4-9: The Promise

The fluttering of wings stirred the branches above as a blue-crested robin came in for a landing to rest, preparing itself for a tiring day of collecting twigs and other assortments of foliage for its nest. A cry from the west, the familiar calling of its mate, caused it to return the call in kind before speeding off in continued fulfillment of its purpose in life. These calls, in turn, garnered the attention of a third entity from below the green-leafed trees. As the little robin took to its flight, a pair of emerald eyes opened up to the sight of its former perch swaying gently back and forth above her.

Sakura propped herself upright, while being mindful of the tender bruises that she was still nursing, and clung tightly to the warmth of her sleeping bag as the early morning chill of the ocean air finally made itself known to her. She stared around at the camp, at the ashes of the previous evening's fire still glowing faintly, and at the still-sleeping bodies of her companions. It did not take long for her to notice that one of those bodies was missing.

She glanced out towards the cliff's edge, though the light of the pre-dawn sun forced her to squint against the sudden brightness. Despite this, she saw a figure silhouetted against the light, and she wondered silently at what he was doing up so early in the morning. She quickly wondered at how she was up so early, but dropped the thought just as quickly as she threw her covers aside. The brisk morning air snapped at her senses sharply as she moved quietly away from the camp, its refreshing coldness rudely shoving away what precious little was left of her "sleepy-head" status.

Her approach was easily detected by Syaoran, and he stretched his arm back to embrace her gently as she stepped up beside him. It would seem that he had had the same thoughts as her, for he couldn't resist saying, "You're up really early, for once."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked playfully, nudging him gently with her elbow, "What time is it, anyway?"

Syaoran glanced at the watch attached to the arm hanging from her shoulder, incidentally showing her the time at the same moment. It wasn't even six o'clock yet. She grinned in spite of herself, "Yeah, that is pretty early for me."

They both turned out towards the horizon, watching the sun that was just starting to break across the ocean's reach. The waters were soon covered within the deep crimson glow of the sun's rays, washing ashore to meet sparkling grains of sand that had also turned a beautiful shade of red. The two elements of water and earth merged together to form a singular, infinite ocean of ruby light, a majestic sight broken only by the visible line of ruby-tinted trees that were set further down the beach head. For a brief moment, it did indeed seem as if they were afloat in the middle of nowhere, just the two of them within their own little paradise. It was a wondrous moment that she would lock away in her memory for as long as she could hold it there.

After a time, Syaoran removed his arm, turning to look at her as she glanced up at him questioningly. She had not wanted to let go of that moment just yet. She then noticed that he was holding something, and allowed herself to look away from his eyes and towards the object that he held, which was soon offered up to her. It was a blue, soft-velvet box, and the edges of its lid were lined in a light silver cloth. It took her a bit to realize that he was actually giving it to her.

"For me?" she asked quietly, unsure of the situation. He nodded silently, continuing to hold out the box for her until she finally accepted it. Her intuition told her, at that moment, that this was why he had panicked at her arrival in the storage shed the previous morning. He had been hiding this from her.

Her eyes met back up with his as he explained, "In celebration for a birthday that I was hoping to be here for."

"May I open it?"

He nodded again, allowing her to pry open the lid with one of her hands. Yet she stopped herself half-way through this act as he added onto his first reason, "It also represents something. Something that I was forced to realize after yesterday's events."

She looked up at him in confusion, still not understanding his intent, but only received an urging wave of his hand to finish opening the box. Her interests piqued, she quickly did as she was told.

When the early-morning sunlight finally found its way onto the pearl-white cloth that lined the inside of the box, her eyes and mouth went wide with more astonishment than he had been expecting, though her free hand quickly moved to futilely cover up the audible gasp that was attempting to escape. She held in her hand what looked like a priceless artwork of jewelry, something that only the fairy-tale princess out of one of her fantasy novels could ever come to own. A golden necklace designed with an intricate star-field pattern, inlaid with various sizes and cuts of diamonds. One of the diamonds, set into a larger, golden star that was centered on the pattern, was itself a five-pointed star.

Her eyes met with his for a third time, ever-so-wistfully seeking for the answers that she was soon given, "What it also represents is a promise. I've come to appreciate what you've given to me far more than I ever did before, due in no small part to that mermaid's efforts. In a way, I want to thank it for putting me through that nightmare, because it made me realize all over again of just how much I really want to be here. It made me understand how very important you are to me. By giving you this, I want to say that I'll always be with you. It is my promise that I will always love you, Sakura."

Words would never have been enough, this much was plainly obvious to her. For the words of devotion offered, coupled with such a beautiful gift, anything Sakura could have said in return would have just ruined the moment. So instead, she leaned into him in a full embrace, cradling her cheek up against his chest as he surrounded her once again within his warm, one-armed embrace. Together, they continued to stare out at a sunrise that now seemed more vivid and colorful than ever before. Never again would they be able see a dawn so beautiful, because it was an absolute certainty that no moment in their future could ever possibly compare to moment like this.

In her own world, Sakura now knew a joy unlike any other she had experienced before, and she was finally assured that such joys would never let her go. To cliché the situation, it was the happiest day of her life.

=*= *-* =*= *-* =*=

In another world, such joys and clichés were quietly being recorded onto video as a 'sleeping' Tomoyo gleefully watched the exchange with one machine-covered eye.

The first half of her wish had already come true.

End, Chapter 4