Chapter Text
𝟑 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭
Tapping my fingers on the wheel before me, the drumming of the engine reverberates in the air.
Filling the front window is the old shack.
Got sold to some house remodeler.
The ‘FOR SALE’ sign sits on the front lawn, left utterly overgrown.
Shitty investment I’d say.
But at least it means there’s nobody living here.
Pressing down the clutch, I guide the gear stick into neutral and pull up the handbrake.
The smell of rust and those cheap tree air fresheners make way to warm, fresh air as I open the door.
I slam the door on my rust bucket as I walk away.
It’s the only way the door’ll close.
But you can’t really expect anything better from a five hundred buck car.
Mindlessly, I kick pebbles as I walk on the sidewalk.
The pattering they make as they bounce off the pavement is almost soothing.
It’s all so familiar yet so unfamiliar.
Nostalgia, stress, fear and bliss all melt together and escape my body through one long sigh.
At least I wish they did.
They still weigh down on my stomach, but I’ll ignore it.
I stand and stare at the door before me for a bit.
It’s not like I have anything left to lose.
Despite that, I still can’t help but be a bit afraid.
Even though so much has changed.
Nothing has really.
I knock twice and wait.
After only a short moment, I hear the unmistakable thumps of feet from behind the door.
With a rattle, it creaks open.
“Sunny?”
Basil’s jaw hangs agape as he stares at me up and down.
I lift my hand and give him a small wave.
I really hope my outfit today isn’t too shabby.
“So- Um… Been a while, h-huh? What brings you here?”
“Dunno.”
He just stares at me, completely baffled.
“Can I come in?”
“Y-yeah? Sure?”
“Thanks.”
Entering his house hits me with a wave of nostalgia.
It smells sweet, like petals.
Everything seems smaller now.
And it’s even more packed than ever before.
Despite that, though, it feels cozier than ever.
Only the sound of my feet on the wooden floorboards is entirely the same.
The almost static sound of the news fills the air of what I can firmly call a “home”.
Sat atop the couch is Polly, who turned her gaze from the TV in front of her to me.
“Oh! Basil, who’s this?”
“It’s Sunny, Polly. Remember him? From two years ago.”
She walks up to me and takes a closer look.
“You’re right, it is him! You’ve grown so much, Sunny, you’re practically unrecognisable!”
Basil seemed to have no trouble, though.
“Thanks.”
“It’s been so long! You must be hungry, want me to make something for you?”
“No thank you, it’s alright. I already ate.”
From deeper within the house, the sound of the sink joins the TV in filling in what would be silence.
“So what brings you to us today?”
Behind Polly, Basil vigorously washes the dishes, stare focused directly onto the plate in his hands.
I should just get this over with already.
“Sorry to trouble you, but I was wondering if it’s okay with you and Basil, could I crash here for a few days?”
“...Did something happen back home?”
I shrug.
“Guess so.”
Polly turns back towards Basil as he continues to stare at the dishes, which he is no longer washing.
Unless you consider mindlessly letting water run over them washing.
“Basil, is it alright with you?”
“Fine. Only if he uses the guest room though. And stay out of mine, please.”
“Thanks, Basil. I’ll go now.”
Despite Polly’s protests, I hurried out immediately.
But before I fully part from the house, I stop myself.
“Basil, could you swing by the cemetery later? Like, seven?”
As I close the door, Basil’s mumbled “sure” is the only goodbye I receive.
I shouldn’t bother them too much.
The smell of freshly cut grass fills my nostrils once more.
The streets here really are quiet.
Dead silent compared to the city, at least.
The only sounds to reach my ears as I make my way to Gino’s are the songs of birds and the drones of cicadas.
I am, in fact, hungry.
And no, I did not already eat.
Anchovy pizza was my order.
I eat straight from the box while I sit outside on the fountain.
Nobody to tell me what to do anymore at least.
For a while I stare at the sky as wisps of cirrus flow overhead.
The ebb, flow and trickling of the fountain soothes my psyche into a drowsy, lethargic mess.
Like pudding.
Mind brain thought pudding.
I need someone to whisk my brain.
As a stray cat approaches I pick a dried anchovy off the top and extend it towards the cat.
It snatches it out of my hand with a bite before giving me a muffled meow of gratitude(?) and leaving.
I wanted to pet it.
As I finish up the slice, I start to consider eating the entire pizza myself but my stomach soon dispels any notion of that.
I’ll find a place to put this later.
For now, I set it down on the floor beside the only bench before laying down on it myself.
It’s the epitome of a perfect summer day.
Warm air, nil significant cloud, not a gust nor squall…
I spend the moment drawing lines in the sky with my mind along the cirrus clouds up and high above, so far it looks hardly real and it seems to only float higher and farther away and away and away until I shut my eyes.
The warm air on my skin is not a bit too humid nor too dry, only just a bit too hot with the sun on my skin but a soft breeze of chilly air cools me down in the most satisfying way every here and there.
The air is fresh, so fresh I can completely fill my lungs with it and it doesn’t feel suffocating in the slightest, no, it’s purifying.
The wooden bench is nothing like the ribboned metal benches of the city.
Really, it feels almost natural to sleep on it.
Probably because of its lack of spikes.
I don’t even feel myself start to drift off to sleep before it all comes crashing back as someone rudely pokes my cheek.
I want to groan and be all pissy about it, but the weather’s just too nice to do that.
I open my eyes to see a shadow looming over me.
“Mornin’.”
The feminine voice which I can only assume belongs to the shadow chuckles.
“It’s two pm.”
Is it?
“Mornin’s morning, officer. Night only starts when the sun is six degrees below the horizon, so yeah. Mornin’.”
As the shadow scoffs, I rub my eyes and sit up, swinging my legs off the bench.
“Morning ends when it’s noon, twelve o'clock, and it’s two hours past that. Get a grip you hobo.”
Looks like that shadow was actually a person.
She wears a Fix-it uniform with her arms crossed, and she smells like motor-oil with a slight hint of gasoline.
Or that additive that smells like gasoline but isn’t gasoline because gasoline is odorless so they add it to give it an odor which we associate with gasoline but isn’t gasoline but yeah, whatever, you get it probably.
Anyways, I’m just saying, she smells like a mechanic’s shop on legs with long black hair which, honestly, I wouldn’t risk.
In a mechanic’s shop that is.
“So… Uh… What brings you here?”
