Orphaned Love
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Chapter 4: Revelations and Preparations
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Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP.
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Hey guys! I've already mapped out the rough plots for the next four chapters and then it'll be the end of this series. The only spoilers that I'll be giving would be that this series would end when our favourite couple is in their early teens to young adult. Then hopefully I'll be able to hold my interest long enough to extend the story to another series, with eight chapters too, that'll sort of be the sequel to it. Well, this is the first time I'm writing a chaptered kind of story so I don't know how it'll all turn out. Give me your precious guidance along the way ok? Love you people! Now, enough of these and on to the story.
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A short sharp rap could be heard from the other side of the door. Yelan looked up from her paper work and answered, "Come in."
The heavy oak door swung open and entered a man in his early thirties. His impeccable appearance meant business and without much formal greetings, he asked, "Madam Yelan, you asked me here on such a short notice for?"
Chuckling, Yelan said, "Ryuda, as straight to the point as ever." However, remembering the reason why she called her most trusted lawyer over, her face turned serious.
Placing a photo of a certain auburn haired green eyed girl across her desk, she said, "This girl is obviously not from anywhere in our small town. There's no family here with such eyes of an unusual shade. Get information on her, as much as you can."
Ryuda took the photo from the desk and studying the face of the girl, he asked, "You know anything at all about her?"
"Just that her name is Sakura, nothing else. She was wandering around homeless and stealing food just to survive. That's how we found her."
There seemed to be underlying concern felt in Yelan's tone and Ryuda couldn't help but ask, "I seldom see you so concerned about anything other than business. What makes you so adamant on wanting to find her origins?"
Yelan turned in her revolving high chair and faced the French windows behind her, squinting her eyes at the far distance of the morning.
"Because I feel for her." She said simply as Ryuda tried to look past the guarded pairs of eyes that had been there since the death of her husband. As usual, he could discern nothing of her true thoughts.
Standing up from his place to leave, Ryuda gave a crooked smile and said, "Consider it done."
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Little Sakura's eyes followed the course of a butterfly whose yellow wings seemed to beckon her under the brightness of the sunlight. Jumping up excitedly from under the shade of the tree she had been in, Sakura raced after it, hopping up and down, trying to catch the fleeting butterfly with her small bare hands.
The children were outside the Li mansion this Saturday afternoon, all not wanting to miss the fine weather. However Sakura was the only child playing around. Her idea of fun, which was to chase random butterflies around, jumping and skipping around the field and suddenly running excitedly over to some pile of flowers, all the while making poor attempts at singing, was not the older children's idea of fun.
In fact, Meiling had an undisguised look of boredom on her face, as she looked disinterestedly at the antics the younger girl was exhibiting. Syaoran seemed to be no much different either. Sitting underneath a big umbrella tree for the shade it provided, his half lidded eyes concealed his obvious amusement at the little girl.
Watching silently as little Sakura skipped around the field, hopping up every now and then to catch a butterfly, imaginary or real, Syaoran thought that the world is so mean to such a young girl, leaving her to fend for herself. But her suppose the world is merciful too, since it let Sakura be found. Now that she was in a safe place, he thought that never would he let the ugly threats of the world hurt her, not even once. It seemed irrational when he thought about it. But his affection for a homeless stranger seemed irrational and unusual enough. Now that he thought about it, wanting to protect the little girl from any more of life's heartbreaks seemed to be a natural thing to do, as if it is a an innate tendency in him. But whenever he looked into the green orbs of innocence, he knew instinctively that it was more than a natural human kindness that he felt towards her. What he felt towards her he did not know. The world seemed big and complex enough not to have him think about frivolous things like his feelings. But still he felt extra at peace with himself whenever the little girl was near his proximity. Only God knows about this queer effect she had on him.
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"Syaoran! Meiling! Come play with me!"
Sakura's voice broke Syaoran's dreamless nap. As he opened his eyes he saw a breathless Sakura running towards him and his cousin. Her face was flushed red from the sun and the cotton clothes she was wearing was smeared full of dirt. She was missing a shoe and her hair looked all over the place.
Smiling slightly at the sight before him, Syaoran looked contently at little Sakura as she attempted to get Meiling off the pretty little mat she laid for herself on the ground.
"Meiling! Get up! Play!" Sakura cried cheerfully, as she grabbed Meiling's hands with her own dirty ones.
