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“These are sunflowers, they’re called that because they always face towards the sun. That’s how I want to be like… someone who always sees the bright side of things.”
I stand and look up at the sky, a new cold breeze flows through my hair. It’s autumn, also called fall. Summer has ended and school had started. I don’t really want to think about school, as it’s the weekend and I’m out with my best friend.
I look to my left to see Basil helping his grandma out of the car. Basil told me my help wasn’t needed and to just wait here. Basil’s grandma surprised the blonde with a trip to a farm for apple picking. He has always wanted to go and I was just lucky enough to be invited.
“Okay we can go now!” Is yelled and I have barely enough time to react before I feel his hand in mine, dragging me towards the entrance. Basil happily skips his way there, it makes me smile. It takes small things to make him happy, but it also takes very little to make him anxious. I like it when he’s happy. I hate it when he’s anxious or sad. I wish he was happy all the time.
Soon enough we each get a bag and instructions on where we should pick. We have to wait for Basil’s grandma and I can tell Basil is very excited to start, he won’t stop jumping up and down. He’s so excited that when we get there he lets go of my hand and starts.
Basil’s grandma laughs kindly next to me, “He’s such a joyful boy. Even with everything, he’s still so bright. Well, Sunny, you should join him. He loves your company. I’ll just be over here.”
She starts picking from the trees at the front, I smile at her and nod, running up to catch up to the blonde. He hasn’t gone far. When I reach him he smiles at me and hands me an apple giggling, “Here, Sunny! An- an apple for you!”
I nod my head and take the apple, smiling as I put it in my bag. He already has a couple apples in his bag. I should probably catch up. Having a new mission I start picking apples. It’s a lot more fun than I expected, and picking them out, getting to choose which one you deem worthy, is fun. It’s even more fun to ever so often give Basil an extra special apple, and for him to do the same for me.
We get many apples and Basil gives many smiles, laughs, and giggles. He’s having a good day. That’s good. I look over to Basil. He’s on his toes trying to reach for an apple and I notice, he has a leaf in his hair. I smile to myself and walk over. He notices me, sighs at the loss of the apple, then smiles once more as I start getting closer.
“That apple is way to high for me, it’s not- it’s not fair.” Basil huffs, looking from the apple to me. Once he looks at me again his smiles drops into a slight worry. “Are you- are you okay, Sunny?”
I nod my head and reach out to grab the leaf in his hair. His eyes widen in surprise from my move, but I don’t move away and instead take the stowaway leaf from his bright blonde hair. I show it to him and his face calms with realization.
“O-oh, thank you, Sunny. I- I must have looked pretty- pretty silly, huh?”
I shake my head right away, frowning. I look down at the leaf still in my hand and then at the bright almost teal eyes looking at me. I take a deep breath and speak, “Not silly. Nature suits you.”
Basil’s eyes widen comically and a blush warms its way onto his freckled cheeks. I can’t tell if I’m blushing or not, probably not. I don’t seem to show much on my face. I do feel a bit weird though, flustered. I wonder if he can tell.
“I- I-? O-Oh… Uh… Thank- Thank you… Sunny..” He stutters, avoiding any eye contact. I smile, amused by my best friend’s reaction. I take a deep breath and turn my attention to the apple he was trying to get.
I run over to the tree and find the branch the apple is attached, the branch is in reach, I grab it and pull it down. I look over to Basil, the apple is right in front of his face now. The teal eyed boy stares for a second before picking the apple as if it’s the most precious fruit to ever grow.
We stare at each other for a few more seconds until Basil looks away with a shy smile, “Thank you- thank you, Sunny. Let’s go- go pick some more.”
We spend the next how ever long picking one apple at a time till our bags were filled. It was spent with Basil talking about anything and everything. I enjoyed not having to talk, I enjoyed getting to listen. I hope he knows that I enjoyed this. With our bags filled we make our way to Basil’s grandma. Basil grabs my hand and we run towards our destination.
Basil screams out his nickname for his grandma, a name taken from his Greek side that his grandma insisted he call her, “Yaya! Look how many apples we got!”