“Hm? Ah, yeah. Weather. So nice isn’t it? But summer just slips by, just like that. Year back I remember feeling like it was an endless summer, for like, two months. And then one day, boom, winter. No autumn, just straight into snow and cold and misery. Winter for the next six years straight. Hell. I appreciate summer a lot more now. Late summer at least. Late summer is the best. No warm fronts which means no rain that lasts for eighteen bajillion years, and also no continent wide stratus clouds which block up the sun for all of eternity. Nope. Just cold fronts. And pretty cumulus clouds.”
I cover my mouth with my hand while I yawn.
“Oh, and they’re not called cold fronts because they’re cold.”
The girl just gives me one long, concerned stare.
“Are you a weatherman or something? That’s one hell of a speech to give about the weather.”
“Mhm. Maybe. Everybody’s a weatherman if you think about it. At least they are after you ask them ‘how’s the weather?’, but people don’t say that to me anymore.”
I reopen the pizza box, pick up a slice and take a bite into it before realising the massive faux pas I just stumbled into.
“Oh yeah, want some?”
I stick my hand, and by proxy, the pizza slice, out towards her.
“A-ah, um, I think I-I’ll be fine…”
I shrug and take another bite.
I can’t help but feel a bit weird as she just stands there, intently watching me eat.
“What’s up?”
“Huh?”
“Usually when people stare at me like that, they want something from me. So what about you?”
She shuffles around a bit before managing to respond.
“I uh… I just wanted to know your name… I guess?”
“It’s Sunny, if that’s what you’d prefer.”
The tension doesn’t seem to leave her body at all, but she manages a smile.
“What kind of answer is that?”
“Mine.”
The sound of our exchange dissipates into the ever so slightly damp air and is carried off by dry winds.
After finishing up my slice I lay back down and stare into the great blue above, and it feels like I’m falling.
Or like I’m just about to fall, on the edge of falling upwards into the endless sky, where I’ll float and circle above, limp and relaxed to be carried away by the westerlies up and up and away surrounded by blue of every shade, then the sun’ll set and cirrus will swirl around me like a great ball of silk catching all the warmest linings of orange and yellow and silver and the horizon will forever be dyed with sunflowers and citrus and it’ll always smell like wildflowers and dandelions carried along the sands off the top of the dunes below to swirl up and pour down into the open hands of the sea.
But I don’t fall.
And the sun has yet to set.
But I still stare up at the sky.
It’s enchanting.
It’s always perfect.
There’s never a moment when it’s not beautiful.
I just think that sometimes, I hang my head too low to see it.
But the sky is clear today.
And it has never been clearer.
Apart from yesterday, but we don’t talk about that.
Don’t even get me started about how yesterday isn’t real.
Tomorrow too, don’t think you’re safe either.
“So…”
Oh.
She’s still here.
And still very tense.
I don’t get how you could be so tense in this weather.
Maybe it’s because I have a full stomach.
“Want a slice?”
She chuckles.
“Still, no. My opinion won't change in fifteen minutes.”
“How about twenty?”
“We’ll get there when we get there.”
I can barely see her face since she’s become a shadow again, but there are wisps of a grin there I believe.
Sitting back up, I once again move my legs off the bench, but this time I shuffle a bit to the side and pat the space next to me.
She tilts her head a bit.
I pat it slightly more aggressively but she still doesn’t seem to get the memo.
“Sit.”
“Oh, no, I shouldn’t. I should actually be back at work by now, haha…”
“But you had time to watch me stare at the sky for fifteen minutes.”
She sighs sheepishly before smiling a bit and taking her place next to me.
Robbed of my sleeping space, I instead lean on her.
Which is another faux pas, yeah, I should probably think before I do.
I quickly pull myself off before turning to her.
“Can I lean on you?”
“I mean, you k-kinda… Already… Did…?”
“Yes or no.”
“...Sure.”
Getting closer to her, she actually smells quite different from what I first thought.
Yes there’s still that distinct smell of industrial chemicals stuck to her, but even through that there’s this subtle underlining of strawberries.
It’s kinda nice.
“What’s your favourite colour?”
“What kind of-... Nevermind. It’s uh… Pink. Pink’s my favourite colour.”
“Wrong answer.”
She lightly shoves me.
“So what’s the right one?”
“Celeste turquoise.”
“...Reasoning?”
I turn to her and glare.
“Why should I tell you?”
This time she really starts laughing, so hard it starts to knock me off her shoulder, but despite that it’s kinda nice.
Oh yeah, another faux pas.
“Sorry, my breath probably smells like anchovies.”
“It does-”
“Sorry.”
“Not that it’s bad though! I mean, it’s not that bad- No. Like. It was okay? I guess? I don’t mind it? It was kinda n- Nevermind. Just don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks.”
Despite how hard and bony her shoulder is, I wouldn’t say it’s any better than laying down on the entire bench but it’s not any worse for sure.
It’s different.
That’s nice.
I close my eyes once m-
“Hey hey hey! Don’t fall asleep on me!”
“‘M not falling asleep.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Taking things in.”
“By… Closing your eyes?”
“Yeah. Our eyes make us worse at feeling. Like, we always think everything’s about the eyes. Like your eyes are your top feelers. I don’t think so. There’s so much more to everything than what you see. Yeah eye candy helps set things up I guess, but that’s like the tip of the iceberg. All the meat is below the surface. How things sound, feel, smell. Like you. You look rough but you smell like strawberries. And your voice is nice. See? Or well. You feel me?”
“...I-I guess?”
“There.”
I feel like there’s something I’m missing.
Like some sort of worm at the back of my mind trying to crawl its way to the front.
Oh yeah.
I quickly get off of her and stand up.
“Wait- where are you going?”
“...To see someone?”
“No, like, where .”
I point down one of the streets.
“Over there.”
She closes her eyes and seems to think for a moment before sighing.
“I’ll come with you.”
“Okay.”
The walk is slightly louder than before this time, with there being the sounds of two pairs of footsteps instead of one.
Or at least, there was until I tapped my foot twice to be on the same step as her.
I spent the entirety of the walk just focused on trying to stay on the same step as her.
Which became a lot harder when some way through she started purposefully trying to mess me up.
When we reach our destination, I suddenly stop while she stumbles forwards a bit before returning back to my side.
As I walk up to the door and knock, she starts talking once again.
“Oh, yeah, so, um, you gave me your name before, right? But I still haven’t given you mine, so, uh, it’s Rosie, by th-”
Before Aubrey can finish her sentence, the door slams open with Kel hanging out of the doorway.
“...Aubrey? SUNNY?! What the… What’re you two doing, just appearing on my porch out of nowhere?”
From within the house, an older voice calls out in a language I can’t seem to process.
I can only guess it’s Kel’s mother by his reaction.
“Oof… Well, uh, you two just stay out here for a second, alright? I’ll be back soon, I swear!”
