Marathon

Feet dragged on the ground. With each step, she felt as though needles and spikes were poking through her body, yet she refused to ask for help. In fact, she rejected every single person who volunteered to assist her. The pain was excruciating, but she was determined. She was going to make her way towards the finishing line, by any means. Even if she had to crawl, she would make sure she would get there, without any help.

Applause rang out in the stadium, crowds stood up waving their banners at the lone soldier. It was the final lap. She was going to push herself, to prove that she could do it, to show that she was the best. That was it. Just 100 metres to go.

80 metres.

70 metres.

The heat beat down on her, perspiration lingered on her eyelashes. Vision was starting to blur and blank thoughts clouded her mind. Her feet were giving way, her arms were starting to lose its feeling, her heart pounded faster and harder with each passing second, yet she willed her body to go on. She had to finish the race, even if it meant collapsing and never to get up at the end. She had to.

60 metres

50 metres

Just another few more steps, another few more steps and touch the finishing line. Her eyes focused on the white ribbon that hung across the poles, flaying in the wind as though inviting her to towards it. That was it.

20 metres

10 metres

Another step more, just one more. Just… one…

Everything turned black.

---

The constant beeping of the machine, the soft sobbing, the occasional muttering of words of comfort. Her irises moved under the closed eyelids, but she made no sign to open them. What for? All she would probably see was the glaring of the fluorescent lights, the white tiled ceilings, the white painted walls, the white rolling table, the white blankets, white bed sheet, white pillow, white doors, white, white, white. Everything was white. She sighed inaudibly. Just why would anyone want to have their room in white, why not pastel or bright colours. That would definitely make her stay more warm and welcoming. She rolled her eyes, eyelids still closed.

The door swung open and the cluck of heels echoed in the room followed by shuffling of clothes. She could hear the familiar metal clinking and scribbling of a ballpoint pen. Whispers entered her ears, but not loudly enough for her to catch the words. More sniffling before a soft thud and the rhythmic cluck of heels faded out followed by a soft shut of the door. Soft sobs resumed in the room.

Minutes passed and she was starting to get irritated, just what were those people crying about? What was so saddening and depressing that they had to cry? Did they forget that she, the patient was lying on the bed and that the patient needed her rest? She groaned inwardly, frustrated at the constant intruding of whimpers in her ears.

“Sunny…” A soft clear voice warmed her ears. “Sunny…” Soft taps on her shoulders and she groaned once more, refusing to open her eyes.

“Sunny, are you awake?” This time, a low husky voice entered her ears, causing her eyes to twitch at the familiarity of it. “Sunny, are you awake?”

She struggled to open , but nothing came out. All she could feel was her parched throat, begging to be watered. Thankfully, drops of water slid down , easing the uncomfortable and dry feeling.

“F-f-fa…” She heard her voice whispered.

“Sunny… Sunny…” Once again, the familiar low husky voice shook her mind, causing her mind to be on high alert, but her eyes still refused to open.

“Sunny, if you are awake, please open your eyes. Sunny…”

She could hear the desperate pleas, the sobs. She could smell the familiar fragrance of lavender, could feel the softness of the fingers on her hand. It could be her. It had to be her.

Muscles around her eyes tightened as her brain wired the will and determination to open her eyes, to confirm that she was not imagine things, to convince that she was still very much alive. Yes. She had to check it for herself.

Bit by bit, she forced her eyelids up. Light entered through the small slit as she strained her eyes. She could hear her name being called repeatedly, closer and louder. The familiarity of the voice was still around. She could recognize it. It had to be her. It was her.

Head tilted towards the right slowly and eyelids continued to force its way open. Bright spots of light formed in front of her only to clear away after seconds. A blurry image of a pink body stood right in front of her eyes, further fuelling her suspicions.

Pink. She liked pink. She would always wear pink. The body shape, lean and fit. She frowned slightly. Fit, definitely, but lean? She was never lean. In fact, she was the type whose curves were well-defined, a perfectly-shaped hourglass figure. Then again, people could change. She had not seen her for quite some time. She could have worked out, she could have been on diet, and she could have even gone for plastic surgery. She laughed inwardly at the ridiculous thought. Worked out, diet, maybe, but plastic surgery, definitely not. She was afraid of needles. Lips twitched at the thought. Even asking her to go for an injection was a big problem, what’s more to open a hole in her?

“She’s opening her eyes. She’s waking up…” The clear voice entered her ears once more. She whined inwardly. She wanted to hear her voice, just her voice. She waited, wanting to hear her excitement.