His grandma laughs happily at the blonde boy’s joy, I can’t help but smile. She takes a look at our apple that we proudly present to her. Holding a bright red apple she speaks, “Well done boys, with these I’ll be able to make a nice apple pie.”
Basil, who let go of my hand a bit ago, claps excitedly jumping up and down. Basil can be very expressive, especially when he’s happy. The most I do is smile. He doesn’t seem to mind.
“Now, boys, there’s a lot more to do here. You can go explore as long as you stay in the main area. I knee is acting up again so I shouldn’t be walking as much.” Basil’s grandma announces, giving us some cash.
I look over to Basil to see the joy he felt replaced by worry, I frown. He starts messing with the end of his shirt. “Are you- are you sure, Yaya…? We could just leave… I don’t want- I don’t want to leave you all- all alone.”
“Oh my sweet princess, don’t worry about me, I’ll be alright. You go enjoy your time with Sunny, I know how much you two love to spend time together.”
I nod my head in agreement but Basil still looks unsure, I take his hand and give it a squeeze. He looks over to me and sighs, giving an anxious smile, “Oh… Okay. We won’t be- be gone too long though… okay?”
“Okay, sweetheart.” His grandma responds, smiling. Basil takes another deep breath and, for the first time today, I take the lead and drag him to the festivities.
There’s not too much here, as the main attraction was apple picking, but there’s still some things to do. We do almost everything, all that we can. A corn maze, testing out weird treats, going into a semi big store filled with fresh produce.
At one point though, something catches Basil eye, and for the first time since apple picking he leads me. I wonder what has gotten him so excited, but I follow along without speaking a word. Soon enough he stops, right in front of a bunch of tall yellow flowers.
In a quiet voice, he announces, “These are sunflowers. They are called that because they always face towards the sun…”
He pauses and looks over to me, smiling. The sun has begun to set and so it shines onto the teal eyed boy, it almost hurts, but it’s also very beautiful. The sun suits him well.
He continues, “That’s how I want to be like… someone who always sees the bright side of things.”
Once he stops he smiles even wider, then flushes, looking away. A sunflower? I look back to said flowers, looking with more importance. The flowers are very beautiful as they face towards us. I study each leaf, each petal. I study the color, the size. Then I look back to him.
“You are a sunflower.” I point out, “You have yellow hair, and you are bright.”
This somehow makes Basil blush a darker shade of red. I hope he’s okay. We have been away from his grandma for a while, we should probably go back.
“Sunny-“ He starts but I cut him off by walking back towards his grandma.
“It’s time to go back.” I say and hear a small noise of agreement from beside me.
I look forward, the sun shining on my face.
I smile.
It was a fun day.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“These flowers are called lily of the valley. It’s said that they’re able to ward off evil spirits and help people see a brighter future… I guess that’s why they remind me of MARI. I can always count on her to help me stay positive.”
He’s crying. I’m sitting on the floor of my room with my Best friend, Basil, as he cries. Today was Friday and like most Friday nights we decided to have a sleepover. But I knew something was wrong from the moment I saw him today.
He look tired, and sad. I could see it in his eyes. Aubrey and Kel treated him like normal, but I knew. The way he walk, the way he talked. He’s usually never nervous talking to us, but today he was, he barely talked. He just seemed, distant.
We walked to my house together and right when we walked in he dragged me upstairs and started crying. The problem is, I never know what to do when he’s crying. All I’ve done is sit in front of him while he tries to speak but can’t from his sobbing.
I take a deep breath and move forward, rapping my arms around him in a hug. I then feel him start to cry harder. It takes a little but soon enough he returns the hug and sobs, “I’m- I’m so- So sorry, sunny.”
“Don’t be.” I whisper to him and he starts crying harder again.
“Sunny have you seen my-“ I hear my sister say from behind me, I bolt to look at her and see her staring at us. It’s not long before she is right next to Basil and me.
“Oh my goodness, what happened!?” She asks us both. I let go of the hug and shrug my shoulders. Basil starts trying to breath again, and it worries me how much he’s struggling.
“Hay, hay, Basil it’s okay.” She tells him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
“What happened, you know you can tell us anything.” She reassures him. He looks at her and he nods his head. I hold his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. He starts calming down, it takes a while, but me and Mari sit with him the whole time.
