back.
“Hey, Basil.” He muttered. It would have been rude for him not to say anything.
As Basil withdrew himself, he got a good look at Sunny’s face. “Oh dear, the years have not been kind have they?” Basil commented, an expression of concern surfacing on his face. All Sunny could do was nod.
“Well, don’t worry Sunny, I’m here now! I will be so very kind to you, and we’ll wash that look right off of you. Come in, come in! I’ve made us some food, you must be tired from your taxi ride all the way here.” Basil spoke, taking Sunny’s hand and leading him into his home.
Stepping foot into the thriving home, faint memories of past times flashed in Sunny’s mind. He remembered that sleepover, and he remembered how happy everybody looked. Nobody knew then that things would go wrong, they lived in the moment, and they were happy.
He looked to his left, and saw the little kitchen area, clean and shiny like it was new. On the stove, a pot of soup was being cooked slowly over a small fire. Sunny could smell its aroma, and his stomach started to growl.
Basil heard the groans of Sunny’s stomach, and giggled to himself. “You must be hungry, the soup will be done soon, let me show you to your room.”
The front door to the living room closed behind them as Basil led Sunny further into the home, and they entered the hallway that would lead to three different rooms. As they stepped into the hallway lit orange by the setting sun, Sunny hesitated. Something important happened here, something that he could not quite let himself remember. Flashes of that night shot through his mind, moving quickly in and out of his vision as he stopped. Basil turned to look at his friend, gently clutching his hand.
“Your room is to the very left.” He spoke in a softer tone, aware of the thoughts that raced through both of their heads. They walked slowly to the room on the left, and Basil opened the door, pushing it in as the room came into view.
It was once Basil’s grandmother’s room, but now it was empty. A few potted plants and flowers hung from the ceiling, there was a comfortable looking chair next to the bed, which was next to the window in the middle of the wall. To the right of the window, a shelf full of books, and in front of that shelf was a simple wooden table that had yet another potted plant sitting on top of it.
“This will be your room! My grandmother passed away a while back, and this room has just been relatively empty. Don’t worry, I tidied things up so you can just lay down and get comfortable. My parents won’t be coming back anytime soon so, you won’t have to worry about that! Just, set down your things, do whatever you need to do, dinner should be ready in a bit!” Basil stated, letting go of Sunny and turning around to leave the room.
Sunny kept quiet. He probably should’ve said something. Something like , “I’m sorry your grandma passed,” would have sufficed, but no, he had to say nothing. What would Basil think?
“That’s okay,” he thought to himself. “I’ll have dinnertime to talk with him.”
He took off his jacket and set it on the comfortable chair in the room before taking off his pants and his socks, wearing only his black boxers as he climbed into the bed and got under the blanket, letting out a deep sigh of relaxation. The bed felt comfortable, the home felt comfortable.
After laying in the warm comfort of the bed for some time, he decided to get up and get properly dressed. He could not stay in bed forever, he needed to eat too. Moving aside the blanket, he climbed out of the bed and stepped onto the floor with his bare feet, walking to his suitcase which he left at the foot of the bed.
Sunny laid the suitcase down on the floor and unzipped it, revealing all the clothes and items that he brought on this trip back to the town he grew up in. He took out a pair of slippers and put them on, and took out a pair of gray shorts from his suitcase which he quickly wore. Then, he took off his shirt and tossed it into the suitcase, rummaging about before taking out a plain white shirt and putting it on. He was ready to face the rest of the day.
Feeling himself becoming thirsty, Sunny walked out of his room and into the hallway, head tilted down to look at his feet as he made his way into the living room.
Basil was still in the kitchen, tending to the soup and tasting it before noticing that Sunny had emerged from the hallway. Placing the wooden ladle against the inner rim of the pot, he turned down the flame and walked up to his friend.
“Hi Sunny, did you need something?” Basil inquired, a joyful expression on his face.
Sunny paused, moving his head to look up at his best friend. A few seconds passed as he mustered up the strength to speak.
“Yeah, uh, may I have a cup of water?” Sunny asked with a rather quiet voice, as if he was afraid of how Basil would respond.
“Of course you can Sunny! Why don’t you sit down on the sofa and watch something on the TV while I get you a cup.” Basil responded warmly, like a mother gushing over her own child.
Hearing this, Sunny walked over to the sofa and sat down while Basil got a cup from the cabinet in the kitchen and poured some cooled water in a pitcher from the refrigerator. He then walked over to the little table next to the sofa and set down the water.