“Sunny…” Lips curved upwards slightly. That was it. Her voice. Her eyelids went upwards by a fraction. To see her, to have her arms tightly wrapped around her body, to have her face snuggling in the crook of her neck, to have her trapped safe and securely in her arms, that was all she wanted, all she needed. Her.

“Sunny, open your eyes. Taeng, call the doctor. Sunny is awake.”

That was her again. Her excitement was always good to hear, to know that she was happy. She frowned. Something about her voice did not seem right. She had expected to hear a high pitch, a sound closer to a dolphin scream, as she always did, but the voice was relatively low, and deep.

But Taeng? Since when did she call Taeyeon Taeng? She usually called her Tae or Taeyeon

She sighed. It could not be false hope, or could it? If that was the case, she would rather not to wake up. She would rather be in dreamland, prancing and playing around with her so that she would forever be by her side. Dreams. If only she could dream the whole day.

Yet, she refused to lose hope. It was her. It had to be her. There was no way it was not her. No way. Another fraction of her eyelids opened. This time, she could make out the vague image of the bottom half of the face.

Brown, tanned skin, V-shaped jaw. She frowned. She was never brown and tanned. She loved the sun, but hated getting too tan because it made her look like some barbequed chicken so she avoided it altogether. But it seemed like somebody had probably managed to convince her otherwise.

Bright light intruded the fully opened eyes, blinding her momentarily. Lids fluttered for few moments as she got her bearings. Eyes traced the worried yet relieved faces, searching and scrutinizing. However, hope was diminishing as she scanned through each faces. The one she desired to see was not in sight. Eyes traced back and forth, glancing towards the closed door.

“Sunny…” A hesitant voice penetrated her ears, but she paid no attention to it. Lips pressed against each other as eyebrows furrowed, her eyes glimmered with the last strand of hope. All she wanted was that tightly shut door to open, revealing that she was talking to the doctors or had gone off for a coffee break or perhaps just went to the washroom.

“Sunny…”

“F-f-fa-n-ny…” She inhaled deeply. Each word that squeezed out of was an agony; the pain in her injured leg, the constant throbbing in her head, even breathing hurt too, but none of it could be compared to her aching heart.

Her eyes managed to catch a glimpse of the forlorn faces of her friends and her heart sank, but a little part of her still held faith. Perhaps, they were bluffing, just acting so that they could later, she ought to be around somewhere.

But no, a muttered “sorry”, a soft whisper of “she’s gone”, the melancholy and mournful look on their faces, the soft pat on her arms and fingers slipped through her hand, holding it tight.

“B-but s-s-she w-was h-he-re. She c-call-ed me a-and d-doc-tor.” She muttered out in despair, refusing to lose that last optimism.

“Sunny…” A soft soothing voice followed by a on her hair, effectively calming the patient down. “That was Yuri. Yuri was calling out to you, she called for Taeyeon to look for the doctor. Taeng is coming with the doctor.”

Eyes shifted over to the taller girl, focusing on her face before shifting down to her shirt. Tears warmed up in her eyes and her mind blanked out at the information. Reality struck hard. It was not her. She was not the one who called to her. She had left her, all alone.

A teardrop escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheeks.

“Hyo…” Her arms struggled to lift up.

“Shh… I’m here.” Strong arms scooped her up from the bed and pulled her into a warm comforting hug. Embracing her warmth, she snuggled in deeper, relinquishing into safe and comfort zone of her friends. She would not mind, would she?

---

Head slumped down into the comfortable cushioning of her bed, nose breathed in deeply. The smell of lavender, her favourite. She was exhausted, her legs were falling apart, her eyes were closing, her body was limp. Her mind was about to drift of to secure heaven when…

“Lee Soonkyu! Come down for breakfast!”

She groaned into her bed. Body flipped over as she stared at the ceiling, ignoring the constant calls from downstairs.

“Fany, Taeyeon is calling me again. If only you were here, you will be able to shut her up with just one shout.” A smile crept onto her face only to vanish the second a knock came through the door.

A blonde head popped in and a groan infiltrated her ears.

“Gosh, are you talking to her again?” Sunny ignored the grumble as she flicked a stern glance towards the trespasser. The door opened wider as the intruder took a step into the room, giving a glance to the ceiling before shivering in disgust. “Sunny, I really don’t want to interrupt your time with her, but just come down for breakfast, will you? Taeyeon is said she’s not going to let us eat if you are not down, and I’m hungry.”

The blonde patted her stomach, pouting. Rolling her eyes, Sunny reluctantly got off her bed, but not before sparing a glance at the poster as she followed the girl towards the kitchen, disregarding all the complains that was passing through the latter’s mouth.

