Time
Frame: Valentines Day 8 A.M.
hhhhh
The ever present
wind chime rings in the silence of the dorm room, but this time its not the
chime that wakes the lone occupant of the bed, it is the sound of birds chirping
just outside the window. These are the first birds to come back in expectation
of the new spring season.
The figure stirs
and reaches out slender fingers to try and touch the body that should be there
as well. When the fingers turn up nothing but empty space the figure slowly
opens a pair of sleep fogged eyes.
"Syaoron?" Sakura
asks the emptiness of the room.
She looked around
for any signs of her love, and finds nothing except for an orderly dorm room.
She starts to get out of bed and feels something soft next to her hand. She
looks down on the bed and finds a cherry blossom next to her hand. Attached to
the flower is a folded note. She picks up the note and reads it.
To My Princess,
Happy Valentines
Day, a beautifully soft cherry blossom for my beautiful, soft, caring, and
loving cherry blossom.
From,
Your Knight in
Shining Armor
She smiled as she
read the note. 'He can be so romantic when he wants to be,' she thought as she
thought back to a time when this was a side of him that she never knew he
possessed. The things he did were never very extravagant but they were sweet
and it was the simple fact that he could think up of these things for her that
made her love him all the more.
Sakura got up and
went to get ready for the classes she had today.
She picked her
pink silk robe from the back of his desk chair and put it on. Then she went
over to the closet and pulled out a change of clothes. She had been staying
here so much in the last few weeks that they were practically living together.
Sakura grabbed a
towel and headed for the showers. She could get the showers pretty much to
herself since there were so few people living on this floor. And with it being
only 8, most of the other coeds were still asleep. The few who were not in bed
had already left for an early class.
As the warm water
began to wash over her body she was reminded of how it felt to be in his arms.
It didn't matter how cold it was, as soon as he had his arms around her she
could feel the warmth of his body spread over and through her just like the
stream of water pelting her skin.
After she had
finished with the shower, dried off and gotten dressed she saw that it was
almost 8:20. This gave her 25 minutes to get to the first of her two classes for
the day. It would take her 10 minutes to get there and that gave her 15 minutes
for breakfast.
She left
Syaoron's dorm room and went to the floor's kitchen. There on the table was
breakfast. She walked up to the table and eyed the food. Then she noticed that
there was another folded note next to the warm milk. She sat down and picked up
the note. Inside she read a second note from Syaoron.
To My Ying Fa,
Hey Sleepyhead,
did you have a good shower?
The food is
naturally for you, so enjoy.
From,
Xiao Lang
P.S. Don't be
late for class.
Sakura just
smiled at Syaoron's thoughtfulness. 'How sweet,' thought Sakura as she took a
sip of the warm milk, honey milk.
And it was just
right.
The food was
absolutely delightful. It helped warm her up to face the February winds. As she
stepped out of the front door of her dorm building she could feel the
excitement of the dance tonight all throughout the air. She could see couple
strolling along the paths holding hands. It reminded her of how much she wished
that Syaoron were here by her side. 'Well, he's bound to pop up somewhere,'
reasoned Sakura as she walked towards her literature class.
As she walked
towards the English building she didn't notice a pair of glaring onyx eyes
gazing at her from across the quad.
'Soon you'll be
mine, my cherry blossom.'
hhhhh
As she sat in
literature class listening to Professor Tang's lecture about some book they'd
been reading her mind began to wander off to thoughts of what Syaoron had
planned for the rest of the day. She knew that if that morning were any
indication then she would not be disappointed.
"Ms. Kinomoto are
you with us?" asked Professor Tang waking Sakura from her daydream.
"Sorry
professor," Sakura apologized sheepishly. She just realized that Professor Tang
had asked her a question.
"Well see to it
that it does not happen again," said the professor in an exasperated manner.
"Seeing as how none of you seem to be paying any attention to what I am saying,
let's move on to something new. Now, who can tell me anything about the story
of 'Leung Shan Buo Yu Zhu Ying Tai'?"
A few of the
students raised their hands, but most didn't know what the professor had said.