“My parents.” He says, quietly, his voice hoarse from crying. I wipe the tears off his cheeks and he let’s out a small laugh.
“They we’re supposed to visit for- for my birthday?” He says, almost like a question. I remember that. His birthday was a month ago. He was so excited that they were coming home for a bit, even if it was a little. But they couldn’t make it, it almost completely ruined his birthday. I was so mad at his parents, but Mari came in and calmed him down. She always seems to know what to do.
“Well they- they couldn’t. But they said they would visit me in a month, tomorrow actually. But- but they called yesterday and said they can’t.” He tells us and I can feel myself getting angry. Mari looks at me, giving me this look, and I calm myself down a bit.
“I’m sorry, Basil.” She says, making Basil
start crying again.
“Why do- why do they do this? I just want to see them. Do- do they even care? Do they even love me.” He cries and the last part breaks my heart. I go and hug him again, my arms rapping around his torso and my head laying on his chest. I can feel him cry into my hair, but I don’t really care if I get wet. I just want to help him.
“I’m sure they love you, Basil. They are doing something really important, right? It’s not that they don’t love you, they are just busy trying to make this world better for you.” Mari tells him. I don’t agree with what she is saying, they should care more about their sweet caring son, not that stupid job of theirs. And yes I know it’s an important job, but Basil is more important then anything else, why can’t they see that?
“Yeah.” I hear Basil sniffle out. “Thank you, Mari.”
“Of course, Basil. Now I have to go. I’ll see you two later, okay?” Mari says, I don’t look up at her, but I do nod my head against Basil chest. I hear Basil giggle as he puts his hand on my head.
“See you later.” Basil replies. I hear the door close and I decide to look up. When I do I meet Basil’s eyes. He smiles at me and I feel upset, as I can see what the tears left behind. His face is red, eyes are puffy, and his blue irises still feel like they’re crying. They just still look sad.
“Hay, Sunny. Can we get up?” Basil whisper to me, I nod my head and sit up. He smiles at me and takes my hand, leading me to my bed. He sits down, letting go of my hand, and I sit down right next to him, staring at him. After he sat down he started staring at his hands. I just keep looking at him, waiting for him to say something, do something.
I love hanging out with him, he’s my favorite person to hangout with. Yes I love hanging out with Aubrey, Kel, Hero and my sister, but Basil is different. His and I relationship just feels different. He’s just the perfect friend for me. He’s sweet, understanding, caring, and passionate. He can talk for hours, and I love to listen. He’s just the sun, he brightens my day. Even when he’s sad. Just knowing he’s comfortable enough to let me see him sad is enough. He trusts me and I trust him.
“Sunny?” Basil says, taking me out of my thoughts. “What are you thinking about?“ He asks and I just shrug my shoulders. He takes a deep breath and lays down. I keep looking at him, and he just sadly smiles.
“There’s a flower I learned about recently.” He starts, I decided to lay next to him while I listen. “It’s called Lily of the valley. My grandma told me about them, it’s said they’re able to ward off evil spirits and help people see a brighter future. Kinda like Mari. Your sister is always good at helping me see the bright side of things, even if it still hurts.” He says and I hear the hurt in his voice, I wish he never hurt. I turn to my side to look at him. I see his face, having so much pain. I hate his parents so much.
He takes a deep breath and turn on his side me meet me. I try to smile at him, and I watch as he smiles too. He takes my hand and closes his eyes.
“Thank you, Sunny. Thank you for being my best friend.” He whispers and I just hug him. He hugs me back and we stay like that till my mom calls us down for dinner.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Roses come in many different colors and have their own unique meanings. Pink roses symbolize admiration… orange roses symbolize passion… yellow roses symbolize friendship… and the list goes on. HERO doesn’t remind me of any of those roses in particular. I think HERO is like all roses, because he’s versatile and universally loved.”
We’re all hanging out at Basil house today. No reason in particular, but Basil does love it when we’re here so he can take care of his plants while also hanging out with us. Right now I’m laying near Basil, in his backyard, as he takes care of his rose bushes. Aubrey and Kel are having another one of their fights, while Hero and Mari sit together a few inches away from where I’m laying.
