Lost and Found

It was deathly quite inside the waiting room. Once the initial conversations for catching people up, small chatter, and a few tearful questions were finished, everyone had fallen silent. Nobody knew what to say anymore. All they could do was wait. For something to happen...
Sunny had cried and sobbed until his voice gave out and his eyes were red from rubbing them. The last hour had been nothing but fear and panic. The sole thing stopping him from shattering was Basil rubbing his back, and one simple hope. Mari's going to be okay...the doctors will tell us she's okay... And he had no choice but to believe it. If he wishes and prays hard enough, maybe it really will happen just like in those cartoons he'd watch with Mari... Please wake up...please be okay...I need to tell you I'm sorry...I'm sorry... Sunny repeated those words in his head like a broken record.

...

Hero couldn't hold onto any tangible emotion other than fear. The last hour had been nothing but events even his darkest nightmares couldn't have hoped to create, leaving him feeling drained. Mari's parents looked like they were on the verge of collapsing, Aubrey was still trying to console Sunny while also hugging him for support since Mari wasn't here, Basil was rubbing Sunny's back and trying to help calm him down, Kel seemed so confused and scared and Hero kept holding his hand to comfort him. And poor Sunny...he looked like he had been crying all night. Hero couldn't bring himself to look into his eyes any more than the first time. He didn't know how to explain it, but the world felt so much emptier all of a sudden. Colder.
Mari really meant so much, if she didn't wake up...Mari had to wake up. She needed to be okay. She...dammit...
"Hero?" Kel whimpered. He turned to hug him, trying his damndest not to cry in front of everyone.
...
...
After what felt like hours, a man entered the room to meet everyone's worried stares. He decided to say what they wanted to hear first.
"She's going to live. No doubts about it."
The wave of relief was palpable. The last few hours of stress and panic finally reached it's end.
Kel let out an exhale as he practically collapsed on Hero's side, Aubrey started crying and patted Sunny's back as his head shot up, Basil gave a shocked Sunny a big hug, and Hero's parents started congratulating Mari's parents who hugged each other.
The doctor walked over to Mari's parents and got their attention. "You two need to see this." And guided them over to the room.
Even with Kel going back to his usual self and joking next to him, and Aubrey getting upset with him for being so cheery right now, Hero couldn't help but feel a little worried. What did they need to see? Was something wrong with Mari? He wanted to follow them, but he'll probably get to later...

...

Sunny sat there, repeating the doctors words in his head. Mari was okay. Mari was okay. Mari...was okay...
...
She's going to hate him. He broke the violin. He ruined her recital. He almost killed her because he was such a coward that he couldn't face what he did, that wanted to run away from what he did. Why...why couldn't it have been him? He should have...just...what should he have done...?
Sunny was confused. He didn't understand anything. But he desperately held on to the one good thing he could, and Basil's words.
Mari was alive. Everything's going to be okay.

...

"Mari barely recognized us. The fall might have damaged her memory."
Aubrey and Kel raised an uproar at the news. The kids were begging for an explanation, demanding to know how and why.
"What do you mean? Does she not remember us? But she can't, we-"
"That's not fair! You said Mari was okay, she's going to be okay, right-"
Hero leaned back in his seat and stared up at the ceiling. He took a deep breath, and gulped. Mari's memory was damaged. She didn't remember her own mom and dad. She...probably didn't remember him either. Hero wasn't sure what to think. All he knew was that he needed to see her. He took one last glance at Sunny, who was burying his face between his legs again as Basil tried to calm him down, before getting up from his seat.
"Can I see her?" Hero asked the doctor.
"Sorry, she needs time to rest, and only close family should be-"
"Please, I-I'm her boyfriend." Hero desperately asked again. "I-I need to see her...so please."
The doctor paused for a moment. He looked to the parents who were surprised to hear what Henry had said. He was Mari's girlfriend?
Once the initial shock wore off, it was Mari's dad that answered first. "He should go see her."
Hero's eyes widened in surprise, but didn't think twice to go past the doctor and into Mari's room.

Mari was sitting up in her bed, looking around with a clouded expression until her eyes fell on him.
Hero was scared. He was terrified of Mari. He hadn't been this afraid of her since the day she yelled at him for convincing Sunny to dive into the lake.
"...Hello, Mari. Do you...remem...ber me..." Hero could barely force the words out as he walked over to her. She stared at him, her eyes slowly squinting. He reached her bedside as he took one of her hands into his own and held them. Please remember me, please remember, I love you so much,
...
She continued to stare at him. She seemed so confused, but she hadn't said anything. Hero was at the end of his rope. "Please...Mari, please remember me. I don't know what...I'd..." If you don't still love me... He stared downwards at her hand he was clinging to.
...
"...Hero...?" Mari spoke in a hushed tone. He looked back up at her face. Her eyes widened. "Ah, Hero! You're Hero!" She sounded delighted as she started wrapping her fingers around his, looking into his eyes with nothing but joy. She was happy to remember him. "You're my boyfriend, right?"
"M-Mari..." For the first time that night, Hero started to cry. He squeezed her hand between his. She remembered him...even if was just his nickname, she really did remember him... "Mari, I love you so much..." He gave her a hug that she reciprocated. She remembered him!

