Chapter Text
«Sunny! Mommy is going out! Take care of the dishes for me, okay?»
The thud of the door closing and the click of the key roused Sunny from his sleep.
Sunny groaned, muttering an "okay, mom" she most probably didn’t hear as he rubbed his good eye.
With a sigh, he let the arm fall on the bed, looking at the ceiling.
Thank goodness it was Saturday. Sunny was exhausted, it seemed like his mind had been busy all night concocting the most powerful dream he ever had.
What an adventure. And all his friends were there! And it looked so realistic .
He stood still for a moment, replaying it in his mind. Meeting Captain Spaceboy, facing Sweetheart in her castle, working for Mr. Jawsum…
The visions entangled with the morning light filtering through the window, on the yellow-hued walls of his room.
They brought sweet memories and, in the silence of his house, loneliness hit him with all its strength.
He longed for his friends once more.
It was then a thought appeared in his mind.
Dishes.
What a way to ruin the weekend.
Sunny sat on the edge of the bed and stretched his arms. A car passed by, disrupting the silence of that morning.
Scratching his neck, Sunny grabbed the phone resting on the bedside table.
890 unread messages.
«Wow», Sunny furrowed his brow. «What are they talking about?»
He opened the group chat, and he didn’t even have the time to glimpse at the previous messages or to type a "Good morning", before a trail of messages greeted him.
Kel: SUNNY! SUNNY! SUNNY!
Aubrey: YOOOOO GOOD MORNING SLEEPYHEAD
Basil: Good morning, Sunny!
Hero: Good morning!
Sunny smiled. He went to type his own greeting, before he was interrupted once more.
Kel: And good morning, Omori!
Sunny froze.
How did he…
He gasped.
Sunny: so it wasnt just a dream…
Aubrey: I thought that was clear from the start
Sunny: yeah, but… its still hard to believe
Hero: Yeah. Kel mentioned the awful movie we watched in Sweetheart’s Castle and that's when we all realized that it wasn't just a dream.
Sunny: now i understand the 890 unread messages
Basil: Yeah… we… were pretty surprised
Aubrey: and you know how Kel likes to separate his messages
Kel: hey!
Kel: what do you mean
Kel: but never mind that!!
Kel: WHERE’S OMORI, SUNNY
Kel: LET OMORI OUT
Basil: Right! Where's Omori?
Sunny: huh
Frankly, he had no idea.
He didn’t really feel any different from any other day, if not a bit lighter.
Sunny: i dont know. Let me try something
He placed the phone on the table, and closed his eye. He took a couple of deep breaths, emptying his mind, before uttering a single word.
«Omori?»
But nothing stirred the silence.
«Omori, if you are listening, please answer.»
A car passed by.
«Our friends are worried about you.»
The wind tickled the leaves on the trees.
He groaned. It felt like he was simply talking to air.
And that was when Sunny noticed how empty his head felt. It was as if something had been removed, something that had been there for a long time. Similar to an emptied house in preparation for a move, when the furniture that one had always seen was removed, leaving a void space behind.
Sunny deflated. He wanted to talk to Omori once more. He hoped they could build a new relationship.
But Omori himself wasn't sure of the possibility of doing that.
Sunny sighed. Their conversations had to continue only during sleep.
He took the phone.
Sunny: guys…
Hero: Oh no… Don't tell me…
Sunny: He's not answering. And my head feels… empty. I think we can talk only when im sleeping
Kel: NOOOOOOOOOO
Kel: HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO ON A ROAD TRIP
Kel: AND OUR MOVIE NIGHT??????
Aubrey: That’s a real bummer. I'm sorry, Sunny.
Basil: I hope he won’t feel lonely…
Sunny: sorry. I will let you know if anything happens
Basil: Please do!
Kel: oof :(
Kel: that sucks
Kel: AND YOU’RE TOO FAR AWAY AND I CANT KNOCK ON YOUR HEAD
Hero: You could speak to him tonight and see what you can do.
Sunny: ill try, i dont always end up in white space when i dream so
Hero: Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help. :)
Aubrey: yeah
Sunny: thank you
Kel: sorry to change topic but
Kel: mom has gone into a cleaning spree
Kel: and i dont wanna stay here
Kel: Aubs, Basil, wanna hang out?
Basil: Sure!
Aubrey: be aware that you're gonna get hit for calling me like that
Kel: you have to catch me first ;)
Hero: Hey, wait! Remember to have breakfast, first!
Aubrey: Oh, right. Thank you for reminding me that, Hero
Aubrey: guys I gotta go to Candice's store really fast
Hero: GUMMY BEARS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR BREAKFAST
Aubrey went offline.
Kel: Don't worry, Hero! I'm going to make sure she won’t do anything stupid!
Kel went offline.
Hero: I trust you, Basil.
Basil: I will ask Polly to prepare some more food!
Basil went offline.
