Riiiiiing!
The bell sounded as the sky started to turn orange. The class was starting to disperse. Some went to their clubs, some went straight back home. Some decided they wanted to hang around school with their friends. It was the last day of school before summer break.
The class has but all dispersed, except one girl.
Other than being a great pianist, Mari is also a straight A student. However, the paper in front of her didn't seem to agree.
It was marked with a C.
It wasn't a bad grade, but for her (and more importantly) her parents, this is a very shocking thing to happen. However, Mari wasn't surprised by these marks, and she knew very well why she was getting these marks.
Mari sighed as she looked at her results.
"Mari?"
A handsome and tall boy with brown hair stood by the door. He approached Mari.
Mari looked at him, and then stared back at the paper in front of her.
"Hey…" Mari replied with a saddened tone.
"..."
"Did you find something? Any clues?"
"... None."
"..."
"Mari, we're all in this together, so… you should also care about your grades and piano more."
Ever since Sunny left, Mari's attention has been split between her grades and piano, and finding Sunny. It's true that Sunny did something pretty upsetting to her. But, that doesn't matter. Her brother is missing, and she is deeply worried.
"Hero." Mari said coldly. Mari felt something deeply uncomfortable within hearing that statement from Hero. "Please, please don't say that. Those are words that shouldn't come from you."
"I… know. But Mari, I care for you. All this, it isn't good for you-"
"Then what about Sunny!?" Mari shouted, as she abruptly stood up from her seat and looked at him dead in the eye. "Did you care about him!?"
"I do! You know that I think of him as a little brother! But Mari, what can we do!? It has been a year, and no one has even seen him let alone a clue!"
"You know what, forget it." Mari took her bag and crumpled the paper in front of her as she passed by Hero.
"Mari, wait-!" Hero tried to reach for her shoulder, but…
"HERO, PLEASE!"
Hero froze.
"Please, leave me alone. I… I can't. I still can't face you."
Hero fell silent, his reaching hand slumped back.
Hero wasn't seeing her face, but he could definitely feel that Mari's eyes were watering.
Mari wiped her tears, and moved out of the classroom.
As she walked, her mind unconsciously recalled what happened a year ago after Mari woke up.
18 July 200X, the day after Sunny went missing.
Mari opened her eyes and was greeted by an unfamiliar white ceiling. She looked around and realized that she's in a hospital.
… Why am I in the hospital again? I think I'm forgetting something- Ouch!
Mari tried to prop herself up, but felt pain on her arms and her stomach. With the pain, memories of last night flowed through her head.
Meanwhile, a nurse entered the room while humming. Realizing that Mari had waken up, the nurse ran to get the doctor and contact her family.
…
…
Some time later…
"... Mari! Are you okay!?" Mari's mother approached Mari quickly and checked up on her.
"Yes, Mom. I'm fine," Mari smiled.
"Thank gosh… Your brother, how could he!? Just because he was envious of you…"
"Envious?"
"What other reason would it be, sweetie? After all, you're much, much more wonderful than your brother is," her father chimed in.
"No…" Mari's head is flowing with memories from last night. "That's not it… We were arguing. And then, and then… I think he tried to run away. I tried to stop him… … No, Mom, Dad. It was… an accident," Mari said as she rested her head by the left temple with her left hand. "Besides… I remember him calling for an ambulance."
"Oh."
"Much more wonderful than your brother is"? How can Mom and Dad say that? We're both your children, right? Mari thought with a frown. Mari knew that he never meant to push her away, and even if she was mad about the violin, Sunny was still her precious little brother. Besides, Mari knew Sunny wasn't someone who would do that without any malicious reason.
Just as she was thinking that, voices were heard from outside the room, and the door was opened, revealing Hero, Kel, Basil, and Aubrey.
"Mari! Are you okay?" Hero ran towards Mari and clasped one of her hands between his hands. However, he quickly let her hand go after sensing a chilling glare from her father.
"I'm fine." Mari said as she gave her sweetest smile possible at the moment to Hero. "I'll get better in no time!
"That's relieving…" said Hero, who then looked around and noticed Sunny wasn't visiting. "After what he did, it's unbelievable your brother didn't come to apologize for pushing you."
"Well… you see…" Mari explained to Hero what really happened last night. Word by word, Hero turned pale and broke in a cold sweat.
"... What's wrong, Hero?" Mari asked as she noticed Hero's complexion.
"I… may have said some mean things to Sunny yesterday… very mean things…"
"Mean… things?" Mari was confused. "What do you mean?"
"I… uh…"
"Hero, please tell me what you said." Mari said with a frown.
"Urk…"
…
…
Mari rested her head with 2 fingers on the bridge of her nose after listening to Hero's explanation. "I can't believe you said that to Sunny, Hero. You need to stop jumping into conclusions so quickly!"
"Sorry… I'll apologize to Sunny later." Hero said apologetically while looking down on the floor.
