Shirin no Kami

Chapter 8: The Mother Tree

            The silence filled the air of the normally harmonic 'Spirit Forest'. A forest where birds and animals are busily scurrying about, it was now a quiet funeral for the recently departed soul of one honorable man who risked his life for a stranger of the west. Syaoran nobly got down on one knee and placed two beautiful flowers on an ugly rock, makeshift of a grave for an honorable man, Eriol. "Eriol," Syaoran lightly whispered, "I won't ever forget what you have done for me, and I promise I will deliver that gift to your daughter, I will make sure of that."

            "Humans are so strange," Yue said as he lightly dropped out of thin air, Kero and Sakura followed him close behind, "You are all the same, praying for people who do unrighteous things." "He was not unrighteous!" Syaoran snapped, "He was honorable, a family man, someone who was fighting for a just cause." "Hmm…" Yue humorously chuckled, "How can it be just to follow orders of a corrupt man?" Yue slowly walked away, Syaoran giving him a mean face as he slowly walked away.

            Syaoran then turned back to Eriol's makeshift gravesite and clasped his hands together, praying for his deceased comrade. Sakura took two steps forwards, about to tap Syaoran on the shoulder. Instead, she only lightly called out to him, "Syaoran?" Syaoran lightly turned his face to Sakura, "How can you feel sad for someone you never really knew?" Syaoran gave Sakura one of his most sympathetic faces he could. "I envy you," Syaoran said lightly getting back up and passing Sakura, "You never had an innocent person die before your very eyes."

            Sakura thought about Syaoran's statement. She turned around, seeing Syaoran stare at her emerald green eyes, "I don't understand Syaoran," she choked, "Why can I not feel what you feel?" Sakura herself began to tear up, "Does that mean I'm not even human?" Syaoran didn't know how to comfort Sakura; he was hurt seeing that he hurt her by making her wonder about her origin. In panic, Syaoran lightly embraced Sakura, feeling the warmth of her body gradually. Sakura widened her eyes, unsure of the feelings she was now experiencing.

            She was caressing the body of someone other than herself, someone who felt just as much pain and torment as she had ever since she was a child living in 'Spirit Forest'. Sakura slowly pushed Syaoran away, looking at his amber eyes. "Syaoran, I want to take you somewhere," Sakura offered, "I want to take you somewhere but you must promise to me that you'll never go there." Kero approached the two and warned Syaoran, "The place where we are going to take you. It's a place where nobody knows about. If anybody but the spirits of this forest know about this area, our lives will be in jeopardy. Only if you promise to never reveal our secret will you be allowed to proceed further." Syaoran took a good look at Kero giving him a growl. Then he turned his face staring at Sakura's eyes. "Alright!" Syaoran replied, "I'll do it, take me there."

            Sakura lightly hopped on Kero's back and offered her hand to Syaoran, "Ready to go, Syaoran?" Syaoran openly accepted her hand and grabbed it, jumping on top of Kero's furry back. "Alright," Sakura happily smiled, "Kero-chan, take us to mother!" Kero obediently nodded and stood up straight on all fours. "Okay, all passengers," Kero roared like a automated message, "You are now boarding Kero express, courtesy of me, Kero-chan. Grab onto the fur hold onto your hats because we might experience a bit of turbulence. We thank you for choosing Kero Express now here we GO!"

            In a mere matter of seconds, Kero shot up into the sky, higher than anything else. Higher than the trees, higher than the clouds, higher than even the very blue sky, Kero then sprinted forth in an amazing speed that even birds could not fly to. Sakura took her arms and flapped them out, feeling the wind caressing her body all over. She sniffed in the fresh air, letting her senses sooth and mellow into a state of blissful ignorance. Syaoran felt the wind lightly massaging his face, yet, he didn't enjoy it as much as Sakura did. "I don't understand," he told her, "Why are you so happy?" Sakura her eyes looking at Syaoran with a goofy face, "You're joking right?" Sakura turned herself around so she sat backwards staring at Syaoran square in the eyes. "Well," Syaoran replied, "I honestly don't see what's so fun about all this air, all this height. I mean, doesn't it scare you?"

            Sakura slapped her head, after hearing the most insulting comment she has ever heard in her life. "Syaoran, you're such a stiff. You should learn to live a little," she stated as she instantly put her hands on Syaoran's arms and squeezed him, "LIKE THIS!" Sakura threw herself and Syaoran off of Kero's back, freefalling through the sky like leaves caught in an updraft. Syaoran screamed for dear life as he fell faster and faster towards the ground. Just as he began to close his eyes at the horrific nightmare, Syaoran felt a soft hand grab him, a soft reassuring hand which made him lightly open his eyes. Magically, Syaoran was floating in the air, feeling the flowing air through his chestnut brown hair. "Hey," Syaoran marveled as he looked down at the miniature lush green forest beneath him, "This isn't so bad." He looked at Sakura, giving him a reassuring smile, "I told you so!"