The professor had
another exasperated look on his face. "Well, of those who do know what I'm
talking about, do any of you know what how the story goes?"
Then the few
hands that were up went down.
"Then I'll tell
you," said the professor. "The story takes place during the Han Dynasty, during
that time there was a powerful lord who had a daughter. Now the traditional
daughter was suppose to be completely obedient and strive to male a good wife
for her future husband. However, this girl was anything but traditional…"
Professor Tang
proceeded to tell the entire tale of the star-crossed lovers who would rather
die than be apart. He told the attentive students of how in the end Leung Shan
Buo died trying save his love by letting her go, of how she died to finally be
with him in place where no one could stop them from loving each other. And
finally of how they were reincarnated into butterflies.
"…and thus ends
the tale of the Butterfly Lovers, whose love broke even the wall of death that
separated them. So what did you think of the story?" asked Professor Tang to a
class that was hanging on his every word. They didn't seem to recognize that he
had finished the story. As the thought that love was so powerful that even
death could not subdue it made some of the girls sniffle and the guys have more
faith in the power of love. The couples in the lecture hall found the hands of
their partners and held on for dear life as if fearing that they would
disappear into thin air.
Sakura felt
saddened that she could not share this moment with the one man who meant more
to her than the world, but she knew in her heart that their love was the just
like the love of the Butterfly Lovers. A love that could never be silenced no
matter what.
The ringing of
the bell interrupted her thoughts and told her that it was the end of class.
She looked down to pack up her books and leave, but something was in the middle
of her desk. It was a pink origami butterfly. She picked it up and she could
sense the green aura of her little wolf on it. The butterfly was not made of
paper. Instead it was made from a thick, yet soft, cloth-like material. It had
the faintest hint of Syaoron's scent mixed in with what smelled like cherry
blossoms. It was attached to a safety pin that had a note on it.
To My Zhu Ying
Tai,
I hope you liked
the story.
It was specially
arranged for you.
I hope you like
the butterfly; I'm a little out of practice.
I hope that you
will wear it.
From,
Your Leung Shan
Buo
Sakura couldn't
help but smile at this. Just when she was sad that he wasn't here to share to
story with her, it turns out that he was the one who arranged for her to hear
it.
She looked up to
see a smiling Professor Tang staring at her. She smiled back and mouthed a
silent 'thank you', to which he responded with an equally silently mouthed
'your welcome'.
Sakura happily
pinned the butterfly to her chest and walked out of class with a new skip in
her step.
hhhhh
As she stepped
into her computer graphics class the sight of valentine hearts all over the
room greeted her. Normally the sight of so many pink hearts would make any
person sick, but not her and not today.
She just had the
most romantic lunch ever.
bFlashbackd
Syaoron had not
been at the dorm when she came in but there was a fresh meal on the kitchen
table. It was set for two.
Suddenly there
was a gentle tap on her left shoulder. She turned in that direction hoping to
see him but found nothing. So she turned back to find a hand holding a single
red rose in front of her face. She looked towards the origin of the arms and
saw a smiling Syaoron.
She jumped into
his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her close as he asked
her how her morning was. She told him how much she enjoyed his notes and the
love story Professor Tang told in her lit. class.
They ate lunch in
a comfortable silence, feeling content with the simple act of sharing lunch.
After they
finished lunch they laid lazily on the couch. Sakura had her back to Syaoron
and he had his arms wrapped around her waist to hold her close. And slowly they
drifted off to the realm of dreams sharing each other's warmth.
bEnd
Flashbackd
It surprised her
how much was said between the two of them even in silence. They didn't need to
talk to have the other know their love just by being near one another was
enough.
These thoughts
passed through her mind as she listened half-heartedly to Professor Xia's
lecture. She barely noticed Professor Xia tell the class to begin work on their
projects. Sakura came out of her reverie when she heard the familiar tune that
signaled the start-up of Windows. She turned to her computer and opened up the
folder labeled 'Graphx'. She opened her project file and began to work on it.
