Summary: Today is one of the more somber looks back as Sakura recalls her mother as she stands in the graveyard.


Author's Note: Special thanks to Val, Kyralea, and all the CCS websites that helped me to write this chapter. I couldn't have done it without you.

"~* Thoughts *~" = Thoughts

"[NAME:]" = Character voiceover


Episode 10- Recalling Illusion and Sakura's Late Mother


Sorry, I never told you...

All I wanted to say

And now it's too late to hold you

'Cause you've flown away, so far away


Never had I imagined living without your smile

Feeling and knowing you hear me

It keeps me alive, alive

This was never easy for Sakura. But after she saw her dad looking over an old photo album, Sakura just felt like she had to go. She slowly made her way through the green grass as the winds blew gently through the skies. Then she stopped. Holding a flower, Sakura looked down at the tombstone…of her late mother. Closing her eyes, Sakura put the flower in front of the tombstone. Then she kneeled, but suddenly heard a voice.

"Sakura?"

Sakura turned her head to see who was behind her. It was Li and Madison was right behind him.

"How did you guys know I was here?" Sakura asked.

"Your dad said you'd be here," Li answered. Then he and Madison knelt next to Sakura and looked at the tombstone. "Is this…?"

Sakura sighed deeply. "It's my mother's grave. I…haven't been here in such a long time."

Everyone paused for a moment, before Madison asked an emotional question. "You miss her…don't you?"

"I do," Sakura nodded. "But I was always happy. I knew I had a family who loves me. But I didn't always see that. There was a time when I…saw my mother…right in front of me."

"You saw her?" Li asked.

"Yes…and no. It's…kind of a long story."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Sakura gazed into Li's eyes. He was all ears. "Well…it happened seven years ago. There was something out in the forest…"


Flashback: The Forest

P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon

It was definitely a strange situation. This morning at school, Nikki told everyone about a strange sighting last night at the forest. She said she saw a glowing ball. Immediately Chelsea, Rita, and Madison wanted to go investigate. Sakura didn't.

~* I really don't want to be here. Especially not at night. This sounds too much like a g-g-g-g- ghost! *~

Nonetheless, though, Sakura was dragged to the forest by her pushy friends. They all slowly made their way through the forest as the owls began hooting. Then they stopped by a cliff.

"This is where I saw it," Nikki said.

Everyone looked around for that thing Nikki saw last night. No one saw anything, though…except for Sakura. She was stammering and pointing behind her friends.

"What is it, Sakura?" Madison asked.

"B-B-B-B-BEHIND YOU!!!"

Everyone turned around and saw exactly what Sakura was seeing. A strange woman in shadows. They were all trembling…except for Madison.

~* Oh…she must be in shock! Why wouldn't she be, though?! *~

Then, as soon as the thing appeared, it was gone. Everyone stopped shaking, but they didn't forget what they had just seen.

"D-D-D-Did everyone see that?!" Sakura stuttered.

"Yeah, I saw it! It was a pair of fuzzy ears!"

Sakura wasn't quite expecting that. "Huh? But I saw a long-haired woman."

"Wait…but I saw a one-eyed pink…thing!"

"But I saw…a pair of torn pink lips and fangs! It was horrible!"

Everyone argued amongst themselves nervously over what they just saw. Everyone…except Madison.

That made Sakura curious. "Did you see anything, Madison?"

Madison blinked. "I saw…a giant meat bun."

Instantly, all the arguments stopped. No one said anything to each other. Everyone was staring at Madison.

"You saw…what?"

"A meat bun. I mean, what I saw was a big meat bun."

Everyone just kept staring at Madison.

Madison sweatdropped. "…Was it something I said?"

~----------~

[Li: A meat bun?]

[Madison: I was hungry. I…]

[Sakura: Madison! You're getting ahead of me! Anyway…it was my first clue that something weird was going on in the forest, and that detail would be really important later on. Of course, being who I am, I naturally assumed this whole thing was a ghost. I didn't realize it was a Clow Card until later.]


Flashback: Sakura's room

P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon

"So tell me again what you saw?"

Sakura lay in the bathtub, thinking back to what she saw earlier. "We all saw a giant ball of light in the forest. Every one of us then saw something different. We saw creatures with…fangs and…big ears…and sharp teeth. Everyone…except Madison. For some reason, she saw a meat bun."

Kero sweatdropped. "I won't even ask."

"What do you think it is, Kero?" Sakura asked.

Kero smirked. "Maybe it was a ghost."

Sakura shot Kero a cold glare and got in his face. She didn't appreciate the guardian beast mocking her worst fears.

