Sakura's Dream
Chapter 4 What's a Cherry Blossom Festival?!
"That's soooo romantic!" Popuri squealed. Her curly pink hair floated in the air momentarily before falling back to her shoulders as she jumped on her fluffy bed enthusiastically. Sakura's cheeks turned a light pink as she looked away, twisting a blond curl around her finger.
"You really think so?" she asked a bit too bashful then she would have liked to let on.
"Yeah, totally! I mean, he embraces you in his arms and comforts you as the setting sun frames your faces, then holds your hand as he leads you down the mountain to safety!" Popuri mused in a heroic tone.
"Well...it's not like I'm that special. I mean, Elli is nice, and she LIVES with him after all..." Sakura sighed in an uncharacteristically way. Her hyper friend shook her head frigidly.
"Uh-uh. He digs you, trust me. I don't think Tim has ever even held her hand before. It's really kind of sad. He's totally unaware of how much she likes him," Popuri sighed. "...But, that means that it'll be easier for you to steal him away from her!" she finished, winking mischievously.
"You really aren't portraying yourself in your best light," Sakura commented as Popuri cackled evilly. "Oh, speaking of bad behavior, how is Kai doing? Have you set the pervert straight?" she asked. Popuri stopped cackling and rolled her eyes.
"No. It's unfair that you get Mr. Strong-Heroic-Romantic while I'm stuck with Kai. I really do love him, but his snide comments and flirty nature are just too much for a girl to handle. He said he'd take me to the Cherry Blossom Festival. The problem is, he'll probably be making out with every other girl their, too," Popuri shrugged and sighed.
"The Cherry Blossom Festival? What's that?" Sakura asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Popuri's jaw dropped in amazement.
"You've never heard of the Cherry Blossom Festival? Doesn't every village have one?...Oh, duh! You're a city slicker. Even so, it's still kinda hard to miss the flyers being advertised everywhere around town," Popuri choked back laughter, hitting herself firmly in the chest.
"You still haven't answered my question," Sakura mumbled as she looked down at her feet, embarrassed.
"The Cherry Blossom Festival is a festival that takes place on the 22nd day of Spring. Two weeks before the 22nd day, villagers are given the chance to vote on their favorite girl in the village at the Harvest Square. But, there are restrictions. The girl has to be within the age range of 15- 17, and none of the girls who are in that age range may vote," explained Popuri, "So...you, Karen, Mary, Ann, Elli, Shellie and I are the candidates."
"Candidates for what?" asked Sakura.
"Boy, you really live under a rock, don't you? They're the candidates to be the next Goddess! Well, not the Goddess herself, but the girl who received the most votes from all of the voters gets to dress up in the Goddess Costume at the Festival. Guys usually ask their girlfriends out to it, and it gives a guy pride if his girlfriend is the Goddess that year," Popuri finished explaining, panting for air after the long speech.
"Wow...that sounds fun. Say, Popuri, have you ever been the Goddess?" asked Sakura, feeling like a first grade student. Popuri's face scrunched up in self-resentment.
"No, I haven't..." she confessed. "But, not being chosen isn't that bad either. You still get to dress up in a pretty costume and give flowers to passersby," she shrugged.
"That does sound fun!" smiled Sakura, her eyes shining. "I wonder who Tim will vote for?" she asked, expecting no answer from her best friend.
"Tim never votes. He doesn't seem to care," said Popuri's older brother Rick carelessly. He strolled in and snatched a green notebook of Popuri's desk. "I need to borrow your math notes," he winked. Popuri's brow arched to dangerous levels as her face turned crimson.
"How dare you just come strollin' in here and steal my homework, jerk!" she shouted angrily.
"That's what you get for leaving the door open, stupid!" Rick retorted as he walked out, pointing to the wide open door that stood there dumbly. A vein in Popuri's forehead pulsed as her fist shook.
"Grrr...he makes me so mad sometimes...! Oh...sorry, I wasn't going to tell you 'cause I knew it'd disappoint you, but nobody has ever seen Tim vote..." Popuri's expression changed from rage to apathetically sympathetic.
"Oh...OK. That's fine, I don't care," Sakura lied and smiled, trying to mask her disappointment but failing miserably.
Sakura sighed as she left Popuri's house and left their cozy, chicken- filled yard. "Tim never votes, huh? I wonder who will win? Probably Karen...she's quite pretty," Sakura sighed, her blond hair swaying gracefully in the wind. As she continued to think, instead of walking back to the Twin Lilies she somehow managed to stroll close to the Harvest Square. "Wait...why am I in Harvest Square? Did I walk off like a zombie here or something?" she thought, a sweat drop trickling down her cheek in embarrassment. "Oh...I bet the voting box is still here. After all, it is only the 19th day of Spring," she remembered, walking over to a small fold out table in the corner of the square. The table had a white cloth draped over it to conceal it's cheapness. On it was a small wooden box that had a tiny slit in it for ballots to enter through. Next to the box was a sheet of parchment that read the following: "This is the official voting box for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Vote for the girl of your choice by writing her name on one of the ballots provided. The candidates for Goddess are MARY, POPURI, ANN, ELLI, KAREN, SHELLIE, and SAKURA. If you are a candidate for Goddess, please do not vote." Sakura examined the paper for a minute before putting it down.
