Love
To love and be loved is a feeling that must be cherished. Love is being compassionate and patient. Love is being able to put all your trust and hope in another person. Love is believing.
Tears
By: Firefly.Tenshi
Sakura held Syaoran in her arms. Tears were streaming down her face as the rain poured over their bodies. She couldn't believe it. He was here dying in her arms. Someone had called the police and she could faintly hear the roar of the sirens in the background. But all that mattered was the man in her arms now. Trying to keep him alive and help him fight for his life. She let out a sadistic chuckle, if he died right now; the name of his family seemed to have evaded its true meaning, at least for him.
Syaoran's eyes opened slightly, he looked at her. He could feel her tears falling on his face. He wanted her to stop crying but he knew that she couldn't. He wanted to give her the gift he had prepared for her before it was too late. The pain he felt was incredible and his vision started blur. He opened his hand slowly and lifted it slightly. He saw her look at the small trinket and gasp. He felt her hand cover his and bring it close to her face. He loved touching her face, he wanted to caress it like he had in the past. But he couldn't, his body wouldn't listen to him anymore. He could tell she loved him, which made he smile softly. He was about to lose complete consciousness but he heard next made his heart hurt and strengthened his will to live. He could hear her pleading with him to make it, pouring her heart and soul to revive him. Hearing her feelings come out, he wanted to fight for his life just to make her happy.
The ambulance came and rushed him off to the hospital. The paramedics allowed her to ride along since she had told them she was his fiancée. She held his hand all the way to the hospital. She held on until he was in the operating room. At that moment she put her entire faith in god, praying with all her might that he would come through this surgery. Tears dribbled down her face, as she pulled out her cell phone to call her best friend, Tomoyo. She told her the important bits of the story. Question started piling up from the other side of the phone, but she couldn't handle it and her muffled sobs became louder. The questions stopped, she knew her friend understood the situation and was waiting to hear what she should do. She whispered into the phone softly telling her friend to call the others and they needed to be there to support him.
The doctors put all their effort to revive this fallen boy. His limp body was badly beaten up and the toll it took on his heart was startling. They had seen many cases like this before, and they all ended badly. Not many even survived the first few minutes in the operating room. It had been a half-hour and this boy was fighting valiantly to keep alive, inspiring the doctors to work harder. Panic invaded the room at the sound of a long beep coming from the machine. They turned to using all sorts of emergency life saving techniques to hear his heart beat once again. Even if they did save him from the brink of death this time, he had a long surgery ahead of him. The injuries he encountered were brutal and unforgiving.
Five figures ran toward her, she was sitting on the ground, hugging her legs and hiding her face behind them. She stared into the distance, too preoccupied to notice the presence of her friends. They called out her name, but she couldn't hear them. Her head was starting to throb, the recent memory of the accident were whizzing about her mind. Tears made their way down her face. A pair of arms pulled her into a tight hug, her sobs became louder. She cried into the shoulder of Tomoyo. Her friend hummed a soothing song, and darkness overcame Sakura. They both nearly fell to the floor as Sakura's weight was too much for her Tomoyo to bear. Sakura's other friend, Meiling had caught them before they could hit the floor, tear marred her strong ruby eyes. Another friend, Eriol, found a nurse to admit the unconscious girl to the hospital to take care of the scratches that were evident on her arms and enable her to sleep comfortably. Her brother, Touya, carried her to the room she was to stay in. The pain etched on his face damaged his lover's, Yukito's, heart. Yukito just wanted to take away all his pain. He looked down at Touya's little sister, the only person who could have this effect on the one he loved.
Touya took out his cell phone and searched in the address book for the Li clan's number. He had actually got the main house number from one of the sisters when they visited China a few years back. A cheery voice answered the phone and became even happier when hearing of who called. But after he spoke one sentence the voice on the other side was quiet. She went to get her mother. Touya could her pain in the voice of Li Yelan. The once strong leader, now seemed broken and fragile. She still held poise in her weakest moment; she told Touya to give the phone to the nurses and she would arrange everything.
Sakura opened her eyes, pain came rushing to head as she tried to sit up. She felt a gentle hand push back down, beckoning her to lie down. She lowered her body slowly, before realizing the passed event. She sat right up and started bombarding the people occupying the room. Tomoyo came and calmed her down, explaining that she had been unconscious for about 8 hours. Sakura then asked about the Syaoran's surgery. The room seemed extremely quiet.
Sakura's eyes filled with tears, she shot out of bed and ran to find him. They ran after her, she didn't wait for their response. She talked to a nurse who directed her to the emergency room that he had surgery in. Sakura watched enough hospital dramas to know that when they leave a patient in the emergency room, they are generally dead. Tears ran down her face as she pushed passed the nurse and ran to where Syaoran was. She burst through the door, surprising the lone nurse in the room that was clean up the room. Sakura eyes widened at the site in front of her. She heard the heart rate machine been every so often and saw his chest rise up and down rhythmically.
