"Meiling! Telephone!"
Meiling looked up from the books sprawled across her bed. She wondered who could possibly be calling her, when all her classmates
knew she was horribly busy with homework that night. She shrugged and got off the bed, walking into the living room.
"Who is it?" She asked.
The dark haired woman handed her daughter the receiver. "I didn't ask, sweetie. But
it sounds like a boy."
This perplexed Meiling further. She
could think of no boys that she ever socialized with in class. She took the receiver from her mother, and lifted it to her ear,
"Hello, Meiling speaking."
"Meiling. Moshi Moshi."
Meiling blinked. Japanese?!
And the voice… She recognized it immediately!
"SYAORAN!" she exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face.
He called her very rarely, and when he did, she would drop EVERYTHING to
talk to him. Just the sweet sound
of his voice was like music to her ears.
"Yea. How is HongKong?" He asked.
"Fine. School is going
well, but I get so much homework," Meiling sighed, "In fact, I was just
finishing some."
"Well, Winter break is coming soon, right?"
"Yea!" Meiling replied, "I can't wait to see you!"
"Yea… Me too." Syaoran replied.
But he didn't sound like it. Meiling
blinked.
"Something wrong, Syaoran?"
"Iie—I mean, no. But…
I need to tell you something."
"Huh?" Meiling was confused; anxious… everything a person could be,
all at once. "What is it?"
"Not over the phone… The next time I see you."
"Nani?!" Meiling slipped into Japanese, "Why did you even TELL me
you had something to say if you're not going to tell me for two more
weeks?!"
"…I just want to tell you in person." He replied, his voice
cracking slightly.
Meiling's interest had been grabbed, and even if Syaoran tried, he
wouldn't be able to loosen the hold. Meiling
was about to tell him off, when she faintly heard Wei and Syaoran conversing.
"Meiling? I have to get off the phone."
"Just like that?!"
"I promise… we'll sit down at talk the next time I see you. Take Care."
"Syaoran—" Meiling was cut off, hearing a click, followed by the
dial tone.
She pulled the receiver away from her hear, and stared at it. The sound of the dial tone was enough to grind on her nerves. What had he wanted? Meiling
more-or-less slammed the receiver down,.
"MOM!" she yelled, and she ran to the other room.
"What is it?" Her mother asked.
"I need to go to Japan!" She exclaimed.
"What? What for, Meiling?"
"Syaoran wants to see me! I have to go see him!" She exclaimed,
grabbing onto her mother's arm.
"Meiling, just calm down!"
"Please Mom?!" she pleaded, staring up at her mother with her eyes
wide like a sad puppy's.
Her mother sighed. "When
do you want to leave?"
* * *
"There's something else I have to take care of first." Syaoran half mumbled while he shifted his gaze continuously from the
paper in his hands, and statue that was the subject of his art project.
"Meiling-chan?" Tomoyo's voice trilled slightly, and she sat
beside Syaoran on the patch of grass.
"Yea." Syaoran replied numbly, and he stared at the statue.
The grip on his pencil loosened ever so slightly. His brain screamed at him to stop multitasking, and just to stick to the
assignment. But the part of him that had been raised to be a gentleman
kicked in. "I called her last
night. I said that I had something
to tell her...But that I would rather do it in person."
Syaoran had noticed that Tomoyo herself was not working on a picture. Most likely she had finished. Whatever
the reason...She has obviously taken it upon herself to give Syaoran another
gentle nudge in the right direction regarding his nonexistent love life.
"You're going home for winter break right?"
"Yea."
"That's only two weeks away."
Both the Chinese boy and the Japanese girl were caught completely off
guard, as a girl with raven-black hair and ruby-red eyes dashed in front of the
statue both had been eying.
"As if I would wait that long!" She exclaimed, glaring.
Syaoran and Tomoyo both shied back, eyes wide in shock.
"MEILING!" Both exclaimed.
