Part 36: The Road To Reaching Her
Produced by: Angelize
Prince Syaoran stumbled on his reckless journey to find the one he loved. He knew there was no other way fate can trick him. His breathing was solid and controlled, and he knew he would make it to see her in time, and truly, inside, he was scared that destiny would pull his lover farther from him, and only fear made him run faster. It was amazing what love can do, as Syaoran had never felt to so free in his life before. He felt as though he was running on air through rows of cherry blossoms that called out his loves name. 'Wait for me… Sakura…' Syaoran smiled. The blossoms reminded him of her.
Suddenly, a cool breeze wisped the cherry blossoms from the trees and from his feet up into the air, like a light hurricane and blew away naturally. Syaoran stopped to watch and a smile grew on his face as a faint blossom circled around him and caressed his lips on its journey up the sky. 'I hope you are watching as well' Syaoran thought in pure essence, and started to run again.
-Sakura-
Outside, Sakura sat and watched as the early spring sprouted beneath her feet. She hadn't had a moment these past couple of months to sit down properly and enjoy the breeze and watch things grow like she usually did. It had been so long. It was almost half a year now since she had seen her friends, even Tomoyo. She had been so preoccupied through her cleaning and such that it had been so long since she had kept in contact with her best friend.
"Tomoyo," Sakura sighed. She wanted to see everybody, but yet, she was bound to an invisible cage, unable to leave. A quiet breeze blew the cherry blossoms up from the hospital garden a little distance and wafted past Sakura and then landed softly onto the soft dewy grass again.
Sakura felt the cool wind hit her lightly and she lifted her head up and stared up at the blue sky with brilliant clouds that seemed to hide white castles and angels. Another gust of gentle wind brought a mild whirling wind of cherry blossoms over the hospital circling horizontally in the air and landing softly over the garden… like snow. Workers stopped in awe to watch the falling blossoms as smiles grew and Sakura couldn't help but smile and be in awe with everybody else. Suddenly, her eyes widened as a cool but soft blossom whipped softly by her cheek like a soft kiss, then as abruptly as it came, it flew off into the air lightly and was gone.
Sakura blushed and held her hand against the cheek where the pink cherry blossom touched her. It reminded her suddenly of Syaoran… a kiss from him, and Sakura suddenly felt a strong yearning for him. She need not know where it came from, and maybe, it didn't matter. She wanted to be with him desperately, to comfort her, to assure her, for her to trust him, for her to lean on. Tears began to fall without her knowing and all her feelings that stretched for him came to a single point at one single time, and the pain of missing him blew at her full force. Soon, she started sobbing her heart out, now knowing how love felt. She hoped for him to find her, but the reality was that he had missed her completely. Sakura stretched out on the wooden bench and cried. She wished for a moment she and Prince Syaoran could share together.
-Prince Syaoran-
"Finally," Syaoran gasped as he caught a glimpse of her house and he suddenly felt eager, nervous even. What would he say to her? I'm sorry I missed you? But his level of courage arose, and he told himself that it didn't matter what he would say, more importantly was to admit to her how he felt, and to free her of sorrow.
He ran up the step to the front door, and rang the bell several times as he stood and waited impatiently slightly shaking in his nervousness. Shuffling was heard inside, and Syaoran's anticipation increased. He swallowed deeply.
Click Click.
Someone was turning the locks and soon, the door opened just a crack, and at every centimeter the door opened, Syaoran felt more and more nervous, and more and more anxious and the anticipation continued to build rapidly until he could no longer stand it. His breath was held for the longest time, and when the door opened to reveal who was standing behind it, he was greatly disappointed.
"AHHH!! Prince Syaoran! What are you doing here in our home?!" The shriek of Feiling's voice brought the whole house in surprise and amazement as her mother and her twin sister joined her.
"My DEAR Prince Syaoran, may I ask why you have come back to our humble home?" Fongling smiled sweetly her heart pounding to hear what she wanted to hear.
"Uh…" Syaoran scratched the back of his head with his gloved hand and looked around the part of the house he could see, looking desperately for his cherry blossom. "Last time…there was uh…a maid that served me tea last time, and I was…intending on seeing her here…"
As suddenly as Fongling and Feiling smiled, their faces became hard as stone and looked at the handsome prince in distaste.