It’s not too hot out right now, it’s still spring, not summer yet. Basil loves spring, actually he loves all seasons. I only really like winter and summer. Summer because I can hangout with my friends more, and winter because I don’t like the heat.
I open my eyes to see Basil standing right above me, we make eyes contact and he giggles, sitting down next to me. Sitting in between me and where Hero and my Sister are, but closer to me. I watch him take his gloves off and take a deep breath. Hero then asks, kindly, “Do you need some water, Basil?”
“Oh, yeah. But I’ll get it myself.” Basil replies starting to stand up. I start to stand up with him but hero stops both Basil and I, as he stands up before either of us.
“No no, you’ve been working hard. I’ll get it!” Hero says, running to the house. I hear Mari giggle. I lay back down and close my eyes again, happy that I didn’t have to move.
“He’s sweet.” She says, I can hear her smile, even though I can’t see her face.
“Yeah, but I really could have gotten it.” Basil sighs out, laying down next to me. Mari laughs again, making me smile slightly.
“You know, I really like your roses, Basil.” Mari’s points out. I hear Basil start to sit up again in a nervous panic, I giggle a bit, knowing Basil is getting excited as well. He always gets nervous when people complement him or his flowers, but talking about them gets him excited. He also has a hard time taking compliments, he always has. He’s told me before he just has a hard time believing people are actually being nice to him. He was just so used to being the nice one.
“Thank- thank you?” He stutters out.
“Of course, Basil. You work so hard on keeping your flowers and plants healthy. It’s really impressive.” She compliments. I open my eyes and sit up, laying my head on Basil’s shoulder, when comfortable I close my eyes again. He puts his hand on mine and takes a deep breath.
“Yeah… They- they are really interesting, especially with their meanings… Like- like roses. In my garden I have pink, orange, yellow, and- and red roses. Pink symbolize admiration, orange symbolize passion, yellow friend- friendship, and as everyone knows red symbolizes love.” Basil rambles. I smile into his shoulder, finding happiness in his. He does find joy in talking about his flowers, even if he’s anxious.
“I love roses. Red roses remind me a bit of Hero.”
“I actually think all roses represent Hero!” Basil yells, I open my eyes and look up to his face bright red.
“You- you know, because he’s versatile and universally loved… just like roses.” He mumbles, embarrassed. I smile, and decided to lay my head in his lap. Basil puts his hand on my head in response.
“I agree, Basil. That’s really sweet. It definitely fits Hero.” Mari agrees, I look at her to see her smiling kindly at Basil. She always knows what to say. I wish I was like that.
“Thanks… Mari.” Basil mumbles. I look up at him, and I meet his gaze. I smile at him and he smiles back. I then stick my tongue out at him and he laughs, making me giggle a bit.
“Here, Basil.” I hear and look to see Hero. I didn’t hear him walk up. Basil takes the water and Hero sits back next to Mari.
“Thank you, Hero. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I like to help, and you were working hard. You deserve some help.” Hero says in return. I look up at Basil again to see him drinking the water, his face still red from embarrassment.
I hum and decide to close my eyes and curl into myself, still having my head in Basil lap. Basil, Hero, and Mari start talking but I can’t bring myself to care about what they are saying. I fall asleep, listening to the sound of my friends.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“These are a type of flower called the gladiolus, also known as the “sword flower”. As you might guess, they represent strength of character. Someone who is honest, with strong moral values… someone who stands by their convictions… the gladiolus reminds me of AUBREY, because she’s always true to herself.”
School just got out, I walk outside the school doors and look up. It’s cloudy out, it might start raining. I sigh, I forgot to bring an umbrella today. Usually I wait for my friends so that we can walk home together, but I see no sign of them. Kel probably already got picked up, I think he had to do something after school. But I was supposed to walk with Basil and Aubrey today. I watch the sky for a few move minutes and realize if I don’t start walking I’ll most likely get stuck in a middle of a downpour. I don’t want to get sick. I sigh again and decide to check my locker one more time, just in case I left an umbrella there. I doubt it, but it won’t hurt to look.
