SasuSaku ahead. If you're allergic with that pairing, back off. Just got to be fair.
Chapter 16: A New Chapter
The hardest part in writing a story is how to start it. You would agree with me, wouldn't you? Everyone of us has his or her own story. Some are happy or sad. Others are exciting and romantic.
So what's my story? I don't know how to start it.
It's like everything was new. It felt like I've been born again. It felt so warm and so tender. I wish it would never end-- the happiness, laughter, smiles. Sigh..
A new chapter in my life.
It's nice to have someone in my heart again. I never felt empty nor alone. He made me happy. So happy that sometimes I just want to cry in front of him and yell at him, "I curse you for being like that! I curse you for being so sweet and kind! Argh! I hate you for that!"
I've been waiting for him in a beautiful garden. It looked really nice and romantic with the roses having different colors, some sort of bright-colored flowers, light bulbs inside assorted colors of paper lamps and of course what made this garden so pretty and special were the cherry blossom trees all around. I was sitting on a swing, its thick strings tied firmly at the branch of a sakura tree. I looked at the flowers of the majestic tree for a while with a smile painted on my lips.
I didn't know why he asked me to go there. He told me to come at around eight in the evening but I came at around seven. No wonder he was not yet there. I knew I shouldn't have come there too early but I didn't want him to wait for me.
"Oh, I'm getting bored!" I exclaimed, talking to myself. Who would I talk to in there, anyway? I was alone! Yet excited.
Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. I waited until my wrist watch would alarm to remind me that it's already eight in the evening.
But it wouldn't.
I waited until my eyes felt tired. I knew I was feeling drowzy. Suddenly, my vision went blurred and soon there was total darkness.
"Sasuke, Sasuke!" I said out loud while I was running at a wide field towards him. He turned his head to my direction.
"What?" He asked. "What happened to you that's making you shout right now? You're causing too much noise. You're annoying me."
I knew he didn't quite mean that. It didn't even hurt me at all. My past has taught me how to be strong.
My painful past..
I sat beside him under an enormous tree that provided us a shade from the hot summer sun.
"What is it?" He questioned me again.
"Look at this!" I excitedly said. I showed him a small made-by-me notebook. Its cover was blue.
"It's just a notebook made by someone that is not so artistic," He paused. "like you."
That didn't hurt me also. Maybe that's just his way of showing his affection to me. That's his way of telling me 'I'm really proud of having someone as artistic as you are'. I'm used to it.
I handed him the notebook and flashed him my most beautiful smile.
"Open it." I said.
He gave me a puzzled look but he opened it, anyway.
"Once, there was a girl haunted by the shadows of her past. Her name is Sakura." He read aloud and I giggled. He looked at the picture next to that page. It was a poorly drawn me. He turned it to the next page.
"Sakura was a sad and lonely girl. She was also a coward until she met Mr. Popular Star, Uchiha Sasuke." He had a small smile on his lips when he read that. The picture at the opposite side was, again, a poorly drawn Sasuke wearing a navy blue shirt and black pants. "Is that really me?"
"Yeah, yeah. I know I'm not so good in drawing. Just continue, okay?" I answered then looked back at the notebook. He turned it to the next page.
"Sakura thought that Sasuke was an arrogant, bad boy, just like the other movie stars but she was wrong. So wrong. He was a caring person. Even if how much he tried to hide it, she could sense his loneliness deep inside his heart. No wonder he acted that way towards the people around him." He paused. "If only she had known about it, she would have chosen him instead."
There was a drawn picture of him sitting alone on a bench and me peaking at him from behind a tree.
He looked away from the notebook. I knew that would make him think a lot. I smiled to myself and grabbed the notebook from his hands. I read the continuation for him.
"Fortunately, God has been so kind to her. Sasuke loved her back. He gave her someone like Sasuke and if he would like it, even if it is too early to say, she wants to spend the rest of her life with him.. Crying with him, laughing with him, smiling with him.. Just loving him."
Sasuke was speechless. He looked deeply into my eyes. I almost drowned myself in his black orbs that showed eternal depths. He really can't express himself now, can he? Ha! I got him there.
He was so fast I didn't even notice his arms were already around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight embrace. He ran his hand on my long hair and I could feel his hot breath against my neck.
"Do you really mean that?"
There was no affection in his voice when he said that but there was something in it that made my heart almost melt.
"I.. Y--"
Before I could finish my answer, I heard a voice.. A very familiar one. The one I wanted to forget a long time ago.
"Sakura?"
It was him. I'm sure of it.
Gaara.
"Sakura? Sakura?"
