Ohayou minna-san ! I know some readers don't read author notes, but I need you to know some facts : this is the first fanfiction I attempt to write, I am not really an aspirant writer although I like expressing my thoughts and feelings by writing, so I write it to know if I can let people read my wordings, and if the answer to this question is negative, I will finish it and it will also be the last fanfiction I write. I want to see if my mediocre writing skills and nonsensical imagination can actually interest other people -, that's why I chose to remain anonymous - I want true opinions, not influenced by friendship or hate -, that's also why I chose a language I don't really speak and write fluently - I think so. I don't even have a spell-check program for the moment because of a problem stated in my bio if anyone cares, so I am sorry for possible misspellings and grammatical mistakes. Please review or e-mail me if you have any comments, questions, critics or advices to give me, I would be happy to know what you think of my writing.
At last, I will most probably use a lot of symbolism in my writing, mostly concerning plants, so I will give all the meanings used ( if there are any ) at the beginning of each chapter, even if I explain a lot of them in the story. I will mainly use the European meanings of the symbols, though I might add Asian ones if they fit with my plot.

Disclaimer : Card Captor Sakura belongs to Clamp, Kodansha. I don't have any right over the original creation.

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Prologue - Our world's lament

Doesn't anyone hear the world crying ? The world weeps for its children' distress... It doesn't understand, doesn't understand why human beings, gifted with language, don't use it to communicate, bind their hearts with their mind and hide their feelings behind masks. Humans need solace, friendship, love... But they don't reach out to them, refusing to admit what they consider as a weakness, afraid to get hurt by rejection, not comprehending that restraining their emotions hurts far more than non-acceptance from others, that their hearts are bleeding, held back too tight by the ties they have woven themselves ... They wait, wait for the others to take the first step, they want to be sure of the others' sincerity before bonding with them, denying that the others might be waiting too, also fearing to be mocked for their need of reassurance... Some act friendly on purpose, because they know it can help them use others... Some have been used and abandoned when they weren't of help anymore, those ones' hearts broke or froze, out of despair, and their belief in honesty concerning feelings shattered. Only a few are brave enough to face their feelings, to go towards others, but they rarely succeed in finding true happiness, because their efforts are often taken for hypocrisy, because others think too much, think about the reason of their kindness, and when there is none, believe in these people's insanity. But then, if these people meet with those who pursue the same ideals, there may be a chance, a possibility for them to appreciate the sheer joy of living in this world...

The world stopped mourning. It has seen that tiny spark of hope... Hope ! How could it forget that ? The thing that made humans so special, the feeling that is peculiar to them ! It remembered those lines, sang by a young girl's clear voice, ages ago : "In times of darkness, don't ever forget it, there are stars shining in the midnight sky. Though they aren't as bright as the moon of silver, they aren't just a pale reflection of the sun's golden rays. Don't forget to smile, don't forget to dream, don't ever forget to hope. It takes courage, it takes strength, but those aren't lacking in a human's heart. If all of us keep wishing, if all of us keep trying, our hope will go flying across the lakes, rivers, seas and oceans, over the deserts, meadows, hills and mountains, making it's way through the overcast sky, higher and higher... And in the leaden skies, millions of fireflies will make the night brighter than any day...".

The world smiled, its children just needed to relearn how to trust and how to love, how to let their feelings free from their chains to dwell on their hearts... It decided to help a little, by doing something so insignificant that no one would notice it : it fated four children to be born with the mark of hope branded in the deepest layers of their souls, four children who will unconsciously lead the others to the mutual understanding they once shared, long ago. That doesn't mean those children won't suffer from fate's strikes, they will, as anybody on this earth, but they will be able, after grieving a long time, to realize their mistake and seek trust, help, friendship and love in each other's heart, until they find them. They may succeed, but it can't be taken for granted : fate is just a chain made with lots of small coincidences as links, in the end their lives can only be changed by themselves, by the choices made and the decisions taken, depending on how much they will free their hearts... The hope they have won't guarantee their happiness, but it can help them getting it. They will have to learn to believe in fairytales...

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I know, no real allusions to the characters or story line... I just wanted to test my writing style, see if I would be able to write in English, to bring myself to continue this fanfiction. I think I can. That is, if anybody is interested... I hope my spelling or grammar mistakes don't make the understanding too hard... Please tell me what you thought of it.
The next four chapters are going to be about the characters, each one telling about one of the four children in their point of view. I think the next one will be focusing on Syaoran. If it turns out to be like this, it will be called "Grieving over buttercups", sorry for the weird title, I hope my explaining will do...

Ja ne !

Lazuline Violet