Under My Wing

"We'll Meet Again, Right?"

She closed her eyes. Maybe starting a new chapter wouldn't be so hard.

Sakura was not one to dismiss the beauty of Tomoeda easily. She tightened the grip to her bag.. It was probably going to be last glance she ever had of her hometown. The little houses, arranged in neat little rows, the paved tufts of cherry blossoms, tintilating next to the quaint buldings alongside. The small market, hubbing with faces, and welcoming fragrant shops. Crowds of young girls, not much more than 11, bundled close. Carefree giggles of youth dancing among them. Young boys, dragging alongside, wondering what exactly was it that fascinated their female classmates so much about buttons and books.

She smiled. Tomoyo would have loved the new fabric shop on the corner, as much as that meant that she would fall victim to a new outfit.

She looked back at her suitcase. A small stack of papers on top, arranging from notes she had taken for school, new pink stationary, and her admission documents were on a neat little folder. On the side, and precariously hanging off the edge, was her boarding ticket.

Boarding Time: 3:00 P.M.

Approximate time of arrival: 6:45 P.M.

Minato, Tokyo.

Tomoeda Subway Service.

She looked at her watch hastily, 2:15 P.M. She had just enough time to empty out the parts left unchecked in her room and say goodbye to her father. Bending over her desk, she discovered, was an old bag of potato chips she had never bothered to open. She chuckled. …Or maybe it had been Kero's lost snack that had made him turn her room upside down. On the corner of a trash can, old forgotten chapsticks, a mascara container, and an old note.

Tomoyo,

What exactly was that Algebra homework about? I was completely lost! Oh, and did you notice how upset Rikka looked today? Poor Rikka. I'm worried that her date might have not gone the way she meant it. Meet me at my house today; I wanted to talk to you about something.

Sakura.

Trash, wrappers, old mementos. It was all gone, at least she thought.

Finally, she knelt up, looking across her table. A picture stood on the side, taken from a field trip to a ski resort on the 7th grade. On the far right side, stood Tomoyo, Chiharu, Naoko and Sakura, looking over what might have been a remarkable tree. She had kept her ticket from that trip on the side of the frame. Swiping the picture, she put it in her bag carefully.

She headed to the door, taking one last glance over her childhood bedroom. The sheets were clear, the furniture emptied out, and the walls bare. The scene looked bleak and grim. She sighed softly. Peeking over the crease of the door she closed, she noticed a bundle on her windowpane. Had she forgotten about something?

She looked back at her watch. She only had 10 minutes to leave. Biting her tongue, she strutted to the object, taking it in her hands. Either the temperature had dropped suddenly, or Sakura's heart sank to her stomach. In her hands, was a felt teddy bear. Small, simple and soft. But only in her deepest memory, had Sakura had an abrupt flashback of what it meant for her. The image of him would not be easily erased. She gulped, noticing her palms have soaked in sweat.

"Sakura, you have 7 minutes left, honey!" a man's voice echoed from downstairs.

She blinked. "Coming, Dad!" In a matter of seconds, she had put the plush animal in her bag as well, being particularly careful not to compress it. She avoided looking back, closing the door firmly behind her.