Probably went off and dug up some dirt just now or something, thought Syaoran as he saw Meiling shriek sharply when she noticed how dirty Sakura's hands were.
"Eww! Where have you been? Go clean yourself up and don't come touching me with those hands again!" Meiling yelled indignantly at Sakura, as she wiped her hands frantically on a clean napkin she produced from somewhere.
Momentarily taken aback from the sudden outburst of the older girl, Sakura took a few steps back. The loud and harsh voice had seemed so similar to that of the adults she had encountered long ago. For a moment, she was reminded of her own status, that of a stray homeless girl who just a few days ago, had been roaming the streets and stealing food.
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"You filthy little brat! Go away! We have no charity for you here!"
"Ah! Here comes that girl again. Look at her, like an animal. I bet she probably came begging for food because of her parents. Like I would believe these tricksters."
"It might be better to give her something, at least some scraps of food which the customers left behind. Perhaps she would cease coming here every day if we do that."
"Are you stupid?! Not only would she keep on coming here but she would also bring her measly fellow low-lives along, just because of your wimpy act pf charity! Leave her at where she is. I'm sure she'll go off to some dumb suckers soon!"
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Voices of people she had once met before, whom she had gone to for some desperate help some time back. Ugly voices, condemning her, jumping into conclusions about her. They were all hurtful, no matter how false they were. Despite Sakura's attempts to block out these voices from her memory, her mind failed her as over and over again, she got reminded by her past. It seemed that her less than glorious past would always assail her, wherever she was. Not even after she had lived in the company of kind, honest people had she lost these hurtful memories.
What had I done? Why are they shouting at me? I hadn't done anything bad to make them angry, had I? Please don't hate me, please!
A frown formed on Syaoran's face as he saw the telling signs whenever Sakura was being assailed by the memories of her past. The desperate covering of her ears as she suddenly crouched down and laid her face in her lap, shaking uncontrollably as fresh tears came flowing non-stop, all the while muttering "Don't hate me". All these told Syaoran what he needed to know. That he needed to pull the little girl out of the subconscious state that she was trapped in, before she suffered any more pain.
"Sakura!" Taking hold of her small shoulders, Syaoran shook it not too gently. "I'm Syaoran! Look at me!"
Sakura's sobs ceased. She slowly lifted a tear-stained face and emerald eyes sought out amber ones, looking into it for recognition and acceptance. Recognition that she was who she was, Sakura, not a detestable girl who always seemed to irk people and make them angry. Acceptance of herself, someone who had no parents, no home, no background, just herself, Sakura.
Syaoran wiped the tears off little Sakura's face gently using his thumbs and said in a soft and gentle tone, "You are safe here now. No need to go back to those awful memories."
Pointing to the vast skies with its azure colour, and then at the bright sparkly orb hanging in the midst of it, Syaoran said, "There! Look at all the world has to offer you! The day ends every time the sun comes out, but the sun will rise again, without fail, every day. So look beyond your unhappiness and grasp joy, for yourself, for me, ok?"
Sakura looked at Syaoran, no longer miserable but a new feeling assailed her senses instead, that of confusion. Cocking her head slightly, Sakura asked, "For Syaoran? For you?"
Eyes twinkling, Syaoran soothed the younger girl's hair to the back and behind her ear and then told her, "Yes, be happy for me, won't you?"
A toothy grin appeared on Sakura's face as she registered what Syaoran had just said to her.
"Syaoran thank you so much! I'll smile for you, always! And, and, I love you!" She cried out. Unable to contain her happiness, she threw her arms around the older boy and nearly knocked him off his feet.
Laughing along with the girl, Syaoran swung her around for a few seconds and then the both collapsed on the ground, clearly exhausted but still laughing hard.
Meiling stood to a side, a spectator to the bubble the other two children were in. Though dejected at Syaoran's display of affection for the other when he had not even smiled much at her, his cousin, before, she couldn't help a small smile from creeping onto her face. It sure was wonderful to see such pure joy and happiness from the usually quiet and aloof Syaoran. She was reluctant to admit it, but the arrival of Sakura seemed to be a good change not only to Syaoran, but to her as well. She felt like she could tolerate another girl other than herself hugging Syaoran. Though she swore if their hugs got too frequent she would be sure to cut it off, thought Meiling to herself, half joking of course.
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Yelan flipped over the sheets of paper she received from the brown envelope, focusing on the bits of information related to Sakura. Scanning through the words, she unconsciously rubbed the bridge of her nose as she concentrated on them.
