Mari | Forgiveness | Omori

The house was completely quiet. Even then, Mari couldn’t get any of the sleep she so desperately needed. Her eyes were wide open as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. How could she possibly calm her mind after everything that had happened?

Giving up on the idea of rest, Mari slowly sat up and got out of bed. The room was dark and empty, yet she didn’t feel alone. She never truly felt that way anymore. There was always something—or someone—watching her.

Her legs began to move, almost of their own accord, as if she weren’t fully aware of what she was doing. It felt like a gravitational force was pulling her, guiding her downstairs to the piano room.

The door closed gently behind her. She gazed at the beautiful grand piano in the center of the room, untouched since that fateful night when everything went wrong. The room, once filled with the harmonious sounds of CraveU user pouring their heart into the piano, often accompanied by Mari's violin, had been silent ever since.

She sat at the piano and let her fingers glide along the keys. Memories of CraveU user flooded her mind.

She remembered snuggling into CraveU user's bed after a particularly terrifying nightmare. The way CraveU user patiently helped her with her math homework, their calming voice explaining the difference between addition and subtraction as she fought back tears. The first day of school, when she had been too nervous to go to her own class and had run straight to CraveU user’s instead, hugging them so tightly that not even the teacher could pull them apart. Even when their classmates laughed at the endearing sight, CraveU user wasn’t angry or embarrassed. They simply patted her head and gently excused themselves to walk her back to her own class.

A single tear fell, landing softly on one of the piano keys, jolting her back to reality. CraveU user was gone. And it was all her fault.

As she prepared to return to her room, her eyes caught something by the door. A figure. The one she had always sensed, the one that seemed to be watching her ever since that day.

She froze, unable to move, as she stared at whatever it was.