Sunny lands at the bottom of the stairs with a sickening crunch.
Mari freezes as her heart drops to the bottom of her stomach.
Sunny slightly twitches before trying to get up and immediately falling back down.
Mari rushes down the stairs to see if he is okay.
As soon as she says something to him he huddles up as if flinching.
"I-I'm s-sorry Mari...I'm sorry...please don't hurt me...please don't hurt me...I'll play...I'll play...I'm sorry..."
Mari's heart breaks into two, she tries to apologize but Sunny continues to ramble on.
Mari tries to touch Sunny to get his attention but as soon as she does so he bursts into tears.
She yanks her arm back not wanting to upset Sunny further, before seeing the sickening bends on Sunny's left arm and leg.
Mari tells Sunny to stay still as she goes to get help.

Sunny was rushed to emergency
the fear of internal bleeding or worse couldn't escape the mind of Mari
she was responsible for his well-being and now
now he was undergoing emergency surgery
excuses ran through her mind one after another while she waited for the doctor
each being discarded more fiercely than the last
the only thought that could survive all scrutiny, every single judgment that she imposed in herself
was a plain and simple
"you failed him and you need to fix this"
An incessant crying was the only thing that escaped Mari
the family was waiting for any news while hero tries to calm her down
Hero tried to placate such helpless weeping but even he was still in shock
how the human form could twist in such a way
and in such a small being
however the minds of the young couple quickly changed their focus as the figure of the doctor came to talk to the suzuki family
"he will need a long rest to heal his arm but..."
this part was never easy
"sunny won't walk again"
just like that the last ember of hope was extinguished
It was your responsibility and you failed him
you will never fix this

anesthesia still keeps sunny in a chemical coma
protecting him from the pain his body suffered during the operation
protecting him from what would be the rest of his life
the family was entering one by one because sunny would not wake up for a couple of hours
with confirmation that his son was still breathing and that he somehow found a way to be even more useless, sunny's dad excused himself for a smoke after only 15 minutes
sunny's mother was still having an internal battle between anger and sadness where the only winner was pain
she knew that his daughter was not a bad person and she also knew who ruined the rest of his son's life.
although a thought that did not leave her was IF
if she had been more attentive to the suffering of her children or if she had seen the signs, then maybe..
it was too late for such thoughts

finally it was the turn of Hero and Mari
It was not that Mari had nothing to say but the simple fact that she could not say anything before the image she saw
her little brother with a plaster cast in his arm was enough and yet the rest was just... too much for her
even though she wanted to, she couldn't cry anymore
Hero tried everything he could think of in that moment
promise to Mari that he would always be there to help her
the storm will pass and sunny will fo
It was this last line that made Mari clench her teeth before she told him to shut up
Hero was not prepared for that and instinctively he walked away a little
Mari apologized, but asked for some alone time with her brother
he hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, telling her that she can take all the time she needed
before leaving the room for good, he try to smile for her but it was short-lived

Mari was sitting on the right side of hir bed holding his hand
you could hear a pin drop in such silence and yet Mari didn't mind that
How long had it been?
she didn't know
her mind was too focused for it
Mari was searching in her heart of hearts for the words she would say to Sunny
she couldn't be a good sister, she couldn't even be a decent human being
but she could be honest, it was the least she could do for him and he deserved it
"to err is human i will do better sunny"
with a little smile and a little tremble in her arm she keeps talking
"It's that simple right? you just have to ask for forgiveness and everything will be fine!"
her breathing was starting to speed up
"I am sorry for pushing you, I am sorry for not understanding how bad I was treating you
"I am sorry for being impulsive instead of thinking about you, I am sorry for the idea of the recital
with his fingers intertwined with hers she rested her forehead on his shoulder
"i am sorry i am sorry i am sorry i am sorry"
"I know I can't be forgiven and at this point, I don't want to be"
"I just want to see you happy and I want to be part of your life despite everything"
"I AM SORRY FOR RUINING YOUR LIFE"
That was all She could say before covering his face with both hands in shame.
however and even though his breathing was erratic she persisted
"I wish I could have made you proud to have me as a big sister"

"but you already did"
Mari raised her head almost immediately
"I guess this time I wasn't the one to screw it up, eh sis?
sunny tried to smile but he was never good at it
He was terrified of her and yet he couldn't bear to see her suffer like this.
Mari gave him the strongest hug that he had received in his life, tears finally being able to flow again in Mari face
The storm had not passed but perhaps in his eye they could find some peace

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Pub: 20 Dec 2021 17:18 UTC
Views: 723