(6) Morning, Recovery, and Orange Joe

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6:28 AM

The sun shined through the window, right onto MARI'S face, making her shut her eyes tightly before opening them slowly. Looking out the window, she saw the sky shine a warm orange, fading into the blue sky as her vision adjusted. She looked around slowly, her eyes barely open as she saw the Hospital Room.

"Oh... I must have slept here again..." She thought to herself, letting out a long yawn and rubbing her eye. "Wow... That was the best sleep I've had in... I don't even know. SUNNY..." She looked down at him, sorrow in her eyes as she watched him sleep peacefully.

MARI: "..." She saw the dry blood under his nose, realizing that everything last night wasn't just some other nightmare. Her Brother was back... he was alive. And... he was asleep again. "SUNNY..." She pushed his bangs out of eye, pulling him closer to her. "Please... wake up again... please..."

Her voice sounded weak and desperate, hugging him closer and closing her eyes, sniffling as she kissed his head gently. She knew he needed his rest, especially after just waking up, but... the first thing they did when she saw him again was practically fight.

It made her feel awful, making him cry the first thing after opening his eyes again. The sight of him being so weak and broken, and all he said about the incident... she couldn't imagine what he had gone through in his own head for those 4 years. Enduring everything all alone...

She hugged him gently, squeezing his hand and rested her head on top of his and exhaling through her nose. She swore to herself to never leave his side again, to make sure he was never alone... for both their sakes.

Part of her was still shaken, worry and doubt creeping in the back of her mind about the entire situation... but then she felt SUNNY squeeze her hand. It was weak, but he still held onto her, making her open her eyes and look down to him. A smile slowly formed as she rested her head again and sighed with relief, easing up but keeping a firm grasp on her brothers hand, her resolve steeling as she relaxed against him, feeling at least a shred of relief. She wasn't going to leave SUNNY alone... not again...

.

.

.

9:32 AM

SUNNY slowly opened his eye, taking a few moments to readjust before he could see anything. The last time he woke up, he couldn't realize how numb he felt because of the memories of OTHER SUNNY flooding into his mind. But now... he could really tell just how numb his body was. The blankets, the distinct hospital smell... none of them.

He couldn't smell, feel, and from how his tongue felt, taste. It seemed like he could only see and hear, which... disheartened him, but he didn't know how long OTHER SUNNY'S body had been comatose, so he wasn't as surprised to figure this out. The memories of last night came to him slowly; The distraught look in MARI'S eyes, how he made her panick with his breakdown right after waking up... Even if... she wasn't his sister... he still felt horrible for making MARI go through that.

So, he made sure to remember this feeling, and make sure that he'd do his best not to make MARI upset or worried again. A part of him knew that... he may not be able to fully keep that promise, doubt and guilt slowly eating away at him even with his resolve. But... even if this was a dream, or if somehow everything was actually happening... he couldn't leave his sister like this.

He kept telling himself that he didn't deserve to be happy, and that this wasn't his sister... but if staying here brought some much needed relief and comfort for MARI... he felt like he couldn't abandon her. How tightly she clung to him, how desperate she sounded to keep him with her... it hurt him just remembering it again.

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