"A town not far away from where they are… called Tomoeda… a fire broke out over six months ago, burning down the homes of more than three families, killing the Kinomoto family. Young and only daughter though listed as being dead, body could not be found, though could have been charred and destroyed in the fire. The girl's name is… Sakura… Kinomoto."
That's how it was then, thought Yelan, as she put the papers down on her desk. Poor Sakura must have ran away from the fire that broke out and walked a long way to this town, a neighbouring town of Tomoeda.
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Yelan walked over to the living room where Meiling and Syaoran were cooling down from the hot summer heat after arriving home from school. The information she had received from Ryuda had helped her make her decision about Sakura. Now that she knew that she had no parents nor relatives whatsoever to return to, she knew that the choices were very limited.
Observing the scene that played itself before her, Yelan looked on with a heavy heart. Little Sakura was fitting in nicely into the environment that she was now in. She was now busy trying to serve the two older children ice lemonade which she had made just now before they arrived home. However her clumsiness got the better of her as she tripped over the carpet before her and ended up spilling the drinks all over Syaoran and Meiling instead.
"Hoe! Sakura is sorry! Sakura is sorry!" repeated the small girl profusely as she frantically tried to help them wipe the wetness off their clothes using some tissue paper.
The first choice open to her would be to send Sakura to an orphanage. There was one that was opened recently by a good friend of hers and it was located not far away from the house they lived in. Syaoran and Meiling could visit her as often as they wanted to then.
The second option would be to keep her here, as part of their family, to bring her up as she would her own daughter, just like Meiling. She would be her adoptive mother and Sakura would never have to know hardships which were beyond the comprehension of her young years.
Looking at how Meiling was chasing Sakura around the living room now, with occasional outbursts of laughter from the both of them, Yelan made her decision. To tear such a young child away from a safe environment which she had already settled in would seem too harsh. Sure, this child had only come a few days ago but oddly, she had grown on her heart much in these few short days.
Stopping the children in their play, Yelan lowered herself in front of Sakura and told her, "Sakura, would you like to stay here, along with me, Syaoran and Meiling?"
Yelan's words got the attention of the older children and they kept their attention solely on their mother's conversation, wanting to know what it would lead to.
Sakura looked at Yelan with confusion clear in her eyes. Then, seeing Yelan's grave and serious expression, she surmised that her answer would be of great importance to her.
Swallowing nervously, Sakura said, "I like you, Auntie Yelan… and I like Syaoran and Meiling very much too… I love all of you!"
With this, Yelan brought the child close to her and gave her a warm hug. Sakura reveled in the loving hug as she tried to nuzzle Yelan with her face.
"I may not be as wonderful as your real mother, Sakura, but I'll try my best. From now on, we'll be your family. Whatever problems you encounter in the future, you can rely on us. Dear precious child."
Not fully understanding what Auntie Yelan just said, Sakura just nodded dumbly, wanting more than ever now to go back to the game of catching with Meiling.
Syaoran and Meiling looked on at the scene before them. It seemed rare for Yelan to be shedding tears. Sure it was just a few tears, but for such a headstrong career woman like Yelan, it was something not commonly seen.
For them, they understood that the little girl called Sakura was not just a temporary phase in their lives. From then onwards, they had to live with her, accommodate her as their own sister and to love her as one of their own.
For Syaoran, he didn't know what the future would bring to them but one thing for sure, he felt glad that Sakura was going to be a permanent resident of his family and not wandering around outside, homeless and loveless. He was going to do his utmost to make sure that this little girl would not ever have to know the painful ugliness of the world. No matter what it took, that innocence in the green eyes of hers should never be extinguished.
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Finally, it's done. And it's such a long chapter too. I hope it won't disappoint you guys. Hope that Sakura's display of weakness won't be too dramatic. I just wanted to portray her as an orphan who's really hurt by what she's been through in a period of her young life, hope it is not too cheesy! And Yelan's decision to adopt Sakura as her own is not my original plan for this story. I actually planned for Sakura to be sent to an orphanage instead, with Syaoran being the only one coming faithfully to visit her all these years. But then I thought the Yelan in this story shouldn't be such a cold and harsh person. So there, people!
Anyway please give me feedbacks on what you think are the nice and not so nice points about this chapter. It really won't be too much of a hassle just to write a few words and I'll really appreciate it! I'll write the next one really quick too! Thanks in advance!