Hero: And you, Sunny. Eat something, alright?
Sunny: yeah. Thank you, Hero.
Hero: Have a good day.
Sunny: you too
Hero went offline.
Sunny sighed as he placed the phone back on the table.
The house was silent. And he found himself not used to that.
He had grown used to the chattering of his friends. Aubrey and Kel’s bickering, Omori remarks, Hero’s warnings of being careful.
Just how long had that dream been? Apparently only one night long, considering how his mother hadn’t freaked out. But it seemed so long…
Sunny got on his feet.
He brushed his teeth and combed his hair. He changed his clothes and went to the living room.
The creeks of the wooden floor rung strong in the loneliness of the house. Sunny stopped in front of the table at the corner of the room.
It was overflowing with vases and flowers, shadowing a picnic basket neatly placed near the edge.
In front of all that, stood a single photo frame. Mari's eternal smile looked back at him, and Sunny smiled.
«Good morning, Mari. I had such a weird dream tonight… and all of our friends were also there!»
He felt embarrassed, as if Mari could make fun of him.
«It was… a shared dream. I know it sounds impossible but it truly happened.»
He took the photo, and caressed it with his thumb.
«You… you were also there. Many times. Different versions… but at the end… I met your memories. The real you…»
He hugged the photo. «I miss you so much, Mari. But I promise I will be doing my best to live the fullest life I can live. For me, and for you…»
He placed the photo back on the table. He fixed a few flowers that were drooping on the side, and left for the kitchen.
He hated washing the dishes. The squeaky sounds, the smell of dirt, the wet skin. Sunny groaned at each plate washed. He tried to make the ordeal less burdensome by appreciating the fact that, for each plate washed, it meant one less to scrub.
The emptiness in his mind hadn’t faded. Sunny found that strange, but he blamed the weird dream he had. It had made him used to the presence of his friends, but there he was, alone once more.
If only he could talk to Omori… maybe it’d make washing the dishes a bit more bearable.
When he finished washing the plate he had eaten breakfast in, he returned to the living room.
He wanted to have a lazy Saturday all for himself. Homework could wait.
The TV flickered to life and he zapped through the channels, until a certain girl with pink hair appeared on screen.
«Huh. A Sweetheart movie», he placed the remote by his side. «Might as well watch it. Who knows, maybe I was wrong… she was so kind, over there.»
The movie followed a ridiculous plot involving the failed clones of Mutantheart and Roboheart, and Sunny had a hard time following it all, especially after meeting their dream versions.
«Ugh. As obnoxious as always. How could Aubrey like this stuff?»
Sunny froze.
He hadn’t talked.
Nobody was in the house.
The voice came from his head.
«O-Omori? Is that you?»
«Who else could it be?»
Sunny lost his breath, as relief washed over him. Tears stung in his eyes and, for a brief moment, a sense of worry touched his mind, but it felt foreign, as if it didn’t come from him.
«Sunny? Are you alright?»
«You… you're back… you're really back…»
«I told you I'd try to contact you!»
«Yes, but… I tried talking to you and you didn’t answer!»
«Oh. Sorry about that. I think I was… sleeping? I mean, when I contacted you the TV was already on, so…»
Sunny felt the overwhelming urge to hug Omori. But there was nobody there, and his hands itched to grab someone . He settled for a pillow, hugging it to his chest.
«Are you alright? Is this… too shocking for you?»
«I want to hug you but I can't.»
«Oh. That explains this… feeling that just appeared. It feels like a hug…»
Sunny rocked a bit back and forth, pillow in hand, until Omori’s voice rang once more.
«Hey. Huh… what about the others?»
«They asked about you.»
«Really?» Sunny felt his surprise. He apparently wasn't expecting that.
«Yeah. I should give them the news.»
Sunny ran to his room and picked up his phone.
There were a few unread messages but he didn’t even bother reading them this time around.
Sunny : Omori is here.
It was as if a switch had been turned on. The chat group exploded in a barrage of messages, all greeting Omori. Sunny smiled as he felt Omori watch the screen through him, the younger boy filled with a sense of warmth and affection that touched Sunny, too.
Sunny felt his eye become wet, but he knew it wasn't him who was close to tears.
He sat at the edge of the bed once more, chatting with his friends and relaying to them what Omori wanted to say.
They made plans to meet each other as soon as possible and started deciding movies for their movie night.
It was then that Sunny realized that the emptiness in his head had disappeared. Lodged in there, strong, was now Omori.
Sunny smiled. Despite the change, his mind felt light.
He looked at his friends' names on the screen, so far away, but still so close. He thought of Omori, right next to him in that moment, even if not in body.
Together, they had defeated their worst inner demons, and woke up with a lighter mind.
The world kept going. Their lives continued. Their friendship perdured.
The future looked bright and, for the first time after so long, Sunny truly believed that everything was going to be okay.