Sunny swiftly moved away after telling the truth. Before he went, he left his contact information on a piece of paper alongside many, many other things he wanted to say to Basil. Though they consoled each other after Sunny told the truth, there were many more things they wanted to tell each other but Basil felt too drained to continue talking. So he took a rest.As far as he knows, well, each friend reacted sporadically in accordance to what he told them.Through broken words and gestures, Sunny pieced together what truly happened that day. The day he pushed her down that flight of staircase that seemed so endless, by accident. The day they came up with a secret that would entangle and strangle and consume them whole.It was difficult, no doubt. He couldn’t even look up from the floor.Aubrey was the first to leave the room. She couldn’t utter a sound. Completely bewildered and in shock. It was as if she was taken back to the same day she heard of the terrible news. No signs of wrath or hatred anywhere, just pure confusion. Like a deer caught in the headlights. All she could do was stare ahead. At Sunny with his head hung with guilt. She wanted to yell at him, wanting him to just tell her that he was joking and all of this was a lie, to scream and pull and tug at her hair until clumps and strands of hair messily wrap around her fingers. But all she could do was stand there. She turned on her heels and left the room.Hero was next. Said he needed time to process what was just told to him. Was this all an elaborate prank? That can’t be. They would not put this much effort into a joke so messed up any normal person wouldn’t even think of pulling. Plus, he looked hurt, A lot more hurt than when he first yanked him out of that lake. He had already looked pale and thin and miserable but… to this extent? He couldn’t fathom any of it. He needed to take leave. To get out of whatever situation he finds himself in right now. He needed solitude.Kel. Poor, poor Kel. He didn’t know what to do with himself, watching two of his best friends hastily leave the room with hurt and pain and despair surrounding them. But most of all, Sunny just stood there. Eyes glued to the cold hospital room floor. Tears and snot dripping down his face. He didn’t know whether he should chase after the others or pull Sunny into a tearful hug, telling him everything will be okay. But he doesn’t even know if everything would be okay. Everything he clung onto up until now has been a lie. Those past four years of pushing everything down, repressing them more and more because his selfishness demanded him to surround himself with positivity and yes men. Knowing that they were all falsehoods. All lies. All he could do was give Sunny a passive glance and leave the room. Even he couldn’t believe his own ears. He just could not begin to process any of it.And just like that, it was just Sunny left in the room alongside his best friend, his accomplice and partner in crime, a young boy with years of iniquity and anguish written all over his features, a child that didn’t know any better.He was going to wake up soon. And so Sunny waited.-"We're here!"Mom chimes up next to me as the car comes to a gradual stop in the cul de sac. I had my eyes closed just a few minutes prior in hopes of being able to doze off just for a few minutes. I rub my eyes in response, eyelids still considerably heavier than I had wanted them to.Before I could say anything, Mom beat me to the topic."Looks pretty decent, eh? The owners were kind enough to give us a discount, and I just had to jump on the opportunity!"I shrug, still rubbing the sleep from my eye. I open it back up and takes a second to observe the premise ahead. A relatively small suburban home with patches of grass just right outside, beige walls with some spider webs on them, empty flower pots around the patio, an innocuous home. My new home from now on."It's...good.""Right? I knew you would like it!"She beams at my halfhearted compliment."It's great too! You can also just walk anywhere you want around here. There's a market just down the block from us! I honestly thought I was dreaming when I managed to buy this home."I don't quite know how to respond, really. Everything seems to be working out, yet I can't help but feel this strange unease rising from my stomach. It's... a lot to take in. Sure, I couldn't express my gratitude enough for the things Mom has done for me, but some part of guilt lingers somewhere in me. She's perfectly aware of what I did, and we haven't talked about what went down last week much if not at all. I hadn't wanted to push the subject further anyhow, since we're both stressed with moving and all. Even so...I don't know what she's thinking, and it unnerves me to a degree. I can't help but shake my leg to ease off the anxiety, something that Mom seems to take note of."Sunny? Are you okay?" She brings her hand to rub my back."Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Sorry..."My voice wavers a bit. In truth, I don't know what to make of it all, either. I don't know what to say to her at this moment in time. Gratitude and guilt mixing together like oil and water, immiscible and unchanging. I can feel my throat closing up on me.I'm anxious.Nervous, timid, scared, worried. Emotions easy to identify the more you are exposed to them. Those things I could at least be completely certain of. Mom takes another look at me before leaning closer to examine my expression. For a moment, I thought I saw sorrow in her eyes."Hey, honey. You're going to be okay. We're going to be okay, alright? It's a fresh start from here."She grabs ahold of my clammy hands, hers just warm enough for me to take note of how cold my hands have gotten."I know it's a lot. It's a massive change that we'll get through together. I'll be here for you no matter what, okay?"She reassures me, smiling gently. It’s the same smile I’ve seen her put on time and time again, but there’s just a bit of doubt eating away at my judgment. I trust her, but…“Okay,” she lets out a sigh, “Let’s get the boxes inside! It’s going to get dark soon.” she pats my shoulder before unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping outside of the vehicle.Has she always been like this?Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom. But I can’t for the life of me read what’s on her mind. Maybe she’s just as nervous as me. Who wouldn’t be? We’re practically on the other side of the state, disconnected from places we’re so familiar with, from people we’re so accustomed to meeting, from the very place we used to call home. But maybe she has a point.It’s a fresh start from here, after all.

tba.

vol. bundle

footnotes

vol. 1

vol. 2

footnotes attached in tracks below

III.

depart

first session

medication

anniversary

lakeside

feels like home

dream1

dream2

dream3

aXQncyBub3QgdGltZSB5ZXQu

character sheets

sunnyage: 20
he/they
occupation: violinisttakes place 2-4 years after the good ending; sunny moves away and picks up the violin again for mari's sake as well as begin composing his own works, a medium where he feels most comfortable expressing himself. his natural musical talent landed him in first place in competitions time and time again, but he can't shake the guilt he still feels about the violin.
his friendships in faraway are strained after knowing the truth, but sunny still somewhat talks to basil. his relationship with his mother has somewhat improved, much better than before at least. though the guilt of everything that happened had somewhat gone away, bouts of depression eats away at him.

old art/scrapped concepts

illustrations

movies

dreams