He was alive!
Then she walked and stood beside him. She took his hand into hers and brought it to her lips and kissed it softly. She watched him breathe then suddenly realized there was a machine that made a noise right when he took a breath. This machine was helping him breathe; shock went through her whole body. He needed help breathing; she didn't know what this meant. She turned to the nurse and asked her what this was about. The nurse declined to answer and insisted on getting the doctor, she left Sakura. Fear and doubt crept into Sakura's mind. Worst case scenarios came up in her head.
The doctor came into the room, followed by the nurse and Sakura's family and friends. They were there to support her. Her father put his arm around her shoulder just as the doctor started to explain Syaoran. All Sakura could gather from this conversation was that Syaoran was in an indefinite coma and there was no telling when he was going to wake up or even if he was going to wake up. Sakura felt numb all over; he may never wake up and it was her fault. Only one thought came to her mind, 'If only I wasn't late and if only I watched where I was going. He wouldn't be here. It's all my fault.'
Sakura cried into her father's shoulder for what seemed like hours. The doctor continued his explanation through her muffled cries. He was being transferred to another wing in the hospital and this hospital was best to take care of coma patients. He mentioned the Li clan would be paying for all the accommodation for Syaoran. He then checked up on Syaoran slightly before leaving.
Sakura wanted to stay with Syaoran and no one resisted. They could see the pain in her eyes. Touya made her promise to come home the next day; mentioning the fact that Syaoran wouldn't want to her fall ill. He wanted to make sure that there was someone to take care of her.
Syaoran got transferred to a comfortable room with a beautiful view but it contained the same clinical atmosphere the rest of the hospital had. Sakura pulled a chair right beside the bed and just held his hand. Everyone else went home since it was early in the morning.
Sakura stared at his face. She wanted him to open his eyes and yell, 'April Fool's!' Sure she would kill him for pulling such a ridiculous joke on her birthday. He always played a prank on her every April 1st. She just wished this one was a prank too; at least he wouldn't actually be in a coma. With her fingers interlaced with his, sleep slowly overcame her.
Sakura woke up to bright sunlight glaring down on her through the window. She stretched a bit but did not let go of Syaoran's hand. She suddenly realized she wasn't alone. She looked around; Syaoran's entire immediate family was there. Her eyes widened in surprise. She stood up and bowed; all the while apologizing and weeping. Syaoran's mother pulled her into a soft embrace, slowly calming her. She told Sakura it wasn't her fault and her son had a strong heart, he would fight his way back to them. During this entire exchange Sakura didn't let of his hand, she didn't want him to be alone. The room was quiet for the next few hours, everyone occupying every available seat. Throughout the day friends visited, spending minimum 3 hours there. Touya actually came and waited for Sakura until visitor's hour were over. She went home with Touya without complaint. Syaoran's mother was going to stay the night while she sent her daughters to sleep at the hotel they booked.
The Li family went back to China over a month later, seeing that their beloved son was safe where he was. Here he was well taken care of and received all the attention he needed. Sakura would come everyday, doing the exercises that were recommended by the doctor even though his mother hired a physiotherapist to this for Syaoran.
Six months had passed since the accident and there didn't seem to be a change in Syaoran's condition. It didn't matter to Sakura, she was going to come everyday and take care of him. She liked being close to him, watching him, caring for him. She watched as his appearance changed over the six months. His hair grew longer and his wounds healed. When he grew some stubble on his face, she would shave it; he didn't like looking unkempt. Her spirit never wavered when she was with him. She couldn't help but smile around him and the rest of the world and her worries faded away when she was with him. But when she was away from him, she hardly smiled, or talked. Her emerald eyes became dull, she no longer held the same innocent and brilliant aura about her when she was away from him. In fact she was tired, she barely took care of herself and the hospital always sapped a bit of energy from her every visit she took. Seeing so many sick people weighed heavily on her heart. She didn't have much time to practice her magic because going to school, taking care of Syaoran and studying to get into university took up her entire time.
Everyone around Sakura did nothing but watch their Sakura deteriorate in front of their eyes. They were afraid to confront her, afraid that she'd grow even more distant. Nothing in Tomoeda seemed the same ever since the accident. There weren't any shrieks in the morning to wake the neighbourhood up, informing them Sakura was late. In fact she was never late again after the accident, completing each day robotically. The only time she was herself, was when she was with Syaoran. Her friends could no longer stand by and watch as Sakura slowly turned into a hollow shell. They were going to do what they needed to do, get Sakura back to her regular self.