“Tae! For the last time, I swear, I’m not stepping into that room. The next time, Yuri can go and call that lovesick puppy down!” The blonde huffed as she slumped into her chair.

“I’m no lovesick puppy.” Sunny retorted, taking two plates from the counter and placing one in front of the blonde.

“Yeah, if you are no lovesick puppy, then I must be blind.”

“You are.” A giggle escaped from her lips. “Blind enough to be fooled by what’s his name again?” She gave a knowing glance to the other two girls in the kitchen. “And got yourself called up in the police station. Yul and Taeng had to go down to bail you out.”

Chuckles rang out in the room, setting a warm and light-hearted atmosphere at the expense of the blonde.

“Yeah, I’m glad I have two friends who cared for me.” Hyoyeon faked a crying sound. “And the last friend? In her room talking to her again. Seriously, I don’t understand how you can stand sleeping under that gigantic poster. That’s just creepy.” The blonde trembled involuntarily, rubbing goose bumps off her arms.

“Hey!”

“And you guys approved of it?”

“Hey! That was uncalled for!”

“Sunny, don’t bother with her, Hyo just jealous she doesn’t have anybody to come back to.”

“Are you joining the fight, Yul?” A screech of the chair and the offended blonde stood up, hands placed on her hips and she stared down at the two teasing girls.

“Alright kids, eat your breakfast, or I will make sure you stay hungry for the rest of the morning.” A steady and calm voice interrupted the banter.

At the command of their ‘mum’, the kids tucked into their breakfast, but not without playful shoves and muttered whispers.

A smile etched across Sunny’s face and she watched the scene, it had been a long time since they were this carefree.

---

Quick breaths, heavy pants, face covered with sweat, lungs cried out to stop and heart continued pumping furiously, dangerously borderline to its limit.

“Sunny, stop… We can’t go on anymore.”

The called girl turned back to find two of her friends bents over their knees, huffing and puffing, the last one passing out water bottles from her bicycle.

“But we are already three-quarter there.”

“Exactly, three-quarter, which calls for a short break. We have been running non-stop for an hour.”

Eyes glanced forward before she jogging reluctantly back towards the girls. Seeing the exhausted and sweat-ridden face, gratitude and apology swelled in her heart.

“You guys take a break, I will wait for you and the end.”

Heads shot up at the determined girl, eyeing her carefully.

“Sunny…”

Eyes flicked across each face, understanding their worry.

“I will be fine. Just take care of them.”

Without waiting for a response, the shortest jogged off, leaving the other three to stare at her retreating back.

“Taeng…”