Half way to my locker I hear yelling from the football field. I stop in my tracts, I recognize that voice. Basil. The realization hits me like a tsunami, almost taking the breath out of me. My whole body is filled with worry, and I feel suck in place. I hear another stream and I close my eyes tightly. I have to move. I have to find out why he’s screaming. It’s okay. Everything will be okay, but I need to know.
I take a deep breath and start walking to the field. I find Basil on the ground, surrounded by older kids. I know them all, they are known to be bullies. I mostly avoid them, they never mess with me. I just blend in. But Basil, he is himself. He doesn’t hide anything, sometimes I wish he would. He gets bullied, for what he wears, how he talks, and what he loves.
He doesn’t blend in.
The fear from what I’m seeing strikes me, and again I feel frozen. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help. I want to run, but which way. Should I go help him, try to help, even though I might just make it worse? Or do I run away and let them hurt my best friend? I jump at the feeling of someone’s hand on my shoulder, I look over to see Aubrey. She looks, furious. She takes one look at me, then runs out to the field. I watch as she gets right between the bullies and Basil. She starts yelling at them, and I run over, right to Basil. He’s crying, and he still looks like he’s ready to get hit again. I put my hand on his shoulder and he jumps, flinching. “Basil, it’s me.” I whisper to him and he opens his eyes. His bright blue eyes stare at me, and it hurts because I can see how much pain he’s in. When it looks like he finally understands that I am really here, he starts crying again, going to hug me. I hug him back, pushing him against me, protectively. I wish I could do more, I wish I wasn’t so scared. I look at Aubrey, she’s still screaming at the bullies, and they just look surprised. One then goes to push her out of the way, and when I see him coming closer I rap my arms tighter around Basil, Aubrey just punches him. It surprises me when she does, but also it makes perfect sense. The guy falls backwards, holding his nose.
“Fuck off!” She yells, making all of them stare, dead shocked. I’ve heard her say curse words before, her mom says them a lot, but it’s still surprising when she does. They all run off, I’m guessing having enough.
“Basil.” I whisper. “They’re gone.” He looks up at me, looking relived. I smile at him, though I hate how beat up his face looks. He’s definitely going to bruise and his lip is bleeding.
“Is he okay?” I hear Aubrey ask. I look up at her, and shake my head.
“I meant is he okay enough to move? We should get him home before it starts raining.” She ask, crouching down next to us. Basil look up at her and gives her a sad smile.
“Ye- Yeah. I should- I should be fine.” He tells her, going to stand up. I help him stand, as he almost falls at first.
“It’s Friday, he can stay at my house.” I tell Aubrey. She smiles and nods her head.
“Yeah, good idea.” She responds, starting to walk towards the sidewalk. I start walking, supporting Basil as he walks as well.
“Wai- Wait.” Basil stutters. I stop walking and so does Aubrey. “I need to- I need to go to my house first.”
“Are you sure, Basil? That’s a lot of walking.” Aubrey responds looking worried.
“I- I need to check on my grandma. I’m the- the only one here to help her.” He says, sounding determined. Recently his grandma’s health has been really bad, so bad it’s very few days that she can’t even leave the house. She spends most of her time in her bedroom, as it’s even hard for her to get out of bed for too long. But after a week or two she usually gets better, it’s just that Basil is left taking care of her. I look at Aubrey, worried, and she looks back at me worried as well. I know Basil. He will be so upset if he can’t check on her, he needs to make sure everything and everyone he loves is okay. Aubrey takes a deep breath and lets put a heavy sigh. “Fine. But we’re going as quickly as we can. Now let’s go.” She tells him, starting to walk away. I follow her, going as fast as Basil will let me. By the time we get to Basil house, It has started drizzling. We walk into his house, Basil opening the front door with his key.
“She’s probably asleep in her room.” He tells us, Aubrey nods and starts walking to the room. I go to walk to the couch to sit him down but he stops me.
“I need to- to go to my room real quick.” Basil tells me, I nod my head and take him up there. When I open the door to his room I am welcomed with the sent of multiple flowers. I love the smell of Basil’s room during spring, when all his flowers have bloomed. Basil let’s go of me and wobbles towards his flowers, he picks up one flower that is in it own pot. He touches the top of it and smiles. I walk over to him.
