Author's Notes:
I felt that it would have ruined the emotion at the end of the story to have my really long and rambl-ish author note at the end, so I decided to give people a chance to react, then read what I had to say.
If any story that I have ever written was not expected, this one wins the prize. At approximately 9:30 P.M. on the night of January 14, 2008, I was sitting in bed writing something else entirely, contemplating going to bed in the near future. Then I had the urge to write a bit about a rich woman wearing silk and stuff and walking down a marble hallway. (I randomly get urges to write little things like that, and then usually end up deleting them afterward.) So then while I'm writing the first paragraph, I get struck with the idea to compare two different women. Then, wala, you get a Ino Sakura story, even though I never called either one of them that by name. So then, I just keep writing. And writing. And writing. And then, at approximately 12:15 A.M., I have before me a five and a half page tragedy where my first love of the anime world is lying dead on the ground with his sobbing family around him and his wife's best friend's family is all happy and in lala land in a palace somewhere far, far away.
I was kind of surprised.
This story is something very different for me. I've never really written anything like this, let alone posted it for the public to see.
So I really, really, REALLY want to know if it was okay or not. If you thought it was garbage, just come forth and say it. I won't get mad or offended or report you. I will probably give you an Internet hug. I would really like some constructive criticism, seeing as no one really likes to give me any in my other stories.
Um…let's see. Oh. The children in this story, who are indeed Yuri, Asuma, Rose and Sari, Sammy, and Shuri, are in no way connected to the six children in the Babes stories. I didn't want to ruin my image of each family, so I used the same child-layout. Although, it has got me contemplating whether or not I want to use some ideas from this in the other story…but that can wait. I've got more things I need to do.
Oh yeah. ToastWeasl and darktank, in case you read this, this was not the one-shot I was talking to you about, obviously.
I can't think of anything else to say, but if I do I will add it here. Thank you all for reading this author's note and for reading the story. It really makes me happy.
-The Reading Maid