In an instant, the door slams once more, as fast as it opened, with shouting seeming to pound through the space it now fills.
It is a nice porch though.
Beside me, Aubrey has her face buried into her hands.
“So what were you saying again?”
She takes a deep breath before dropping her hands and turning towards me.
“…Sorry for lying to you about my name, Sunny. I guess I kinda just wanted to pretend I was someone else?”
“But I already knew.”
“...You did?”
She facepalms with enough force it’s audible from across the street.
She sighs forcibly before trying to physically shake off the shame.
“Alright, hold on, when exactly did you realise?”
“When I first saw you.”
She facepalms again, though this time with both hands.
“God… You just… You’re…”
“...I’m?”
She puts a hand on my shoulder and stares at me for a second before pulling me into a hug.
“Glad to have you back.”
I’ve never really liked physical contact like this but I can’t lie, it’s kinda like when I leaned on her back at the plaza so it’s not too horrible.
Which is to say, I hugged her back.
I just feel like she’d like that.
Unfortunately, before Aubrey decides to let me go, Kel’s front door swings back open.
“Alright g- Ah… Am I, uh, interrupting something?”
Aubrey quickly (and roughly, rudely enough) shoves me away.
“N-no! Absolutely not! Just, reuniting and stuff… Y-y’know?”
“Yeah… Alright. Uh, just come in for a sec, wouldya?”
“Sure…”
As Kel leads us in, Aubrey follows him and as Kel leads Aubrey I follow her so Kel’s leading Aubrey who’s being followed by me so by proxy Kel’s leading me through Aubrey so as Kel leads us in, Aubrey follows him and I follow her as she follows Kel but you could also say I’m following Aubrey who’s following Kel who leads us in.
Which is to say, we were walked into the living room.
Kel places me on the couch while he himself lays down on it, taking up any free space that could’ve been left.
“Move your legs, fatass.”
“You can stand, can’t you, Aubrey? ”
She forcefully grabs Kel’s legs before throwing them off to the side and sitting in between us.
Turns out, she can’t stand!
How peculiar.
“So, Sunny! It’s been so long man! Where’ve ya been?”
Kel, now leaning forwards, beams at me.
Probably the best reaction I’ve gotten so far but that’s not all too surprising is it?
“City.”
“...What city?”
“I dunno, you choose.”
“Bro, like, I mean, which city have you been living in all this time?”
I just stare at him blankly.
“I dunno. You choose.”
He returns my gaze for a moment before laughing.
“Alright then! Well, I choose…”
His face scrunches up, deep in thought before suddenly beaming once more.
“VIŠEGRAD! So, Sunny, how was Bosnia?”
How does Kel even know that a country like Bosnia exists?
I have no clue.
And I don’t even want to fathom how Kel knows about that town in Bosnia, let alone how he manages to pronounce its name properly(?).
“Beautiful, beautiful country. The mountains and the rivers are simply immaculate. Some of the best sights in the world, I assure you.”
“Of course! And have you visited the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge?”
What?
“How could I not?”
“How was it? You know, I’ve actually read Na Drini ćuprija by Ivo Andrić, so I’m a BIG fan! Ivo is basically like a best friend to me! Did you get to see Andrićgrad?”
Kel, what are you talking about?
“Sure did.”
“Aw shucks! You’re so lucky! Gosh, I wish I could’ve gone with you to see Bosnia! Next time, you gotta take me, alright?”
“No way I couldn’t.”
“Heck yeah! And let’s make sure to do in some of those dirty Serbs while we’re there too, right?”
Kel?
“...You got it.”
He winks with a smile so wide it almost stretches past his ears.
Having looked between us, jaw hanging, the entire time, Aubrey finally closes her mouth and pinches the bridge of her nose.
Likely trying to take in what just happened.
“Anyways, what brings you here all the way from the glorious republic of Bosna i Hercegovina?”
“Oh yeah. Just wanted to visit, I guess. I was just thinking, would you be okay if we could have another picnic with Mari?”
His face drops, but doesn’t become somber.
Just more serious, I guess.
Beside me, I feel Aubrey squirm a bit too.
“Yeah, that’d be fine. What time?”
“Like, seven pm?”
“Yeah, sounds good. Oh, and, do you want me to bring Hero along too?”
“Hero’s here?”
“Yeah, yeah! He’s back at home now since he’s done with school and stuff. For now at least!”
He chuckles sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.
“Yeah…”
For a moment we all sit on the couch in relative silence.
That is, before Aubrey leaves one final comment.
“Uh, I’m in too, right?”
She looks at me as if I’m the one who should tell her what to do.
“Who’s gonna stop you?”
“...Well said, as always, Sunny.”
Once more, the air is filled with nothing but the quiet that you’d expect from Kel’s household.
That is, not very quiet.
The sounds of a pot boiling, a knife on a cutting board, the TV and a ruckus upstairs, likely caused by the third of the family trilogy, all pound against my eardrums like…
Ground beef.
Or something.
I’m not very good at metaphors.
To further overstimulate the poor heap of mush and grey matter squelching within my skull, I watch as the fire crackles and sparks in the fireplace.
The sparks seem to shoot out of the fire before darting around in the air.
I choose specific sparks to watch and I trace their movement with my eyes, drawing lines mirroring their paths.
That is, until I realise some sparks come from the exact same spot and follow the exact same path.
I slowly turn towards Kel, anger and hate burning within me.
I croak out the words with as much disdain I can muster.
“Kel, you
liar
.”
His face suddenly really drops.
“W-wha-”
“That fire isn’t real. I thought it was real. How could you do this to me?”
I huff and lean back into the couch.
Despite the clear display of my displeasure, Kel and Aubrey just laugh.
“Christ, Sunny, you really are something.”
Aubrey continues to say things with absolutely no meaning.
“Yeah? Of course I’m something. If I wasn’t, I’d be nothing. And nothing isn’t real. That’s like, the whole concept of nothing. You can’t have nothing because it’s nothing. Except you actually can have nothing? I mean like, nothing isn’t a thing, so like, you don’t have nothing, you just have a lack of something or somethings. Zero is something though... Hold on, give me a second.”
Hm…
Tch…
Mhm…
But…
“Sunny, please, it really isn’t that deep.”
“Shh.”
Huh…
Well…
EUREKA!
“I give up.”
Kel laughs again as Aubrey facepalms.
She seems to do that a lot.
What a weirdo.
Or masochist, not that there’s anything wrong with that, just saying.
Just wish she’d be more private with her fetishes.
Maybe she has a humiliation kink too…
Well then that kinda defeats the whole “keep your kinks to yourself” thing but still…
I’d rather not be privy to her sexual preferences.
