Chapter Thirteen: The Morning After
Sakura woke up the next morning to a room that seemed vaguely familiar, even though she couldn't explain why. This line of thought was soon dismissed as just a bout of de-ja-vu as the young girl sleepily rubbed her eyes and collected her bearings. The room was purely white, with large patio windows opened to let in the morning breeze as well as the rays of light which playfully bounced off all the objects surrounding the king size bed. Sakura fitted in nicely with the scene with soft pale skin and light brown hair. She also was wearing white, but that was only because all she had to wear after taking off her kimono was the under garments to save her from revealing any of her body whilst staying in a strangers room.
Her eyes started to scan the room, following the trail that the sun left on the floor, going across to a pile of crumpled sheets on a pale three-seater sofa. Her gaze stayed fixed on that spot as she thought about the guy that had been occupying it that night.
Such a strange guy! She couldn't help but smile at the thought of him marching her out of the teahouse. His face had been stern, leaving her slightly uncomfortable to ask him anything, but at the same time, when she had heard him call her by her real name, she knew she could trust him.
Moving to get up, Sakura found herself frozen to the spot as she found herself in a familiar position. Sitting on the end of the bed, she was suddenly wrapped up in a crystal clear memory that took over her sense of reality. Her mind took her to a place where she sat in that exact position with a nervous feeling spreading over her body. She knew she was waiting to meet someone and that she was scared, but apart from that she could not recall the situation. The only other thing that stuck in her mind was what she was wearing. The delicate details of the silver embroidery were embedded deeply in her mind as it weaved its way over the light blue fabric.
"Have I been here before?" Sakura pondered out loud.
"Morning."
Sakura's eyes shot across the room to a side door which now currently framed the perfect slender figure of the man who owned the room, dressed only in loose training trousers as he held a towel up to dab at his dripping hair. The emerald eyes of the girl slowly took in the view that was in front of her without saying a word. She couldn't say a word... her voice was nowhere to be found at this current moment.
"I hope you slept well." Syaoran smiled, trying to ease the tension between the two, understanding that Sakura still probably had no recollection of him.
"Huh?" Sakura shook her head, getting her thoughts back in to check. "Oh, y...yes thank you." She stood and bowed slightly to show her respect. Syaoran nodded back in recognition before making his way over to a closet to take out a shirt. As the material slided smoothly across his skin to take rest on his shoulders, he offered that Sakura choose some clothes from the same closet.
Sakura was surprised to find that he actually had ladies clothes in his cupboard but came to her own conclusion that with such a big room and bed, he must have a female companion, and it was her clothes that he was now offering. Hesitantly, Sakura reached her hand out to take a plain and simple pale green kimono, but retracted her hand suddenly as something else caught her eye.
It's that pattern again She thought to herself. That's the same dress from the day dream I just had.
Sakura turned to confront Syaoran who was now standing by the bed, buttoning up the jacket to the suit he had now changed into. His outfit was plain and simple, white shirt with a Chinese collared black suit, but once it was all perfectly set in place, Syaoran had gained an air of power and importance. The change seemed impossible and Sakura couldn't believe it was the same person who she had turned her back on a second ago, apart from the fact that his straggly hair hung down over his face from the towel drying it had received. However, she had a more pressing matter going over in her mind.
"I have been here before haven't I?" Sakura paused and took the dress out of the closet and held it up so that Syaoran could see it. "And I was wearing this, wasn't I?"
"You remember?" It had taken Syaoran a split second to be in front of Sakura, his hands placed on her shoulders and a stern expression on his face.
"So it's true? What...? When...? Why...? I mean... I just had a feeling a minute ago. I don't really remember much, only sitting on the bed in that dress, waiting for someone. And when we were at the teahouse..."
"You remember being my geisha at the teahouse?"
"No... I was going to say it sounded familiar when you called me by my real name the other day, before you brought me here."
"But you remembered something... that's good." Syaoran was now more thinking out load than actually talking to Sakura.
