He was always afraid of needles. He was afraid of a lot of things. But Mari promised him that it wouldn’t hurt, and he trusted her. She would never lie to him.
”It’ll be painless, okay? Just a little prick, then you’ll start feeling very sleepy… it’ll all be okay, I promise.”
It’ll all be okay. It’ll all be okay. It’ll all be okay. Sunny repeated it in his head like a mantra as Mari applied rubbing alcohol to his arm, as she filled the syringe, as she sat him down in her lap and smiled at him with all the warmth in the world.
He was scared. He trusted his sister, but he was still scared. He shook like a leaf in her arms.
”Hey, look at me.” She cupped his face in her hands and made him look directly into her eyes.
One of her hands moved. Sunny tried to turn his head to see what she was doing, but she gently moved him back into place. “Keep looking at me, okay?” She smiled at him.
It’ll all be okay.
The needle went in.

Mari pressed down on the plunger. Watched the cherry-red liquid in the syringe flow into Sunny’s arm. The smile she gave her brother was genuine.
Eventually, he went still. His breathing became slower, his eyelids drooped. He looked like he was falling asleep. Mari stroked his hair lovingly as he drifted off.
In his final moments, Sunny looked peaceful. Her perfect little brother.
She lifted him up gently and placed him onto his bed. Tucked him in. Gave him a kiss on his forehead. Still warm.
”I’ll be with you soon, I promise.” she whispered to him.
Mari filled the syringe again and gave herself her own injection. With movements so calculated they seemed practiced, she put her equipment away, took off her gloves, and got into bed with Sunny. By the time she tucked herself in, she could already feel herself getting sleepy.
As her consciousness faded, she held her brother close. Even as she surrendered herself to her final rest, she smiled. The last thing she would see was the face of the person she loved most in the world.
Mari wrapped her arms around Sunny and closed her eyes. She would be with him soon.

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Pub: 17 Dec 2021 13:24 UTC
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