‘Cause that makes her a weirdo.
Probably.
She wouldn’t be a weirdo if everyone else shared theirs but like, people usually don’t…
So like maybe on Epstein island she’d be normal but like we’re not on Epstein island.
‘Cause like me and Kel aren’t wrapping other people up in our sexual fan-
“Welp. I think I oughta go take care of Sally right about now. You two can join-”
Oh yeah!
“That reminds me, Aubrey, we left the pizza at the bench.”
Aubrey gives me a puzzled look.
“How does Sally remind you about the pizza?”
I just wave her off as Kel runs upstairs, with one last “Cya!” before he disappears.
Visually, I mean.
I can still hear him clear as day.
Looking at where Kel was last seen, Aubrey turns back towards me with a shrug.
“Let’s get going then I guess?”
I nod in agreement.
Good plan, Aubrey.
Good plan…
You’re far more cunning than I expected.
As we make our way back, we once again play the “I Try to Keep Step With Aubrey While She Tries to Mess Me Up” game.
That is, until she interrupts me in the middle of a CRAZY PLAY that would’ve WON ME THE GAME!!!
“Sunny, what
are
you doing?”
“Trying to keep step with you.”
“...Why?”
…
…
…
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“No? Explain to me how it’s obvious please???”
“Haha, you’re so funny Aubrey.”
I start to speed walk towards our destination while Aubrey tails me asking me meaningless questions like “are you okay?”, “could you please explain?”, “why are you like this?” and “what happened to the Serbs in Gornji Velešići, Sunny?”
Questions I can not, will not and should not answer under any conditions.
You could not give me a millions dollars to do so.
My life is worth more than that.
Or maybe not, it’s probably actually worth like two cumwads and an empty bottle of lotion but whatever.
Actually, nevermind, I
would
shill out for like a million bucks, do you know how much that is?
With a million I could reasonably do anything with the time I have left.
I should’ve taken the six thousand dollars I have stapled to my name and like shuffled off to some place more interesting like…
Uh…
Yeah.
I hate North America.
Only interesting places are up north ‘cause of the aurora borealis but it’s the middle of summer.
If only-
“Hey! Sunny! The pizza box is over here!”
Huh.
“That it is.”
“Pretty surprising, eh? You’d think it’d somehow be stepped on. Or run over. Or stolen.”
I open it up, and look at that, the pizza’s fully intact.
Which is even more surprising to me, having seen the deepest horrors humanity has to offer, unlike Aubrey.
Said horrors being the average city dweller.
“Last time I did something like this in the city, some raving hobo jizzed in the box.”
“...What?”
I scrunch up my face.
“Yeah. Cum doesn’t taste all that good on pizza.”
Aubrey just stares at me bewildered, with her mouth agape before I fill it with pizza.
“H- Ack- Ckhu, fct -”
She bites off the cheezy mass filling her speak hole from the rest of the slice, quickly swallows it, then starts laughing.
“What the hell, Sunny? You just do and say whatever, huh? I’m not sure if I’m glad or not you’re speaking now.”
I shoot her a dirty look.
Why wouldn’t she be glad for everything I do?
I don’t owe her anything.
I don’t owe anyone anything.
I don’t believe in debt.
Except when it comes to Kel.
And when the loan sharks come a’knocking.
Then I start caring just a bit more.
“Just be glad I didn’t jizz on that slice.”
I think she’s spent enough time around me that her brain just automatically filters out everything I say that she doesn’t want to deal with, judging by how her reaction was just a completely blank stare like she’s some sort of robot.
Or a CIA plant.
You never know who’s a sleeper agent ‘till they ain’t sleeping anymore.
Then they’re just ‘agent’.
And that’s scary.
“Anyways, Sunny, how’d you end up here anyways?”
“...Why does that concern you?”
“‘Cause why wouldn’t it? Firstly, I’m your friend, so I basically have a right to know, and secondly, it’s not every day you see someone you haven’t seen in two years just show up sleeping on a bench like some kind of fent junkie. So yeah, of course I’d be curious.”
Wow, Aubrey.
I can’t believe you’ve bought into big friendship’s lies.
I thought better of you.
“Friends aren’t real. And I wasn’t sleeping on a bench like a ‘junkie’, I was simply just admiring the weather, and the beautiful sight of the inner side of my eyelids. Anyways, how else would I get here?”
She shuts her eyes and almost physically tries to wave off half the stuff I said.
“I don’t know? That’s why I’m asking you, Sunny. Bus, maybe?”
“I’m not poor.”
“Fine th-”
“Actually I’m kind of poor. But not that poor.”
She rubs her temples.
“So. Did you get here by car then, Sunny?”
“Yeah. Kind of. Mostly. Half half?”
“What?”
“Come.”
Yeah, it’d probably just be best to show her.
So we end up retreading the exact same path for the third time (and for me, the fourth).
Yeahhhhh, while the scenery was kind of aesthetic the first time around, it’s gotten dry already.
No matter how nostalgic this place is, it is just suburbia at the end of the day.
And honestly, while it kinda hit the first time, I don’t really care anymore.
Nostalgia is overrated.
Weather, pizza and anchovy will do that to a man, I guess.
And cat.
Can’t forget cat.
Weather’s just too nice to be feeling all mopy and reminiscent.
All you can really do in this weather is chill.
And chill I will.
Cause I eat my… fill.
With Phil.
The pedophile.
Yeah.
I should become a rapper.
Yo.
Walking around the street corner, I point at my car as we approach it.
“Yup, that’s it.”
And Aubrey physically retches.
“Urgh, what is that?”
“Satsuma Brevia.”
“No, what is that thing, I mean.”
“...Twenty year old Satsuma Brevia?”
“TWENTY??? Christ, Sunny, this thing’s ancient!”
“Yeah yeah, it’s only like a bit older than us.”
“Sunny. We’re eighteen. And that thing is over twenty years old, and it looks like it’s pushing thirty!”
“Europeans drive old cars all the time.”
“Yeah, but Europeans don’t get winters like us, do they? It’s unbelievable this thing even runs still.”
“Hey, all I hear is you giving my car shit, but check this, the AC still works.”
“...Does it really?”
“Try for yourself.”
I hand her my keys, getting a “sick key ring” in response.
She enters the driver’s side, with the broken leather of the seat creaking in response.
She then slots in the key and turns the ignition.
vdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavda…
“Great start already, huh?”
“It’s a cold start, cut some slack.”
She shrugs and then flips on the AC.
And lord behold it WORKS!
On the passenger side only.