His hands had dropped off her shoulders and now hung at his sides and his head hung low to follow suit. He really had hoped that the memory had included him in some way. He hadn't noticed before how his heart had started pounded. For weeks he had been having the same reoccurring dream of the day when Sakura's memory returned to her.
"Please tell me what happened?" Sakura voice was quiet, nearly a whisper as she tried to get her voice out. As Syaoran brought his eyes up to meet with hers, he noticed the water welling up, ready to stream down her soft pale cheeks. It was once he had his arms tightly wrapped around her that she let it all out.
Her small figure shook in his arms so he squeezed her a bit tighter to reassure her of his support.
"It's scary to realise that I have no recollection of a part of my life. When did all this happen? Weeks, months, years ago?"
"Look, you shouldn't worry about it. That was why the doctor told us not to mention any of it to you, as it would cause you too much distress. If I could have, I would have come to visit you everyday when you were in hospital, and would have brought you home here as soon as you were better. But I was told it was for the best, so I let them take you back to the teahouse."
Sakura's eyes stared widely at Syaoran as she tried to take in what he was telling her. It was the first time since Sakura had been rushed to hospital that he had finally faced up to the feelings that had been waiting to explode from inside him. Now that these words were flowing freely from his lips, he couldn't stop himself from continuing.
"Since then, my guilt has been driving me insane. I know it was entirely my fault that you stopped eating, I should have noticed what a bad state you were in. I can never forgive myself for not realising it earlier. If only I hadn't treated you so badly... I mean, it wasn't your fault that I couldn't get you out of my mind. I just knew that it was not possible to be with you so I tried to shut you out, I never thought it would hurt you so much."
Syaoran was now so worked up he was pacing up and down the room while Sakura just looked on, not quite sure how to respond – not that he had given her a chance to anyway. He had hardly taken a breath himself until now. His pacing stopped as he positioned himself in front of the window with his back facing Sakura.
"Once I lost you, I realised how difficult it was to think that I may never see you again. Or even worse – we might meet up and you would hate me as you remembered that I was the cause of all this. But what I know now is that I can't live without you... I love you Sakura!"
Sakura woke up the next morning to a room that seemed vaguely familiar, even though she couldn't explain why. This line of thought was soon dismissed as just a bout of de-ja-vu as the young girl sleepily rubbed her eyes and collected her bearings. The room was purely white, with large patio windows opened to let in the morning breeze as well as the rays of light which playfully bounced off all the objects surrounding the king size bed. Sakura fitted in nicely with the scene with soft pale skin and light brown hair. She also was wearing white, but that was only because all she had to wear after taking off her kimono was the under garments to save her from revealing any of her body whilst staying in a strangers room.
Her eyes started to scan the room, following the trail that the sun left on the floor, going across to a pile of crumpled sheets on a pale three-seater sofa. Her gaze stayed fixed on that spot as she thought about the guy that had been occupying it that night.
Such a strange guy! She couldn't help but smile at the thought of him marching her out of the teahouse. His face had been stern, leaving her slightly uncomfortable to ask him anything, but at the same time, when she had heard him call her by her real name, she knew she could trust him.
Moving to get up, Sakura found herself frozen to the spot as she found herself in a familiar position. Sitting on the end of the bed, she was suddenly wrapped up in a crystal clear memory that took over her sense of reality. Her mind took her to a place where she sat in that exact position with a nervous feeling spreading over her body. She knew she was waiting to meet someone and that she was scared, but apart from that she could not recall the situation. The only other thing that stuck in her mind was what she was wearing. The delicate details of the silver embroidery were embedded deeply in her mind as it weaved its way over the light blue fabric.
"Have I been here before?" Sakura pondered out loud.
"Morning."
Sakura's eyes shot across the room to a side door which now currently framed the perfect slender figure of the man who owned the room, dressed only in loose training trousers as he held a towel up to dab at his dripping hair. The emerald eyes of the girl slowly took in the view that was in front of her without saying a word. She couldn't say a word... her voice was nowhere to be found at this current moment.
"I hope you slept well." Syaoran smiled, trying to ease the tension between the two, understanding that Sakura still probably had no recollection of him.