“This is the Gladiolus, also known as the “Sword Flower”, they represent strength of character. Someone who is honest, with strong moral values. Someone who stands by their convictions. the gladiolus reminds me of Aubrey, because she’s always true to herself.”
“I heard my name?” Is said from behind us, I see Aubrey standing there.
She walks over to us and with a smile informs us about his grandma, “Your grandma is okay by the way, Basil.”
“Good.” He sighs, relieved.
“Oh, what is this?” She asks, looking at the flower in Basil’s arms. She touches the petals lightly.
“It’s a Gladiolus. I wanted to- wanted to give it to you, you’re always saying you want to take care of a flower yourself.” He says, handing her the flower.
“Oh Basil, thank you so much!” She says, side hugging him. “And it’s pink!”
Basil smiles brightly at the positive response, making me smile as well. Aubrey starts walking out of the room, gleaming. I take Basil’s hand and tug on it. “Let’s go. I want to heal you at my house.”
“Okay… Thank you, Sunny.” He tells me, giving me a shy smile.
I hate it when he’s hurt, emotionally, physically, or even both. He doesn’t ever deserve to be hurt. He’s too pure. It’s not fair, it’s not fair that they darken his brightness. I wish I could protect that light, but I think I’m good enough to accomplish that.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Cacti are very sturdy and resistant plants by nature. They don’t need much care and can survive even in seemingly impossible conditions. I guess what I’m saying… is that even you could take care of a cactus, KEL…”
Basil and me walk to our friends, Kel and Aubrey. We all like to eat outside together since Basil and I have a hard time with crowds. Aubrey and Kel look to be having a civil conversation, which is nice. Basil hasn’t been feeling the best since Friday when he was beat up. His face is still healing from it all, I hate it, seeing him hurt is the wrong. I know he’ll be okay, I know he will heal, I just wish I never happened at all. Kel hears us walk up and turns to great us but he pauses, a few seconds pass, then he yells. “What happened to Basil!?”
“People were bullying him on Friday when you left to go to that stupid baseball game with your family.” Aubrey tells Kel, rolling her eyes. Kel looks over at her and glares. I should have known they wouldn’t stay civil.
“It’s not my fault he got hurt! Is he even okay!?”
“I don’t know, you should ask him. Also if you didn’t go to that baseball game you would have been with Basil and he wouldn’t have been cornered.” Aubrey snaps at Kel. I look over to Basil, he looks uncomfortable, he hates it when they fight. But like most of us, he is used to it. He used to have to leave when they started fighting, now he just gets quiet. I grab his hand and squeeze it, knowing he finds the gesture comforting. He looks over and gives me a shy, uncomfortable, smile.
Aubrey and Kel keep fighting as we walk to our lockers, I decided to focus on Basil instead of whatever those two are fighting about. Basil has also been more reserved and quiet since what happened Friday. This makes me excited for summer, he needs to be away from these people for a bit. He needs time to get some of his shine back.
“He gave you a flower!?” Kel yells and he does it so loud people look at him, and by extension, us. He doesn’t seem to notice, neither does Aubrey. I look over to Basil to see him hiding his face from all of the peering eyes now focused on us. I take a deep breath and start walking faster, gripping Basil’s hand tighter making him follow. I hear Kel and Aubrey continue to argue closely behind us. We get outside and sit down in a circle, Basil sitting closest to me. Basil always seems to calm down easier when he’s close to me, so I’m usually always near him.
“Basil!” Kel yells out of no where, making both me and Basil stare at him. He wines, “You knew I wanted a flower too!” Audrey smacks Kel on the shoulder.
Aubrey smacks Kel on the shoulder and yells, making Basil tense and close his eyes, “You couldn’t take care of a flower! You can barely take care of yourself, you can’t even take care of your friends!“
“It’s not my-“
“Stop!” Basil yells, cutting Kel off. I turn my attention to Basil and I feel my heart sink, he’s crying. I realize I should have taken him away from this. He hates yelling, and I could tell he was tense. I’m so stupid.