Aubrey then starts laughing again, cause she seems to do that a lot and at everything, the weirdo.
NOTHING’S FUNNY.
EVERYTHING SUCKS ! ! !
“Well then, I guess miracles are real! I bet it’s leaking like crazy, but it runs! What a weird brick on wheels.”
She then steps out of the car, and tries to shut the door, only for it to swing back open.
She tries again, and the door hits her square on the forehead this time.
Now she really slams it, but unfortunately, the door has absolute hands and it knocks her onto the floor.
Oh, how would the hooligans feel, to see their mighty leader, the great pink demon, holding back tears curled up in a ball on the floor after having lost to a car door.
“Still alive?”
“Yeah…”
She sniffles as she gets back up.
“Shame. Look here, you need to kinda like shimmy it down while you press it in. See? She’s finicky like that.”
Aubrey scoffs while wiping away her tears and rubbing her forehead.
“ She ? That thing’s got pronouns ?”
“Of course.”
“So… Did you name, er, ‘ her ’ or something?”
“Yup.”
“...What is it?”
“What is what?”
“The name , Sunny.”
“Satsuma Brevia.”
She sighs again with a small chuckle and a smile on her face.
“You know what, Sunny? Whaddya say we roll ‘ Satsuma ’ over to my place and I’ll fix her up for you?”
“But I already fixed her myself?”
“...You can work on cars?”
“Yeah. I don’t particularly like being scammed.”
“Yeah yeah, alright buddy. How much did this th- I mean, Satsuma cost you anyways?”
“Five bucks and a blowjob.”
She just buries her face in her hands, before letting them fall back down to her side, revealing her almost exhausted look.
“Let’s just… You know where Kim’s place is? Drive us there please.”
After handing me my keys, she hobbles over to the other side of the car and swings into the passenger seat.
Taking my own seat next to her, I stick the keys back into the ignition and turn it.
vdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavda…
Aubrey turns to stare at me.
“One more time.”
I turn the key back and back again.
vdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavda…
“Should I just like try taking a look at it now or?”
“This time for sure.”
vdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavda…
“Alright, Sunny, I’m just gonna go like-”
She extends her arm to open the door but I grab her shoulder.
“It’s gotta be this one.”
vdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdavdaVRRRRRRRMMMMmmmmmm…
“What’d I tell you? I can just feel it.”
“...Sure, Sunny.”
Putting my foot on the clutch pedal, I pull up the handbrake.
“ Ohhh, I bid farewell to the port and the land, ”
Reversing out of the driveway, I turn, change gears, and make way down the street.
“ And I paddle away from brave England’s white sands, -”
“Sunny, what are you doing?”
“...Driving?”
“No, I mean like, the singing.”
I slow down in front of Kim’s place and pull into the driveway.
“Sea shanties make me drive better.”
“What? How?”
I pull up on the parking brake and turn towards her.
“Funny, my driving instructor asked the same thing.”
“...You sang sea shanties while doing your test???”
“And I passed first try with flying colours.”
She sighs and shakes her head.
Making our way out of the car, I pull on the hood latch as Aubrey pulls the hood up.
And she visibly winces.
“Alright… Well um, Sunny, you certainly… Worked on it?”
“Thanks.”
She sighs.
“That wasn’t a compliment. You know what, seeing how that cold start went, I’ll go fetch a new starter. Brevia parts… I should have some of those laying around.”
“You just have car parts available at all times?”
She winks.
“Yup. Perks of being a Fix-it employee, eh?”
“Hm-hm. By the way, you're still in uniform.”
Her face goes red as she looks down.
“This whole time…? Why didn’t you- Nevermind. I-I’m gonna go get changed so like… Yeah.”
“You should probably shower too.”
She tries to glare at me which doesn’t really work when she’s so clearly embarrassed it looks more cute than really anything else.
Actually really it’s more of a pout.
“Sh-showers come after car work! And do I really smell that bad? Didn’t you just say I-I, like, uh, smell, like, kinda good, like, a while back???”
I just shrug as she slams the front door.
As I wait, I just walk circles around Satsuma, feeling up all her curves.
God, this takes me back.
I remember when I first got her, almost two years back.
God, did I have to suck the shit out of that dick.
Anyways, she was always a little bit rusty but the engine problems only really started to pop up fairly recently.
And good riddance, lord knows I’ve tried my very best to fix her.
But like, cars are complicated and allat so.
And an amateur like me doesn’t measure up to much.
Spit and duct tape can only do so much to mend the wounds of a near incomprehensible manmade beast of metal and wires.
I mean, have you seen the internals of an automatic transmission?
That’s the type of stuff you see in fever dreams.
Or on drugs.
Lots of drugs.
Only madmen think up of things like cars.
It is simply not in our nature to create beasts with flesh of aluminum and blood of oil.
The only car ever made to be ordained by not only god but our ancestors before us is clearly the Multipla.
It’s the most beautiful thing known to man.
At least, it is according to the blind fentanyl addict who touches himself on the street outside of my apartment block.
But yeah trust me, he’s different.
He uh.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Ever seen a guy write four different Shakespear works at the exact same time using every single one of their hands and feet?
Yeah that’s right.
Neither have I.
“Hey, Sunny, check this out!”
Now with a more fresh and casual outfit, Aubrey runs out holding a metal knob looking thingamajig with a gear looking gizmo on the end.
“Whaddya say? Found it right off the bat.”
“That’s some crazy plot convenience right there.”
“Sure is. Not that Brevias and their parts are uncommon, though.”
I shrug.
That’s like kinda the reason why I bought a Brevia, but whatever.
Where did she get that from, by the way?
From inside her house?
What?
From my line of questions without answers, Aubrey draws me out with a tap on the shoulder.
“Hold this light for me, wouldya?”
“Sure.”
She hands me a flashlight as she turns heel to retrieve a ratchet set from the garage.
Upon her return, she facepalms before going back again.
This time, she comes with a pry bar.
“So, Sunny. What have you been up to these past two years?”
“Not much.”
“Hm, really? That’s somewhat hard to believe coming out of your mouth.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re an interesting guy, I suppose.”
After removing a terminal from the battery, she hands me it.
“Put this somewhere where it won’t touch the battery please.”
“Okay.”
I just leave it hanging out of the engine compartment.
“You know, I’m surprised you haven’t killed yourself working on this thing.”
“Why?”
“Well, I mean, the first step of this process could’ve been a death sentence. You ever seen a car battery explode? Acid everywhere, I tell you.”
“Why would you put acid in a car battery? Are car makers stupid?”
Aubrey shakes her head with a huff.
