"Meiling..."

"....."

"Meiling..."

"....."

"Meiling!!"

"WHAT!!" she shouted as her head snapped to look up. Immediately she groaned from the pain her neck emitted.

A smirking Eriol Hiiragizawa looked down at her. "Something the matter Meiling?"

"Shouldn't you already know Clow?" she retorted.

Eriol kept his face straight and sat down on the bench beside her and simply asked, "Syaoran?."

Meiling glared at him and put a hand to her stiff neck, caressing it slowly. "Well if you already know then why did you bother to ask?"

Meiling didn't give him a chance to answer and abruptly changed the subject. "Why don't I have magic?" For the first time in her life, Meiling saw Eriol's eyes flicker with something besides knowledge, sympathy. He didn't answer her.

"Why Eriol?? Answer me!!" she was going to demand an answer out of him. "Please.."

"Honestly, I don't know Meiling. You were suppose to have magic, but.." He paused.

"But what! How come that Sakura Kinomoto has magic and I don't?! She's not even part of the Li clan! How can someone like her have magic but not me?!" she yelled with frustration.

For the second time that night, Eriol surprised Meiling and himself. "STOP PITYING YOURSELF MEILING! SAKURA HAS POWERS! SO WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?! SIT AND CRY? WHINE? COMPLAIN?" He flinched, instantly regretting what had just came out of his mouth.

Eriol sighed and lowered his voice when he saw her wide eyes teeming with silent tears, "What I'm trying to say is, stop looking at what you don't have and look at what you do have."

Shaking his head apologetically, he assisted her up. "C'mon Meiling. Let's get you home." Quietly he led the rigid girl to her house.

Something soft and comfortable was around her body. The gentle smell of Wisteria (AN: They're flowers. ^_^) drifted into her nose as she breathed in. Opening her eyes, she saw the familiar surroundings of her room. Throwing off her covers, she got out of bed. Shivering she walked over to her slightly opened window and closed it with a soft thud. Quickly throwing on her uniform and running a brush through her now shorter hair, she grabbed her book bag and walked into the hallway. The smell of croissants and hot chocolate overwhelmed her and a low grumbling sound was made by her stomach.

Eriol's conversation from last night had hit some sense into her. She realized that by letting Syaoran be free, she was also setting herself free. She would give anything to make him happy, and if Sakura made him happy, then so be it. She would give them her blessings. But that didn't mean the pain would just disappear suddenly. But that also meant that she couldn't let anyone see the pain that it caused her...now can she? She smiled at herself once more in the mirror, just to make sure there were no faults in the fake smile.

Bounding down the stairs she walked into the kitchen and smiled at Wei. "Good morning. Breakfast smells good!"

"Meiling!" Wei said in awe as he turned around to face her. "You cut your hair!"

"Nice of you to notice Wei." Meiling said with a smile on her face as she twirled around for him to see. "Like it?"

"Like it? I love it! You look beautiful! You're growing up right before my very eyes." Wei said as he smiled warmly at her. "I remember when you were just a little girl, with only two buns for hair...." Wei went on in a trance-like state until a gruff voice broke him from his reverie, "Mornin."

"Morning Syaoran. Have you seen Meiling's new hair style?" Wei said as he handed the two a plate of croissants and hot chocolate. "Doesn't she look beautiful?"

Syaoran looked over at Meiling and frowned. "Now why did you go and do that for? Now you look stupid."

Meiling glared at him, "It's my hair! I can do whatever I like with it!"

Syaoran glared back and soon both were in a staring match.

Wei chuckled at them. "Now, now Meiling, Syaoran, don't fight. Hurry up and eat or else you're going to be late for school," he said as he walked up the stairs.

The staring match continued for a minute or two until Syaoran broke it by silently picking up his bag and walking out the front door. Meiling looked after him and felt as if she was living the first day of school over again. Hopping off the chair she followed him.

Soft droplets of liquid pelted itself against everything visible. A gentle mist perched itself upon the slick verdant grass. Fronds from the lush olive colored trees swayed in the smooth and undisturbing zephyr. A boy sat himself down by a tree and looked at the object in his hands. A box, not plain but yet not too elaborate either. It was decorated with engravings of Sakura flowers.

**FLASHBACK**

A beautiful woman in her late 30's laid dying on an elegant bed. She reached out and held the hands of the little 7 year old boy next to her. "Let me tell you one last story," she said lightly. He put his head on her bed as he listened to his mother repeat the story he heard at least a million times already.

"Quite a while ago, when foreigners started to buy a lot of land in Japan, your ancestors decided to move to America. They thought they would have a better life here. Because they had to bring as least as possible, they sold all their belongings. There was many family treasures among those belongings that they sold. Some of which had been in the family for as long as anyone could remember," she paused and took a couple of breaths.

He sat up straight and watched her face as she continued. "There was one special one in particular though. It's a jewelry box decorated with Sakura flowers..." This time she added something to her story. "I want you to find it for me, can you do that?" she said looking into his cerulean eyes.

The little boy not knowing what to do nodded faintly and looked down as tears threatened to spill. "I promise, Mama. I'll try my best to find it." He looked up at his mother, "But what do I do with it when I find it? Do I keep it?" His mother reached around her neck and pulled out a little golden key that hung on a platinum necklace. The key looked ancient to him. He took the key into his hands as she put the necklace around his neck.

"This key opens that box. From what I know, nobody dared to open the box, for they were afraid of what was in there." She went into a small coughing fit; the little boy patted her back gently. She gave him a weary smile before continuing, "Some people in our family believed that it contains a treasure. Others believe that it carries a curse. If you find it, it will be your choice on whether or not you would want to open it."

The little boy threw his arms around her, "Mama, I don't want you to go. Please don't go. Don't leave me like Papa did." Crystal tears slid down his little cheeks as he sobbed into her dress. "I'll be here, I promise. Whenever you need me I'll be here, I'll always be watching over you don't you worry," she said with a smooth gentle voice, calming him. The boy snuggled his head closer to his mother as he felt her breath in and out.

In and out. In and out. In and...he frowned slightly waiting patiently for her to breath out again. When she didn't, he looked up at her face hoping that she had held her breath somehow. What he saw was her lifeless face staring back at him. He choked back a sob and shook her, rather violently. "Wake up! Wake up, Mama!"

He then started to laugh a little, "C'mon Mama, I get it it's a joke. You can wake up now. See? I'm laughing at your joke...please wake up Mama..." When she didn't wake up he buried his face in her dress again and whimpered the same phrase over and over again, "...don't leave me, you promised..."

**END FLASHBACK**

Pain flashed in his eyes as he looked down at the box. It brought back so many memories. Painful ones. Ones he thought he had gotten rid of so many years ago. He put the box on the floor and reached inside his shirt for the key. Clutching it in his right hand he stared at it for a minute. This key had caused so many problems. For his father. His mother. And himself.

O_o I have no idea what the heck I'm gonna write after this. Nor do I know what I'm writing at the moment. o_o;;; Got any ideas, anyone? Review pretty please?