...

Sunny couldn't move. Everything around him had ceased to exist. All he could feel was the block of ice expanding from his heart, slowly encompassing his whole body. He was freezing solid. Maybe he wouldn't move again. Maybe he didn't want to move again. Maybe he'd die here. Maybe he did die, and his body was slowly realizing that. Maybe that's why he feels so cold. Maybe that's why...
"Sunny?"
He ignored it.
"Sunny, please look at me."
He shivered.
"Mari remembered me."
...What?
Sunny slowly looked up to see Hero looking at him with a genuine smile. "Sunny, Mari remembered me. You should go see her."
He stared at him blankly. He barely managed to gasp out a hoarse, pained "w-what?"
Hero pulled him out of his seat, forcing him to stand. "Come on, don't you want to see her again?"
Sunny felt his hand being squeezed by Basil, who gave him a nervous yet happy smile that told him words that he still couldn't believe were true.
Everything's going to be okay.

As soon as he entered the room, he immediately saw Mari on a bed, bandages wrapped around her head. Sunny felt sick remembering the sight of her lifeless body sprawled on the ground, all that blood and she wasn't waking up no matter what he did and her eyes were-
Sunny's eyes shot to the ground as he started to panic. He remembered Mari's words she'd tell him whenever he was scared, and tried to take deep breaths. Calm down...everything's going to be okay...it's not that scary...Mari's alright...
Sunny looked back up to see Mari, who was staring at him. Sunny's anxiety flared up as she looked right at him.
He took another breath.
"h...hello...?"
...
She smiled at him. "Hello. It's nice to meet you."
...
...

...
The girl couldn't help but stare at the crying child. He looked so sad, she wanted to comfort him. "H-hey, it's alright. Come over here."
She tried to call him over, but he just looked at her with so much pain and hurt it made her flinch. The boy barely let out a sobbing "I'm...so--rr--yy-" before backing away and running out of the room, leaving her feeling so confused. And guilty. What did she do to make Sunny cry?

............................

One Month Later

Sunny was curled up in the music room, wedging himself into the corner left of the door. Today wasn't...a good day.
Kel was busy playing basket ball after school, Aubrey was with her new friends and always gave him the cold shoulder around them, Hero was busy with schoolwork and stuff he wouldn't tell him about, and Basil was looking after grandma since she wasn't feeling well.
He buried his face into his knees. Maybe he should have just stayed over at Basil's. It would have been exhausting to hear Basil try to comfort him again...but maybe that would have been better than...being home...
He didn't want to be here. He was just a nuisance here. Mom and dad clearly hated him. It was...awful being around them. And being in his room wasn't much better since Mari also spent her time there. She'd always try to talk to him, but he never knew how to answer even the simplest questions. And what few things he did answer never helped. She knew who he was now...but she didn't remember anything else...
He wanted nothing more than to run up stairs and give Mari a big hug, to tell her how much he loves her, that he misses her, that he never wanted to lose her, that he wants to go on a picnic with her, that he wants to play the violin for her because he knew how happy it made her, that he could take back everything he did to her, that he'd gladly die if it meant she could be happy again, and let it all this pain flow out.
...
Sunny curled up even tighter. He hadn't cried since that first week yet his eyes still stung.
Creak
Sunny jumped at the sound of the door opening. He saw Mari walk into the room. Even the way she carried herself felt wrong. Mari always moved with such grace, refined like she had practiced each individual movement. Now she moved like a curious, unsure child. She looked around the room like it was the first time she saw it. Sunny prayed that she wouldn't notice him.

...