The voice suddenly changed. It was Sasuke's.
"H-Huh?" I said, almost like a whisper.
"You fell asleep in here," he answered. He said more things but I wasn't paying attention to it at all. I was thinking about my dream.
Yup, that happened about three years ago when I was sixteen. I gave that notebook to Sasuke on our second anniversary in that same place but something wasn't quite right. It was Gaara's presence. Why was he there? What could it mean?
"Are you alright?" He asked me, sounding a bit concerned.
"Y-Yes," I paused. "I think so."
And then my attention was back to my dream. I couldn't forget it. I wonder why..
"Happy nineteenth birthday, Sakura." Again, Sasuke's voice distracted my thoughts.
"W-What?"
He repeated what he said. Oh, yeah. It was my birthday and how could I have forgetten about it. There was a bunch of activities at school that made me forget about it. Maybe that was the reason why Sasuke asked me to come there. Yeah, that's got to be it!
Or are there more surprises coming my way?
"Oh, yes. Uhm.. Thanks for reminding me, Sasuke." I answered with a forced smile.
"Is there something bothering you?"
"N-None! I'm really fine and happy because you are here with me." I answered.
There was a strange look in his eyes. I knew I didn't convince him. Of course I can't outwit a person as cunning as Sasuke so easily. Thankfully, he didn't ask more questions.
He held my hand and said, "I've got something to show you."
I stood up from the swing and he brought me to another place in that enormous garden. There was a table for two in there with some plates, spoons, forks, bowls, wine glasses and a lit red candle at the center of the table. Some cherry blossoms have fallen from the tree on the table, making it look more romantic. There were two chairs.
My heart was filled with so much joy..
"Shall we?" He said. I nodded. He pulled a chair and I sat on it. Sasuke sat across me.
A man dressed beautifully like a waiter in a five-star restaurant appeared from nowhere and served us some food and champagne. Sasuke motioned for him to leave us. He bowed at him then left.
I started the conversation while we were eating.
"This is a very lovely place, Sasuke."
It was so true. I really like that garden. The gentle breeze was calming my spirit, caressing my skin. It was hard to forget a beautiful place such as that.
"I know," came his monotonous reply.
"Oh, and delicious food!"
"I know."
"Not to mention the champagne."
"I know."
I finally got tired of hearing him say, 'I know, I know'. He was like a recorder.
"Yesterday, I had a lot of work to do. It was really exhausting and that professor gave us a surprise test this morning. Good thing I was ready and I got the highest score!"
He said nothing.
I kept my mouth shut for some minutes until we were almost finished eating.
"So what are you planning to do tonight?" I asked.
He gave me a small, playful smile.
"You'll see."
"Lie down there." It sounded that it was a command from him. He was pointing at a pale yellow blanket on the grassy ground.
"Wh-What? Why?" I was quite nervous. What did he have on mind?
"Just do it, okay."
I nodded, not really sure what to do. I sat on the right side of the blanket. He looked deeply into my eyes before sitting beside me.
I inhaled the sweet scent of the air. It was totally relaxing.
"The wind feels so good!" I started.
There was no answer.
I looked at him and saw that he was looking in another direction, up in the dark sky. Curious, I also looked up and was surprised of the beautiful scenery. There were lots of stars twinkling in the dark night's sky.
"Wow! They are beautiful, Sasuke!"
There were stars of different colors. Some are bright blue, some are white. Others are yellow and some are red.
I stretched my arm, trying to reach the brightest and biggest blue star I've seen. I knew it was impossible and I looked really stupid. I was like a child, so innocent.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm trying to reach a star." I answered, not looking at him.
He was silent again. I lied on the blanket, using both of my arms as a pillow. I kept on staring at the beautiful sky above us.
"The stars are really beautiful," I said. "Don't you like any star up there?"
Sasuke was still looking up.
"Of course I like one." He finally answered. "But it is not up there."
"Really?" I thought that it was unbelievable. "So where is it?"
He chuckled. So what was so funny about what I said?
"I don't need to look up in the sky every night and hurt my neck. I don't have to search for my star among the other millions in there," he paused. "To others, there might be millions of beautiful stars twinkling every night but I can only think of one special star. It might not be as shiny or bright as the others but it really lights up my lonely nights. It is one in a million of bright stars, one of a kind."
I was puzzled. So that was how he described a star. I was amazed, he's got a sweet tongue. I flashed him a nice grin.
"Oh, that's nice." That was what I managed to say.
He looked back at me. I was taken aback. There was so much tenderness, longing, and love in his deep black orbs. If only I could explore its depths more. I knew I would know the message he wanted to convey.