Tomoyo, Eriol and Yukito came to her place early on a weekend morning. Touya joined the three as they woke her up, she was confused and disoriented. They told her everything, their observations, their concerns, and most of all, how much they cared for her. She broke down into tears, she hadn't realized the effect her actions have caused toward her friends. Tomoyo hugged Sakura, and started to weep as well. Next Yukito joined Tomoyo, then Eriol and Touya joined last. They were just a mass of tears.
Sakura's dad came into the room hearing them cry. This was the first time the house seemed lively for a long time, he smiled. He went down to the kitchen and made pancakes for all of them to eat. He brought the food to Sakura's room with a bright smile on his face. He gave the group plates and utensils and set the stack of the pancakes on Sakura desk. He was leaving when he felt his daughter hug him and whisper 'thank you' in his ear. Tears sprung to his eyes but he didn't let them be seen. He was happy that Sakura was starting to recover from the shock she received all those months ago.
The small group convinced Sakura to go to a spa with them and relax, just take care of herself for a day. The concern they exuded for her was evident and Syaoran would understand if she couldn't visit for long and let the physiotherapist do the exercises today. They were all going to go visit Syaoran first then to the spa. Touya complained about why it had to be a spa. With a little sweet talk from Yukito, he quieted down.
The ride to the hospital was quiet but pleasant. Sakura wasn't going to the hospital by herself; she had all her friends there to support her and Syaoran. Sakura told them to stop at little flower shop that was a block away from the hospital. She told them she'd meet them there. They all went to Syaoran's room and watched his sleep form. They waited for Sakura; she seemed to be taking her time. Eriol went and sat by Syaoran, telling him how much everyone missed him and was here supporting him and pleaded with him to wake up soon. He told Syaoran about the changes in Sakura and that she needed him to come back.
Sakura burst into the room with apologizes spewing out of her mouth for being late and Eriol jumped out of that seat. They all laughed and smiled. They looked at the flowers she had in her hands, they were a combination of Sakura flowers and peonies; these type of flowers were out of season. They asked her about it and she blushed saying that she had to go to a different flower shop to get these. These were imported from a different part of the world and would have cost her a fortune. Touya lectured her about wasting money, but backed down seeing the look in her eyes. He knew she would keep on buying these flowers no matter what. She took a deep breath and explained the significance of these flowers. They were hers and Syaoran's favourite; she got them for him every weekend from that shop. Sakura went to change the flowers in the vase and sit down next to Syaoran. She held his hand and kissed it. She softly explained to him what she was going to do for the day and told him she would come take care of him the next day. She kissed him on the forehead. Everyone stood up and left the room, Sakura was last out. She failed to notice the minor irregularity in his breathing as she left.
Sakura was getting pampered and massaged with Tomoyo. They talked about everything, from school to Eriol's weird fetish with her hair. Sakura couldn't believe how much she missed being detached from her best friend. She missed Tomoyo, she could always cheer her up on the rainiest, and scariest days. Meanwhile the guys were sweating it out in a sauna. Eriol made sure Touya and Yukito stayed far away from each other, he didn't want to watch them flirt shamelessly and become an uncomfortable third wheel. Touya asked him about Sakura's adventures when she was ten. Asking him why and how everything happened. Then he finally got to why she met Syaoran and why she had to fall in love with such an idiot. Eriol chuckled, responding with an 'I don't know' and a mysterious smile on his face. Touya rolled his eyes at Eriol and Yukito just smiled all the while.
They decided to bathe in the hot spring. The males and females were separated from each other by a wall. Eriol was trying to get to Tomoyo, he tried climbing the wall, but it was too tall. He then tried to use magic, but Touya stopped him, threatening him with his glare. His eyes were almost daring Eriol to try to get over to the other side and then see what would happen to him if he did. Touya wasn't about let Eriol see his sister naked. They all left the spa feeling rejuvenated; this was something they all needed.
Sakura wanted to visit the hospital before going home, but visitor's hours were over, so she had to wait until the end of school the next day. Eriol and Tomoyo wanted to join her and visit Syaoran. The ride back home was lively with everyone teasing Eriol about the hot spring incident. He just blushed and kept telling everyone to shut up. He tried to hide his face by staring intently at his shoes. Tomoyo giggled; Eriol was silly sometimes but she loved that about him. She leaned in, tipped his head up and gave him a sweet kiss. The blush on Eriol's face increased but he returned the kiss. Sakura pulled Tomoyo's camera out of Tomoyo's purse and captured the moment. This couldn't have been a better day.
Sakura entered her home, she was greeted by her father. She told him about the entire day. She seemed to sparkle; her father just listened to her. His daughter was coming back to him. He went to the kitchen and brought back the treat he had made for the three of them to share. It was a strawberry cheese cake. Sakura's eyes glazed over, it looked so good. She commented that Kero would kill for this and started to wolf it down. Touya then made a comment about how she ate like a monster. Of course she followed that up with a stomp on his food before disappearing into the kitchen to wash their dishes. Touya and his father looked at each other, and silently agreed that they were glad to have the Sakura they loved back. Sakura bade her family goodnight and went to her room. Sakura went to sleep with smile on her face for the first time in months.