            Sakura and Syaoran held on tighter, trying to balance themselves floating in the air by spreading out their free arms. Sakura and Syaoran took a deep breath in unison, immediately relieving their tension and freeing their minds like nothing ever did before. Feeling so happy and relieved, Sakura shouted out in one ear piercing scream of joy, "WOOHOO!" At that sound, Kero's keen ears picked up her joyful scream, he swooped down below Sakura and Syaoran and plopped them onto his back again. Sakura and Syaoran stared at each other for a while, their hair ruffled and nappy due to the wind. Sakura saw Syaoran with a dumbfounded look on his face and she began to giggle gradually turning into chuckles, finally ending in laughs which she clutched her splitting sides.

Sakura had never felt so happy in her life showing Syaoran how to enjoy the comfort of the air. Eventually, Syaoran's dumbfounded and confused look turned into a slight smirk. Sakura blushed at the sight of him finally giving out his first smile, "See," she said, "Now wasn't that fun?" Syaoran gave Sakura a big smile, "Yeah!" "Sakura," Kero called out, "We've arrived." Sakura turned around and grabbed onto Kero's fur coat. "Alright," she pointed towards a lush green open area, "Land there!" Kero lightly swooped down, landing perfectly on all fours on the soft grass. Kero dipped his head low, letting Sakura and Syaoran off of his back. "Sakura, I'll be back," he stated, "I have to go and bring the sun down."

Sakura nodded, "Okay, see you later Kero-chan!" Kero lightly flew away from the clear opening and into the sky. "Let's go Syaoran!" Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand and pulled him into a dark forest area. Syaoran looked around, seeing the trees cover the sunlight, making the ground nothing but a desolate area covered with vines. "This place gives me the creeps," Syaoran said as his spine tingled, "Why is this part of 'Spirit Forest' so dark?" Sakura pulled him in closer as it got darker, "So people can't invade the true beauty inside." Sakura took Syaoran deeper and deeper into the forest, changing the atmosphere darker and darker. Syaoran slowly looked around, seeing nothing but total blackness. In an instant, that entire blackness was illuminated by a single flickering light at the end of the darkness. Sakura pulled on Syaoran's hand, running faster and faster into the light, finally reaching it in a matter of seconds.

"Amazing!!!" was the only word that came out of Syaoran's mouth as he gaped his eyes open at the room before him. A huge area, protected by tall trees everywhere, blocked out most of the sunlight. However, light glowing fireflies lit up the room and the small ponds seen everywhere around the trees. Syaoran cautiously took a step, trying not to step on any of the beautiful environment. Suddenly, he heard a splash. "Come on Syaoran," Sakura shouted waving her arm as she was knee high in the water, "Follow me!" Syaoran slowly pulled up his pants so they wouldn't get wet, however, Sakura impatiently just grabbed him and treaded him along the water. "JUST COME ON!" she scolded making him went the pants up to his knees. Syaoran felt kind of embarrassed, but he blushed as Sakura just silently pulled him along. "We're here!"

Syaoran was brought into a secluded area even more beautiful than before. The huge tree in the center of the room caught Syaoran's eye. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, "This tree must be a hundred years old…" "Actually, 2,000 years old, young stranger," an old maternal voice echoed in the room. Syaoran, alarmed at the loud voice looked around the room to see where the voice was resonating from. "How are you today mother?" Sakura cheerfully asked with her hands behind her back, "Mother, this is Syaoran!" Syaoran looked around to see who Sakura was talking to. Slowly, but surely, a light green spirit came out of the tree, lighting the whole room with a light green glow. "I see!" she said, with her wise eyebrows rising, "This is the handsome boy you have brought to 'Spirit Forest'?"

"Mother!" Sakura embarrassedly snapped. The spirit slowly floated up to Syaoran, she slowly examined him with her partially closed eyes. Syaoran saw her gentle figure, a small spirit about half the size of him, with an old motherly face and a short fat body. She had her hands put behind the back of her vine-like robe. "Welcome Syaoran," she said with a motherly tone, "Welcome to 'Spirit Forest'." Syaoran bowed down to her humbly, "It is an honor to stay at such a place filled with beauty and life, oh wise tree spirit." The tree spirit gave Syaoran a sour face, "Tree spirit?" she asked with humor, "First off, have a seat." The moss on the logs behind Syaoran began to glow, giving a welcoming feeling to them. Syaoran sat on the tree log, Sakura sat right next to him, brushing up a bit against him causing him to blush. "Good, I hate it when people bow down to me. It's so…formal." the tree spirit said, satisfied, "And another thing, 'wise tree spirit' sounds formal too."

"Then what should I call you, oh wise tree spirit?" Syaoran asked politely. The tree spirit chuckled a bit, "Oh you can call me mother if you feel like it. But if you want to be formal then you can call me…" the spirit paused for a while, having Syaoran at the edge of his seat, "Mue!" Syaoran gave her a perplexed expression, "Mue?" he asked, "As in 'tree'?" Mue nodded her head, "Mue will do quite nicely for me." Syaoran accepted her name and repeated it to himself just to make sure he got it right, "Mue…" he said, "Your forest is simply magnificent. I've never seen a place with so much beauty isolated from the world." Mue gave a smile, "Why thank you Syaoran!" she replied, "But did you really come here just to examine the forests?"

