CHAPTER 4

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Syaoran and Sakura traveled together from the day they met. They were both pretty much hopeless in such a big forest without each other. Together, they helped each other and soon were on the right path.

"Oh my… can we PLEASE stop walking? My feet are about to fall off and I'm gonna die if you don't stop going!" Sakura whined.

Syaoran grunted.

"Psh, what good are you if you can't even walk for 3 hours straight? Fine, whatever. We'll rest for now, happy?"

"Yup."

Sakura smiled at him and Syaoran looked away.

Strange, thought Sakura. She was never used to anyone turning away to look somewhere else when she smiled at them. Then Sakura looked closer at the side of his angel-like face. Hey, he's blushing! Sakura giggled. Syaoran turned around, and his blush turned dark red and spread across his whole face, making him look angry.

"What's so funny?" He asked, irritated to travel with a giggly girl.

"Nothing," replied Sakura sheepishly. "Heehee."

Syaoran rolled his eyes. Something always amused Sakura.

When they found another clearing, they each sat on a log across from each other and took some fruit out to eat. It was quiet, except for the slurping sounds of Sakura and Syaoran munching on the apples. Being the faster eater, Syaoran chucked the core at Sakura's face when he finished.

"HEYYYY! What are you doing!" Sakura rubbed her cheek and growled. "Grrrrrrr" She quickly finished eating her apple and was about to throw the core at Syaoran's face. But Syaoran quickly got up from the log and ran away.

"Noooo! Come back! Where did you go?"

She stood there, waiting for a sound. Couple of minutes passed until she heard a crack. Syaoran broke a twig.

Sakura quickly turned around and hurled the core at his face, right into his mouth.

"EWWW!" he screamed. He quickly spit it out. Girl germs. "That's nasty! Wait... You're nasty," he commented.

Sakura smiled, again. He looked away. She giggled. He rolled his eyes.

"Let's get going again," he said.

"Again? I don't wanna. It's only been like five minutes!" She complained.

"Too bad."

He dragged her out of the clearing, along with their bags.

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Sakura and Syaoran walked together for a long time. They found another clearing at around 6:00 pm because the sun was setting. They sat down and ate some bread, along with celery Sakura had packed. They ate while watching the illuminate sun go down. The sky was filled with different, beautiful colors. The sky looked like someone had spilled paint everywhere, but brushed it this way and that. The sun was orange, while the sky was pink, blue, purple, and red. Sakura and Syaoran sat there in wonder, questioning about why it suddenly looked so safe and loving when the world was so cruel and dangerous, because they were both in the middle of an unknown forest, trapped by trees, with no where to go. Always wandering this way and that, trusting each other and their instincts.

There was a silence between them, both of them too absorbed into their own thoughts. So they sat there together, watching the sun slowly drop and watching the sky slowly fade into darkness.

Until the stars came out, they began to take out their sheets and blankets. Syaoran set his up right under a star, so Sakura placed her sheets and blankets right next to his. Surprised, Syaoran quickly looked up at the sky.

"Beautiful day, huh," whispered Sakura.

"Yeah, Course."

"So tell me, why are you here out in the woods?" she asked.

"What do you think? My life sucks. I chose to come out here, to find someplace else."

Syaoran got up and looked at Sakura in the eye.

"Why are you here? I mean, look at you, your—Why did you run away? You look so happy here. Like, like—like you don't care that you're stuck in the middle of a forest and this is some type of vacation from home for you."

Sakura frowned.

"Hey. Don't say that. Who wouldn't be grateful for finding a person like you in this place? I would have been lost without you. It's not like I just ran away from home because I felt like it. I love my friend Tomoyo. I love my family. But I have gone through a lot of hard times. My dad never ever told me once that he loved me. He never even talked to me, but only ordered me around all day. My mom died and my dad is just evil. My best friend prays for me everyday, hoping that somewhere out there I'm safe. And I am. Why shouldn't I be happy that I'm finally out in the world, with someone next to me, and I'm searching for that someone and someplace?"

Syaoran didn't know what to say. He just stared dumbly at Sakura. How would he have known what a little girl like her would say something huge like that? She had always seemed so care-free.

"So what's wrong with your life, fool?" questioned Sakura.

He sighed. Syaoran did not enjoy thinking about his past, and why he ran away from home. But this girl, he thought, is different. Something about her… don't know what but I know it's a good thing.

"I guess I should start with a long story."

Syaoran sighed and lay on his bundle of blankets, staring up at the sky.

"When I was small," He began, "I loved my castle and my dad. My mom had died, just like you, and later, my dad died. You know that whole story. It spread across the whole world, basically. My brother took over the throne. I had no parent to love me or care for me. But instead, my brother married, and they treated me like a servant. I was always the one working hard, even though I was a prince. He almost hung me over the castle's highest tower, because he hated me so much. He said that dad died because of me. He said I was stupid, because I was ignorant and cold. The reasons for his mistakes were me. I hated him so much, so I almost attempted to kill him. But I didn't. My cautiousness told me not to. It would be manslaughter. So instead, I ran away. Knowing that in the world there would be someone to accept me and look past me. Some place where there was not as much suffering and a place where there is love," he cut off.

Tears filled up Syaoran's face, as he remembered the day his mother died. He was only seven. Syaoran quickly wiped away his tears.

Sakura looked at him, full of worry.

"That's okay," she whispered gently. "You still got me, and I got you. We have both experienced many similar things."

Syaoran nodded in agreement.

"Do you know what my mother told me before she died?"

"No…"

"She told me that life was cruel. And to survive it, I must be brave and tough through the hard times. Remember what I said, she said. Then she whispered the last three words. 'I love you.' And then she closed her eyes and her hand turned cold. My family was jealous because she only said those words to me, only me. I didn't know, but I know now."

The air around them surrounded them with haunting memories that they shared. The more they told, the more their past was unlocked to each other.

Their eyes drooped with sleep. Eyelids became shut and their breathing steadied along with their heartbeats.

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Light filled the world and Sakura woke up. Yawning, she glanced around for Syaoran. What an interesting night,she thought.

Something's missing. Hey, where's Syaoran?

He was missing. No where to be seen. His blankets were still there, but he himself had disappeared.

Oh no. Did he really hate me that much? Or was he scared to tell his past? Did someone take him away? Oh, I sure hope he's okay…

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THERES A CHAPTER FIVE. :