I would like to write a little about a possible interpretation of Mari’s lily of the valley.
Please keep in mind that this depends on some of my previous thoughts*1:
- Headspace may have existed before the Dreamer appeared
- With Mr. Outback as the first example, many of the residents of Headspace might not have been created by Sunny
The spirits in the graveyard
Here we can see the preacher at the church and Old Beardy talking about how there is a strange feeling coming from the cemetery. Old Beardy says that “someone closeby may be joining them soon.” Based on what he says, it seems that this strange feeling began recently.
On one day left, he says that “someone will be grieving tonight.”
The spirits in the cemetery cause the preacher to feel uneasy, the spirits howling and grieving in the night. The thing that most closely fits these descriptions is Basil’s suicide. These words seem to be predicting his death. If Sunny doesn’t act, then Basil will die.
Basil’s grandmother also most likely dies during the game, but her condition becomes serious the night of two days left. On the evening of one day left, she can be seen in the road, so at that point in time she is probably already dead.
Based on the condition of the spirits in the cemetery, as well as the words of the creatures in the Deeper Well (discussed after this), Basil’s suicide seems to be intrinsically tied to fate, an event that will inevitably come to pass.
The spirits in the cemetery knowing about this event indicates that they may have the ability to predict the future.
The mysterious creatures of the Deeper Well
In the Deeper Well, there are many strange creatures. The things they say are difficult to understand but also contain hints that even have to do with the real world. In the Hikkikomori Route, they are dead and sealed in Black Space, similar to other things in Headspace that are connected to the truth.
They do not ask what the Dreamer will do. Instead, they say that the truth will be made known eventually, and seem to indicate that the Dreamer should not run away forever.
Mari’s words here communicate the same thing.
They say that there is something that only the Dreamer can decide and ask what he will do when the truth is revealed.
This creature knows that the Dreamer carries an “unhallowed burden” and that the Dreamer has the “power to change the future.” This can certainly be experienced in the real world, since depending on what action Sunny takes the future can change dramatically.
In short, the creatures of the Deeper Well know that there is something that the Dreamer must decide once he wakes up. He seems to have the power to change fate.
Even the words on the park sign appear to be hinting at this.
So, if the creatures of the Deeper Well and the spirits of the dead can know the future, then it stands to reason that Mari also has this power.
Basil in the world between
Basil has a line about the path to Sunny’s future opening. He also talks about the photo album that he gave to Sunny in the real world, so the Basil here could be his real spirit lost with Sunny's in this twilight world.
Here we see the spirit of Stranger, who was split in half when Sunny became “nothing.” Since he travels alongside Omori through headspace, it’s entirely possible that he heard the same things in the Deeper Well that Omori did.
Both Stranger and Basil here are saying similar things: “what do you want to protect?” The Dreamer has some kind of great power and responsibility. Depending on how he uses it, he can protect something.
Kel’s strange line
I touched upon this in my last article*2, but in both the past and present Kel and Sunny are very good friends. Kel somehow managed to get Sunny to leave his house at nearly the last possible moment, 3 days before he was set to move away.
But surprisingly, Kel makes a rude comment when he sees Sunny for the first time. Kel makes it clear that he values Sunny greatly through all his other actions and things he says. So why is this line different?
In Basil’s house on one day left, Kel says this: “I know that Mari’s still here with us too.”
On the night of two days left, Mari’s spirit appears to Sunny in his dream. If she has this ability with regard to Sunny, is it possible that she can do the same thing with Kel?
Could she have appeared to Kel in a dream just like she does with Sunny?
What if she told Kel to go to Sunny’s house and invite him out?
If she had, he might say this when Sunny actually appeared just like Mari told him he would:
“Woah, you actually came out!”
This would surely make him feel like Mari was still there with them.
Hearing that, Hero doesn’t say anything, even though he and Sunny are the ones we know have sensed Mari’s spirit.
On the night of two days left, Hero was able to hear Mari playing the Piano and came rushing in.
Was that just a coincidence?
Sunny heard the piano and was able to enter the piano room, which he had previously been unwilling to enter alone. For both Sunny and Hero to have had the same auditory hallucination seems like too much of a coincidence to be true.
Kel comes to see Sunny on just the day that Sunny would actually be willing to come outside, and is shocked when his knocking is actually answered.
Every time Sunny confronts one of his fears, he can hear Mari’s voice. In those battles, he just happens to learn one of the skills he will need to face the final Something and remember the truth.
Rather than for all of these events to have just been happenstance, it actually seems more natural that there was some kind of intervening will.
Mari’s flower is the lily of the valley, which is said to be “able to ward off evil spirits and help people see a brighter future.”
She guides her beloved little brother, the only one with the power to change this fate, to confront his burdens and see a brighter future.
To find the future that this stump and bouquet symbolize.
Thanks for reading! Check out my other English article here:
Special thanks to Anna (@dendenmushi1064) for this English tranlsation!
*1:Japanese-only articles about the residents of Headspace (please let me know if you're interested in an English translation): 夢世界の住人の謎①, 夢世界の住人の謎②
*2:Japanese-only article about Kel (please let me know if you're interested in an English translation): ケル 心の強さを持つ者が見るもの
