Chapter 4: My Last Tears
December 23
Watashi no nisshi,
It's winter and the snow is falling outside. Now that I look back, I realize with a
bit of a shock that it's been... seven years.
For two years now Syaoran-kun has not written or called.
And there'd been no explanations.
Could he have... forgotten?
.... I know I should wait.
But I'm so tired. I'm so tired of crying.
I have always kept my promise.
I have never forgotten.
I will never forget.
I'll just stop... waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Syaoran closed the notebook. He was done.
If he felt guilty before he was now totally blaming himself.
"Xiao Lang! Phone!" Li Fanren called.
Syaoran picked up the extension and muttered a quick "hello?"
"Touchy today, aren't we?" Meilin chided.
He smirked. "Meilin. To what do I owe this call?"
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to invite you for a party I'm having next week."
"What for?"
"Just go! I can celebrate whatever I want whenever I want, can't I?"
"Meilin, I'm sort of not in the mood for parties...." Syaoran mumbled. He had a feeling he wouldn't want to
party for the rest of his known life right now.
"Oh, but you will. Ying Fa is--"
"Ying Fa?" he repeated.
"Sakura-chan!"
"I know who Ying Fa is, but what has she to do with all this?"
"Will you let me finish? Sakura-chan is staying over with Daidouji-san at my house this week!"
Syaoran shot up. "She's where?"
Meilin sighed. "... If you want the technicality she's---yes--- right next door from where you're standing."
He forced himself to calm down. "Meilin... what are you trying to pull me into this time?"
"Hey, I resent that! What do you think of me, an irrepressable schemer?"
*Exactly.* "No, no..."
"So will you go?"
*To see Sakura again? Of course I'll go!* "Yeah.. I guess..."
He hung up. Maybe now he could give Sakura's suitcase back to her.
The phone rang again and he picked it up. "Meilin, what else--"
"Xiao Lang? It's Ming-na."
"Wha-? Oh, sorry. Meilin just called and you know how she is..."
"Yeah I know, she called me, too, for that party thing. Are we going?"
Uh-oh.
He'd completely spaced that he had a girlfriend.
"Xiao Lang, are you there?"
"-Huh? Oh! Yeah. Yeah we're going," he said.
"Okay. I'll see you."
Click.
Damn it!
But of course, it wasn't Meilin's fault. Ming-na was her friend after all.
He opened the suitcase and placed the diary carefully upon the clothes.
The scent of cherry blossom filled his room and his already then whirling head.
How could it be that the simplest --only-- thing he'd ever wanted in seven years was something he couldn't
attain?
Maybe it was God's revenge on him. He had, because of his actions, brought this upon himself.
He sighed, defeated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Xiao Lang's been going out with a girl named Ming-na for quite some time," Meilin said.
That stung, but that was Meilin, and Sakura loved the girl's open honesty to her. Besides, the deed was done.
"Did you guys break up?" Meilin asked.
Sakura moved to push the swing forward. She liked swings.
But she was stalling. "... Not exactly, Meilin-chan," she replied.
"So what is exactly, Sakura-chan?" Meilin persisted.
Sakura hesitated. "... Well..."
"Miss Meilin," a butler announced. "Master Xiao Lang is here to see you."
Sakura's eyes widened. "..S..Syaoran?" *Whose great idea was this anyway?*
Meilin winked at Tomoyo. "Here to see me. Right. Please tell him to go here!"
Sakura stood up and grabbed her best friend's arm. "Umm... hide me?"
Tomoyo smiled, frustratingly serenely. "Where? And why? Are you that scared to face him?"
"It's not the point of ME scared," she replied. "It's the point of---"
"Hi," a male voice greeted from behind Sakura.
Sakura winced. *Too late.*
She whirled around, smile pasted on. "Konnichi-wa."
*~*~*~*
BAM.
The feeling could be compared to getting hit by a speeding ten-wheeler. The impact was astounding.
Syaoran stood there, frozen, as a twenty-one year old Kinomoto Sakura greeted him with a smile. "K...k-konnichi-wa."
"What brings you here, Xiao Lang?" Meilin prompted.
He blinked. "Oh, yeah... I... I got Sakura's suitcase by accident at the airport." He held up the bag to prove his point.
Sakura's jaw nearly dropped. *He DID have it! Hooooeeee....* "Oh, yeah. I have yours, too. Chotto matte de." She
ran inside the house to the guest room.
"Wait, ley me help--" Syaoran said, following her.
Meilin turned to Tomoyo. "They switched suitcases at the airport?"
Tomoyo smiled. "Sakura-chan really wasn't counting on seein Li-kun again. And then this happened."
"Wow," Meilin commented in awe. "There has to be some really strong force at work between those two."
Meanwhile, upstairs in Sakura's room...
"Here's yours," Sakura said. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble. I didn't have time to go
to your house because of my work..."
Syaoran took the suitcase. "It's all right."
"Okay." Sakura began to walk out of the room.
Syaoran caught her wrist. "Sakura."
She paused and turned back. "Hai?"
The wind outside ruffled the leaves of the trees.
"How have you been?"
They stood there for the longest of moments.
*I promise I'll never forget. Never, never forget.*
"Fine," she replied. "Just fine."