“Here it is! Drink from it when you feel like it.” Basil announced, before walking back to the kitchen to tend to the soup. Sunny grabbed the cup and put his lips against the edge of the glass, tilting it, and letting the cold water flow into his mouth.
In the little kitchen corner, Basil watched the steam rise from the boiling potato soup. It had been a few minutes since it had begun boiling, and the smell of the vegetables in the mixture was particularly enticing. Grabbing a spoon, he scooped up a little puddle of the scrumptious brew, blew some air upon it, and took a tiny little sip. It was delicious, and it was just the right temperature.
Turning off the fire, Basil moved over and opened a cabinet, taking out two sizable bowls and setting them next to the stove. Then, grabbing the ladle, he scooped portions of the soup into the bowls before he carried them quickly over to the table. There was still plenty of hot soup left in the large pot, so he covered it with its lid.
Next, Basil bent down and opened the oven to reveal a large loaf of bread that had been sitting inside of the oven for a long while. But as he pressed the back of his hand against the hard shell of the loaf, it was still warm. Everything was perfect. Wearing the oven mitts, he grabbed the bread pan and took it out from the hot oven and placed it onto the dinner table.
“Hey Sunny, I made some food for us! Come over here and eat.” Basil beamed, quickly realizing that he had forgotten to get spoons for the both of them.
Sunny got up from the sofa, holding the empty cup, and walked to place the glass into the kitchen sink before sitting down at the table as Basil came back with spoons for the both of them.
“Right! I have to get the bread knife too.” Basil remembered, rushing back again to quickly swipe the bread knife out of the cabinet and set it down next to the pan.
“I should have gotten a plate for the bread, eh, we’ll worry about that later. Please Sunny, take a drink of the soup! I’m quite proud of it.”
Sunny said not a word, picking up the spoon with his right hand, dipping it into his bowl, and scooped up a bit of the soup. He looked at it with his dull, tired eyes. Taking a sniff, he loved its scent, though showed nothing for his enjoyment of its smell. Opening his mouth and placing it into his mouth, he closed his eyes to savor the taste.
It was warm, and he could taste the potatoes that had been used to make the soup, catching smaller hints of onions and carrots that had also been used to bring out the flavor of it. It was salty, but it was not the kind of salty that made you want to wash it down with water. No, it was the enticing kind of salty that made you want to have more of it. A filling, and welcoming sort of taste spread forth throughout his taste buds as he opened his eyes and smiled faintly. Eagerly, he scooped up another spoonful and began drinking away.
Basil was more than delighted upon seeing his cooking being enjoyed by his best friend Sunny. It was a wonderful thing to see, since Sunny always looked so gloomy all of the time as far back as Basil could remember. Intent on keeping up the joyous attitude, Basil ran to get a plate from the kitchen. Once he got a plate, he came back to the table and took the bread out of its pan, placing it onto the plate.
Then, he grabbed the bread knife and began cutting two slices for himself and his best friend. Sawing the slices out, Basil put the first smaller piece into his own bowl of soup, and handed Sunny the bigger second slice.
Sunny gently took the slice of bread from Basil’s hands, mouth still busy drinking the delicious potato soup that Basil had made. He then proceeded to take a bite of bread, and drink a spoonful of soup. The combination was blissful as he continued feasting.
Though Sunny wouldn’t see the look on Basil’s face, Basil smiled tenderly at the feasting Sunny as he himself tried spoonfuls of his own soup. It was wonderful spending time with a friend as old and as wonderful as Sunny. But as Basil kept watching Sunny, his eyes would drift to the scarred tissue around Sunny’s right eye.
It was a reminder of what took place in the past in this very house. Basil would love to forget the events of that day, and everything that led up to it. But it had been engraved into his mind, and would be something that he will remember for years to come.
Sunny found Basil that night in the bathroom, his mind deteriorating. Basil envisioned a dark mass of dreadful terror that surrounded himself, and something sinister too behind Sunny. Basil wanted to save himself, he wanted to save Sunny, he wanted to save the both of them. But what could Sunny do? Both on the verge of insanity, they fought. In the pitch blackness, they traded blows, but Basil ultimately landed a nasty gash on Sunny’s right eye, and the two fainted, overwhelmed by everything in the blackness of that very bathroom within the home.
Sunny’s right eye was still thankfully, still functional after the scuffle. But the scar, the discoloration of the iris, all markings from that one time in the past. Though they seemed to make up after that day in the hospital, in that moment Basil could not help but wonder if deep down, Sunny still harbored a silent hatred for him.
Snapping back to the present, Basil caught himself staring at Sunny, and quickly averted his gaze back to the bowl of soup in front of him. The slice of bread in the hot soup was getting soggy, and forcibly, he began drinking and eating the bread in a desperate hope that Sunny had not noticed him staring at the scar.