After removing the little push clips on the big front plastic panel, she lifts it straight up and off the car and literally throws it to the side, letting it clatter onto the driveway.
I’m sure there are better ways than that, but what would I know?
Grabbing one of the bolts pointing upwards towards us, she kind of like molests it for a second.
“Could you hand me the 9mm socket please?”
“Aye aye captain.”
Attaching it to the ratchet which she produces from her pocket, she tries putting it over the bolt to no success.
“Too small. 10mm please.”
“Whateva ya say, boss.”
There’s uh.
There’s no 10mm.
“My apologies boss, looks like there ain’t no 10mm here.”
“Oh, yeah, alright. Don’t worry, I’m always prepared for something like this. Also please stop talking like a cartoon henchman.”
“You got it boss.”
I don’t even want to know what’s going on in her pockets for her to pull out the perfectly sized socket from a random pocket in her jacket with absolutely zero hesitation.
Simply just pocketing the bolts, she once again rips out the air duct and throws it off to the side.
At this point, I’m worried she’ll damage my car more than anything else.
“Alright, could you give me some light over here?”
“Sure thing.”
Hanging the now illuminated flashlight over her shoulder, I try to keep it as still as possible so that I don’t get the quintessential “child holding light for their father while he works on the car only to be shouted at” experience.
Now, I can’t see much of what she’s doing but seeing from her yanking and the cranking of the ratchet, I can only assume she’s rigging a car bomb to the engine.
“Y’know, what’re your plans now that we’re all done with high school?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, you know, what are you planning to do? Any careers you’re looking into, universities, anything?”
“Oh. Yeah. Degree in meteorology.”
“The hell is that? Is that like astronomy?”
“No. It’s kind of like weather science. Or atmospheric science, whatever.”
“Really. Science? What made you choose a STEM degree of all things?”
I shrug.
“I don’t want to work. But if I have to work, I might as well work on something I like. And I like the weather. It’s chill. And the degree is only like one or two years long. I don’t remember.”
“So that’s why you knew all those complicated weather terms, eh? Who would’ve thought, you are a weatherman or something.”
“I’m not but okay. What about you?”
Putting the pry bar up against something within the engine compartment, she hammers the handle with her fist.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m not all too smart like you, but I think I’m pretty handy at least. So yeah, taking an apprenticeship was a no-brainer. Pay’s great, and god knows this country always needs more of them. And working on cars is fun anyways. What’s the worst that could happen, I lose a finger or two?”
I’m pretty sure much worse things could happen but okay.
Why are you so okay with losing fingers anyways?
“So yeah, that’s basically my plan for the future. Work for a bit, save up, buy a house and settle down. No big dreams for me, eh?”
“Your only plan is to work until you die, then.”
“Jeez, when you phrase it like that it sounds bad.”
Reaching her hand deep into the engine compartment, she squints and seems to struggle with something for a while before taking out a familiar looking metal knob doohickey, only a lot more rusted than the one poking out of one of her pockets.
“And here we go!”
She underhand tosses it perfectly into the mound of plastic before turning to me with a smirk.
“Alright Sunny, now take off your shirt.”
“Alrighty.”
I reach for the hems of my shirt, but before I can pull it all the way over my head, Aubrey stops me.
“W-WAIT! I was joking! Don’t a-actually…”
“Then why’d you tell me to strip?”
“It was a joke, you were supposed to say no, not g-go along with it…”
“How selfish of you. I really wanted to strip, too.”
“Wha…”
She physically tries to shake off the daze before walking back towards the garage.
“You know, I really should just open the garage door. Walking all the way around through the front is getting annoying.”
What a genius, only thinking of that now.
This time, her return is preluded with the rumbling of the garage door.
And she’s also holding a rag now.
Sick.
I love rags.
As she leans over to rag something in the engine compartment, she turns to look at me which I don’t think is all that safe.
“You know, what were you thinking of doing after getting your degree?”
“I dunno.”
“...Really?”
“Yup.”
“Do you know what jobs you want that you can get with the degree?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, fine, any other plans outside of school and work?”
“Hm. One day I’d like to buy a ticket up to Abitibi.”
“...And?”
“Just chill there. Aurora borealis and stuff.”
She leans against the car.
“Isn’t it really cold up there? And like, it’s so far north, nobody lives there.”
“That’s the point. I think I’d like that, just a little northern corner to muck about in. Land’s cheaper, weather’s more interesting and it’s generally just a beautiful place. I think I’d like to just lay in the snow on the winter days, and just stare up at the aurora borealis. Maybe go on trudges in spring into the forest or something. Summer you could fish, or canoe, or really do anything. And in autumn you get to climb up all the way to the top of a hill to see the entire world below you bloom with reds and oranges. I’d spend every day just walking around. Maybe on a trail, maybe beside roads. Maybe even to the next town over. Whatever. I think that’d be great. Perfect, actually.”
Aubrey stares at me for a second with an almost blank look on her face before chuckling.
“Pffft, the hell? Now you have me sold on the idea too.”
She pauses for a moment.
“Yeah. You’re right. Something like that doesn’t sound all too bad.”
The rest of the process was spent with few words exchanged.
The “new” starter was inserted, the air intake placed back in and the plastic panel refastened with the push clips.
Retrieving them back from her impromptu dump pile was a bit of a hassle, but I’m sure she decided to throw them with reason.
Definitely sure.
Mostly.
Kinda.
Well I’m sure there’s a reason, I’m just not confident it’s even a half good one.
By the time the hood is finally shut once more, evening had fallen with the sun in tow.
Hovering over the horizon, the sun stained the scattered clouds with yellow.
Soon enough, that’d turn to orange, and then to red.
Which is to say, I should probably check the time.
“Aubrey, let me see your watch.”
She gives me a puzzled look.
“I can just read it for you? It’s, like, three quarters past six.”
“We should probably get moving then.”
“Why- Oh! Damn, I forgot! No time to waste, see if it works, Sunny.”
“If it blows up all the blame’s on you.”
“It’s not gonna blow up.”
“Sure.”
With a deep breath I swing into the driver’s seat, slot in the key and turn the ignition.
And it explodes and I’m immediately vapourized and I die instantly and horribly.
The end.
“Well would you look at that, what a clean startup! You owe me big time, eh?”
Shut up, Aubrey.
I’m supposed to be dead.
“Just get in.”
“Jeez, what’s got you in a big fuss? On your period or something?”
She elbows me as I strongly consider locking the doors and driving this car into the hangout spot lake.
After a drive so short it’s literally just two turns that passed in less than a minute, I park my BEAST of a machine on the side of the road outside the church.
Crazy to think that this town which used to feel so big as a child is actually just really, really tiny.
