I Won't Let You Wilt

I want flowers in my hair

Gardening was tough labor, and Sunny needed to take a shower after all that work. He'd brought several changes of clothes and a towel in his backpack. Out of politeness, he didn't want to shower before Basil did, and it seemed Basil shared the same opinion.

"No, you go first," Basil insisted.

"It's your house," Sunny replied. "You should get to use your bathroom first."

Basil didn't seem to care about that formality. "You worked so hard today...I'm used to gardening, I'm not that tired. I wouldn't even mind if you want to take a bath to relax more! I'm sure you need it more than me."

"I'm not really that tired," Sunny said.

"Ummm...you look exhausted."

I guess a bath does sound very tempting...

"Alright, I'll go take a bath," Sunny relented.

Basil smiled. "I'll cook dinner."

Sunny grabbed his backpack and assembled a fresh change of clothes and his own towel in the bathroom. He turned on the water and filled the bath with soap.

After removing his eyepatch, he looked into the bathroom mirror and opened both eyes. The pupil of his right eye was tinted grey.

My right eye is a mark of how close Basil and I came to killing each other...

But...in a way...I'm not sad...

...I'm just glad I saved you that night, Basil.

As the bathtub became filled with water, he took off the rest of his clothes and climbed in.

This feels...amazing...

The warm bath water rejuvenated his skin, muscles, and bones. Soap bubbles floated in the air and popped close to his nose.

I could rest here forever...

He turned off the water, closing his eyes to relax.

Having spent most of the past twenty four hours with Basil, Sunny became keenly aware of how bathing alone actually felt incredibly lonely. For the first time in his life, he couldn't bear the silence; it reminded him too much of his former days as a shut-in.

An awful sight intruded his brain. He wondered what would happen if an invisible force pushed his head underwater, holding him there until he drowned.

He'd struggle, of course.

Perhaps after half a minute of fighting back, he wouldn't be able to hold his breath any longer, and he'd breathe in all that soapy water, burning fire flooding his lungs. His vision would go black. One by one, his senses vanishing, cutting him off from the rest of the world, until he gasped his last, desperate breath inside an abyss of total darkness and despair.

...As soon as I let my thoughts drift, these scenes appear.

I have to keep myself preoccupied.

He quickly washed his hair and his body, getting out shortly after he felt that deafening silence. He dried his body with his own towel and put on a pair of black shirt and shorts.

Then he realized he'd forgotten to pack a comb.

His hair was long and thick, and tended to stick out messily after drying it with a towel. He tried to comb it with his fingers, but despite his best efforts, it wouldn't stay down.

Maybe I can ask Basil to use his comb?

Sunny went out and presented his unruly hair to Basil, who instead reveled at witnessing this new, never-before-seen state of Sunny's hair.