She...Mari, walked into the room. Odd. She hadn't been here before. That door hadn't always been there, had it? She glanced around the room. A big window, a piano, shelves, chairs...a music room? How quaint. And yet...something felt off. Something about this room made her feel ill.
Like the stairs did.
Mari almost turned around and left on the spot, but she glanced around the room and saw Sunny. Her little brother that she lived with her whole life.
As always, he looked so miserable. Always with that blank stare that felt like it contained all the pain and sorrow of the world. Mari never knew how to help him, so she just did what felt right. She walked over to him and gave his curled up form a hug.
"There, there...it's alright. Big sister is here. Do you need help?" She spoke in as calming a tone she could manage.
She felt him shiver a little. He let out a feeble "no." Mari unconsciously gave a sad smile before standing back up.
She pet his head a little to help comfort him. "Okay. But if you ever need anything, big sister is always here to help."
Mari got back up and looked around the room. There was so much and yet not a lot to do in here. She felt her gaze keep returning to the grand piano in the center of room, light from the window shining down on it. It was must be something important if even the sun was focusing on it.
Meandering her way over, she sat down on the bench and rested her hands on the keys, causing a sound.
Hmm...wait a moment...
Mari began to press different keys on the piano. White, Black. Left, and right. Soon she found what she was looking for, and started to press those keys some more. Soon enough, she found her tune. She repeated those three keys over and over, recreating a tune she recognized from her dreams.
It made her smile.
Then she slipped and pressed the wrong key. Her eyes widened and she let out a sharp hiss through her teeth.
...
She tried again. This time she didn't mess up. She wouldn't. Those same notes over and over, there was more to this. She kept trying different notes other than those three, but they filled her with irritation. But sometimes she found notes that didn't. After a few tries she found 10 more notes that felt right. After some more attempts, she had realized she was trying to play a song. All of her attention was focused on this task. Trying to recreate this beautiful song that had been stuck in her head ever since she woke up. The song that had been in her dreams.
Then, and idea popped into her head. "Sunny, could you come over here?"

...

Sunny sat there, listening to Mari playing a waltz on the piano for the first time since practice. It was so...
It made him happy to hear her play again. Even those three notes made him want to smile. She was still there.
He hated this room, and everything in it. Practicing over and over, until his fingers were bruised and made him cry.
Hearing Mari play again was just a reminder of it all. Of all his failures. Of how much he ruined everything.
Why...couldn't it have been me...?
His train of thought was interrupted by the familiar sounds of Mari's hands falling on the keys, causing him to jump. He looked up to see an even more familiar look of calm irritation on her face. She was upset, but hiding it. Or maybe she didn't realize it.
...
Mari started to play again. A waltz. The waltz. She kept making mistakes, but all it did was cause her to flinch before starting over.
I ruined her. She can't even play like she used to. She used to be so proud, playing it for everyone...it'll never be the same again...
He could only sit there listening to her play again, and again...and again...and...it was...
"Sunny, could you come over here?"
He sat up. He looked at her facing him, a gentle smile on her face. The same one.
Almost transfixed, Sunny found himself standing up.
He wanted to run away.
He walked towards her.

Mari patted a spot next to her for him to sit. She continued to play the piano with him by her side. It was painful, and yet he couldn't look away from her face. Gentle kindness, mixed with mild frustration when she got it wrong, turning into slight triumph when she got it right.
"Wow, who knew you big sister could play the piano?"
He cringed a little. It...hurt to hear her call herself that. Almost like she wasn't...Mari anymore...
And she wouldn't ever be...she's gone...forever...
She...was so close, yet so far...he was sitting next to her, and yet it felt like she was worlds away.
She would never remember the last 12 years of their lives. She was never going to remember the picnics they went on. She was never going to remember when he scraped his knee and she carried him home. She was never going to remember the time she took the blame for him breaking one of mom's vases. She was never going to remember all the nights they watched the stars together...sat under his favorite tree while she read him stories...how much she meant to him...She would never remember her time with him...with their friends...with Hero...
But it was still so beautiful. The waltz they were supposed to play had brought him nothing but pain, and yet hearing Mari play it right now was so...
Sunny looked back up at her. She looked so happy playing the piano. She was bouncing to the music. She looked like Mari again. She was still her.
Mari...

...

The girl felt like she had almost done it. She had played this song before. Maybe she had been playing it for her whole life before she forgot. And yet, something was missing. The more she played it, the more it became clear. Something...very important was missing. But what could it be? She's playing this song correctly asides from a few mistakes, so what could it be? There's something...really important...
Her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden pressure on her side. Mari looked over to see Sunny leaning against her side, struggling to keep his eyes open. Mari wrapped an arm around him to keep him secure while she played.
...
Something about this felt so...magical. The evening sun through the window, Sunny's soft breathing at her side, the piano music...
She wanted to...share this moment with everyone. Maybe...maybe she can. If she gets a bit better at playing the piano, she could play a song for everyone. It would make them so happy to hear her play this wonderful song for them. She could already see their happy faces...Hero's smile...
Mari felt warmth fill her as she kept going at that song that she had been practicing for her whole life.