Sakura went to school the next day. Everyone was surprised with the bright cherry blossom that greeted them. She seemed back to her old self.
When the end of school came around Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol walked to the hospital. Sakura practically skipped to Syaoran's room. When she opened the door she got the shock of her life. The room was completely empty. All of Syaoran's personal effects were gone. Tears sprung to Sakura's eyes, and she fell to her knees. Tomoyo and Eriol ran to her and gasped at the room. They too started crying. It was evident that Syaoran was gone.
A nurse came by the room and saw the three crying. She going to ask them for the reason they were here, but she recognized Sakura and her eyes widened. She knew this girl came and visited this room everyday. It must have been to a shock to come and see this room empty. She left them to cry in their misery.
Sakura's tears didn't seem to end. Tomoyo and Eriol had stopped and just consoled Sakura. A voice called out to them, but they didn't hear it. It called out once more, Tomoyo heard it this time. It was such familiar voice but she couldn't recognize it. She turned to the owner of the voice. She tapped Eriol on the shoulder and told him to turn around. Both of them were in shock. Sakura felt them go stiff; she then heard a soft voice call out her name. Her eyes widened, she turned around and more tears filled her eyes.
It was Syaoran. He was alive, no not just alive, he was out of coma and sitting in a wheel chair. Sakura got off the ground and ran to him and hugged him tightly not letting him go. She could hear him have trouble breathing and eased up a bit but didn't let go. He was surprised at her initial outburst, but couldn't help but smile faintly. He was in her arms again. After all those months hearing but not seeing, feeling but not talking, he was glad to be in her arms again. 'I missed you,' she whispered softly into his ear. He felt chills go up his back, only she could affect him this easily. Sakura released her hug slightly and brought her face close to his. He looked directly into her eyes, he could see all sorts of emotions swirling about. He lifted his arm weakly and put his hand behind her neck in a sloppy fashion and softly pulled her into a gentle kiss. His body felt heavy and foreign but her lips felt so familiar and warm. She pulled away slightly, her forehead touching his then pecked his lips softly. She let go of him and kept her head on the same level as his. Then suddenly she hit his arm, gently of course, but it hurt for him. 'What was that for?' he asked rubbing his arm.
She responded, 'You deserve it, tricking me like that. Making me think you were dead. I knew you had to do it since you missed April Fool's Day' He chuckled, she was acting so childish, it was cute. He still hadn't gotten used to his body, everything seemed heavy. He noticed Tomoyo and Eriol behind Sakura, he gave them a soft friendly smile. They smiled back, they knew this moment belonged to Sakura and Syaoran, they didn't dare to destroy it. Sakura started asking questions about where his stuff was and when did he wake up. He explained it all to her, the fact that he actually woke up soon after she went to the spa (yes, he did hear her say she was going to the spa), the hospital called his mother, who changed the room he would stay in to a homier place. He also thanked her for staying by his side until he woke up, doing his exercises and talking to him. She wondered if he could really hear her all that time but she didn't care. He was back and that's all that mattered. They decided to go to Syaoran's new room and talk more there.
On the way Sakura explained some of the events he missed. When she told him that Touya was concerned for him he nearly choked on air. He didn't believe her. He looked back at her, she looked completely serious. She told him that Touya made sure that his mother's orders were followed completely. Sakura remembered that they should call them, Tomoyo volunteered to do that. When they reached his new room, all four of them started talking and catching up. The four of them were united once again.
Sakura looked down at hand and blushed noticing the little object on her finger. She had nearly forgotten about it, she was accustomed to wearing it. She broke into Syaoran's and Eriol's conversation to ask the question she wanted to as all this time. 'Syaoran, what does this ring mean?' she asked softly. Everyone turned to her, surprised. Syaoran forgot about the ring, but he knew its significance. He looked down and mumbled an inaudible response and Sakura asked him to repeat. He looked up at her and straight into her eyes. He could see hope swirling in her eyes, this gave him some confidence. 'Will you marry me Sakura? I want to be with you for every moment of everyday.' Sakura's froze up with excitement, this was too much. She hadn't responded to his question yet and saw he was becoming anxious. The best she could do was enthusiastically nodded in agreement as tears of joy came to her eyes; Syaoran let out a breath of relief and pulled her into a kiss.
AN: My first one shot. I was think of making it a song fic with the song Faraway by NickelBack but I didn't, I don't know why. I hope you all enjoyed it. I hope you guys give me some constructive critism and tell me if I made mistakes. I'll fix them.
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