Kero began to realize that and gulped nervously. "Over the line?"

"WAY over the line!!"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. Anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Sakura grinned. "I might need some help on this one. Is there any way you can show me what you really look like?"

Kero raised an eyebrow. "You really think I WANT to look like this? Trust me, Sakura, I would if I could. But I can't."

"Why not?"

"Well…it took me a while to figure it out, but I did. My powers are derived from Fiery and Earth. So far, you haven't sealed either one yet. So you have to seal Fiery and Earth before I can change back to my…much more massive form."

~* Massive form? I wonder what that would look like? It'd probably be…really big. Like…Kero…only bigger. *~

"Sakura! Dinner's almost ready!"

"Oh, boy!" On those words, Sakura picked up a towel and got out of the tub.

"Bring me back something," Kero requested.

~----------~

[Li: That…didn't answer much. How did you know it was a Clow Card?]

[Madison: Well, later I called Sakura. I told her that some of the cheerleading squad went back to the cliff and saw even more strange sightings. So I convinced her to take Kero and go back to the cliff with me. But what we saw there…]


Flashback: The cliff

P.O.V.: Madison Taylor

Sakura seemed reluctant to come back here. So far, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary just yet.

~* Maybe that thing's gone now. Or…somebody probably ate it. *~

Sakura suddenly stopped in her tracks. She gasped at sight in front of her. Madison couldn't see anything, though.

"Sakura? What is it?"

Sakura only looked on in front of her and uttered one word. "Mom?"

~* Mom? What does that mean? She can't mean...? *~

Sakura started walking forward, towards the edge of the cliff. "Mom? Is that really you?" She didn't seem to notice that she was coming closer to the cliff.

"Sakura!" Madison shouted. "Watch out!!"

Madison and Kero tried to rush towards Sakura, but they hit something. There seemed to be a barrier in front of them that prevented them from reaching Sakura.

~* No…why can't I go through?! What's happening?! What's she seeing?! *~

Madison screamed at the top of her lungs. "SAKURA!! LOOK OUT!!"

Madison and Kero frantically tried to get through the barrier. Madison desperately wanted to save her best friend from her impending doom. But it was no use. Sakura had one foot over the cliff.

"SAKURA!! NO!!"

The nightmare happened. Sakura stepped over the cliff. But someone else came to Sakura's rescue. It was Julian. He grabbed onto Sakura's arm just as she fell over the cliff. He picked her up and it looked like Sakura realized how close she was to killing herself. Madison nearly collapsed from that awful fright.

~* Oh, thank God Julian was there. Oh...Sakura…I let you down… *~

Then the barrier faded, but it was too late. It did Madison no good now. The worst was already over. Sakura came within inches of dying and all Madison could do was watch. She never wanted to experience that kind of fear again.

~----------~

[Sakura: I still don't understand why you beat yourself up so much over it. It wasn't your fault, Madison. It never was.]

[Madison: But Sakura…I just watched as you nearly fell off a cliff. I really let you down. If Julian wasn't there…I don't know what I would have done.]

[Sakura: I still say it wasn't your fault. It was a total illusion. But I didn't know that until later. All I had on my mind…was my mom.]

[Li: So what happened?]

[Madison: Well…I felt like I completely failed Sakura. I felt like I couldn't live with myself. So the next day…]


Flashback: Sakura's house

P.O.V.: Madison Taylor

Madison didn't sleep at all the night before. All she saw in her mind was that vision of Sakura, walking over the cliff as Madison looked on helplessly.

~* Sakura…I failed you…I'm so sorry… *~

Madison couldn't get the tormenting feeling of guilt out of her gut. Not after she almost lost her best friend. So the next day, she headed over to Sakura's house and knocked on the door. Madison hung her head down as she waited for an answer. Then Sakura answered the door. Madison couldn't bring herself to look into those emerald eyes.

"Madison?"

"S-Sakura? Are you feeling better?"

"Um…I'm still a little shaken up, but I'm fine. …Madison? What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Madison sighed deeply. Then she held up a flower for Sakura. "This…is to apologize for last night. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I…let you down, Sakura."

Sakura took the flower, and seemingly didn't know what to say. "Madison…you didn't have to do this. It wasn't your fault at all."

"Sakura…you almost died last night," Madison said sadly. "And all I could do was watch. I'm so sorry. I should've been there!" She fell onto Sakura's shoulder. Madison was completely falling apart.

"Madison…don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. You're my best friend. You've always been there for me and you always will…including tonight…when we go back to the cliff."

Madison abruptly raised her head. "You're going back? Uh…WE'RE going back?"