Basil, Aubrey and Kel surrounded Mari's parents right after that.
"Mr and Mrs. Suzuki, where is Sunny?" Basil asked.
"I don't know, dear. He's probably in his room," said Sunny's mom. Sunny's parents couldn't care less. They actually never checked on him after coming back home from the hospital.
"Let's go visit Sunny later!" Basil said happily to the other two in order to brighten up the mood."
"Yeah, let's!" Aubrey replied, "Are you coming, too, Kel?"
"Oh, y-yeah!" Kel replied, instantly switching to his signature big smile from a frown as his deep thought was broken by Aubrey.
The truth is, Kel, like Hero, jumped into a conclusion last night. If Kel had believed in Sunny, he would've stopped Hero from screaming at Sunny.
I should apologize to him, too. Kel thought.
"Well, let's visit Sunny together!" said Mari, "Apparently, my injuries aren't so bad I need to be in the hospital, so I'm getting discharged today!" I'll also ask Sunny why he threw his violin. Something must've happened. Sunny's a good kid, he won't do it without any reason, thought Mari.
Ah, home sweet home.
While Mari was fit to walk around, she still had injuries. She is wearing a white dress her mother brought for her and had a bandage around her head.
Her house is just the same as it is. The sofa, the fireplace, the big TV. After all, it was just one day.
Mari went inside the house along with Aubrey, Kel, Basil, and Hero. They were all silent. After all, they're going to meet Sunny, who pushed Mari off the stairs by accident.
Speak of the devil, it's the stairs.
"Mari, is this where-" Hero was midway through his question when Mari answered.
"Yeah."
Everyone fell silent. Well, they were already silent. It's just heavier now.
Kel's eyes wandered and landed upon a box. He approached it.
"Is that…"
"""..."""
That violin was the hard work of the entire group. For a few months, Hero and Mari worked at the bakery at Faraway Plaza. Basil and Mari sold cookies and lemonade. Kel? He painstakingly woke up in the morning and delivered newspapers for three months. A lot of blood (nope), sweat, and tears (also nope) went into buying this violin. And Sunny just… threw it away.
It was as if Sunny didn't respect their efforts.
"Why would Sunny throw this away?" said Aubrey with a saddened tone.
"I don't know, Aubrey. We'll find out soon," Mari replied.
They walked up the stairs. On the left, Mari was being held by Hero. On the right, she held onto the railings. After all, she hasn't fully recovered.
…
The door to Sunny and Mari's room.
They all looked at each other and nodded.
Che-klek. Mari turned the knob and slowly opened the door.
"Sunny?"
…
Nobody's here.
"W-where's Sunny…?" said Mari.
"It's probably okay, he must be in the bathroom!" Kel walked up to the bathroom and started banging on the door, "Hey, Sunnyyyyyy!"
…
No response.
Kel then proceeded to open the door. The bathroom was dark. He reached to the wall beside his right and flicked the light switch. Nobody's there. Sunny's not there.
"Where could he be…?" said Aubrey, worried.
"Maybe he's at the treehouse?" Hero suggested.
All of them then walked to the back lawn and to the treehouse. The treehouse was also empty. There were no signs of Sunny.
"M-maybe he's at the secret hiding spot…" said Basil.
Nada.
…
The entire group started to worry and panic.
"Hero, you go with Aubrey and Basil. Kel, come with me."
"W-what are you trying to do, Mari?" Hero asked.
"We're splitting up to search for Sunny."
Please, please don't do what I'm thinking you did, Sunny, thought Mari.
Before splitting up, they have decided they would meet up in front of Hero and Kel's house. They have searched all afternoon, the sky has turned orange and soon the sun will take its 12 hour sleep.
They have all gathered up again.
"D… Did you find him?" said Mari. She looked like a worried mess.
Judging by her expression, Hero has concluded that Mari didn't find Sunny. He then answered her question by shaking his head.
"W-where did Sunny go?" asked Aubrey, her eyes watering.
"I… I don't know…" Mari crouched and hugged Aubrey, both of them looked so fragile, Aubrey had already started to sob. Mari hugged Aubrey to her chest to comfort her (and Mari herself).
Then, something emerged within Mari. A very uncomfortable feeling. Mari was trembling, but not because she was sad.
"... Hero. Why did you say those words to Sunny?"
"W-what? I-"
"Because of you… Sunny ran away." She gripped her hands hard, still hugging Aubrey. "... and it was my parents' fault, too."
"M-maybe he's in some place we haven't checked yet-"
"Me and Kel have searched every nook and cranny! We didn't find Sunny! I… didn't find Sunny. Did you!?"
Hero fell silent. He also searched very thoroughly on his part.
"Mari..-" Hero tried to approach Mari to comfort her.
"Stay away!"
Hero was startled by her sudden burst of anger.
Mari was sobbing.
