closure

At the visiting area, he waits patiently as she's called and brought out.
Mari - notably more mature - is brought to her end of the plexiglass, escorted by two guards.
She looks tired. More than tired - the spark in her eye that she had as a teenager has all but been snuffed out completely.
When she sees exactly who's there to visit her, it takes a moment or two of processing to realize exactly who she's looking at.
The clarity washes across her face in waves of deep horror.
She sits, and shakily reaches for the receiver.
She has trouble meeting Sunny's eyes.
Expecting to be berated, Mari is instead spoken to in a soft, gentle voice, much to her surprise.
Sunny asks her how she's been.
The response she gives comes out as an agitated whisper, something along the lines of 'what do you think?'.
She was still too scared to be fully angry.
And it isn't until Sunny mentions how beautiful she still is that she becomes completely flabbergasted.
Confused, she asks him what he actually wants.
She expected him to just yell at her for twenty minutes then leave, like their mother and father does every so often.
Sunny, having already come this far and having dedicated himself to this path, quietly and carefully explains how badly he needs her.
He tells her of his struggles. His inability to connect with others, the fact that he sees and compares everyone to her.
Everything leads back to her in his mind.
Sunny tells her how he thinks about what she did to him every single day, and how he hates her - not for what she did, but for showing him a glimpse of heaven before leaving his life forever.
Mari sits in silent shock and growing revulsion as Sunny continues to explain his feelings towards her - for her - until he finally, for the first time in years, feels at peace.
He asks her when she'll be released.
Dazedly, She tells him it's a manner of months away - she's managed to get some of her sentence reduced for good behavior.
Sunny makes her a promise - much to her furthered confusion - and tells her that when the time comes, when she's free, he'll be there for her, to take her away from this nightmare.
Mari stares into his eyes.
The eyes that used to light up at her hugs.
The eyes she looked into as she held him when he was still so very small, when she made a promise to protect him.
The eyes that would always look at her for guidance, so much trust and love behind it.

The little brother she ruined.

She felt like she was going to throw up.

Edit
Pub: 17 Dec 2021 09:43 UTC
Views: 553