Chapter Text
This is the aftermath of Mari’s death (Days after Mari’s funeral):
The wall clock ticked as it read 8:23pm in Basil’s dark bedroom.
Basil gripped his pen tightly as he read his diary:
’Dear Diary,
I didn’t feel very good as something happened: Mari and Sunny got into a fight before the recital. I heard that Sunny hated performing in front of the crowd, since he had stage fright. Mari would shove and tell him that he is bad insecure boy for not being perfect. I didn’t think she would take this too far with her brother. I saw her grab and slapped Sunny in the face because he was running away from her. I flinched at the scene.
In horror, I watched as I saw Mari lose balance and suddenly tumble down the stairs. Sunny screamed and wept because she didn’t move. So I had an idea: W̶e̴ ̴h̵a̷n̷g̶e̴d̴ ̴h̵e̷r̷ ̶o̷n̴ ̵a̴ ̶t̷r̵e̴e̷.̶ ̶H̴e̵r̷o̴,̵ ̸K̴e̸l̵ ̶a̴n̶d̶ ̸A̵u̷b̸r̷e̷y̸ ̸w̷i̷l̵l̸ ̷h̵a̷t̵e̷ ̶u̵s̸ ̶f̵o̷r̴ ̴t̸h̸i̷s̴…̷’
Basil needed to cross the last part of the paragraph as it disturbed him, thinking his friends will blame and judge him for Mari’s death if he told them the truth.
He dropped the pen from his trembling hands, and placed both of his hands on his face, starting to sob.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Polly played her favorite song ‘Heather’ by Conan Gray whilst she folded her clothes from the washing machine with Basil’s grandmother sitting on her rocking chair. Suddenly, she heard Basil sob, so she left her folded clothes on the table as she began to take a step away from the room door.
“Basil? Are… Are you okay? Polly said, her voice gentle as she spoke.
He suddenly turned his head toward his caretaker.
“Uh… yeah…” Basil chuckled through his sobs as he wiped his tears in the back of his hands.
”But… you don’t look okay…”
Basil gasped in surprise as Polly knew something was bothering him.
“I’m… tired,” Basil said as he smiled through his tears.
“You’re trembling, your face is scrunching up in sadness… Basil, I could tell you don’t look okay,” Polly sighed “You do not need to keep things to yourself. I care about you, you know?”
”I’m okay! It’s okay! Everything’s okay!” Basil shouted.
Suddenly, Polly wrapped her arms around Basil. At first, he froze to her sudden hug. “When you’re ready to talk, let me know, okay? Just remember, me and your friends are there for you.” Polly said as she caressed Basil’s hair.
Then, Polly walked away from Basil’s bedroom as she slowly closed his door.
After she left, he thought ‘Should I tell the truth about Mari’s death to Polly? Will she get angry toward me? Will she blame me too?’
Sweat beaded on his forehead, as he sat there, slumped his chair, the negative thoughts lingering his mind.
“Basil…” a voice screeched.
“H-Huh?” Basil muttered as he started to fidget his sweating hands “Who… Who’s t-there?”
“BASIL!” the voice repeated.
Suddenly, Basil’s door began to bang really loud as if someone was hitting his door with an axe.
”LET ME… IN!”
The door suddenly swing open; it was Hellmari.
”BASIL! HOW DARE YOU HANGED ME ON A TREE. I WANT TO COME BACK TO LIFE. I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER. I WANT TO SEE HERO! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.” Hellmari shrieked as it tried to lunge him.
“Mari! Please I’m sorry! Please forgive me! I needed to cover your death as a suicide so that your parents wouldn’t blame Sunny for killing-“
“I DON’T CARE! IT’S BOTH YOUR FAULT! YOUR DAMN FAULT!”
”NO NO NO!!! POLLY! HELP ME!” Basil screamed, his eyes shut tightly, hands covering his ears.
In the other room, whilst Polly was almost finishing her job to fold the last bit of her clothes, she heard Basil scream so she stormed into his room.
”Basil? Basil! It’s me!” Polly said.
”Huh?” Basil said, his tears welling up.
He suddenly wrapped his arms around Polly, needing comfort from her.
Basil buried his face into Polly’s shoulder, shaking violently.
“I-I’M SORRY! I’M SO SORRY, POLLY! I DIDN’T MEAN— I DIDN’T THINK— PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” he choked out, his voice breaking.
Polly held him tighter, rubbing his back slowly. “Basil… shhh… it’s okay. Breathe. Breathe with me.”
”I FEEL SOMETHING! IT’S THERE! IT’S COMING FOR ME!”
Polly squeezed his hand. “Something? You’ve apologised many times. Now we take the next step. We make things better, one thing at a time. That’s what matters.”
Basil nodded shakily, inhaling deep breaths. “I… I want to do that. I… I want to make things right. I’ll never stop trying. I… I love you, Polly. I’m so sorry.”
Polly smiled gently, brushing his hair back. “I know. And I love you too. You’re human, Basil. Humans make mistakes. What matters is what you do after. And I’ll be with you through it.”
For the first time that night, Basil felt a flicker of calm. The panic, the guilt, the chaos inside him—it didn’t vanish completely, but it softened. He could start breathing again.