Let Me Help You
Ch3 Secrets of Sakura Avalon
Syaoran looked at the clock and noticed it was 4:15 in the afternoon. He told Wei, his guardian, that he was leaving and wasn't sure when he was coming back. Syaoran walked for a couple more minutes till he arrived at her house. Tomoyo's house was a big, white Victorian and there is a big garden in front of it. Syaoran walked over to the gate and rang the bell. There was a surveillance camera in front of the gate. When the camera stopped on Syaoran the gates opened. Syaoran walked past the garden and got to the front of the door. Syaoran was about to open the door, but Tomoyo opened it before him.
"Hi, Syaoran. Come in." Tomoyo said with a serious face.
Syaoran walked in and looked around. 'This place is pretty big, but my house at Hong Kong is 10 times bigger.' Syaoran thought. Tomoyo took him to the living room that has a big screen TV, a big couch, a coffee table, and a lot of vases and paintings. "Take a seat." Tomoyo said. Syaoran did as he was told.
"About Sakura, why does she pretend to be so mean?" Syaoran asked.
"Look Syaoran." Tomoyo said.
She opened the big screen TV and Syaoran saw a little girl that looked like Sakura. Only that the little girl was smiling. Syaoran saw the little girl in the TV blowing bubbles with her parents.
"Is that Sakura?" Syaoran asked.
"Yes. See, she wasn't always so cold and distant." Tomoyo said.
Tomoyo then took out 8 yearbooks. "This is when she was 9 years old." Tomoyo said and took one of the yearbooks out. She was pointing at one of the pictures in there. Syaoran saw a little girl all smiling and happy.
"This is her when she's 10." She took out another yearbook and pointed at a picture of a girl with a smile on her face and a little Band- Aid on her forehead.
"Why is there a Band-Aid on her forehead?" Syaoran asked.
"Her father hit her there." Tomoyo replied.
"What?"
Tomoyo ignored his reaction and kept on going. "This is when she's 11." The other picture had Sakura still smiling, but with a Band-Aid on her chin and a little bruise on her cheek.
"Is that from her father, too?"
"Yes. Here's a picture of her when she's 12." Tomoyo pointed at another picture of Sakura, but this time she wasn't smiling. She has an unemotional expression on her face. And she had a Band-Aid on her right cheek and her lip was cut.
"This is Sakura when she's 13." Sakura had a little cut on top of her eyebrow and a little Band-Aid on her nose and a bruise on the bottom of her lip. She also had a little frown.
"This is Sakura when she's 14." Sakura didn't have any cuts or bruises, but she did have a death glare that could scare anyone away.
"What happened here?" Syaoran asked.
"Her body got used to getting cuts and bruises. Now she doesn't bruise that easily. The photographer tried to make her smile, but she wouldn't. He tried for at least 5 minutes till she gave him that death glare that made him stop." Tomoyo replied.
"Oh."
"This is her when she's 15." Sakura looked the same as when she was 14, but then Syaoran looked at her eyes. They were not of anger, but of loneliness. The pictures of Sakura when she was 16 and 17 were all the same.
"Tomoyo, I was wondering if I could keep the picture of Sakura when she's 15." Syaoran said.
"Sure." Tomoyo said.
"But why was Sakura like this?" Syaoran asked.
Tomoyo hesitated a little bit, then opened her mouth. "Her parents were always nice and loving, but after her mother died of an unknown disease when Sakura was 9 years old everything changed. Her father started to drink a lot and then he would go on and on about how he thinks Sakura killed her own mother. Her mother gave birth to her when she was really young, but that's not the reason why she died. I know it isn't. Sakura's father would hit her and kick her. When she was 10 to 13 years old she always had bruises and cuts like when you saw the pictures, because of her father. She told our teachers that she was really clumsy and always fell down. Now you can't see the bruises, because she got used to it. I told her to call the police, but she wouldn't let me. She thinks that one day her father would turn back to the way it used to be."
Syaoran was now speechless. He didn't know what to say. 'This is how her life is?" Syaoran asked himself.
"How does she know martial arts?" Syaoran asked.
"It was when we were only 5 years old that she started martial arts. We were watching a Chinese ancient custom movie with all these people doing martial arts. When Sakura saw the movie she wanted to learn martial arts and protect her parents. So her father gave her martial arts lessons. When she was 10 her father thought of canceling the lessons, but my mother convinced him not to. You see my mother and Sakura's mother are sisters, if it was someone else trying to convince him it wouldn't work. My mother doesn't know about how Sakura's father is always hitting her. Sakura doesn't want her to know."
"But that still doesn't explain why she's so mean to everyone."
