MARI'S MENACE (OMORI AU)

CHAPTER 8: Sunny's journal

I woke up to a large pain in my chest. I got a text from Mari. I check it out as I take some aspirin and get dressed. The text reads:

"Hey Aubrey, I wanted to know if you wanted to help me clear out

Sunny's part of our room."

I reply "Sure" and make my way to her house.

I stand in front of the house, nervous to go in. I haven't entered since the incident. I slowly knock on the door. Mari answers.

"Aubrey, hey. Come on in."

We walk slowly to their room. The room had photos of him and Mari. We start cleaning the room in silence. I try to strike up a conversation by bringing up a funny memory with Sunny. It takes a bit but she laughs. We then start talking and it makes the cleanup a bit better. I take off his pillow and a journal falls out.

"Hey, Mari? What's this?"

She looks over at me.

"Oh, that's Sunny's journal. I used to find him writing in it every morning."

I open it and inside is a bunch of quotes. Each quote was from a different one of us. The first page had a drawing of someone named Omori. The next few pages were of all of us. The first page after the introductions to the others explaining Headspace. He wrote how over time, the world would change and adapt. He said how the stump leading to the neighbor's room grew into a tree. He wrote how one day they built a treehouse. The last page wrote about a great reset, everyone changed outfits and Headspace me was missing. Sunny and Omori separated from one entity. Sunny became part of Headspace in a way. The final page had a drawing of Sunny sitting on his bed as Omori talks to him. It read,

"Mari and I fought today. I accidentally pushed her down the stairs and she called me a menace. It really hurt. I wanted to say something to tell her to stop but my vocal cords didn't let me. When I tried I felt extreme pain and ran. Omori made me feel even worse. He shamed me and told me how soon, everyone will hate me."

The other side was filled with "I'm sorry, please forgive me for this"

It was written on the day he passed. I threw the book as memories of the incident resurfaced. I screamed in pain as Mari ran to me. I hyperventilated as the images popped into my head.

"SUNNY!!" I screamed in pain.

Mari took me back home in her car. She decided to stay over. I noticed the book in her hands. She flipped through it until she reached the final page. She dropped it and hugged me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was."

I look away. My heartfelt bare. I was in a lot of pain. The person I loved the most left me. I looked down at the floor as she took me inside.

"If I had only paid more attention."

Mari glanced at me. She didn't exactly know what to say or how I felt but she knew I was hurting. She takes me up to my bed and Mari lays down on the floor. I end up crying myself to sleep.