-Fragments of Memories-
Sakura encountered with an accident on her wedding day with Syaoran and ended in a coma. What if, she only woke up 8 years later, when Syaoran had engaged with another girl? Will she be able to get her life back from before the coma?
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS
Chap 1: The Accident
"Not bad," she panted as she smiled to her opponent who was lying on the burning running track. Her auburn hair which she wore in her usual ponytail was in disarray, and sweat glistened on her face in the scorching afternoon sun.
"You too," he replied, his limbs spread out on the track as he caught his breath. It was a hell of a race which Sakura was determined not to lose, although she was at a disadvantage of being a female. But she could tell that it probably took everything that he had just to not lose to her too, and that made her smile. "Are you bionic or something?"
"100(percent) human genetics," she grinned as she wiped the sweat rolling down her forehead. She was proud to have inherited most of her father's superb athletic genes. "You are a good opponent, what do you say to another race? I am not gonna take that lying down you know."
"Next time," the boy said as he got up from the track, "I am all drained now. What do you say to a cold drink in the café, Kinomoto-san?"
"Sure thing, Li-san, the winner treats right?"
xXxXx
Kinomoto Sakura recalled their first meeting and smile of pure happiness lit up her face. She sat blissfully dressed in a white silk tulle dress in the white Mercedes Benz E240, on her way to the church. She fingered the bouquet of white calla lilies and wax flowers on her lap and smiled again. In another 10 minutes, she is going to be Mrs Li Syaoran.
Sakura pictured Syaoran in the dashing tuxedo, waiting for her at the end of the aisle in the church. They will take their vows, say "I do", and live together happily ever after, just like her childhood dreams.
Sakura and Syaoran met at a hostel event in their university days. Although they lived in the same block, strangely the two of them had never realized each other's existence until that sports carnival in Sakura's second year. That year, Sakura was crowned 'the Most Sport Excellent Woman of Block 7", while Syaoran received the title of the Most Sport Excellent Man. The two met, greeted each other, and agreed to have another challenge between themselves to determine "the Most Sport Excellent Person of Block 7".
Although Syaoran was Sakura's senior by 2 years and a guy, she avidly took up the challenge of a 100m sprint posed by him. Syaoran on the other hand, was captivated by the confidence and sportsmanship radiating from the woman who agreed to his challenge so enthusiastically. The race was concluded with Sakura losing by a mere 0.2s, but from then on, neither Syaoran nor Sakura was seen by anyone without the other.
The big surprise came when Syaoran proposed to her during her graduation ceremony 6 months ago. As he went on one knee with a diamond ring in his hands, disregarding the cohort of 1000 watching them in the school auditorium, a teary Sakura nodded violently to his proposal in the claps and whoops of the watching crowd.
Of course she also remembered all the yelling and disapproval she and Syaoran received from her father when they first broke the news that they are getting married. After all, getting married at the age of 21 can be considered as being very young. Fujitaka did not want her daughter to follow Nadeshiko's footstep, when she had to face up to all the unfriendly gazes and gossips for marrying off at such a tender age. Although Sakura is a few years older than Nadeshiko when she had married him, Fujitaka still did not approve of his daughter to be wedded fresh from her graduation from university. However, he eventually gave in when he saw how persistent Syaoran and Sakura were, as well as the image of a younger Nadeshiko and himself in from of her father.
And now 6 months later at the fresh age of 21, Kinomoto Sakura is on her way to the church, where she will become Mrs Li Syaoran.
xXxXx
Li Syaoran paced back and forth in front of the altar. "She should have at least called," he mumbled as he glanced at his watch. His fiancée is 30 minutes late for the ceremony.
"Please wait for another 10 minutes," Syaoran heard his best man Eriol Hiiragizawa telling the pastor, who in turn nodded with clear frustration written all over his face. Eriol then turned to himself, "She is being very late, any idea what caused the held up?"
"For god's sake no!" Syaoran growled as ran his fingers through his messy chestnut hair, "I tried calling the driver but I can't get through that damn line! Damn it!"
"Apparently Sakura did not bring her phone with her," Tomoyo said as she snapped her phone shut and joined the two men in front.
"Now what?" Eriol asked as he glanced at Sakura's father and brother apologizing to a few frowning guests for the delay. If Sakura is going to take any longer, this could easily turn into the nastiest wedding ceremony of the year.
"Hell, if I know, I wouldn't be…" Syaoran bellowed just as his cell phone clutched in his fist started to ring. He stared at the caller's id, it was a stranger. "Hello?"