"She's not here right now" Feiling stated sharply and started to close the door but was stopped briefly by Syaoran's hand.
"Do you know when she'll be back?" Syaoran asked desperately.
"No, for all WE know, she could be dead right now" Feiling added before the huge door slammed shut in the Prince's face.
Syaoran sighed. He had missed her again. He sat down on the step just outside the front door. Why did this keep happening to him? He wondered. Maybe…it was because they weren't to be? The Prince scratched the sides of his head roughly as he fought to think. His auburn eyes showed despair and a sort of pain within them, as he tried to breathe properly. What had gone wrong? Suddenly, Syaoran's breath quickened as a sudden thought hit him… what if she KNEW he was coming…and she didn't want to see him? Growling in horror at this thought, he decided that he would look for her. Walking out, he looked up at the house noticing a particular window. The window at the very top; the attic. He realized that his love would have no other place in the house besides the attic as he remembered her telling him of how she had family problems. Seeing as how her stepsisters and stepmother acted, it was most possibly that his cherry blossom lived up in the attic.
He walked up to the side of the house looking cautiously around and through the windows to make sure no one came near. A climbing plant grew up the side of the building from the base to the window of Sakura's room. 'Weird, I don't think I saw that there before' Syaoran thought as he scratched his head in confusion but pushed that thought out of his head as he started to climb the up the wooden structure of the plant. He got scratches here and there, but he didn't mind. There was only one thing in his mind at that moment, and that was his goal…the window. It felt like hours in a matter of seconds, but Syaoran didn't give up. It was much easier when he reached the roof and he walked slowly up to the attic window. Peering inside, he could not find a sign of a moving person, and was greatly disappointed but attempted to open the window. It opened without any sign of effort and Syaoran sighed.
Looking down, he saw a small bed just under the window – a bit hard to avoid stepping on, so he took off his shoes and slowly stepped on the small lumpy bed and closed the window quietly. He breathed in relief and flopped down on the small bed. It felt cold, but felt comfortable at the same time, but then again, how could he not? He felt a sense of comfort with her and he felt that comfort surround him now as sleep overtook him in her small – but comfortable bed, her scent filling his nose. The scent of cherry blossoms.
-Sakura-
She opened her eyes and smiled, the cherry blossoms had calmed her a great deal, and somewhere, she heard music. It was extremely calming, and at a point, it made her think of all the hard times she had been through to get to now, and at another point, it made her believe that anything – anything was possible. (A/N: the piece of music I'm listening to right now is 'Ashitaka and San' from Mononoke Hime. It is indeed very moving I could cry over the memories I see when I listen. Has any one ever heard it before? Just don't listen to the midi, it sucks.) Sakura closed her eyes again feeling suddenly a warm breeze that blew ever so gently through her, her hair lifting up in the breeze's presence. The warm melody enveloped her with such warmth she hadn't felt in years. Her mother. Her father. Her…brother. Ever since Meiling or Feiling answered his phone calls, he had been careful to call at a time when Sakura was alone.
Sakura got up from the sleeping position she had taken, curled up along the length of the bench, while blossoms like snow fell around her. It was so beautiful that she forgot about everything. That's the thing with certain music, it can make you forget everything at the moment and cause you to listen. Just listen. Its…so beautiful. Smiling like she had never smiled before, she thought of all the good things in her life and everything she had been through. In the end, she had gotten through her obstacles hadn't she? This one was no exception. Filled with new determination, Sakura closed her gentle eyes and reopened them, their gentle shade of green now filled with a kind of hardness. 'I have to close myself…I have to be strong…no matter what happens, I will stand and let the Earth crumble around me'. The new Sakura Kinomoto got up, the music suddenly stopped and she walked back to the hospital. She was going home.
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Hello! I'm done! (Talks under her desk). Yes, It's short AND took a long time to write right? Well, I wanted to end the story with a cliffhanger you see...so i had to stop right there...my apologies! Just tell me what you think! It's sorta obvious who made the vineup to Sakura's room isn't it? For people that don't know...the Wood Card...and Syaoran and Sakura connected the cherryblossom. Yea, I'm tired, I'm going to play my game now!