"Sakura started acting this way when she was 12 years old. She was in the cheerleading team before, but then she quitted, because she thought she had to take care of her father more. Sakura acts this way because she wants everyone to hate her. If they hate her then no one would know about this. She also doesn't want to be friends with any of them. She's afraid that another person that she loves would treat her the way her father does. She's also afraid that maybe another person she loves would die like her mother.
"Why don't you help her?" Syaoran asked.
"Sakura wouldn't let me."
"That doesn't matter. You're her friend. You should have helped her. If you won't I will." Syaoran ran out the door with the yearbook and left. 'Her father can't do that to her. It's even against the law." Syaoran thought. Syaoran kept on running until he noticed that he didn't know where he was running. He stopped in front of a park and sat down on a bench. He opened the yearbook and say a page filled with the student's wishes. He looked for Sakura's name and saw it at the very bottom of the page. He say it say Daddy's love. Syaoran knew what he had to do. He had to go and talk to Sakura's dad. The only problem is that he doesn't know where she lives. So Syaoran took out his cell phone and called Wei.
"Wei it's me, Syaoran. I want you to find a girl's phone number. Her name is Tomoyo Daidouji." Syaoran said and waited for Wei to get the number.
"It's 536-4296, Master Li." Wei said.
"Thank you, Wei." Syaoran said and hung up. Syaoran knew the best way of finding Sakura's address is to ask Tomoyo. Syaoran then called Tomoyo.
"Hi Tomoyo, its Syaoran. Sorry for running off like that, but can you tell me what's Sakura's address?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just tell me."
At first Tomoyo hesitated, but she told him where it was. Tomoyo gave hi directions to Sakura's house and then hung up.
Syaoran took Tomoyo's directions and stood in front of a tall apartment building. He remembered that Tomoyo told him that Sakura's room number is 37. He walked over to room 37 and saw the door already opened. Syaoran looked inside and heard a guy yelling. He knocked on the door and came in. Syaoran walked into a small apartment and stood in front of a room, where he saw a man in his thirties hitting a girl with a belt. The girl was on the floor with her eyes closed, but he couldn't see any tears. Syaoran suddenly realized that the girl was Sakura. He couldn't stand having this guy, who must be her father, hitting Sakura. He went in the room and grabbed the belt out of the guy's hands. "Stop it." Syaoran said.
Sakura opened her eyes and saw Syaoran. "Who the hell are you?" the guy asked.
"I'm Syaoran Li."
Syaoran looked at the clock and noticed it was 4:15 in the afternoon. He told Wei, his guardian, that he was leaving and wasn't sure when he was coming back. Syaoran walked for a couple more minutes till he arrived at her house. Tomoyo's house was a big, white Victorian and there is a big garden in front of it. Syaoran walked over to the gate and rang the bell. There was a surveillance camera in front of the gate. When the camera stopped on Syaoran the gates opened. Syaoran walked past the garden and got to the front of the door. Syaoran was about to open the door, but Tomoyo opened it before him.
"Hi, Syaoran. Come in." Tomoyo said with a serious face.
Syaoran walked in and looked around. 'This place is pretty big, but my house at Hong Kong is 10 times bigger.' Syaoran thought. Tomoyo took him to the living room that has a big screen TV, a big couch, a coffee table, and a lot of vases and paintings. "Take a seat." Tomoyo said. Syaoran did as he was told.
"About Sakura, why does she pretend to be so mean?" Syaoran asked.
"Look Syaoran." Tomoyo said.
She opened the big screen TV and Syaoran saw a little girl that looked like Sakura. Only that the little girl was smiling. Syaoran saw the little girl in the TV blowing bubbles with her parents.
"Is that Sakura?" Syaoran asked.
"Yes. See, she wasn't always so cold and distant." Tomoyo said.
Tomoyo then took out 8 yearbooks. "This is when she was 9 years old." Tomoyo said and took one of the yearbooks out. She was pointing at one of the pictures in there. Syaoran saw a little girl all smiling and happy.
"This is her when she's 10." She took out another yearbook and pointed at a picture of a girl with a smile on her face and a little Band- Aid on her forehead.
"Why is there a Band-Aid on her forehead?" Syaoran asked.
"Her father hit her there." Tomoyo replied.
"What?"
Tomoyo ignored his reaction and kept on going. "This is when she's 11." The other picture had Sakura still smiling, but with a Band-Aid on her chin and a little bruise on her cheek.
"Is that from her father, too?"
"Yes. Here's a picture of her when she's 12." Tomoyo pointed at another picture of Sakura, but this time she wasn't smiling. She has an unemotional expression on her face. And she had a Band-Aid on her right cheek and her lip was cut.