Kind of like uhhh
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Ground beef.
Yeah.
As we step out of the car, Aubrey waits for me, the car door still ajar.
“Hey, Sunny, who’s bringing all the picnic stuff anyways?”
“What?”
“Like, the food and picnic blanket and all that, you know?”
“Oh. I dunno.”
“Sunny…”
She gives me an exasperated look before once again waving it off and heading inside.
It’s empty.
Not a single sound fills the large chamber but the patter of our feet on the carpet.
Walking down the hall in between the pews, warm orange light streams in from the stained glass windows above.
It feels almost cleansing, walking through the warm glow.
A very different feeling, compared to what happened the last time I was here with Aubrey.
Soon, we reach the end of the aisle.
By chance, we both happen to take the right side door.
Entering the small clearing, it almost seems washed out compared to the shining day before.
Through the stained clouds above, a single ray of pure, unfiltered sunshine beams down on a familiar grave.
Been a while, huh?
Sat around her is Hero, Kel and Basil, on a picnic blanket, surprisingly.
As we approach, I call out to them.
“Where’d you get the picnic basket from?”
In order from left to right, Kel, Hero and Basil are seated in a small quarter circle.
I take a seat next to Kel, with Aubrey taking hers next to me.
Hero is the first to speak.
“Well, I just had a feeling nobody else would be the one to set this up.”
He lets out a dry chuckle.
To which, I scratch my head sheepishly.
Whoopsie poopsie.
Not my fault I’m too lazy to look into the future and to make preparations and stuff like that.
Wait a minute…
“So, Sunny. What brings you back here?”
Behind Hero, Kel digs inside the picnic basket, and beside him, Basil twiddles his thumbs.
In the corner of my eye, I can see Aubrey furiously trying to wipe a grease stain off of her hand.
“Just thought I’d visit.”
“Out of nowhere? After two whole years? With zero contact?”
“That’s not my fault.”
I’ve barely even said three sentences and Hero already looks a bit worn out.
“Yeah. You’re right. It isn’t.”
Suddenly, Kel’s eyes brighten and he pulls out a pack of cans from the picnic basket.
“Hero! You brought beer!”
“I did, but that’s for me. You’re still underage.”
“Aw, c’mon! Sunny’s back and you’re acting all grumpy! Let’s have a toast to having the gang all back together!”
“No! Nobody else here is drinking. You’re all too young.”
Basil awkwardly interjects.
“Hero… All of us except for Kel are over eighteen.”
And this seems to break Hero.
His face goes pale and sweat seems to pour down his face.
“What? No. No way. You’re all so…”
Kel slaps him on the back.
“That’s right, unc! You’re getting old, eh?”
“Don’t call me that, I’m not old, I’m still, like, twenty-one. That’s young!”
Basil just puts a hand on Hero’s shoulder as Aubrey waves him off.
“Yeah yeah pops, just toss a beer over will ‘ya?”
He mumbles as he puts his face in his hand while handing a can of beer over to Aubrey.
She cracks it open and goes to take a sip before stopping herself.
“Y’know what? Why doesn’t everybody get a can so we can do an actual toast?”
Kel seems to jump at the idea while Basil squirms a bit.
“I… don’t drink.”
Hero turns around and starts sifting through the picnic basket.
“That’s fine, Basil. I brought some other drinks as well. Do you want some tasty soda or apple juice?”
“I’ll take the soda.”
Swiftly, Hero hands Kel a can of orange joe (they still make that stuff? man, it’s been a whole decade, how are they not bankrupt?) and Basil his soda.
Grabbing two cans of beer, he hands me one and holds onto the other.
“Well. To Sunny, I suppose.”
We all lift our cans, and with a soft and not very satisfying clink we let out a half hearted “cheers!”.
Taking a swig from my can, it tastes weirdly sweet and fruity but it still burns my throat.
At least it’s not guinness.
Aubrey seems to have a much stronger reaction than me, though.
“Hero, what is this? Black Talon? This is, like, at least fifty percent sugar.”
Hero shakes his head.
“Hey, it isn’t my favourite either. Don’t blame me.”
“Why’d you get it then? Should’ve gotten some Hooiberg instead.”
Hero sighs with a smile.
“You’re so young but you have the tastes of an old man, Aubrey.”
He laughs a bit as Aubrey scoffs.
“You’d know a lot about being an old man, wouldn’t you, Hero?”
“I’m telling you, in just three years you’ll be my age, and it won’t be so fun then.”
Kel butts in, always one to get one over his brother.
“Alright, grandpa. Let’s get you to bed.”
“Guys, he really isn’t that old…”
Basil interjects on Hero’s behalf, because every group needs a straight man.
“Basil, c’mon man, how can you hear what he just said and not think he’s old! ‘I tell you, when you get old like me you won’t think it’s so funny then, eh?’.”
Kel’s impression of an old man in a cartoon is spot on.
He could charge for that, wow that’s good.
“He’s only twenty-...”
Hero stops him from speaking any more by placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head.
Looks like they know when to retreat and admit Hero’s old at least.
With that battle won, the cemetery once again descends into silence, true silence this time with not but a single sound in the air.
Aubrey leans back and stares at Mari’s grave, slowly making her way through her second beer.
Kel plays with grass on the edge of the blanket, maybe tying a knot or something like that.
Hero looks around at each and every one of us, lazily shifting his gaze every once in a while.
And Basil just stares at the tree line, for once completely still.
Overhead, the almost painted skyline has turned blood red, the sun more than half submerged below the horizon.
Finally, I manage to speak up.
“Basil.”
His head snaps up towards me.
“Aubrey.
Kel.
Hero.”
I can feel all of their gazes are focused directly on me, yet I still look up at the sky.
“I have something to tell you.”
I try to find words, but they slip out under my fingers.
Once again, silence descends, but this time more tense and sharp than before.
“There’s a thing. In my body. I found out this morning. I’ve had it for a while, apparently. And it’s been killing me. For a long time.”
Once again I try to speak but it’s hard to choke them out.
It seems even I haven’t had time to fully accept them.
But saying it out loud.
To them.
It makes it feel real.
And that scares me.
I guess.
“The doctor told me I have three days left. Counting today. By Monday, I’ll be dead. And there’s nothing that can be done.”
It’s hard to keep the tears back, but I try my best.
Even though I tear up, no tears fall.
“I’m sorry.”
I just keep looking at the sky.
Scattered clouds.
Cirrus.
15 Statute Miles of visibility.
Weak winds.
The sky is beautiful.
The sky’s always beautiful.
Suddenly, I feel a mass tackle into me.
