A/N For those of you who have read my other fics, I'm sorry for not finishing The Journey! I just never felt inspired to write it anymore, and that being the case, it would've sucked if I tried. But then I had this idea, and I had to do it, so I hope you like it! Oh, and FYI, I reuploaded this chapter, cuz I changed it a little bit to try to make it a bit more different from the movie.

Disclaimer: You already know I don't own CCS. I just wanted to mention that I don't own this storyline either. It is based entirely on the excellent movie, Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. If you haven't seen it, go rent it right now!!!

Prologue: There Was A Boy

Kazuhiro, a village just outside Tokyo, was a beautiful place, once, but now, in the year 1900, it is drab, lifeless. Everyone you meet looks depressed, as if all happiness has been sucked out of them. People once filled with joy are now filled with alcohol instead, and music no longer echoes throughout the streets. You can hardly stand to look at the people. You can see that they were happy, once, but now they seem hardly to have the will to live, and seeing them depresses even you.

Life is especially dismal for one young man by the name of Syaoran Li. He sits on the floor in his apartment, dressed rather shabbily in an undershirt, pants, and suspenders, his face unshaven, and a bottle dangling loosely in one hand. He is haunted by memories that he cannot escape, memories of his lost happiness. He has been in this state for an entire year. But now, on a not so very special day, he drags himself to his typewriter. He stares at it for a moment, as if he has not seen such an object in some time. Finally, his fingers move to the keys and begin to type, slowly, the words etched deeply into his memory, their truth far greater than the simple letters on the page could possibly portray. Syaoran knows this, and that is why he must tell his story. He made a promise, and now, finally, he is strong enough to keep it. Even so, he is holding back sobs as he hits one letter at a time.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

A/N: Okay, I know that was short, but it's just the intro. If you've seen the movie before, you understand. This is gonna be kinda hard, since I obviously can't use the songs the same way as they're done in the movie (in case you didn't know, it's a musical). But heck, I think I might start working on the first chapter right now! So review, tell me what you think!