"Hey, are you voting, Miss Sakura? Please don't cheat, you have both of our votes!" said a cute little voice from behind. Sakura turned around and found eight year olds Stu and May standing in front of her.
"Yeah, Stu's right!" May agreed, green mucus dribbling down her adorable doll-like nose. Sakura smiled at the two little heads and shook hers "no." The innocent interrogators released a sigh.
"Don't worry, I'm not voting. I've never been to the Festival before though, so I was just interested in seeing the voting system," Sakura assured.
"Oh, okie-dokey!" said the plump little heads in unison before scurrying off. Sakura smiled at the fading little forms and started to leave. As she crossed the square she bumped into someone, sending here to the soft cobblestone ground.
"Ouch!" she whimpered, rubbing her butt.
"Ack! I'm sorry!" apologized a familiar voice. A large hand with a white rim came into view. The rim seemed to be part of a coat. Sakura's gaze went up the hand, to the arm, and then to the face. It was unmistakably Tim's face, and he hand a worried, exhausted look on his face. Both of their faces automatically turned crimson when there gazes connected.
"O-oh! Tim! No, no, I wasn't looking!..." Sakura stammered, taking his outstretched hand as he helped lift her up.
"No, of course not. It was all my fault..." Tim worried, humiliated of how he plowed her to the ground carelessly.
"It's all right, I'm fine..." Sakura smiled, loving the feeling of Tim's gentle, warm hand. As the two talked awkwardly about who was more at fault, a hidden figure watched them from the bushes. The figure wore a nurse's dress and had a cute bulbous haircut. The figure, obviously female, gritted her teeth as her eyes shined. She got up from her post behind a cherry blossom tree and quietly walked away, suffering the day's defeat.
"So, Sakura..." Tim stammered, trying to think of something to say, though he was to shy to do anything but stand there. Sakura smiled up at him, remembering the yesterday when he held her at the mountain peak.
"When can I take you up on your herb-picking offer?" she asked.
"Oh, that's right. Um...how does tomorrow sound? People are getting ready for the Festival, so we shouldn't have any problems pillaging the local herb spots without running into other herb-pickers," he decided. Sakura squinted, a sharp pain stabbing her as she remembered the Festival. Tim looked at her surprised and worried, angry at himself. His face displayed a "Oh crap! I already screwed up! I hurt her feelings, I hurt her feelings!" sort of look. Sakura laughed at his antics and changed the subject.
"Why are you in the Square? Are you meeting someone?" she asked curiously. Tim sighed gratefully and shook his head.
"Er, no. I, um...uh...was just taking a walk..." Tim stammered, searching for a plausible excuse for the suspicious behavior but falling short. Sakura grinned, having an idea of what he was doing.
"Oh, okay then. You enjoy that walk now," she pointed to him and winked, obviously not beleving it as she walked off, making funny giggling sounds. When she presumed to be out of sight, she quickly jumped behind a trash can. Peering over the side, she saw Tim hunched over the table, writing a vote on a ballot. He hastily put it in the wooden box and walked away quickly. The pretty trashcan dweller squealed with happiness, rocking back and forth ecstatically.
"Uh...Sakura? Is that you?" said a girl's voice. Sakura froze, and turned around to find Ann towering above her.
"Eek! Oh, crap!" Sakura thought. She hastily got up, brushing off dirt specks from her dress. "Um...uh...I was..." she stammered, feeling a lot like Tim a few minutes ago.
"Were you checking out the Doctor? That's so cute!" she grinned, laughing.
"N-n-no! Of course not! Why would I do that? That's so funny! Ha ha ha ha hee hee hee heh..." she placed her hand over her mouth, forcing out lame laughs. Ann stood with her hands on her hips, her grin as mischievous as ever. Sakura's delicate face turned red as she stopped laughed. "O-Okay! I have to go! Nice seeing you, Ann!" she waved goodbye before running off, her gold hair and dress swooshing back and forth.
"The Doctor almost never speaks. From what I heard, his wife died, and he hasn't been able to recover from her death...But if anyone can change him, Sakura can..." Ann talked aloud to herself as she watched Sakura's distant form as it disappeared. "Ack! Why am I talking to myself?! I'm so weird!" Ann's eyes bugged out as she scurried off to the Inn.