Meiling's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. However, she didn't hold the glare long, before her face lit up with a
smile. Both surprised youths relaxed slightly. Meiling flung her arms outwards, and she tackled Syaoran,
sending them both to the ground. Had
Syaoran not already been sitting the fall would have likely hurt. Syaoran stared up in Meiling's eyes, as she hung over him, her expressing positively DRIPPING with obvious joy. With the gap between them, Syaoran pushed himself up on his elbows,
allowing the perfect window for which Meiling to slide her arms through. She did exactly that, hugging her girlish frame to his more rigid one.
"Mei -- Meiling, Please, not here!" he hissed, "People
will stare."
"Oh, I just couldn't WAIT Syaoran!" Meiling proclaimed.
"Surely the others will wish to see you as well!" Tomoyo
pointed out, and she stood up, "Go to class, and I will inform Sakura-chan
and the others of your arrival!"
And with that, Tomoyo was off and running.
Syaoran sighed, with Meiling still resting her head against his chest.
"Oi, Meiling, please let go."
Meiling did as she was told, sitting up completely. She was obviously reluctant as she pulled her arms ever so slowly from
around Syaoran. Syaoran pulled
himself to his feet, and offered a hand to Meiling. She excepted it quickly, latched onto Syaoran's arm, and both made their
way to the classroom. Syaoran could
already tell that this was going to be much harder than he had expected.
* * *
Sakura had been ecstatic. She
hadn't seen Meiling in over a year, and having the Chinese girl back, even if
only for a day, was enough to make Sakura go into one of her
bouncing-off-the-wall moods that Tomoyo loved to Tape. However, as the four friends (Tomoyo, Sakura, Syaoran, and Meiling)
walked through the park after school, The dark haired girl was hanging back with
Syaoran, and no sign of a camera.
"You'll tell her tonight then?" Syaoran heard Tomoyo's voice
whisper.
He knew she was talking to him. He
nodded numbly, with his eyes glued to the two girls in front of him, talking
like old friends. He had to correct himself. Old friends were exactly what they were.
He looked at her eyes. Her
hair, so fine, that he would have liked to run his hands through it. Her bright eyes were like jewels. Precious
jewels, set so perfectly against her creamy skin. He felt his cheeks get warm. Extremely
warm. He'd thought about taking off
his jacket when he realized he was blushing. He sighed hopelessly, wondering to himself how he – the future head of
the Li clan – had managed to loose control of his own heart to the person he
had thought was least likely to capture it.
Tonight, he would tell her. Tonight
Meiling would finally know. His
true feelings. And either everything would be right… or the world would
cease to exist.
Syaoran feared the latter.
* * *
Meiling froze. Completely. Could she have just heard what she thought? No… Well, yes, she did. But…
She must have taken it wrong. Syaoran
had called Kinomoto-san… Sakura. Meiling's
body was frozen in place, but her mind buzzed at a thousand miles a minute. He only called Herself and his sister by their given names. What could this mean?
"Hai, I'm alright." Sakura replied to Syaoran's inquiries.
"Meiling-chan, are your hands okay?" Sakura asked.
Meiling didn't even hear her. Her
knuckles were red and throbbing from all the flying cement penguins she had
punched.
"Meiling-chan?"
Meiling looked up, "Eh? Ah!" She held up her hands, waving them
around, and forcing a smile, "Everything's fine."
But was it really? Certainly,
it was a misunderstanding. But…
Kinomoto-san had been calling him 'Syaoran-kun.'
That's it. They must have just decided to call each other by their first
names. Not a problem.
Meiling scolded
herself. How could she even have
thought for an INSTANT that he and KINOMOTO… No, he had said he loved her. The thought of him liking Kinomoto was absolutely ABSURD, right? She had jumped to conclusions about him and the green-eyed card mistress.
Everything will be straightened out after we talk tonight.
Meiling could feel
it in her every bone. Tonight, he
would tell her again, how much he loved her. He would take her into his arms… and kiss her… and ask to make their
engagement official.
But what was this nagging at the back of her mind? She couldn't put a finger on it. But
surely it would go away when he wrapped his arms around her…
What should have made her feel warm and fuzzy… made her feel cold…
chilled to the bone.
…Why…?