Looking downwards, it’s Aubrey.
I can’t see her face since her head’s beside me but.
I don’t think I want to.
Basil stares into the palms of his hands, almost lost.
And Kel wears an utterly blank expression, one horrifying to see on his face.
Suddenly, Hero breaks the silence.
“You know what? Here, Kel. Have a beer.”
He places one into Kel’s hands.
“Sunny, I’ll be honest with you, a lot has happened between us all, and I can’t really find it in me to completely forgive you, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t one of my close friends. So you said you still have two days left, right? Stay here, then. Spend them in Faraway, among friends. Just because you’re gonna die doesn’t mean it’s goodbye just yet. So let’s fucking party why don’t we? Might as well go out with a bang, eh?”
He extends a beer to me.
And I can’t help but smile as I take it.
“Yeah.”
As Aubrey lets go of me and turns away, I pop open the beer and chug it straight down.
I’m left hacking and coughing after, but once I finally open my eyes, I open it to see Kel and Aubrey bickering, with Basil and Hero trying to break it up.
For a moment, it almost feels like I’m a kid again.
But I’m not.
But we’re not.
We’re adults now, who drive, drink, have plans for the future, careers.
Well.
Not me.
I’ll be spending the rest of my life in endless youth.
But maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Another beer goes down the hatch as I lay down and stare up at the warm sky.
And before I know it, I’m out like a light.
…
“-ey Sunny! Come on, I didn’t know you were such a lightweight! Out after only three beers?”
I open my eyes, only to meet Aubrey’s gaze.
“Huh? Wha?”
“The other’s are leaving, dumbass. Get up and say bye.”
Grabbing her hand, she pulls me up.
It’s dark out now, not a hint of sunlight in the sky.
The stars twinkle above, almost with an air of resolution.
Groggily, I wave back at Kel, Hero and Basil as they enter the church.
“Jeez Sunny, you really were passed out huh? We managed to pull the blanket right out under you and you didn't even flinch!”
“It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah… I can only guess.”
She grabs my hand and starts dragging me along.
“Hey, what do you say we swing by the park before we head home?”
“Hm? Sure.”
Through yawns and rubbing my eyes, the walk passes by in a flash.
At least by then, I’m fully awake.
Aubrey takes her place on the left swing, while I take mine on the right.
The only light comes from streetlights now.
It gives a tranquil and almost nostalgic atmosphere.
“You know, Sunny. These are the last few days we’ll be spending together.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s hard to imagine that, right? After everything, the years of history we have, it’ll all be gone. Just like that. In just three days. And what’s up with you and three days anyways? Every time you stay with us, it's always for three days, and then you’re gone. Couldn’t you work it out to stay just a bit longer?”
“Tell that to the doctors.”
She laughs.
Now, the only noise to fill the air is the chirping of crickets.
Suddenly, Aubrey gets up from the swings and walks in front of me.
I look up at her face, but her expression is unreadable.
And then she pushes me-
No.
Wait.
She’s…
Pinning me down???
Her face is so close as she speaks, which is more of a whisper than anything.
“Hey Sunny.”
“...Yeah?”
“You wanna know something?”
“I do.”
For a moment we both just stare at each other, breaths on each other's faces.
“I’ve liked you for a long time, y’know?”
“...Me too.”
She giggles softly.
“So? What are you waiting for?”
I just stare into her eyes for a moment before leaning forward.
And she does the same.
Her lips feel so soft on mine, but they stay for only a moment before she pulls away.
Getting up, she turns away while extending me a hand.
As she pulls me up, I catch a glimpse of her beet red face.
“S-so… Only three days, huh?”
“Two, now.”
Despite her full face blush, she turns back towards me with a smirk.
“What do you say, why don’t we spend these last few days together?”
“Yeah. I think I’d like that.
No, I’d really like that.”
She laughs.
“Like something out of a play, eh? Doomed lovers. Fuck.”
She laughs again, still holding my hand.
“Let’s head home, Sunny.”
“Mhm.”
Suddenly, something seems to strike Aubrey, as she turns back around and elbows me.
“Sunny! The pizza!”
Oh yeah!
“C’mon, let’s see if it’s still at the plaza!”
Breaking into a run, she quickly drags me along until we once again reach the bench.
And, well, what do you know, it’s still there.
And completely intact.
“God, what the hell? It’s spent the whole day out here and it’s still fine! What’re the chances?”
“Aubrey, wait. A slice’s missing.”
She reopens the box and checks again.
“You’re right…”
In the corner of my eye, something catches my attention.
Standing in the potted bushes, is a black cat.
With a slice of pizza in its mouth.
Anchovy pizza.
“Aubrey.”
“Yeah?”
I just point at the cat.
“...Huh. So that’s where the thief is.”
I take a step towards it, but it immediately darts away into the trees.
“Aw.”
Aubrey pats my back.
“It’s fine, Sunny. We can always buy more pizza later.”
“No. I wanted to pet the cat.”
She laughs.
“Well what do you say we do a bit of cat hunting tomorrow?”
To that, I give her a big fat thumbs up.
This seems to earn her smile.
The walk back was spent hand in hand.
With my other hand holding the pizza, for once.
I can tell my hand’s cold, and her’s much, much warmer, but it doesn’t seem to bother Aubrey at all.
We stop at the intersection in front of Kim’s branch.
“So, Sunny. That’s it for today, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Mhm.”
She giggles.
“I had fun.”
“Me too. More or less.”
“More or less?”
I shrug, getting laughter in response.
Suddenly, Aubrey grabs my cheeks and places her lips on mine.
For longer, this time.
This time I’m the one to break it.
“Tastes like beer.”
She laughs.
“Well, maybe we’re a little drunk.”
“I don’t get drunk.”
“Whatever you say. Well, see you tomorrow, Sunbun .”
“What did you just call me?”
“It’s a pet name, y’know? We’re dating now! C’mon, give me a pet name too!”
What?
We have names for a reason, Aubrey.
Do you really want me to overwrite the will of my parents just to make my name a little more cutesy?
No.
My name is one of honour.
Of pride.
Utterly despicable of you.
“Aubbers.”
“Wow. That sucks.”
“Sure.”
She laughs one last time before waving goodbye and disappearing into the shadows cast by suburban houses and street lights.
I look up at the sky.
It’s completely and utterly clear.
Pitch black.
But with hints of the sparkling of stars.
A light breeze rolls down the street as I make my way to Basil’s house.
Considering how late it is, the house is already sound asleep.
The whole town is, really.
Stumbling into the guest room, the bed’s already set up for me.
After a quick fall into its warm embrace, I, too, join the rest.