Giving a nod, the Taeyeon rode off, chasing after the lone girl. Eyes glanced at each other, worry and concern etched on their faces.

~~~

“I can do it! I can do it! She’s going to be proud of me.” Muttering under her breath, she continued to push on, ignoring the constant red alerts her body was giving out.

“Just a little more! Just a little more!”

Each step she took, she slowed down as though heavy weights were burdening her feet. Perspiration clouded her eyes, rendering her blurry images of what was in front. Sound ceased, eyes fixated at the front, legs propelling her forward on inertia. She was not going to stop, she was going to get through that finishing line. “Sunny!!!!”

---

The constant beeping of the machine, the soft sobbing, the occasional muttering of words of comfort. Her irises moved under the closed eyelids, but she made no movement to open them. What for? All she would probably see was the glaring of the fluorescent lights, the white tiled ceilings, the white painted walls, the white rolling table, the white blankets, white bed sheet, white pillow, white doors, white, white, white. Everything was white. She sighed inaudibly. Just why would anyone want to have their room in white, why not pastel colours or bright colours. That would definitely make her stay inside more warm and welcoming. She rolled her eyes, eyelids still closed.

The door swung open and the click of heels echoed in the room followed by shuffling. She could hear the familiar metal clinking and scribbling of a ballpoint pen. Whispers entered her ears, but not loudly enough for her to catch the words. More sniffling before a soft thud and the rhythmic click of heels faded out followed by a soft shut of the door. Silence prevailed.

Ears strained to hear. She could not stand the silence anymore. Was everyone gone? Had they left her? She groaned inwardly. Anything, a voice, a sound, a noise, even the rustling of clothes would help; just anything to show that someone was around.

Lips pressed firmly together. The room was still silent, not a sound nor word to be heard. She was getting desperate. A pang shot right in her heart, starting to bleed and ache. She was left alone, single in the horrid room with white walls, white ceilings and white furniture. They had left her.

“Sunny…” Body stiffened at the first sound, her pupils rolling in the closed eyelids. She must be hearing things. “Sunny…” Soft taps on her shoulders and she tensed. Now she was feeling things.

“Sunny, are you awake?” This time, a low husky voice entered her ears, causing her eyes to twitch at the familiarity of it. “Sunny, are you awake?”

She struggled to open , but nothing came out. All she could feel was her parched throat, begging to be watered. Thankfully, drops of water slid down , easing the uncomfortable and dry feeling.

“F-f-fa…” She heard her voice whispered.

“Sunny… Sunny…” Once again, the familiar low husky voice shook her mind, causing her mind to be on high alert, but her eyes still refused to open.

“Sunny, if you are awake, please open your eyes. Sunny…”

She could hear the desperate pleas, the sobs. She could smell the familiar fragrant of lavender, could feel the softness of the fingers on her hand. It could be her. It had to be her. Then she remembered. It could not be her. It could not be. She was gone, left to somewhere far.

Muscles around her eyes tightened as her brain wired the will and determination for her to open her eyes, to confirm that she was not imagine things, to convince that she was not around and that she was not hallucinating.

Head tilted towards the right slowly and eyelids continued to force its way open. Bright spots of light formed in front of her only to clear away after seconds. A blurry image of a black body stood right in front of her eyes, further fuelling her suspicions.

Black. She do not like black, she liked pink. She would always wear pink, but then again, she might wear black, said something about making her body look slimmer. Body shape, petite yet muscular. She frowned slightly. Petite, maybe, but muscular, definitely not. She did not like being muscular, said it make her look fat. She might work out, but definitely not to make her body look muscular. So it was not her. Definitely not.

“She’s opening her eyes. She’s waking up…” The clear voice spoke. She whined inwardly. She wanted to hear her voice. Maybe it was not her, but it would not hurt to just imagine a bit. Dreams and reality, she could just dream on for a little longer.

Dream and reality.

“Sunny, open your eyes. Taeng, call the doctor. Sunny is awake.”

That was her again. Her excitement was always good to hear, to know that she was happy. The word, Taeng. She was certain. It was not her, but it felt good, heartwarming almost, to just picture her, imagine her by the bedside, calling out to her.

Dream and reality.

Another fraction of her eyelids opened. This time, she could make out the image of the bottom half of the face.

A healthy shade of tanned skin, blonde hair. It was not her. She might sun-tan, but not to that extend and blonde? The last time she saw her, her hair was red. A bright shade of red. She giggled in . Seriously, who would have her hair dyed in red? Nobody but her.

Bright light intruded the fully opened eyes, blinding her momentarily. Lids fluttered for few moments as she got her bearings. Eyes traced the worried yet relieved faces, searching and scrutinizing. The one she desired to see was not in sight. Eyes traced back and forth, glancing towards the closed door. Mixed feelings filled her heart.

“Sunny…” A hesitant voice penetrated her ears and she turned to it, a slight smile twitched on her face. “Sunny…”

Her eyes managed to catch a glimpse of the gloomy faces of her friends and her heart sank. She had expected it. She was not here. She had long been gone. She knew it, and had to accept it.

Struggling to sit up, she was immediately surrounded by strong arms, pulling her into a hug. Cradling her head against the warm body, she inhaled deeply, calming down her nerves.

She was not here. She could not be here.

Dream and reality.

A teardrop escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheeks.

“I know. She had gone to somewhere better.”

---

