Catch a Glimmer of Your Star

Phone Call

"Thanks, you two," Basil spoke softly.

"Go have fun with Sunny after you're done eating," Mrs. S said. "Let me take care of the dishes today."

"R—Really? But I can help with the dishes, it's no problem—"

"Let's play Earthbound again!" Sunny offered.

Basil couldn't turn down a request from Sunny. "Okay..."

They went back to their room, grabbed the chairs, and turned on the computer.

Playing Earthbound with Sunny turned out to be as immersive as yesterday's gaming session. As they battled through encounter after encounter, reading the whimsical dialogue and listening to the catchy melodies, Basil managed to somewhat forget about the feeling that his parents wanted to abandon him. Video games, he discovered, were nearly as engaging as books.

Both books and games could tell amazing stories, and with video games he could even interact with the story and its characters. It was really fun asking Sunny to do random stuff like going way off the intended path and finding awesome items.

At the end of the day, when they were tucked in bed again, Sunny turned to face Basil before going to sleep. He smiled, but he also looked a little sad.

Sunny?

"Thanks for playing video games with me again," Sunny said.

"No problem, Sunny!"

"I kinda feel bad, though," Sunny said in a voice almost as low as a whisper.

"What's wrong?"

"I keep getting this feeling...after therapy today...that I'm not as good of a friend to you as you were to me." Sunny pushed himself closer to Basil's bed, making Basil blush lightly.

"Sunny, I made a lot of mistakes—"

"I should've been aware of how much you always did to protect me. Even if, even if sometimes, it made things worse, at least I should've said something. I should've acknowledged how much you cared about me."

Sunny's working eye blinked, revealing a flicker of water. "I'm sorry. You were my best friend. But I was a crappy friend in general."

"Sunny, that's not true!" Basil replied. "You came back for me..."

"I let you down so many times before that."

"It's okay, Sunny. I did awful things to you. I'm already happy that you're willing to give me another chance."

"I owe you a lot more chances than I deserve myself." Sunny's hand reached out from under his blanket to pat Basil on the shoulder. "It took me a while to realize that. I really owe a lot to you."

Your words, your touch...

I don't even know how to express this feeling inside my chest.

"Sunny, it's alright. I'm glad you're my best friend."

I wish my words reflected my heart.

A mild red grew on Sunny's cheeks. "'Kay...let's just leave it at that."

"Yeah, let's go to bed."

Therapy changed you somehow, I can tell.

As their eyes closed, Basil felt a familiar dose of insomnia keeping him from being able to fall asleep. His anxiety-prone mind kept him up at night often, sometimes making him spend entire nights tossing and turning without ever falling asleep. He wondered if his insomnia might get better now that he slept beside Sunny.