She didn't notice the generic heart shaped valentine that was slipped next to
her mouse-pad.
She finally noticed
the store brought card when she reached for her mouse. 'Hmm… wonder whom this
could be from,' she thought as she picked it up.
Hey Beautiful,
Wonna go to
tonight's dance with me?
Xin
'Yeah right,' she
thought and threw it away without another thought.
She went back to
work on her project and didn't really notice the blinking symbol on her
taskbar. "Now what is it?" she asked herself as she opened the page.
Amazed was a
phrase that wouldn't suffice in describing her reaction to what she saw. It was
a PhotoShop file. It showed the image of a heart. It wasn't like the corny
store brought valentine that she had gotten from Xin. It was exquisitely
designed. The amount of detail was exceptional. Each layer had a slight color
variation in the pigmentation. When you looked at it from afar it seemed as if
the different shades of pale pink mix together to the point where you couldn't
discern them, but upon closer inspection you could see the distinct separations
of the different pinks. The sides looked like the embroidery done on the most
exquisite silk shawls. And the rendering made it look all the more realistic,
it gave it a 3-dimensional feel.
In the center in
beautifully written script letters was written the message:
This is a promise…
A promise that I
make with every fiber of my being,
I pledge to you
my eternal love, my heart, my soul, and everything I was, am and ever will be.
I love you my
Cherry Blossom.
Tears of pure
love were on the verge of release. Just when she thought that he couldn't be
any more perfect, he goes and proves her wrong. 'I really don't deserve this,'
thought Sakura as she stared at the screen and pictured Syaoron's loving smile,
the one that he would only give her, and it just made her feel as if she was
the luckiest woman alive.
hhhhh
'How dare she
throw my gift away,' fumed Xin as he sat two rows back and one seat to the
right of Sakura. 'And why is she so happy just to see a pink heart on her
computer screen?'
'No matter, if I
can't have her then no one will.'
hhhhh
Sakura was on
cloud nine as she walked back to her dorm. She was so wrapped up in her own
thoughts that she didn't even notice Syaoron's aura as he came up from behind.
She was brought
out of her reverie by warm hands wrapping around her. She wasn't really
surprised at who it was, she leaned back into his arms without giving it a
second thought. With her eyes closed she breathed in his scent. It had such a
calming effect on her.
"Did you like
it?" whispered Syaoron into her ear as he held her close and planted soft
kisses on her neck and ear.
"Yup," was her
simple answer.
"Good, but
there's more."
Sakura opened her
eyes and turned in his arms so that she could see those fierce amber eyes that
made her knees weak. "There is nothing more could you give me," asked Sakura.
"There will
always be something for me to give you."
They just stood
there for a while simply staring into each other's eyes. Finally they broke eye
contact and simply held each other.
Eventually they
separated and started to walk towards their dorm, hand in hand.
He told her to
close her eyes right after they closed the door to his dorm room.
"No peeking,"
teased Syaoron.
"Oh all right,"
replied a giddy Sakura while she asked herself, 'What else could he give
me?'
"Okay open your
eyes," said Syaoron as he stood in front of her.
He was holding a
pink velvet box with the word 'Sakura' inscribed
on the lid in pearly white letters.
"Open it," he
said softly when she didn't move after a few minutes.
She gasped as she
saw that inside was a thin platinum chain going through a beautiful gold ring.
It had a small pink diamond in the center surrounded by six stunning emeralds.
She looked up at
her soul mate with tears in her eyes to see an expression of pure love. She leapt
into his arms with a cry of pure joy. His arms went around her instantly,
holding her close.
"Do you like it?"
asked a nervous Syaoron.
"Yes," came the
muffled reply from his chest.
"Here let me put
it on."
He turned her
around and stepped back, his hands unclasped the chain and draped it across her
neck. He closed the chain behind her neck and placed tender kisses there as he
circled his hands around her. "Aishiteru," he whispered as he held her close.
"Aishiteru, my
little wolf."
hhhhh
Author's
Note: Sorry about the lack of a romantic poem,
but I'm not very poetic.