Syaoran hung his head down in disappointment, "No," he said coldly as he felt he was using the forest for selfish reasons, "I am confused about something. But I feel it is not right to selfishly ask you about origins." Mue looked at him sadly, "What confuses you child?" "Everything!" Syaoran snapped, "I don't know where home is, I don't know who my family is, much less, I don't know who I am." Mue slowly approached Syaoran, seeing her offer him her guiding hand, "Touch my hand Syaoran," she offered, "But first, tell me what you remember to so I can read your deepest soul from that point."

Syaoran recollected his thoughts, "I only remember up to when I was taken in by the residents of Daito Island. Before that point, it is all a blur." Mue had two vines come out of her robe, "Then take my hand child," she said, "Only then will you find the truth." Syaoran, feeling he had nothing to lose, touched the spirit's hand. Instantly, Mue emanated a white globe above her head, showing the whitest light from Syaoran's recessed mind. As Mue began to dig further into his thoughts, she began narrating as images magically manifested themselves to the room, making Sakura and Syaoran feel every experience.

"This is your home Syaoran. The place where you were born, Mount Kunlun!" It was like a huge mural painted endlessly around them, a huge mountain range floating above the clouds. From the air, huge patches of green are seen, and crystal waterfalls twinkle even in the farthest distances. Sakura and Syaoran saw this image of one of the most grandiose areas and marveled at the beautiful harmony. "The mountain itself is in a land far to the west beyond the humans of the land. This forest has managed to do the impossible, humans and spirits coexist peacefully." Sakura and Syaoran then were immediately surrounded by animals and plants growing around them at command, giving the lush tingling sensation to their heads as the plants grew on their arms.

"But mother, why do we not see the spirits?" Sakura asked. "Because," she replied, "Unlike the humans here, they don't need to see them. They feel them with the heart, treating everything, even the simplest rock, like it had a spirit of its own too shy to show itself." Syaoran began to lightly feel strings tug at his heart, making him in total heaven. "The people who live here happen to have that same ambition as the spirits: to become immortals to help both spirit and natural worlds from the disaster of mankind." Syaoran and Sakura then saw a burning forest, the smell of animal flesh collected in their noses. They covered their noses from the horrible smell. "Then again, immortals always protected disasters at all costs. And this is what you have dreamt of always becoming, Syaoran." Syaoran and Sakura looked up into the sky, seeing an immortal wearing red robe and fan, using his fan to blow away the flames which ate at the forest's green colors.

Syaoran marveled at the immortal flying through the sky. He saw his free flowing attitude, his determined face, his strong posture; it made him so happy to see one in action. "Wow!" he gasped, "And how do I become an immortal?" "With training and discipline," Mue replied, "Your tribe in particular made the best immortals. You were trained in the immortal ways there." Syaoran began to worry, "If that's the case, why am I here?" Mue sadly looked away, "I'm afraid you can't return home." Syaoran defiantly shot up, "WHY NOT!?" he yelled as he heard his echo, "I deserve to be an immortal just like anyone else in the tribe." "You committed a sin Syaoran!" Mue snapped in an omnipotent voice, echoing even louder than Syaoran's, "The sin you committed was 'anger'. You killed your brother out of anger for losing a sparring duel, and for that, you were branded with a mark that shows your sin."

Syaoran couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it. Finally, he took off his shirt; Sakura of course, blushed a bit, and stared at his left pectoral, seeing the mark which signified Mue's story. Syaoran finally, surrendered to the story which he believed untrue. "I could've been an immortal?" Syaoran said in disbelief, "I could've been an immortal!" Syaoran shouted as he banged his fists on the stone hard ground, "I want to go home!" he cried, "I want to go home…" Syaoran's tears streaked off his face and darkened two spots on the hard rock. Sakura kneeled down to Syaoran's eye-level, she stared straight into Syaoran's wet eyes and showed her most concerned face ever, ""You'll go home one day, I know you will!" Syaoran sniffed his tears a bit, rubbing his eyes against his arm. "How can I be cleansed?" he asked. Mue simply stated in one sentence that summed the cure to his affliction, "To prove your worth by overcoming you affliction, by living a life without sin ever again. Only then will you be cleansed."

Syaoran stood up with determination in his eyes, "They want a non-sinner?" Syaoran taunted, "I'll give them a non-sinner. I'll live my life in 'Spirit Forest', protecting its spirits and its beautiful nature, then I'll become an immortal in my own eyes." Mue and Sakura smiled seeing his never dying spirit. "Mue!" he called out, "Thank you!" Mue nodded as her response. "Sakura?" Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hands and held them close to his bare chest; Sakura blushed yet again, "I accept helping you with 'Spirit Forest'." Syaoran rekindled the dousing flame within his heart. His will to become immortal only pushed him further to become one through natural causes. If he shot his goals to become an immortal, but landed only in the status of hero, that would be good enough for him. Because to himself, being a hero was already qualified to be an immortal.