* * *
Meiling fixated her ruby eyes on the city below. She leaned her weight on her arms, while the wind played with strands of
her silken hair. Syaoran had no
quite finished his dinner, and she'd excused herself, saying she'd wanted a
breath of fresh air. She'd been
standing outside for almost five minutes, completely unaware of The way Syaoran
had been watching her. How he'd
been planning just the right words. Finally,
The boy joined her on the balcony. Meiling
lifted her head to the stars. They
twinkled brightly in the sky above, studding the darkness with tiny diamond like
lights.
"So… What is it you wanted to say?" Meiling finally broke the
silence.
"I…" Syaoran began. "I promised you that if I ever found someone,
I would tell you."
Well… this is certainly an interesting way of approaching it. Syaoran, you always were a clever one.
But
then it hit her. The tone in his
voice. She slumped slightly. It couldn't be true… could it?
"Yes…" She took in a deep breath, and turned towards him. "Have you?"
And then came the final hint. The
look in his eyes. It was not a look
of love as he watched her every movement. But
a look of… fear. That he might
break her gentle feelings. She knew
that he knew all too well that being touch was only an external shell. She knew
what he would say next.
"Yes."
Meiling forced a smile. She
had to. She had to at least make
this easier for him. After all, he had it the hardest, right? He loved someone, but he couldn't tell her, and he also had someone
hanging onto him like the black death. Oh
no, she had it easy? With the word, she was supposed to let go of something she
knew she never really had? It all
made sense now. The names… The
look as he watched her.
"I see." She said, false cheer in her voice as she turned to face the
street below.
A silence passed between them. An
unbearable silence, with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. She slowly lifted her head again, and exhaled.
"Kino…" she began, and she turned to Syaoran, "Kinomoto-san?"
Syaoran jumped, his eyes widened, and he became immediately tense.
"H-How did you—"
"You called her 'Sakura.'" She smirked, and put her hand son her
hips, "The only girls you call by their first names are your sisters, and
myself.
Meiling stretched her arms up, taking a deep breath, before
letting her arms drop, her shoulder droop, and her head hang over. She let out a long breath. She
inhaled sharply, and lifted her head, a smile on her face. "Well…" She began, turning to head back inside, "the engagement
is over then."
Eyes wide at her response, Syaoran's gaze followed her as she went
inside, quickly downed her cup of tea and headed for the door. He followed her slowly, and she quickened her pace as she went.
Wei began to speak "Where are you—"
"Daidouji-san's house." She cut him off, "I'd like to talk to
her some more." She said as she picked up her bag, painfully aware of Syaoran
following closely behind her.
"But it's so late!" Syaoran objected.
Meiling paid him no mind as she sat, and
quickly slipped into her shoes.
"Wait a minute! I'll come with you!" he insisted.
"I'll be fine!" she spat as she grabbed the handle of her bag,
Stood up, and pulled open the door.
"Meiling…"
Syaoran watched in utter helplessness as the door slammed shut. Outside the closed door, Meiling began to feel tiny tears roll down her
cheeks.
"I'll be fine. I'll take a taxi." She choked out.
There was no hiding her tear anymore. They were flowing silently, but freely. "Pick me up from Daidouji-san's in the morning."
Without another word, Meiling took off down the hall, to the elevator,
and out of the building. Propelled
by her need to get away, she ran down the street. She ran down many streets, until she found herself outside of the large
Daidouji Mansion. She pushed the
doorbell near the gate, and waited. She
struggled to breath as the voice of a maid come over the intercom.
"Who is there?"
"Li Meiling. Daidouji-san invited me."
The gates slowly opened, and Meiling saw in the distance, a girl dressed
in a purple dress, dark swirls of hair trailing behind her. Tomoyo. She stopped in front
of Meiling just as the large iron gates finished closing.
Tomoyo forced a sympathetic smile, "There is something you
wish to talk about?"
The mere thought of the evenings event brought new tears to her eyes. She burst out sobbing, and collapsed against Tomoyo… Tomoyo, and her
welcoming, comforting embrace. Gently,
Tomoyo stroked the back of Meiling's head, her other arm wrapped around the
hysterical girl.
"Let's go inside… and we can talk." Tomoyo said, "We'll catch
cold if we stay out here."