Chapter 4 What's a Cherry Blossom Festival?!
"That's soooo romantic!" Popuri squealed. Her curly pink hair floated in the air momentarily before falling back to her shoulders as she jumped on her fluffy bed enthusiastically. Sakura's cheeks turned a light pink as she looked away, twisting a blond curl around her finger.
"You really think so?" she asked a bit too bashful then she would have liked to let on.
"Yeah, totally! I mean, he embraces you in his arms and comforts you as the setting sun frames your faces, then holds your hand as he leads you down the mountain to safety!" Popuri mused in a heroic tone.
"Well...it's not like I'm that special. I mean, Elli is nice, and she LIVES with him after all..." Sakura sighed in an uncharacteristically way. Her hyper friend shook her head frigidly.
"Uh-uh. He digs you, trust me. I don't think Tim has ever even held her hand before. It's really kind of sad. He's totally unaware of how much she likes him," Popuri sighed. "...But, that means that it'll be easier for you to steal him away from her!" she finished, winking mischievously.
"You really aren't portraying yourself in your best light," Sakura commented as Popuri cackled evilly. "Oh, speaking of bad behavior, how is Kai doing? Have you set the pervert straight?" she asked. Popuri stopped cackling and rolled her eyes.
"No. It's unfair that you get Mr. Strong-Heroic-Romantic while I'm stuck with Kai. I really do love him, but his snide comments and flirty nature are just too much for a girl to handle. He said he'd take me to the Cherry Blossom Festival. The problem is, he'll probably be making out with every other girl their, too," Popuri shrugged and sighed.
"The Cherry Blossom Festival? What's that?" Sakura asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Popuri's jaw dropped in amazement.
"You've never heard of the Cherry Blossom Festival? Doesn't every village have one?...Oh, duh! You're a city slicker. Even so, it's still kinda hard to miss the flyers being advertised everywhere around town," Popuri choked back laughter, hitting herself firmly in the chest.
"You still haven't answered my question," Sakura mumbled as she looked down at her feet, embarrassed.
"The Cherry Blossom Festival is a festival that takes place on the 22nd day of Spring. Two weeks before the 22nd day, villagers are given the chance to vote on their favorite girl in the village at the Harvest Square. But, there are restrictions. The girl has to be within the age range of 15- 17, and none of the girls who are in that age range may vote," explained Popuri, "So...you, Karen, Mary, Ann, Elli, Shellie and I are the candidates."
"Candidates for what?" asked Sakura.
"Boy, you really live under a rock, don't you? They're the candidates to be the next Goddess! Well, not the Goddess herself, but the girl who received the most votes from all of the voters gets to dress up in the Goddess Costume at the Festival. Guys usually ask their girlfriends out to it, and it gives a guy pride if his girlfriend is the Goddess that year," Popuri finished explaining, panting for air after the long speech.
"Wow...that sounds fun. Say, Popuri, have you ever been the Goddess?" asked Sakura, feeling like a first grade student. Popuri's face scrunched up in self-resentment.
"No, I haven't..." she confessed. "But, not being chosen isn't that bad either. You still get to dress up in a pretty costume and give flowers to passersby," she shrugged.
"That does sound fun!" smiled Sakura, her eyes shining. "I wonder who Tim will vote for?" she asked, expecting no answer from her best friend.
"Tim never votes. He doesn't seem to care," said Popuri's older brother Rick carelessly. He strolled in and snatched a green notebook of Popuri's desk. "I need to borrow your math notes," he winked. Popuri's brow arched to dangerous levels as her face turned crimson.
"How dare you just come strollin' in here and steal my homework, jerk!" she shouted angrily.
"That's what you get for leaving the door open, stupid!" Rick retorted as he walked out, pointing to the wide open door that stood there dumbly. A vein in Popuri's forehead pulsed as her fist shook.
"Grrr...he makes me so mad sometimes...! Oh...sorry, I wasn't going to tell you 'cause I knew it'd disappoint you, but nobody has ever seen Tim vote..." Popuri's expression changed from rage to apathetically sympathetic.
"Oh...OK. That's fine, I don't care," Sakura lied and smiled, trying to mask her disappointment but failing miserably.
Sakura sighed as she left Popuri's house and left their cozy, chicken- filled yard. "Tim never votes, huh? I wonder who will win? Probably Karen...she's quite pretty," Sakura sighed, her blond hair swaying gracefully in the wind. As she continued to think, instead of walking back to the Twin Lilies she somehow managed to stroll close to the Harvest Square. "Wait...why am I in Harvest Square? Did I walk off like a zombie here or something?" she thought, a sweat drop trickling down her cheek in embarrassment. "Oh...I bet the voting box is still here. After all, it is only the 19th day of Spring," she remembered, walking over to a small fold out table in the corner of the square. The table had a white cloth draped over it to conceal it's cheapness. On it was a small wooden box that had a tiny slit in it for ballots to enter through. Next to the box was a sheet of parchment that read the following: "This is the official voting box for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Vote for the girl of your choice by writing her name on one of the ballots provided. The candidates for Goddess are MARY, POPURI, ANN, ELLI, KAREN, SHELLIE, and SAKURA. If you are a candidate for Goddess, please do not vote." Sakura examined the paper for a minute before putting it down.
