Summary: What if you have a chance to go back to your past and change your life? What if you can live your life differently, make new choices? Will it make a difference? Or will making a different choice still take you down the same route? What if your decision changes the rest of your life and everything is different from what it is supposed to be? What would happen if you make the wrong choice?
"Wedding, I have to be at… the wedd-" Sakura's eyes popped open and she found herself looking into two worried faces staring with a mix of curiosity and anxiety at her. Sakura frowned as she looked at the two people in front of her and bolted upright, "Where am I? Are they," she swallowed hard, "are they married yet?" She really didn't want to know the answer to that, but she had to know.
Junlai's look of anxiety became one of alarm and she put her hand on Sakura's shoulder to try to get her to lie down. "You're sick, Sakura and you're babbling nonsense. No one's getting married, at least, not when they are 17 and still in school. Rest and don't talk, Sakura."
Sakura shrugged Junlai's hand off her shoulder and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Belatedly, she realized that she wasn't wearing her bridesmaid gown, but her high school uniform. She turned to Hufei, "What is she talking about Hufei? What '17'? What 'in school'? Where's my cousin?" Sakura couldn't bring herself to ask about Syaoran. She knew that Tomoyo would be with her new husband, where else would she be?
Hufei blanched; he was starting to think that Sakura's gone nuts. "You blacked out just now in the cafeteria, we," Hufei hesitated, shooting Junlai a confused look, "Junlai and I took you here. I don't know where your cousin is, Sakura… are you feeling all right?"
Sakura tried to stand up, but a wave of dizziness caught her and she decided she was better off sitting and quickly sat back down on the bed. "What are the both of you talking about? We were at the wedding just now, remember? Syaoran and Tomoyo were exchanging vows and then I fainted…" Sakura's voice trailed off as she took in Junlai and Hufei's pitying look. They had this look on their faces that said, 'Look at her, she's obviously gone crazy.' "I'm not crazy!" Sakura told them vehemently. "Don't look at me like you think I am!"
Junlai leaned down and grasped Sakura's shoulder, "Calm down, Sakura, no one's saying that you're nuts. You're just disorientated. We're in school, not at a wedding. I think that Tomoyo is probably at work or modeling somewhere, not getting ready to marry some guy named Syaoran. If your cousin's going to marry anyone at all, I think it would be Eriol. Get a grip of yourself, Sakura."
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. Tomoyo is working? But just the last thing she remembered was standing at the altar, feeling an unbearable pain, watching the man she loved most about to marry her own cousin. "How long have I been out?" Sakura asked almost inaudibly.
There was a slight pause before Sakura heard Hufei reply her, "Fifteen minutes."
Only fifteen minutes? She's been unconscious for fifteen minutes and when she wakes up, she suddenly finds herself in twilight zone? She can't deal with this, and was greatly prepared to just faint. But somewhere inside her, a small, reasonable voice quipped up, "Look on the bright side, at least you don't have to face the reality of Tomoyo marrying Syaoran." After a prolonged silence when she weighed her options, Sakura finally said, "I want to go home." It was obvious that she couldn't stay here. She didn't know where she was; she didn't know why she was here and how she got here. What she knew was that she still had a cousin named Tomoyo. Hopefully, she still has a place to live as well.
Sakura opened her eyes and look intently at Junlai, "I need to get home!"
"Okay, okay, calm down Sakura," Junlai sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulder to reassure her. Junlai looked helplessly at Hufei and Hufei sprang to life.
"I'll um… I'll go get your stuff at the cafeteria, I'll met you guys at the parking lot and I'll drive you home," he faltered for a little while, studying Sakura's pale face, trying to determine whether she was all right before taking himself off.
"Don't worry, Sakura, Hufei and I will get you home as soon as possible," Junlai promised Sakura. Sakura nodded, because she knew that wherever Junlai and Hufei took her, it would be home, not her real home, but nonetheless, a place to stay. She was still at a strange place where she couldn't trust anyone.
"Oh God... Why is this happening?" Sakura bemoaned silently. "What did I do to deserve this?" Faintly, whether it was her own imagination or not, Sakura couldn't tell, but she heard a voice in her head saying, "One more chance…"
Year 2013
The wedding was never finished. What was supposed to be a happy occasion became a sad one when Sakura died of cardiac arrest. Her death was a shock to everyone, mostly because she was such a vital person, so full of life and energy. Even though she was born with a hole in her heart and couldn't do really serious exercise, she didn't let that slow her down. She swam, she jogged, and she even danced, nothing seemed to be able to get her down. She worked long hours at the hospital, tending her patients and she didn't get sick. All of a sudden, out of the blue, she just upped and died. It made no sense.
The day of her burial dawned gray and gloomy. It seemed as if the sun was refusing to come out because a bright and good part of life winked out when Sakura died and the sun was refusing to rise to protest the unfairness of it all. At least, that was what Syaoran felt. He never really thought about it, but now that Sakura was gone, he suddenly realized how important she was to him.
He never really noticed how she always seemed to be able to read his mind and make him laugh no matter how unhappy and angry he was. Sakura always knew what to say to him, always supportive and most importantly, always there for him. Whenever he needed her, she would be there for him, especially after the debacle with Eriol, she became an important milestone in his life. Why is it that people never realized what they have until it was gone?
Syaoran would have given an arm if he thought it would revive Sakura.
Sighing, he stood up from the chair he had been sitting in for the night. He stared down at the sleeping figure on the bed to reassure himself she was sleeping peacefully before he went out the room and into the study.
Tomoyo and he were in Sakura's penthouse because in the middle of the night, Tomoyo had arrived on his doorstep, eyes swollen, with more tears running down her face, and insisted that Syaoran went with her to Sakura's house. Tomoyo had wanted to be close to her cousin. So Syaoran was left with no choice but to come here with her. He hadn't been able to sleep anyway, all he could do ever since Sakura died, was stare into space and brood.
The study was dark because the skies were a turbulent gray with the sun sulking elsewhere and refusing to rise. Syaoran didn't bother to flip on the light because he knew his way well about this place. He often came here with Tomoyo or alone to talk to Sakura. Sakura had this calming effect on him and he felt relaxed around her, like he could be himself and there was no need to wear a mask constantly.
Syaoran moved around the room slowly, touching a paperweight, stroking the rosewood tabletop. When he sat before Sakura's table and in her chair, he could feel her essence and mild fragrance swirling about him. Syaoran closed his eyes and leaned back into the chair, feeling the bittersweet memories claim him.
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Author's Note: Yay, things are starting to make sense! Tell me what you think, everyone, and I appreaciated every single comment. Please keep reviewing, the more the better and the faster the next chapter will go up!