ｏｍｏｒｉ： １０ ｙｅａｒｓ (2022 ver)

monday

warnings: hospitals, mentions of death/manslaughter, verbal abuse, mentions of prison

It had been a while since I had last been in the Faraway Hospital. It was hard to think that that time ten years ago, I was in one of the beds, fighting madly against the worst demon of all: something behind me. After I pulled into the parking garage, locking my rental car behind me, I wandered to the hospital's front doors. And, there was Basil, scrolling through his phone and leaning against the wall. He looked up when he heard me approaching, and he gave me a soft smile. He didn't admit it, I didn't admit it, but there was a sense of dread in the air thick enough to be cut through with a steak knife.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be."

I let him lead me down the hospital's halls, his hand lightly brushing mine, but it was trembling every time we touched. I made the choice to say nothing about it. He was nervous, and I was too. As we made it to the room's door, he gripped my shoulder.

"I-I don't know if he's alright. Nobody knows if he's going to wake up or not. So... God, I don't know how to put this lightly." He paused to breathe. "What I'm saying is... Don't get your hopes up or anything, ok?"

SUNNY re-learned OVERCOME!

"Of course he's alright, it's Hero we're talking about. Hero... Hero always soldiers on." I couldn't help but feel as if I had been pulled back into a deep state of denial. I was terrified for Hero's life. But, I tried to suppress my fear as we walked into the room, heads high as if nothing could tear us down.

When I finally got to see Hero for the first time in a decade, he was right next to the hospital window, a ventilator over his mouth and nose and his breathing slow and heavy. He had a stubbly, patchy beard and purple bags beneath his eyes. I hadn't seen him in years. He looked so different... but still the same.

"There we go, there's our Hero," Basil sighed, an emotionally drained tone in his voice.

"Hero..."

"Pardon me," a voice behind us asked. I turned around to see an elderly woman in the bed across from his. "Are you two young gentlemen Henry's family?"

"His friends. We're... the closest thing to his family he can get at the moment," I responded, attempting to put on a small yet polite smile, the same one I had practised for meeting up with fans.

"Oh, that's just wonderful. Having people care for you so very much." The woman examined our faces closer, then extended a frail finger to point at me. "Aren't you one of the members of that Space Army band?"

"Star Navy, that's me." I put on my fan-meeting facade, smiling widely. "Sunny White, it's a pleasure."

"Oh, it's lovely to meet you, just lovely. You can call me Ms Marsh. You know, my granddaughter loves your music. Anyway... You don't want to listen to an old woman like me ramble on and on. I'll let you have your time with him."

I turned back to Hero, listening to the heart monitor beep. His pulse was steady and slow. Although he had been sleeping for so long, he looked so tired.

"...Sunny. Let's go now."

"Alright."

I let Basil lead me out of the room, leading me to the cafe. Hospital cafes have never been all that notable. From my experiences, they just sell overpriced coffee, dry cakes, and unappetising muesli bars, for some reason. They aren't anything all too flashy, but that was where Basil and I agreed to go, and I was honestly hoping to see Hero one more time before I had to go back for a rehearsal. Basil sipped his coffee before starting up a conversation.