"Huh?" Sakura shook her head, getting her thoughts back in to check. "Oh, y...yes thank you." She stood and bowed slightly to show her respect. Syaoran nodded back in recognition before making his way over to a closet to take out a shirt. As the material slided smoothly across his skin to take rest on his shoulders, he offered that Sakura choose some clothes from the same closet.
Sakura was surprised to find that he actually had ladies clothes in his cupboard but came to her own conclusion that with such a big room and bed, he must have a female companion, and it was her clothes that he was now offering. Hesitantly, Sakura reached her hand out to take a plain and simple pale green kimono, but retracted her hand suddenly as something else caught her eye.
It's that pattern again She thought to herself. That's the same dress from the day dream I just had.
Sakura turned to confront Syaoran who was now standing by the bed, buttoning up the jacket to the suit he had now changed into. His outfit was plain and simple, white shirt with a Chinese collared black suit, but once it was all perfectly set in place, Syaoran had gained an air of power and importance. The change seemed impossible and Sakura couldn't believe it was the same person who she had turned her back on a second ago, apart from the fact that his straggly hair hung down over his face from the towel drying it had received. However, she had a more pressing matter going over in her mind.
"I have been here before haven't I?" Sakura paused and took the dress out of the closet and held it up so that Syaoran could see it. "And I was wearing this, wasn't I?"
"You remember?" It had taken Syaoran a split second to be in front of Sakura, his hands placed on her shoulders and a stern expression on his face.
"So it's true? What...? When...? Why...? I mean... I just had a feeling a minute ago. I don't really remember much, only sitting on the bed in that dress, waiting for someone. And when we were at the teahouse..."
"You remember being my geisha at the teahouse?"
"No... I was going to say it sounded familiar when you called me by my real name the other day, before you brought me here."
"But you remembered something... that's good." Syaoran was now more thinking out load than actually talking to Sakura.
His hands had dropped off her shoulders and now hung at his sides and his head hung low to follow suit. He really had hoped that the memory had included him in some way. He hadn't noticed before how his heart had started pounded. For weeks he had been having the same reoccurring dream of the day when Sakura's memory returned to her.
"Please tell me what happened?" Sakura voice was quiet, nearly a whisper as she tried to get her voice out. As Syaoran brought his eyes up to meet with hers, he noticed the water welling up, ready to stream down her soft pale cheeks. It was once he had his arms tightly wrapped around her that she let it all out.
Her small figure shook in his arms so he squeezed her a bit tighter to reassure her of his support.
"It's scary to realise that I have no recollection of a part of my life. When did all this happen? Weeks, months, years ago?"
"Look, you shouldn't worry about it. That was why the doctor told us not to mention any of it to you, as it would cause you too much distress. If I could have, I would have come to visit you everyday when you were in hospital, and would have brought you home here as soon as you were better. But I was told it was for the best, so I let them take you back to the teahouse."
Sakura's eyes stared widely at Syaoran as she tried to take in what he was telling her. It was the first time since Sakura had been rushed to hospital that he had finally faced up to the feelings that had been waiting to explode from inside him. Now that these words were flowing freely from his lips, he couldn't stop himself from continuing.
"Since then, my guilt has been driving me insane. I know it was entirely my fault that you stopped eating, I should have noticed what a bad state you were in. I can never forgive myself for not realising it earlier. If only I hadn't treated you so badly... I mean, it wasn't your fault that I couldn't get you out of my mind. I just knew that it was not possible to be with you so I tried to shut you out, I never thought it would hurt you so much."
Syaoran was now so worked up he was pacing up and down the room while Sakura just looked on, not quite sure how to respond – not that he had given her a chance to anyway. He had hardly taken a breath himself until now. His pacing stopped as he positioned himself in front of the window with his back facing Sakura.
"Once I lost you, I realised how difficult it was to think that I may never see you again. Or even worse – we might meet up and you would hate me as you remembered that I was the cause of all this. But what I know now is that I can't live without you... I love you Sakura!"