“Aubrey, it’s not Kel’s fault for what happened to me. Stop blaming him! And Kel I’ll just give you a cactus, even you can take care of that!” Basil, surprisingly, yells while standing up. He looks to me, tears flowing down his face, and he starts walking away. I quickly get up, glare at both Aubrey and Kel, then run to catch up with Basil. The blonde keeps walking until we get to an empty class room, he goes to one of the counters and sits down. Putting himself in a ball he starts crying. I crouch down, putting my hand on his shoulder. He’s shaking, a lot.He sobs and says things that make so sense to me, “I’m- I’m so stupid… I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t be their friends. I just ruin- ruin everything.” The words he speaks and quantity of the tears breaks my heart. He doesn’t ruin anything. Why does he think that? He takes a deep breath, and while looking so broken and meeting my confused eyes, he continues, “I’m so- so sorry, Sunny. You- you shouldn’t have to deal with this.” “No. You don’t. I’m happy you’re here.” I whisper to him, rapping him in a hug. He returns the hug, hugging me so tightly it almost hurts, but I don’t mind. He needs me, and I need him. I need him happy. He shines like the sun when he’s happy, and I need that. Like a flower, I need the sun to thrive. “Thank- Thank you, Sunny.” Basil says when he calms down a bit. I nod my head against him and I feel him giggle. We sit there for a few more minutes, me just letting Basil calm down. Everyone and everything can wait. He needs to calm down before doing anything else. Then after what feels like forever, I feel Basil start laughing against my shoulder. I push him a bit so we are looking face to face, and he just starts laughing more. I tilt my head to the side, confused.
“He- He wanted a flower.” Basil laughs out. “But I told him I’d give him a cactus.”
I continue to look completely confused, probably even more confused than before. He must noticed, because he tries to calm he’s laughing to talk again. He barely gets out his next words as his laughter consumes him again, “A- A cactus isn’t a flower.”
I then, for no reason, start laughing as well. I don’t fully understand why he thinks it’s funny, but he’s laughing. So I don’t think I really need to understand it to enjoy it.
He shines when he laughs.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“And these… these are white tulips. Tulips aren’t very flashy plants. They’re not too big or small, not too elaborate or flamboyant. If I could put it in another way… I guess I would say that… they’re comfortable. Simple, modest, and perfect. Just like SUNNY.”
We’re sitting, a nice breeze flowing, making me feel even more comfortable. The rest of our friends left a while ago, for many different reasons. But I stayed here, with Basil. I should have gone back home to practiced for me and Mari recital. I should, but I can’t bring myself to move. I know Basil doesn’t want to go home, and we both hate being alone. Because even when he’s home, he’s alone. His grandma got better, but a few days she started to decline again. He says it’s lonely when she gets like this.
I don’t want him to be alone.
I haven’t hung out with him a lot recently, the recital is getting closer and the closer it gets the more Mari pushes me to do better. It’s in a week. I miss hanging out with him. I look up to see Basil’s face, I’m laying in his lap right now. He seems to be focusing on something, or maybe he’s lost in thought. I stare at him until he looks down and meets my gaze. He smiles at me, a warm smile that I love. One not laced with anxiety or sadness. A pure one, I rarely see them anymore. The wind is blowing his sand blonde hair, making it tangle in his flower hair clip. I lift my hand up and take the hair out of the clip, Basil closes his eyes, letting me do whatever I want. It makes my stomach hurt, kinda. Not hurt, but it just feels weird. His trust in me, I love that he trusts me. I then lower my hand, touching a pin on his shirt. It’s new I realize. It’s a flower, I don’t know which kind, but it’s white. It’s pretty, and looks really good on him. He puts his hand on mine and lowers it away from the pin.
“That’s new.” I whisper to him, he nods his head with a smile.
“Yeah. It’s a- it’s a white Tulip. Tulips aren’t very flashy plants. They’re not too big or small, not too elaborate or flamboyant. If I could put it in another way… I guess I would say that… they’re comfortable. Simple, modest, and perfect.” He says, looking at the pin itself. He then meets my gaze again, and I realize he’s blushing.