Feet fall one after another. She strived to keep her steps in pace. Heart was pounding furiously, lungs were struggling for air, nose and mouth were breathing in simultaneously. Her hair was loose, strands falling all over her face. With a quick sweep of her hand, she cleared the vision in front of her. The signpost. The erected signpost spelling the word “finish line” stood right in front of her, just within reach. She had pushed her body, forced her legs to move, she could not fail now. Not when she was just metres behind.

Cheers and shouts filled the air, urging each runner and boosting their motivation. Some sped up, some kept their constant pace, but Sunny, she was falling.

“Let’s go Sunny, let’s go!”

“Danshin! Danshin! Go danshin!!”

Eyes flickered to the grandstand, spotting out her friends within seconds. Watching as those best friends waving giddily, shouting till their throats were soar, dancing weirdly, a smile crept onto her face. Pumping her legs faster, she forced herself forward, but she was tired. She wanted to give up, her lungs were screaming murder, her heart was hammering dangerously in her chest, threatening to give up.

“Sunny…”

Ears perked up at the familiar voice, eyes took a quick glance around. Nobody. She must be hallucinating again.

“Sunny…”

There came the voice again and eyes caught sight of a twirl of pink. Tracing the shade of colour, she froze, staring intently at the figure at the finishing line.

“Sunny… Over here.”

Body lunged forward, legs started propelling forward as though it had a mind of its own. The finishing line was near. Everything seemed to slow down, as though the world was fixated on her. No, them. Sound ceased and all she could see were people’s mouth moving, hands clapping, arms waving, but she could not hear a single sound. A quick side glance to the grandstand, her friends had disappeared, nowhere to be found. She was going to make it, she would make it.

Powering her body forward, her chest ran past the poles, her feet falling a few seconds behind. She felt her body engulfed into a tight hug, her friends surrounding her and jumping for joy. She could see the smile on their faces, but could hear nothing. Eyes turned towards the pink figure and lips twitch into a smile. There she was. Still looking all so beautiful, donning that pink dress, she looked radiant. The perfect eye-smiles, the flow of her bright red hair in the wind, the white glow that surrounded her.

You made it. Thank you.

She mouthed. Sunny nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. Quickly as they came, she blinked it away, not wanting those transparent water to obstruct the beautiful picture. Eyes lingered on, unwilling to part until a fist slammed down harshly on her head.

“Sunny?”

She turned back to her friends who had a confused expression on their faces. Quickly, head glanced in the direction that she last seen her, but her desirable person was nowhere to be found.

“Sunny, what were you thinking of?” Eyes turned back to her friends to see them staring at towards the grandstand. “I can’t believe you were staring at her all this time?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty… muscular, I guess. She could protect you.” Taeyeon’s hesitant and doubting voice entered her ears.

“Yeah, and could crush you within a second.” The blonde’s hand slapped onto her back.

Sunny turned in the direction her friends were looking at and rolled her eyes in disgust. “Seriously, you believe I would fall for her?”

A shrug from her friends and hisses followed after, each rubbing their forehead.

“How are we supposed to know? You changed, you were different.”

“What’s different? I’m still Sunny.” Sunny exclaimed, her arms spread out wide indignantly.

“Yeah, a Sunny who hated perspiring so much that she used to tackle me to the ground just because I asked you to go running with me.” Yuri started the short speech.

“And a Sunny who used to be “allergic” to beans suddenly started eating the black beans, red beans and green beans soup that I boiled.” Hyoyeon continued on, rolling her eyes and earning a slap on her arm.

“And Sunny who used to make a mess of her room and refused to clean it started to keep her room neat and tidy.” Taeyeon ended off, staring at the exasperated accused.

“”Hey, I’m not as bad as you guys think.”

“Yeah, not as bad, but worse.” Hyoyeon rolled her eyes dramatically, receiving a hit on her head.

“But that’s because she forces me to.”

“But she’s not around anymore.” A jab in Yuri’s stomach caused the girl to clam up in shock. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to… It wasn’t…”

“No, it’s alright, Yul. She’s been gone for months. It’s time I accept the truth.” A small smile appeared on Sunny’s face as she remembered the lady in pink. “I will keep her in my heart,” a hand crossed over her chest. “Always.”

---

Familiar beeps coming from the machine, the soft sobbing, and the occasional muttering of words of comfort. Her irises moved under the closed eyelids, but she made no sign to open them. What for? All she would probably see was the glaring of the fluorescent lights, the white tiled ceilings, the white painted walls, the white rolling table, the white blankets, white bed sheet, white pillow, white doors, white, white, white. Everything was white. She sighed inaudibly. Just why would anyone want to have their room in white, why not pastel colours or bright colours. That would definitely make her stay inside more warm and welcoming. She rolled her eyes, eyelids still closed.

Familiar rhythmic click of heels as the door opened swiftly, making no attempts to mask her appearance. The shuffling of feet, the soft jingling of metal, the smell of lavender, scribbling of the metal tip against cardboard, the soft whispers, the rhythmic click of heels faded off as the door shut.

Silence.

This time, no sobs, no whispers, no crying.

She sighed audibly, earning gasps from those present. No use pretending or even trying to sleep. She would not get any.

“Sunny, we know you are awake. Seriously, when are you going to stop blacking out after a marathon?”

Eyes fluttered open, way faster this time, bright light invaded in. She was not going to hallucinate anymore. She was gone. She had to accept that. Voices, smell, touch, it was not her. She had left, but she would continue her wish.

-END-

A/N: Testing out a new way of writing for me. I was trying to describe Sunny's inner emotion through actions, Sunny's physical and mental state, but I realized my vocabulary and description had failed me. What people usually do is through first person POV, but somehow I just can't write 1st person POV, it's kind of awkward for me as for now. So 3rd person POV it is.

Till next time...