"This is Sakura when she's 13." Sakura had a little cut on top of her eyebrow and a little Band-Aid on her nose and a bruise on the bottom of her lip. She also had a little frown.
"This is Sakura when she's 14." Sakura didn't have any cuts or bruises, but she did have a death glare that could scare anyone away.
"What happened here?" Syaoran asked.
"Her body got used to getting cuts and bruises. Now she doesn't bruise that easily. The photographer tried to make her smile, but she wouldn't. He tried for at least 5 minutes till she gave him that death glare that made him stop." Tomoyo replied.
"Oh."
"This is her when she's 15." Sakura looked the same as when she was 14, but then Syaoran looked at her eyes. They were not of anger, but of loneliness. The pictures of Sakura when she was 16 and 17 were all the same.
"Tomoyo, I was wondering if I could keep the picture of Sakura when she's 15." Syaoran said.
"Sure." Tomoyo said.
"But why was Sakura like this?" Syaoran asked.
Tomoyo hesitated a little bit, then opened her mouth. "Her parents were always nice and loving, but after her mother died of an unknown disease when Sakura was 9 years old everything changed. Her father started to drink a lot and then he would go on and on about how he thinks Sakura killed her own mother. Her mother gave birth to her when she was really young, but that's not the reason why she died. I know it isn't. Sakura's father would hit her and kick her. When she was 10 to 13 years old she always had bruises and cuts like when you saw the pictures, because of her father. She told our teachers that she was really clumsy and always fell down. Now you can't see the bruises, because she got used to it. I told her to call the police, but she wouldn't let me. She thinks that one day her father would turn back to the way it used to be."
Syaoran was now speechless. He didn't know what to say. 'This is how her life is?" Syaoran asked himself.
"How does she know martial arts?" Syaoran asked.
"It was when we were only 5 years old that she started martial arts. We were watching a Chinese ancient custom movie with all these people doing martial arts. When Sakura saw the movie she wanted to learn martial arts and protect her parents. So her father gave her martial arts lessons. When she was 10 her father thought of canceling the lessons, but my mother convinced him not to. You see my mother and Sakura's mother are sisters, if it was someone else trying to convince him it wouldn't work. My mother doesn't know about how Sakura's father is always hitting her. Sakura doesn't want her to know."
"But that still doesn't explain why she's so mean to everyone."
"Sakura started acting this way when she was 12 years old. She was in the cheerleading team before, but then she quitted, because she thought she had to take care of her father more. Sakura acts this way because she wants everyone to hate her. If they hate her then no one would know about this. She also doesn't want to be friends with any of them. She's afraid that another person that she loves would treat her the way her father does. She's also afraid that maybe another person she loves would die like her mother.
"Why don't you help her?" Syaoran asked.
"Sakura wouldn't let me."
"That doesn't matter. You're her friend. You should have helped her. If you won't I will." Syaoran ran out the door with the yearbook and left. 'Her father can't do that to her. It's even against the law." Syaoran thought. Syaoran kept on running until he noticed that he didn't know where he was running. He stopped in front of a park and sat down on a bench. He opened the yearbook and say a page filled with the student's wishes. He looked for Sakura's name and saw it at the very bottom of the page. He say it say Daddy's love. Syaoran knew what he had to do. He had to go and talk to Sakura's dad. The only problem is that he doesn't know where she lives. So Syaoran took out his cell phone and called Wei.
"Wei it's me, Syaoran. I want you to find a girl's phone number. Her name is Tomoyo Daidouji." Syaoran said and waited for Wei to get the number.
"It's 536-4296, Master Li." Wei said.
"Thank you, Wei." Syaoran said and hung up. Syaoran knew the best way of finding Sakura's address is to ask Tomoyo. Syaoran then called Tomoyo.
"Hi Tomoyo, its Syaoran. Sorry for running off like that, but can you tell me what's Sakura's address?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just tell me."
At first Tomoyo hesitated, but she told him where it was. Tomoyo gave hi directions to Sakura's house and then hung up.
Syaoran took Tomoyo's directions and stood in front of a tall apartment building. He remembered that Tomoyo told him that Sakura's room number is 37. He walked over to room 37 and saw the door already opened. Syaoran looked inside and heard a guy yelling. He knocked on the door and came in. Syaoran walked into a small apartment and stood in front of a room, where he saw a man in his thirties hitting a girl with a belt. The girl was on the floor with her eyes closed, but he couldn't see any tears. Syaoran suddenly realized that the girl was Sakura. He couldn't stand having this guy, who must be her father, hitting Sakura. He went in the room and grabbed the belt out of the guy's hands. "Stop it." Syaoran said.
Sakura opened her eyes and saw Syaoran. "Who the hell are you?" the guy asked.
"I'm Syaoran Li."