“Just like you.” He whispers, and I feel my cheeks heat up. I turn my head and hide my face in his stomach. Keeping a tight hold on him. I can feel he giggles a bit through his embarrassment. He then starts playing with my hair, which makes my heart beat so much faster than it should.
“Thank you.” I say once I’ve calmed down a bit.
“Mhm.” He responds, still playing with my hair. I take a deep breath and sit up, facing him. His cheeks are now a light pink, instead of the bright red they were before. I look into his eyes, his bright blue eyes. They’re pretty. He smiles at me, taking my hands in his.
“Your smile is pretty.” I blurt out. I watch his eyes widen, the bright red coming back in full force on his cheeks.
“I- I-“ He tries, but I just hug him.
“You- you shine when you smile.” I tell him, hiding my face in his soft clothes.
“Sunny…”
“Don’t ever stop shining, Basil.” I plead, take a deep, then continue, “Please.”
His hold on me tightens, I can feel him shaking with emotion, not bad enough to cause me to worry. Then he speaks, softly, “I’ll- I’ll try, Sunny. I’ll try for- for you.”
“Okay.” I say, smiling against his chest. We stay like that for a bit, the sun starting to set, but neither of us want to leave. I don’t want to ever leave him. He’s my sun, as long as I have him I know my life will always be bright.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"My thoughts will follow you into your dreams.”
I look up.
My head raising from my knees.
I haven’t cried, not since, not since we.
I shut my eyes tightly and open them again.
Basil is in front of me, one of his hands are on my shoulder.
He’s saying something, but I can’t focus. I can’t.
I can’t.
I look at his eyes. He’s trying to look happy. Trying to comfort me.
But.
He forgets. I know him too well. His eyes, they always show how he’s really feeling. They always have and looking at them makes me feel worse. Because it’s gone.
His shine is gone.
Instead of looking into the sun, I feel like I’m looking into a black hole.
He’s gone.
She’s gone.
Why am I not gone?
I should be.
I close my eyes again and hide my face into my knees.
I don’t want to be here.
They are gone, the two people I love the most are gone.
They can’t.
They can’t be gone.
I can’t let them be gone.
I feel myself start to doze off.
Then arms race around me, they should be comforting, but they just make me want to never wake up again.
As the room starts to disappear, as the sounds quite, and I fall closer to sleep.
I can finally hear Basil.
A whisper,
“Go to sleep, Sunny…
I’ll always be here for you…
No matter what.”
The next thing I know I’m surrounded by all white.
I stare at the endless ceiling for a while.
That is until someone I’ve never seen before goes in front of my eyes.
He is staring down at me.
He smiles, or I think he does.
The smile unsettles me.
They speak,
“Hello, Sunny.”
I frown and sit up, turning to look at him.
“How-“
“I’m Omori.” He says, putting his hand out to me. “I’m here to help you.”
“Help me?“ I question.
He rolls his eyes and takes a deep breath, putting his hand at his side.
“Help you from the pain you’ve created.
I’ll make sure every day is happy, fun, and filled with your friends.”
I sit there, confused and in shock.
I look down at my hands.
What does he mean?
How can he help me?
I don’t even deserve to be happy anymore.
“Basil and your sister will never hurt again.” Omori says and I snap my attention to him.
“They won’t?”
“Not as long as you listen to me.” He promises, putting his hand out once more. “I’ll make all the pain goes away, just give me control.”
I breath in.
A wilted Lily of the Vally?
I count. A wilted Sunflower?
I let out the air. A wilted White Tulip?
No.
I look down at the hand in front of me.
I take his hand.
He walks me to door, and it seems he wants me to open it.
I put my hand on the handle.
About to turn it.
I look back.
Standing there is a person, a shadow.
He looks…
Sad.
I hear a whisper, from the Stranger,
”My thoughts will follow you into your dreams.”
The voice sounds like Basil. I want to reach out to him. But Omori. He pulls me into the door before I can.
Basil.
Green hair and teal eyes.
He’s adorable
He’s happy.
He is bright.
But it’s not like the sun.
It’s like a lightbulb, artificial, not real.
But.
It’s better then being left in the dark.
Right?