Spring and Autumn

Author: AkxTp

Disclaimer: I don't own Card Captor Sakura but even if I did, I would still share this story with you.

A long, long time ago, there lived two siblings in the middle of the woods. They were often called the Children of the Woods, since they knew that part of the woods like the back of their hands. Their mother had passed away three years before, leaving them with only each other for comfort and their father, who was always out working, earning as much money as possible in order to keep his family alive and well.

Touya, at ten years old, was the older sibling. He had a mop of messy black hair and deep grayish blue eyes. His younger sister, Sakura, was five year old and, like all children, she was overly hyper and was often the one to bring sunlight to their house with her wonderful smile. Sakura had long, flowing honey-brown hair and sparkling emerald eyes.

Every morning Touya would wake Sakura up and make breakfast for the two of them. Sakura would then drag him, muttering about dirty dishes under his breath, out of the house to take a walk in the woods. Their daily walk always ended in the same place, their secret place, as Sakura like to call it.

As they got closer and closer to the secret place, Sakura would take off in a run, as the dense wood opened up into a beautiful meadow. Carpets of various flowers decorated the floor but the target of all of Sakura's energy was always the cherry blossom tree that laid in the heart of the meadow. The cherry blossom tree seemed to have a life of its own as its leaves sparkled with morning dew against the sunlight. The pink blossoms themselves gave off a warm glow as Sakura raced towards the tree, making the flowers seem like tiny fairies dancing/flying/floating around the tree. That was just one of the thousands of reasons why Sakura loved the tree so much, it was always there for her to admire and to offer silent comfort from.

Suddenly Sakura dropped to her knees and started gasping for air. This sudden action brought her brother to her side, shouting questions that she can no longer hear as her gasps turned into violent coughs. Her emerald eyes dulled as she slipped into a state of unconsciousness in her brother's arms. In a total state of panic, Touya gathered his little sister in his arms and ran back home. In his haste, he did not notice that the pink blossoms no longer give out a warm glow but a concerned pulse.

Sakura stayed in bed for the weeks that followed. Her father had rushed home with a doctor to check on her, taking a leave of absent at his work. The doctor said that he could do nothing for Sakura because the disease that she had was very, very rare. She was always whispering incomplete sentences about magic cards, a golden lion with wings, and a silver haired angel. The doctor explained that she was hallucinating but her father feared that Sakura was hanging between life and death.

Then, one morning Touya could not find Sakura in her bed. Both he and his father began a frantic search of the whole house, but no trace of Sakura could be found. Suddenly Touya took off into the woods with his father stumbling after him. The fresh cool breeze of autumn whipped his black hair into his eyes. Ignoring the sting in his eyes he continued to run to his destination, the reason of his sister's disappearance.

As he drew closer and closer to his goal he saw a scene that broke his heart. His dear baby sister was sitting at the base of the cherry blossom tree. Her pale dainty hands stroking the tree's bark and her emerald eyes once again shone with happiness as the pink blossoms fell all around her.

Slowly Touya walked over to his baby sister and sat down. He then carefully lifted her up and placed her on his lap, enjoying the warmth that seemed to be radiating off of Sakura. When their father arrived (he had gotten lost) he saw his son holding his only daughter tightly. Silently he walked up to his children and embraced both of them in an affectionate hug, just as Sakura slipped away.

As if sensing the departure of its dear friend, the cherry blossom tree started to drop its blossoms on the three human below, falling like feathers onto the dear friend who had always taken care of it, visited it, and loved it as if it were human.

From than on, the pink blossoms never bloomed all year round. They would bloom in the spring and fall during the autumn, the same time that their dear friend was born and had passed away. Her family moved into the cities and the meadow was left alone, just as it had been before the arrival of humans, but the memory of the little girl still lived on.

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Years later, in the middle of spring, Touya came back to the meadow, but he was not alone. He had started a family of his own. He had married a woman that looked almost exactly like as his baby sister, right down to the sunny smile. They also had a son, who was a copy of Touya, except for his light emerald eyes, which he had received from his mother. Touya always told them many stories of his baby sister and had finally taken them to her resting spot after their endless complaints of wanting to visit Sakura.

Bowing down low, Touya and his family said a prayer for his departed sister at the cherry blossom tree, and, to their surprise, the cherry blossoms swirled to show a flitting image of his baby sister Sakura, smiling at them, knowing that they would meet again.

§?¤ ¤?§¢ ¢§?¤ ¤?§¢ ¢§?¤ ¤?§¢ ¢§?¤ ¤?§¢ ¢§?¤ ¤?§¢ ¢§?¤ Centuries later, the same cherry blossom tree now stands in Penguin Park. However, it is no longer alone. New cherry blossom trees have been planted next to it, but even after all these years, the tree still missed the warmth of a certain little girl. It craved the honey-brown hair and lively emerald eyes deep within its barks, the memories fresh like yesterday. As the cherry blossom tree dwelled on the past, a girl with wings dropped out off the sky. The bewildered cherry blossom tree just stared at the fallen angel, for she looked just like Sakura.

FIN

A/N: Thanks "BOB" for proof reading my first fanfiction ever. YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!! -hugs-