Welcome to Faraway Town.

You lived here for as long as you could remember... at least until you moved.

You exhaled sharply, catching glimpses of familiar views from outside of the bus window. In your lap, you rubbed your thumb along the leather-covered photo album. "Basil's Album," it was written, but although it was his origin, it was your possession. As the bus driver called for the final stop, you gripped the album nervously. Held within was the history you and your friends had shared close toa decade ago. Things were simpler-happier-back then.

Memories that you could only relive in your head.

What would become of it now?

Yours-Sunny's-reconciliation would begin as the bus came to a screeching halt.

Sunny's Reconciliation

Part 1: Joy for Breakfast

One, two, three steps and you were off the bus and on the sidewalk. Running shoes, blue jeans, and the same-old white shirt, black vest combination. Your belongings were draped over your shoulder, in a patchwork rucksack your mother made for you. It was built to withstand many harsh conditions, but hasn't been a part of any of them aside from this trip.

You inhale. You exhale. In the three years you were gone, it felt like you traveled back in time. Your nineteenth birthday just passed, and although the summer was coming to a close, now was a better time than any to get tickets to come back.

Faraway Town. A home that is no longer yours. Hoisting your bag up on your shoulders, you finally started down the sidewalk. The message played in your head as a distraction.

"Hey Sunny! I heard you were coming out in a couple of days so... if you need a place to stay, Polly and I have made arrangements for you to stay with us! Kel's been keeping us company, but don't worry, I didn't tell them-I wanted it to be a huge surprise! Well, gotta go for now. We'll see you when you get here!"

At least, that's what you can try to remember of it, anyway.

Had it really been three years? You stop for a moment and reach your hand up to your right eye. The feeling of the eyepatch was benign, but foreign. Your eyesight had barely been hindered despite such a grave wound, yet it had healed quickly.

If only all wounds could heal the same way.

"Heeey! Sunny, is that you?" A sudden voice in the distance snapped you out of your distracted state, and you quickly picked your head up to see who it was. Before you could even catch a proper glimpse of them, however, they had already sprinted up and wrapped their eyes around you. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

Instinctively, you hug them in return. You could tell who it was by your very gut feeling. As they pulled away from the hug, they met you with a warm smile. While you could barely manage to do the same, the feeling was mutual nonetheless.

Basil.

"Ah, Sunny! Happy late birthday!" said Basil, wiping a tear from his eyes. It seemed that he really missed you, but his smile turned into a frown upon noticing the eyepatch you wore. "Ah… you can follow me to my place! I wanted to get you ahead of time, and Polly's waiting for us."

It doesn't seem that Basil has gotten any taller since you had last seen him, but he had at least outgrown his outfit. He was one smock away from becoming a full-time gardener. His hair had gotten a bit longer, and it wasn't without a small pink flower in his hair. His hands were filthy. He must've just finished his morning ritual with the plants.

As you walked with him, he was telling you all about what everybody was up to over the years. However, he failed to mention about recent happenings regarding everyone else, and you had grown concerned. But in his defense, nobody took the news lightly after that fateful day. You shuddered at the thought. It wasn't until you stood at the front of Basil's house that those thoughts discarded themselves.

"Well, we're here!" He said gleefully. He approached the front door, and you marveled at the outside of the house. There were thrice as many plants as there were before you moved, all tended to without fail. Sunflowers, roses, tulips, gladiolus flowers, and even a tall, thriving cactus. The scent of each flower wafted into your nostrils, and it felt like you breathed clean air for the first time.

Shaking your head to come to your senses, you realized that Basil had held the door open for you. You hiked your shoulders to keep your bag upright, and headed on in. He followed right behind you.

"Polly! I'm home!" Shouted Basil, kicking his shoes off at the doorstep. For the sake of courtesy, you followed suit right behind him. Once you entered, you were greeted with an aroma that made your stomach growl with hunger—a broth coming straight from the stove. As you took off your second shoe, Polly appeared from the doorway opposite of the front door, and her face lit up.

"Oh, Sunny! It's been ages, my goodness!" She nearly slid across the wooden floor with slippers on to greet you with a hug. Much like Basil, they both smelled nice, like a pine candle. "You're in luck! I was just on my way to making dinner!" She slipped on an oven mitt and slid over to the pot on the stove. "We had the choice of either soup or salad, and I decided on both!"

There was something… warming about being here. It had barely even been noon, and your day had already been made complete.

You call out to Basil as he's watering a plant by the television, and mention the photo album in your rucksack. You slip it out without resistance, and hand it over to him. He looked over to it with what could only be described as a forlorn smile.

"Oh… Sunny." He took the photo album from you, and couldn't resist opening it. "Even after all these years, you still held onto it…"

But you didn't know why.

For a moment, you stared at the book in his hands. Barely peeking over the bindings, you could see the pictures. The flower crowns, the picnics… even the scribbles.

You just felt obligated to keep it as a promise to him.

"Well!" Basil snapped you out of your depressive trance, closing the photo album. "We had a lot of memories, didn't we? But… I have a surprise for you too. Wait right here!" He eagerly skipped to the back, likely to his bedroom. In his absence, you had taken note of the living room.

Everything had stayed the same. The kitchen table was still to your left, and the living room was to your right. The quilts that you had slept in before your move had been laid out in front of the couch. As you blinked twice, you remembered something warm.

"We'll always be friends," said Hero, with a grin on his face.

"That's so cheesy," Aubrey scoffed.

"Hero's always been such a big softie," Kel smiled.

You remember that night, when your friends stayed the night here with you to ensure that Basil was okay. You remembered Kel snoring loudly, as he slept before he could even finish his thoughts. You remembered Aubrey, who slept warmly, knowing that all was reconciled. You remembered Hero, who rested calmly, his heart finally at ease.

You remembered opening Basil's door.

"Hey, Sunny! Sorry about that wait." You felt the lights warming back up as Basil came back, with a brown book in his hands. "I went to Fix-it the other day with Kel and ended up buying this." He opened it up to reveal that it was an empty book, perfect for slotting pictures in.

A fresh new photo album.

"He… doesn't know," Basil chuckled, "but I got this book ahead of time in case you ever came to visit. I wanted to make new memories with you guys, but didn't want to do it without you."

You smiled. It was a brilliant idea, and you nodded in affirmation. Basil smiled right back with you.

"Heyyyy!" You could hear a voice outside, followed by gentle knocking. "It's me! I'm coming in!" You shuddered. For some reason, you wanted to hide. It was an unknown feeling of panic you couldn't hold back. But everything was okay once Basil rested a hand your shoulder. The door flew open, and you jolted for a second. The nervousness turned into excitement as you turned around.

"Hey, who's…" The voice spoke, before dropping their bag on the floor.