Sakura nodded. "We have to face this again, Madison. If it's a Clow Card, then we'll have to deal with it, sooner or later. We'll go tonight." Then she smiled. "Have your camera ready."

Madison wiped off a tear. "So…do you forgive me?"

"You did nothing wrong," Sakura said cheerfully. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you tonight."

Sakura shut the door, leaving Madison on the doorstep to think about what just happened.

~* Tonight? But…what if I let you down again, Sakura? I'd never be able to live with myself. I don't want to fail you again! *~

Madison just turned around and despondently walked away.

~----------~

[Li: Jeez, did you really take it THAT hard, Madison?]

[Madison: You have to understand, Li. You weren't around back then. And I was Sakura's best friend…still am. And I felt like a total failure. I was starting to wonder what would happen if I had slipped up like that…and the result hadn't turned out so lucky.]

[Sakura: So while Madison beat herself up, I had other things on my mind. I kept on thinking about my mom. And I was wondering if I'd see her again…]


Flashback: The cliff later that night

P.O.V.: Sakura Avalon

Sakura wasn't scared of the cliff that night. All she wanted was to find the Clow Card…and see if her mother was really there. Sakura looked behind her to see Madison moving along sadly with her camera, with Kero right next to her.

~* Oh…why is she blaming herself so much? I wish she could see it wasn't her fault. *~

Everyone then stopped at the cliff. There was that strange ball of light.

"That's a Clow Card, alright," Kero said. "Sakura, the key!"

Sakura took out her key. "Key of Clow. Power of magic. Power of light. Surrender the wand. The force, ignite. Release!"

Sakura took her wand and was ready to seal this Clow Card. But then the ball of light took a familiar form. It was…her mother.

"Mom?"

Sakura stopped in her tracks. She was seeing her mother again. Her mother, who had died when Sakura was only three.

"Is that…your mom, Sakura?"

Sakura briefly looked back to see Madison and Kero looking on in amazement. They must've been seeing the same thing. Sakura started to become overjoyed.

~* If they see this, too…then that means…you have to be real!! Oh, Mom!! *~

Sakura happily made her way forward, but suddenly started to lose her footing. She was falling off the cliff again. She started falling and all she heard was Madison cry out.

"SAKURA!!"

Sakura was falling, but this time she was ready. She took out the Fly Card. "Fly!"

Sakura managed to hop on her wand and fly back up. When she looked up at her mother, Sakura began to realize something.

~* You…you're a Clow Card…aren't you? You're not my mom! My mom would NEVER hurt me! You're not real at all! This was just a trick! It was a cruel joke!! It's just a STUPID CLOW CARD!! *~

Sakura felt crushed. She felt heartbroken. Her hope had been completely dashed. She thought she actually had her mother back. But it wasn't meant to be. So Sakura did one of the hardest things she ever had to do. She held out her wand.

"Clow Card! Return to your power confined!"

In an instant, Sakura's mother was gone. There was nothing left but a Clow Card that read:

The Illusion

"Why didn't I see it before," Kero suddenly said. "It all makes sense now."

"What do you mean, Kero?" Sakura asked sadly.

"Illusion can make people see whatever's on their mind. That's why you and your friends saw some horrible monster while Madison saw a meat bun. And that's why…you saw your mother."

Sakura sniffled and dried off a tear. Then she looked at Madison. "You…saw her, too. You were thinking about my mother?"

Madison nodded. "You said you saw her here, Sakura. So I kept thinking about her. …You miss her…don't you?"

Sakura dried another tear. "I really miss her, Madison."

~* Oh, Mom! Why did you have to die? *~


Sakura looked down at her mother's grave again after she finished telling the story. She said a quick prayer, then got to her feet to join her two friends.

And I know you're shining down on me from heaven

Like so many friends we've lost along the way

And I know eventually we'll be together

Together, one sweet day

"I miss her," Sakura said sadly.

Li gave Sakura a kiss on the forehead. "Your mom's in a better place. And when she looks down and sees you and what a kind-hearted person you are, I know she's really proud. She'll always love you, Sakura. We all do."

And I know you're shining down on me from heaven

Like so many friends we've lost along the way

And I know eventually we'll be together

Together, one sweet day

Yes, we will one sweet day

Sorry I never told you...

All I wanted to say

Sakura hugged Li and the three started to walk out of the cemetery. But before they were gone, Sakura looked back one last time.

~* Goodbye, Mom. *~


All right…now I really want to hear your opinions. This was a chapter I personally took a lot of time writing. So if you have any comments, then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and PLEASE review below. Tell me what you think!