Her face still buried in Tomoyo's shoulder, Meiling nodded. Tomoyo slowly lead her to the large mansion, and to her large bedroom. Tomoyo requested they not be disturbed. Tomoyo sat down in a chair, and Meiling dropped to her knees, burying her
face in Tomoyo's lap. She sobbed,
tears moistening Tomoyo's skirt.
"HOW could he?!" Meiling asked, though she didn't expect an answer
from Tomoyo, "I loved him more than ANYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD! I wouldn't
let anyone else have him!"
"The worst part is I really like Kinomoto-san too! Because…she's so
nice…and sweet!"
Meiling struggled to catch her breath, but it just couldn't fight
against her tears, "I know that if he loves her there is nothing I can do about
it… But… BUT I CAN'T STOP CRYING!
And it's
not helping at all!"
Tomoyo was silent as The Chinese girl poured her heart out to a person
she had never been extremely close to. But
Tomoyo didn't mind. Meiling knew
that. Daidouji-san was too good natured to say something, even if
she did.
"I can't hate him, no matter what… and I can't hate Kinomoto-san
either!
Meiling let out a strangled sob, her holds around Tomoyo's waist
tightening in reflex. Tomoyo gently rubbed Meiling's back. "Daijobou, Meiling-chan… let it all out. It's alright."
Meiling sniffled. All this
crying was enough to completely drain a person of their energy. She didn't want to cry, but the more she tried to stop, the more she
choked on sobs. There were no tears
left to cry, but still she sobbed. Meiling
pulled herself closer to Tomoyo. She
smelled of a relaxing scent… like lavender, and jasmine.
"Daijobou, Meiling-chan… just take deep breaths,"
Meiling listened to Tomoyo's instructions, slowly reclaiming control of
her breathing. She sniffled once,
and began to speak, in a much softer tone.
"Gomen nasai… for crying to you like this."
"It's alright. I said you could, and I meant it."
"Arigatou Daidouji-san…"
The faint sent of flowers was all around her now. Sleep inducing aromas tat she often used to help he sleep at nigh in
hongkong. The soft silk under her face was so inviting… and Tomoyo
wasn't about to move even a millimeter. She
gently stroked Meiling's back, like her mother used to do for her. And in this, Meiling found comfort. Slowly, she closed her eyes…
She felt a chill. It had the
hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She opened her eyes. She saw fog and mist below her as she stood upon a
stone ledge. She could see stars
hanging high above as the wind played with her orange and gold robes.
I feel alone. He doesn't
love me. Not like I love him. No one loves me. I'm not anyone's special someone. Daremo... No one's...
Just one step
And then she stopped. A hand
wrapped around her wrist, and she turned around. A figure stood behind her. She
could not make out any features in the thick fog, except for dark, gentle eyes.
"Don't do it, Meiling. Please. Someone does love you." The gentle voice of a boy.
"Who?" She asked. She
choked, tears streaming down her face.
"I do."
She felt her frozen heart thaw, the winds chill flee, and her tears dry. And she felt herself turn towards this mysterious person. She fell. A
long, slow, floating descent. Arms
outstretched, she fell into this mystery boy's embrace.
"It's alright." He whispered in her ear, "Someone loves
you"
And elsewhere in Tomoeda, the Dream Card's light faded.
Sakura smiled, clutching her cane. "I just know Meiling-chan is
looking for something...I don't know what it is...but maybe this helped."
* * *
I've cried so
hard, I know it's not right
I feel like
the world's about to end
Our feelings
will never ever blend
Do you even
care
That I've
followed you everywhere
If that's not
enough for you
There's
nothing I can do
I'm sitting
here
Trying to
make things clear
I'm watching
you from the distance
Still in your
majestic trance
I'll give up
everything I have
Just to make
you glad
If that's not
enough for you
There's
nothing else I can do
I have no
choice but to give you to her
I've cried so
hard, everything's a blur
She'll have
everything
That I wish I
had
Why did you
have to do this me
Even if your
love for her was easy to see
You knew that
I needed you
My dreams
never came true
I left my
heart in your hands
I've traveled
far across the lands
If that's not
enough for you
There's
nothing I can do.