"Hey, are you voting, Miss Sakura? Please don't cheat, you have both of our votes!" said a cute little voice from behind. Sakura turned around and found eight year olds Stu and May standing in front of her.
"Yeah, Stu's right!" May agreed, green mucus dribbling down her adorable doll-like nose. Sakura smiled at the two little heads and shook hers "no." The innocent interrogators released a sigh.
"Don't worry, I'm not voting. I've never been to the Festival before though, so I was just interested in seeing the voting system," Sakura assured.
"Oh, okie-dokey!" said the plump little heads in unison before scurrying off. Sakura smiled at the fading little forms and started to leave. As she crossed the square she bumped into someone, sending here to the soft cobblestone ground.
"Ouch!" she whimpered, rubbing her butt.
"Ack! I'm sorry!" apologized a familiar voice. A large hand with a white rim came into view. The rim seemed to be part of a coat. Sakura's gaze went up the hand, to the arm, and then to the face. It was unmistakably Tim's face, and he hand a worried, exhausted look on his face. Both of their faces automatically turned crimson when there gazes connected.
"O-oh! Tim! No, no, I wasn't looking!..." Sakura stammered, taking his outstretched hand as he helped lift her up.
"No, of course not. It was all my fault..." Tim worried, humiliated of how he plowed her to the ground carelessly.
"It's all right, I'm fine..." Sakura smiled, loving the feeling of Tim's gentle, warm hand. As the two talked awkwardly about who was more at fault, a hidden figure watched them from the bushes. The figure wore a nurse's dress and had a cute bulbous haircut. The figure, obviously female, gritted her teeth as her eyes shined. She got up from her post behind a cherry blossom tree and quietly walked away, suffering the day's defeat.
"So, Sakura..." Tim stammered, trying to think of something to say, though he was to shy to do anything but stand there. Sakura smiled up at him, remembering the yesterday when he held her at the mountain peak.
"When can I take you up on your herb-picking offer?" she asked.
"Oh, that's right. Um...how does tomorrow sound? People are getting ready for the Festival, so we shouldn't have any problems pillaging the local herb spots without running into other herb-pickers," he decided. Sakura squinted, a sharp pain stabbing her as she remembered the Festival. Tim looked at her surprised and worried, angry at himself. His face displayed a "Oh crap! I already screwed up! I hurt her feelings, I hurt her feelings!" sort of look. Sakura laughed at his antics and changed the subject.
"Why are you in the Square? Are you meeting someone?" she asked curiously. Tim sighed gratefully and shook his head.
"Er, no. I, um...uh...was just taking a walk..." Tim stammered, searching for a plausible excuse for the suspicious behavior but falling short. Sakura grinned, having an idea of what he was doing.
"Oh, okay then. You enjoy that walk now," she pointed to him and winked, obviously not beleving it as she walked off, making funny giggling sounds. When she presumed to be out of sight, she quickly jumped behind a trash can. Peering over the side, she saw Tim hunched over the table, writing a vote on a ballot. He hastily put it in the wooden box and walked away quickly. The pretty trashcan dweller squealed with happiness, rocking back and forth ecstatically.
"Uh...Sakura? Is that you?" said a girl's voice. Sakura froze, and turned around to find Ann towering above her.
"Eek! Oh, crap!" Sakura thought. She hastily got up, brushing off dirt specks from her dress. "Um...uh...I was..." she stammered, feeling a lot like Tim a few minutes ago.
"Were you checking out the Doctor? That's so cute!" she grinned, laughing.
"N-n-no! Of course not! Why would I do that? That's so funny! Ha ha ha ha hee hee hee heh..." she placed her hand over her mouth, forcing out lame laughs. Ann stood with her hands on her hips, her grin as mischievous as ever. Sakura's delicate face turned red as she stopped laughed. "O-Okay! I have to go! Nice seeing you, Ann!" she waved goodbye before running off, her gold hair and dress swooshing back and forth.
"The Doctor almost never speaks. From what I heard, his wife died, and he hasn't been able to recover from her death...But if anyone can change him, Sakura can..." Ann talked aloud to herself as she watched Sakura's distant form as it disappeared. "Ack! Why am I talking to myself?! I'm so weird!" Ann's eyes bugged out as she scurried off to the Inn.