"He.. he might have pushed me," Mari inhaled, "He might have broken the violin," Mari gulped, "But he's still my sweet little brother! He…" Mari hiccuped, "He would never push me on purpose. He… wouldn't just throw the violin just because. And- and now…" Mari sobbed, "He's gone! He ran away! There I said it! He ran away!" Mari cried, "And it's because of YOU! AND MOM! AND DAD!" Mari cried harder, hugging Aubrey tighter.
Feeling Mari's sadness, Aubrey started crying harder and hugged Mari tighter. Where Sunny was Mari's little brother, to Aubrey, Sunny was a friend. A special friend. A friend that would listen to her rants. A friend that would be willing to share his food. A friend that would give her a shoulder to cry on. A friend… that she loved.
Basil, feeling the sadness, started crying too. He cupped his face into his small hands.
Kel, on the other hand, didn't bawl. He was holding his tears in. "I'm… such a bad friend." I should've believed in him. I…" He was looking away as he wiped his tears.
Hero… just looked to the ground, realizing what he had done. Realizing what grave mistake he made.
I screwed up. I really, really, really, screwed up, Hero thought to himself. He gripped his hands harder.
Back to the present…
Mari quickly walked (not run, due to her bad knee) her way to the police station. Everyday, if she had the time, after her school and courses.
"Ah, it's you again," The police officer in charge of the receptionist recognized her, "Sorry, lass, but… I'm afraid we haven't found your brother."
"I see…" Mari was looking down at the receptionist table, "Well then, I guess I'll be going. Thank you for your time."
"You're welcome."
…
…
Mari went back into her house.
"I'm home, Mom." greeted Mari.
"Welcome home, dear." Her mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Mari then saw her father on the couch, reading a newspaper. He noticed her, but didn't greet her.
The feeling was mutual.
While Mari was angry at her father for what he said to Sunny, her father was upset by the fact that her piano and score had plummeted.
…
…
Mari closed the door.
She was in her and Sunny's bedroom. She slumped just right over there, her back on the door. She was tired, mentally and physically.
She looked at the box with the broken violin in it. Her father wanted it thrown away, saying there's no use to it and even if they need another violin for whatever reason they can just buy another one. However, Mari strongly refused and kept it, saving up so that she could repair the violin.
When Sunny comes back home.
Mari looked at Sunny's bed and approached it.
She laid down there, grabbing Sunny's pillow.
Back in the day, Mari used to hug Sunny a lot. Especially when Sunny had nightmares and wanted to sleep with her.
She hugged the pillow tighter.
"Sunny, where are you? We miss you."
"I miss you."
17 July 200X, the day Sunny ran away.
Hyperventilation, pain, red blood. Red, red, red.
It's dark, everything is a blur. He can't see anything with his right eye. All he can see is black, and along with it an immense pain. Panicking, he grabbed whatever was stuck on his right eye and yanked it out. More blood came out.
A garden shear.
…
Rolling back the time a bit, Sunny was threatened by a group of bandits for money. Sunny, scared and valuing his life more, took out his wallet and gave it to them. One of them, who appears to be their leader, gave Sunny a suspicious look.
"There's no way this is all you had, cough 'em up!"
Sunny shook his head to show that all that money is what he's got. Unconvinced, the leader signaled his goons to search him up. Sunny, however, thought they're going to attack him, and panicked.
He tried to barge his way out, but alas, he failed. Two of the goons grabbed him by the arms. Still not giving up, Sunny squirmed, hoping he would find a way out.
"Ack!"
"Ugh! You little-"
While squirming, he kicked and punched the goons around him. They don't hurt a lot, considering Sunny was only made out of skin and bones, but it was enough to annoy them.
"Oof!"
Sunny punched one of the goons hard enough that he fell. Angry, he took out a garden shear to threaten him to stay put.
"KID! STAY PUT, OR I'LL KILL YOU!"
Sunny didn't register the shout, still squirming around. And then…
Sunny slapped one of the goons next to the goon holding the shear, in which his entire body swayed the direction the slap went, that goon's shoulder pushing the hand with the knife and then…
Stab.
The goons all backed away from the injured kid, who also backed away from all of them to a corner, only registering the pain after.
"Oh, shoot!"
"Damn it, Jack!" cursed the leader. The truth is, they never wanted to hurt anyone, they only wanted to threaten people to get the money. Actually killing someone wasn't part of their plan.
While the goons were discussing on what to do, Sunny was slowly losing consciousness, he's slowly losing his strength. His eyes were getting heavier.
Just before he fully blacked out, he saw the bandits that were approaching him looked the other way.
There was someone, but he can't make out who it is. He didn't even think about making out who it is, he's already deprived of his strength.
And slowly, everything turned to black.
Writer notes:
Hello, readers. While this is a fanfiction, I am quite serious in honing my skills in writing. If you would like to give some advice and constructive criticism on my writing, feel free to do so. Either way, I hope I am able to create an enjoyable story for other people.