STRAWBERRY LOVE
CHAPTER 3 I hadn't spoken to him in ages. I knew he didn't want to have anything to do with me, and of course, I was hurt. I knew that things between us would never be the same again, and I also knew that we were never going to get married. But I kept on pretending that one day, things would return to normal. He would come home and tell me he loved me, and he would then give me a diamond ring with a 24-karat base. And we would get married and have children and out lives would end happily. Yes, I liked to think that's what would come out of it. But I knew better. He called. He said he had something important to discuss. And I knew exactly what he meant: he was ready to dump me. I packed my stuff and took the next flight to Japan. Once there, I visited Tomoeda Shougakkou, the school I attended during my first stay in Japan. Everyone was surprised to see me, especially Sakura and her best friend Tomoyo. But most of all, Syaoran. He couldn't understand why I wasted a day of school by flying to Japan. I told him that some things just had to be said in person, that saying them over the phone or in writing is just plain cowardice, and doesn't convey the meaning as it should. I could see that he was uneasy about telling me. I decided to delay it for as long as possible, because I knew that when he said it, I would be too hurt to do anything else. So after classes, I walked home with Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoran. I was told that Sakura had successfully collected all the Clow Cards, but that strange things had been happening ever since. We were walking by Pinguin Chuuou Kouen (the local park) when the pinguin statues started to move. As if by magic, they were lifted into the air and thrown at us. Fearing for our lives, I jumped in front of Sakura and fought off the strange adversaries until they were all lifeless. But once I had dealt with all the small ones, Pinguin Daiou (the big pinguin slide) was thrown at us. Syaoran cast an o-fuda spell on it, and having been defeated, it too fell to the ground- lifeless. He rushed over and said, loud and crisp, "Sakura, are you all right?" My heart sank. Immediately, my suspicions had been confirmed and I became indifferent to all around me. You see, I felt special because he called me by my name, which is something he had never done to any other girl in his life (minus his sisters). Everyone else was just "her" or "that girl." But not me- I was Meiling. Suddenly, I wasn't so special anymore. Yes, I was a girl with a name. But someone else had a name too. And she wasn't part of his family. She was the girl he liked. I don't think he realised how much of an impact his words had on me. I felt like a nobody again, the thing I didn't want to be. I had only been special to him, and now I wasn't at all. I was just "family," whatever that may be. But then the strangest thing happened. Tomoyo came over to me and held my hand. She told me not to worry, that if I needed someone to talk to, she would be there. She said, "Meiling-chan ga suki." And for the first time in a long time, I felt appreciated. I stared into her eyes, watching my own reflection, wondering why this sweet girl had never meant anything to me before. She was always there, always watching and noticing all the little things. She rarely ever said a word, but she was omnipresent nonetheless. Holding her hand, time seemed almost surreal, and it occurred to me that I would survive, no matter what Syaoran had to say. * * * * * Continued in chapter 4.