The soup was delicious, and with each sip from the spoon, Sunny took a bite out of the slice of bread. A sip, then a bite, a sip, then a bite. He did not notice his best friend staring at the scar near his eye, Sunny had long grown accustomed to it and saw it as just another part of his body now. What he did notice however, was that he was running out of soup. He finished devouring the slice of freshly made bread, and drank the few remaining droplets from his bowl, and carefully placed it down on the table before huffing a breath of air.
“That. Was wonderful. I’ll go get myself another bowl.” Sunny announced to Basil, who was too busy drinking the soup to respond.
Walking up to the stove holding the bowl in a hand, Sunny grabbed the ladle and scooped up more soup to put into the bowl. Then, as quickly as he came to get more soup, he made his way back to the table, making sure to cut Basil and himself another slice of bread.
As he handed Basil the slice of bread, Basil’s hands carefully reached out to take the slice, like he was scared of Sunny. But Sunny did not notice this, and after Basil took the slice of bread Sunny promptly sat down in his seat on the table and continued eating.
The two continued to sit at the table, drinking the soup, eating the bread, and occasionally talking to themselves for a while before the bread was fully eaten and the soup in the pot was completely emptied. They sat at the table, talking about things that had changed in the town since Sunny last visited.
“Othermart has gotten bigger! They sell a lot more stuff now, we could stop by there sometime if you need something.”
“I see. How about that old playground? Anything new with it? Or does it still look the same?”
“The playground still looks the same! Not a whole lot has changed, they added a few new things for the children to play with but truthfully speaking I wouldn’t know, I don’t really head out that far.”
“Hm.”
And the conversation came to a halt. A few long seconds passed as the two sat in awkward silence, before Basil spoke.
“Here, I’ll wash the dishes while you get ready for bed or something, I bet you’re tired after your journey here hm?” Basil asked with a smile, as Sunny nodded in return, getting up and handing his best friend the now empty bowl of soup.
Sunny could hear the faucet running as he left the large living room and stepped foot into that hallway again, and noticed the darkness. It had already become night, it was just like that night those many years ago. And he started to panic.
“Get a grip on yourself.” Sunny would think, looking around for a light-switch for the hallway. Spotting it in the miserable blackness, he flicked the switch and a warm orange glow filled the hallway, and all was good.
His eyes wandered to look at the door to the bathroom. It was just a bathroom, but it held a history that Sunny would rather not remember. But over the years, Sunny had also developed a strict habit of cleaning himself before he slept for the night. He would return to the bathroom later, so he turned and made his way into his room at the very left of the hallway.
Stepping into the room and turning on the light, he rushed to close the curtain in the one window within his room. It was dark outside, and Basil’s home was surrounded by trees. He made his way back to his suitcase and bent down to take out a cup, a toothbrush, and toothpaste.
After grabbing these items, he walked out of the room and made his way back to the entrance to the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, and quickly flicked the lightswitch.
The bathroom was a blinding white with a barely noticeable tint of yellow. Quickly walking up to the sink, Sunny began thoroughly and vigorously brushing his teeth with his eyes focusing on nothing. He took a good minute cleaning his mouth before he rinsed his mouth, washed his face, and made his way out of the bathroom. Familiarizing himself again with that place could wait another day.
As Sunny began walking back to his room, Basil stepped foot into the hallway and saw him.
“Oh Sunny! Are you headed to bed now? It’s still rather early.” Basil asked, tilting his head to look at his best friend.
“Oh, is it? I’m, pretty tired though, I think it’s best I call it an early night,” Sunny said , “I’m, not pretty tired I’m, actually, awfully tired. I’m going to rest tonight.”
Basil nodded in understanding, Sunny did just come here from a long drive and ate a filling dinner, it would be best to let him rest before the two did anything else tomorrow.
“Alright Sunny, if you need anything feel free to help yourself to anything in the home okay? Or you can always let me know if you need help with something.” Basil concluded with a soft smile, before heading back out into the massive living room.
Sunny trudged his way to his bedroom, walking in, making a beeline for the bed, and collapsing on top of it like a fish flopping onto the floor. Then, he started shifting and moving the blanket around until it covered him comfortably and completely. But it felt cold, it would warm up after a while but it felt so very cold.
Soon, he lay on his back, eyes staring at the ceiling. There were many things to face, many things to discuss, and all of it in the not too distant future. It was scary, and Sunny imagines that it will be difficult, but he’ll have to face them anyway.