Altered Destinies
by Zenin

Prologue

It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. I'm not quite sure how it all transpired. I was ill at the time, you see. All I know is that my child – my precious Sakura – never got to meet her father.

Or me, for that matter.

Fugitaka had taken us to an archeological dig in China for the year. He loved to show us off, little Touya and me. And oh, how Touya loved to follow his father around! He was always so serious faced, even though he was little more than four years old. It was comical to watch him toddle about, muttering archaeological terms that he didn't understand beneath his breath while trying on Fugitaka's glasses. I loved him so. So very, very much.

I was a young wife, barely twenty years old. Fugitaka and I were, in our few years together, blissfully happy. A happiness that was beyond heaven in its glory. I remember how he used to touch me…so gentle…and how he used to run his hands through my hair. Fugitaka loved my hair. And he loved taking pictures of me, whenever possible. As if I didn't get enough of that at work.

Fugitaka was a wonderful husband. I visit him, sometimes. But he can't see me. None of them can see me, really. Except Touya. And even then, I sometimes wonder if he thinks I am a mere shadow. Or if the light is tricking his eyes.

It's not.

Touya…I'm here.

I really am.

Oh my son…please believe me. Please listen. Please hear my voice.

Onegai.

It was during that year in China that I gave birth to my second child. Fugitaka and I decided ahead of time to call the baby "Sakura." Cherry blossom. Because, when I felt the pangs of labor begin, I knew that spring was coming. A sense of peace rolled over me. I was so excited to have a daughter.

How did I know I was going to have a daughter?

I guess I just knew. Instinctively.

The day I was taken to the hospital was foreboding and dark. A storm was building up in the east and rolling swiftly towards the tiny mountain village, preparing to lash out with every vicious stroke it could summon. Even then, I wondered if the storm was unreal. If, perhaps, someone else had a hand in its making.

Such silly thoughts I entertained while in my fevered state.

The village's hospital was very small. There was only one doctor, and about eight nurses running from one room to another. It seemed that so many people were sick that day. Some women, like me, were in labor. Others were wounded from accidents in the archaeological dig. Even more were delirious with ill-timed sickness. The staff were hard pressed to attend all of us in timely manner.

The security of the small hospital was also in great need of reinforcement. Someone could easily have walked in and sabotaged any number of cases. On that day, only one person slipped through. And only one patient was sabotaged.

Me.

I was moments away from giving birth. I remember little detail, except someone came in to my little closet-like room during a moment when the nurses and doctor were away. The person said something in Chinese…I couldn't understand them very well…and then I felt a sharp pain in my arm – a needle. For a very brief moment, my mind cleared and I could comprehend exactly what was happening.

"Oh, Kami-sama," I whispered weakly, "No."

The man laughed, a cruel sound. "I guess the Li Clan will be leaderless then. Such a pity. Poor, sweet Yelan… You should have known better. I am not so stupid as to believe your pitiful false trail."

I cried then. Silently. Tears streamed down my face as I felt my breath shortening, my throat closing up. My mind was quickly becoming lost in a haze of anger, fear, and desperation.

Sakura had to live.

Through the fog of tears, I saw the man leave. I summoned up all the strength I could and screamed at the top of my lungs.

Fugitaka would not hear me, I knew. He was supposed to be arriving any moment, but in the horrible pounding of downpour, I doubted that he would be able to travel very quickly. He would arrive too late. But the doctor would hear. The nurses would hear. Someone would hear.

And they did.

Two nurses came running in. One of them saw my arm, the blood trickling from where the poisoned needle had pierced.

"Jin, get Dr. Thian. Now!"

If they had wanted to save me, it was a lost battle. But everyone knew that if they acted now, Sakura would live. She could take my place.

The scream had robbed me of my last reserve of strength. I could no longer fight the poison that was running through my veins. My mind was so muddled that I could only think of Fugitaka and Touya, and hope that they were wearing warm coats in the rain.

As the last five minutes of my life were played out, I had only eyes for my daughter. She lay pink and squirming in my arms, a healthy set of lungs already bewailing the harshness of life's reality. I wished I could have cuddled her, but I could not move. I simply gazed at her and tried to smile.

"Sa—kura…"

And then white mist enveloped me and I was taken away. To this place. This quiet, white place where people like me sometimes drift in and out. Sometimes we converse with one another. Other times we are silent, contemplative.

I can see Fugitaka and Touya whenever I want. Sakura, though, is another matter. I don't know where she is. I don't know why Fugitaka doesn't have her, or why he never got her when I died. There is another boy in our Japanese home…a boy with dark hair and eyes. I don't know who he is.

But I have an idea.

Could it be that Sakura was given to the wrong person? Could it be that the boy who is living in my home with my family was accidentally placed in Fugitaka's arms when he came to claim his child?

Could it be there was a mistake?

My soul continues to cry.

Where are you, my Sakura? What lies in your destiny now?

When will you come home?