Eriol and Tomoyo watched as Syaoran's face grew white and his expression changed. "Eriol! I need your car!" Syaoran shouted as he ran out of the church, dragging his best man along.
xXxXx
Just as Sakura was indulging herself in the fond memories, a loud crash from outside the car brought her back to reality. She looked out, but before she could make out what happened, the car roof dented down in a split second. Sakura did not even have the time to scream before her world tumbled into complete darkness.
xXxXx
Touya and Fujitaka were dragged along by Tomoyo, who only said that it had something to do with Sakura. Without knowing what was going on, the three of them were speeding after the silver car in front of the lane in Tomoyo's car. Syaoran didn't say anything before rushing off with Eriol, but Tomoyo instinctively brought Touya and Fujitaka along from the church.
She had a hunch that something had happened to Sakura, and it wasn't a good thing…
"Shit, Syaoran slow down!" Tomoyo cussed as she stepped on the gas pedal. Eriol's sport car edged further forward, on top of the large gap between the two cars, and she was slowly losing sight of it. Tomoyo silently chided herself that she should have driven her sport car to the ceremony instead of the small Nissan March which she was in now, when Eriol suggested that they drive "couple cars". A totally ridiculous idea then did not sound as absurd now.
Touya steadied himself, grabbing at the seat handle tightly. He did not exactly like speed driving, but with Kaijuu at stake, Touya did not complain. He glanced at the speed meter, 100km/h, and the needle was slowly moving towards the 110 mark.
The three of them arrived at the local hospital 15minutes later. After inquiring at the reception desk, the trio scurried to operation theatre 3 as told by the nurse. A devastated Syaoran squatted in a corner outside the operation theatre, his face buried in his hands.
Tomoyo motioned for Eriol who was standing beside Syaoran to come over, "What happened? Syaoran looked so…forlorn." She could not bring herself to ask about the situation from Syaoran. His smart tuxedo now looked ruffled, and his tie was loosened until in hung in a loop in front of his chest - a completely different appearance from the blissful groom just a few hours before.
Eriol sighed deeply before talking, "Sakura's bridal car had encountered with an accident, and her condition is still unknown. The paramedics said that a truck rammed into another car, and the logs that the truck was carrying rolled and crashed into Sakura's car roof, which so unfortunately happened to be beside the truck. The driver was already dead when they arrived, and Sakura… "
Tomoyo clapped her hands to her mouth as she slumped into the hard hospital bench, tears falling onto her bridesmaid dress. "She is so close to living her happily ever after that she always dreamt of…" If only, if only the bridal car was anywhere but beside the truck…
Touya cussed as he punched the wall and a sighing Fujitaka tried to calm him while fighting back the emotions himself. It was a hard fact to accept, that the most blissful day possible had now turned into a complete nightmare. The clock ticked, the hours passed, and dusk had slowly arrived as they waited in silent outside the operation theatre. Tomoyo laid her tear-stained face on Eriol's shoulder as he covered her with his coat. Syaoran was slumped onto the floor, his expression as blank as it was since the morning. Just then, the light above the theatre door switched off and a doctor in green operation suit exited.
"Are you the family of Kinomoto Sakura?"
"I am her husband!" Syaoran said as he stood up from the ground, his hair messy and unkempt.
The doctor nodded, "Kinomoto-san's condition is no longer life threatening,"
All 5 of them let out a sigh of relieved and Tomoyo hugged Eriol tightly. "Thank God..."
"But," the doctor began again, "She needs to be in the ICU."
"Why does she need to be kept in the ICU if she's already ok?" Touya asked as a sense of uneasiness bubbled inside him.
"Follow me," the doctor said and strode down the long corridor.
xXxXx
Through the glass panel, Syaoran stopped breathing at the sight of the unconscious figure with bandage around her skull and left hand. There was a large bruise at the corner of her mouth, and her right hand was covered with more. "Sakura…"
"As the blood clots were already removed from her brain, her condition is not life threatening at the moment," the doctor explained, "But we need to monitor her condition as the accident was pretty bad and we are not sure if there are any more blood clots around."
"So when will she wake up?" Fujitaka asked. It hurt to see his daughter like that, her emerald green eyes that are always full of liveliness now laid closed.
"We can't tell," the doctor sighed, "It varies from patient to patient. It may take a week, a month, or even a year or longer. In a bad case, she might just stay like this forever."
"What do you mean?!" Syaoran yelled as he grabbed the doctor's collar, "That Sakura has become a vegetable?!"
"Calm down buddy!" Eriol said as he pulled Syaoran away from the doctor, "It's not his fault that Sakura is like this!"
As senses slowly returned, Syaoran seemed deflated and looked away. "Sorry."
"It's ok," the doctor said, "It depends, whether is she a vegetable or not, but one thing for sure is that she is definitely in a coma."
Ok, this concludes the first chapter. Like it? Hate it? Please review!