December 23
Watashi no nisshi,
It's winter and the snow is falling outside. Now that I look back, I realize with a
bit of a shock that it's been... seven years.
For two years now Syaoran-kun has not written or called.
And there'd been no explanations.
Could he have... forgotten?
.... I know I should wait.
But I'm so tired. I'm so tired of crying.
I have always kept my promise.
I have never forgotten.
I will never forget.
I'll just stop... waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Syaoran closed the notebook. He was done.
If he felt guilty before he was now totally blaming himself.
"Xiao Lang! Phone!" Li Fanren called.
Syaoran picked up the extension and muttered a quick "hello?"
"Touchy today, aren't we?" Meilin chided.
He smirked. "Meilin. To what do I owe this call?"
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to invite you for a party I'm having next week."
"What for?"
"Just go! I can celebrate whatever I want whenever I want, can't I?"
"Meilin, I'm sort of not in the mood for parties...." Syaoran mumbled. He had a feeling he wouldn't want to
party for the rest of his known life right now.
"Oh, but you will. Ying Fa is--"
"Ying Fa?" he repeated.
"Sakura-chan!"
"I know who Ying Fa is, but what has she to do with all this?"
"Will you let me finish? Sakura-chan is staying over with Daidouji-san at my house this week!"
Syaoran shot up. "She's where?"
Meilin sighed. "... If you want the technicality she's---yes--- right next door from where you're standing."
He forced himself to calm down. "Meilin... what are you trying to pull me into this time?"
"Hey, I resent that! What do you think of me, an irrepressable schemer?"
*Exactly.* "No, no..."
"So will you go?"
*To see Sakura again? Of course I'll go!* "Yeah.. I guess..."
He hung up. Maybe now he could give Sakura's suitcase back to her.
The phone rang again and he picked it up. "Meilin, what else--"
"Xiao Lang? It's Ming-na."
"Wha-? Oh, sorry. Meilin just called and you know how she is..."
"Yeah I know, she called me, too, for that party thing. Are we going?"
Uh-oh.
He'd completely spaced that he had a girlfriend.
"Xiao Lang, are you there?"
"-Huh? Oh! Yeah. Yeah we're going," he said.
"Okay. I'll see you."
Click.
Damn it!
But of course, it wasn't Meilin's fault. Ming-na was her friend after all.
He opened the suitcase and placed the diary carefully upon the clothes.
The scent of cherry blossom filled his room and his already then whirling head.
How could it be that the simplest --only-- thing he'd ever wanted in seven years was something he couldn't
attain?
Maybe it was God's revenge on him. He had, because of his actions, brought this upon himself.
He sighed, defeated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Xiao Lang's been going out with a girl named Ming-na for quite some time," Meilin said.
That stung, but that was Meilin, and Sakura loved the girl's open honesty to her. Besides, the deed was done.
"Did you guys break up?" Meilin asked.
Sakura moved to push the swing forward. She liked swings.
But she was stalling. "... Not exactly, Meilin-chan," she replied.
"So what is exactly, Sakura-chan?" Meilin persisted.
Sakura hesitated. "... Well..."
"Miss Meilin," a butler announced. "Master Xiao Lang is here to see you."
Sakura's eyes widened. "..S..Syaoran?" *Whose great idea was this anyway?*
Meilin winked at Tomoyo. "Here to see me. Right. Please tell him to go here!"
Sakura stood up and grabbed her best friend's arm. "Umm... hide me?"
Tomoyo smiled, frustratingly serenely. "Where? And why? Are you that scared to face him?"
"It's not the point of ME scared," she replied. "It's the point of---"
"Hi," a male voice greeted from behind Sakura.
Sakura winced. *Too late.*
She whirled around, smile pasted on. "Konnichi-wa."
*~*~*~*
BAM.
The feeling could be compared to getting hit by a speeding ten-wheeler. The impact was astounding.
Syaoran stood there, frozen, as a twenty-one year old Kinomoto Sakura greeted him with a smile. "K...k-konnichi-wa."
"What brings you here, Xiao Lang?" Meilin prompted.
He blinked. "Oh, yeah... I... I got Sakura's suitcase by accident at the airport." He held up the bag to prove his point.
Sakura's jaw nearly dropped. *He DID have it! Hooooeeee....* "Oh, yeah. I have yours, too. Chotto matte de." She
ran inside the house to the guest room.
"Wait, ley me help--" Syaoran said, following her.
Meilin turned to Tomoyo. "They switched suitcases at the airport?"
Tomoyo smiled. "Sakura-chan really wasn't counting on seein Li-kun again. And then this happened."
"Wow," Meilin commented in awe. "There has to be some really strong force at work between those two."
Meanwhile, upstairs in Sakura's room...
"Here's yours," Sakura said. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble. I didn't have time to go
to your house because of my work..."
Syaoran took the suitcase. "It's all right."
"Okay." Sakura began to walk out of the room.
Syaoran caught her wrist. "Sakura."
She paused and turned back. "Hai?"
The wind outside ruffled the leaves of the trees.
"How have you been?"
They stood there for the longest of moments.
*I promise I'll never forget. Never, never forget.*
"Fine," she replied. "Just fine."