"And that star is you, Sakura." He suddenly said.
My jaw dropped open. What was that again? Oh, the star. I was so lost in his beautiful eyes.
"Uh.. Uhm.. Yeah." I forced a smile.
"You might not believe it but it's true so just get serious."
Was he angry? No, he wasn't. He was just dead serious about it. He need not say it, his eyes already spoke for him. I knew I should be serious.
"Uhm.. Sure." I said, quite nervous.
"You know, I never thought that I would be saying this to a girl, especially to you. Remember that notebook you gave me three years ago?"
I nodded in reply.
"'Fortunately, God had been so kind to him. Sakura loved him back. He gave him someone like Sakura and if she would like it, even if it is too early to say, he wants to spend the rest of his life with her.. Crying with her, laughing with her, smiling with her.. Just loving her..'"
Those were some lines from the notebook I gave him. He only replaced my name with his and vice versa. Wow! He memorized it.
"I've been reading it every night since the day that you gave it to me." He said as if reading my thoughts. "You've really changed my life, Sakura."
"I.. I don't.." I found it hard to breathe. My cheeks were burning me and I was so speechless.
"And I will feel really happy if you would let me be with you.. cry, laugh, smile, and grow old with you." He smiled at me. "To spend the rest of my life loving you."
"I.. Me, too." I was trembling. Would he be asking me to--
"Marry me, Sakura." He whispered. "Marry me and I'll make you happy. Let me make you experience the joy you made me feel."
I was happy yet afraid. Afraid that it was the wrong time to get married and have a family, to be hurt again, to have the wrong decision.. To be with the wrong guy for the rest of my life. Argh! What am I thinking?! Of course he's the right man for me. Sasuke is not a mistake and besides he loves me. He'll never leave me.
Or am I just fooling myself?
Why is it that suddenly there were a lot of doubt in my mind and heart?
"B-But don't you think that it is too early for us to get married?" I nervously asked.
"I've made up my mind. I love you, Sakura, more than you'll ever know." There he was again with his beautiful, expressive eyes that would hypnotize me and follow everything he wanted!
He turned away from me.
"If you are not ready then it's fine with me," He said. "I'm willing to wait for you."
Silence.
"But Sasuke, why? Why did you suddenly asked me to marry you? What's with the rush?" That was what I managed to say.
His eyes were suddenly filled with sorrow and pain.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow for the shooting of my last movie in Spain. I was thinking of stopping to work as an actor after we get married so I could focus on taking care of my future family," He paused. "I'll be gone for five months."
"Five months? That's so long." I sadly said.
"I know. I just want to be sure that when I return--"
"I'll still be here to love you and just be yours?" I said.
He slowly nodded.
"Have no doubts about it. I love you, Sasuke." I said. I felt like crying. I breathed deeply before speaking again. I knew it would change my life forever.
"I want to spend my life with you, too, but--"
"I understand, Sakura." That was what he said. He stood up, ready to walk away.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
He stopped but didn't look back at me.
"I want to be with you but promise me you'll bring me back some souvenir from Spain, okay?" I said with a smile.
"You mean you'll..?" He asked, still not looking back at me.
"Yes, Sasuke." Tears started pouring down on my cheeks.
He turned and sat beside me.
"Hey, don't forge--"
"Shut up." He suddenly said. He pushed me down on the blanket then kissed me hard on my lips.
One week later..
It was the happiest week of my life. I told everyone about that wedding thing. I pictured myself wearing a beautiful white wedding dress with a long veil. My friends would be throwing petals of red roses to Sasuke and I after the wedding ceremony.
I'd be the most beautiful bride.
It'll be the happiest day of my life. Nothing's going to ruin it.
I smiled with that lovely thought.
I was walking back to my apartment when I passed by the playground. That place was full of happy and sad memories. It would remain as a piece of my life, anyway. I went there and sat on the same swing. Three years have already passed but then nothing really changed. Children didn't come and play there anymore since a new and larger playground was built near the plaza.
"Well, this is it." I said almost like a whisper. "This might be the last time that I'll be in here. Soon I'll be having a family. Maybe if I am not busy I'll visit you with my children," I paused. "and of course with Sasuke. You've been a part of my life. Everytime I'm in this place you would remind me of somethings.. Someone that I wanted to forget.. A long time ago."
I took a last look around the park before rising up from the swing when suddenly I heard a very familiar voice.
"Sakura?"
It was him. I'm sure of it. This time it wasn't a dream. He has returned.
Gaara.
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I know you don't like this chapter, so do I.
Sorry if it took me a million years to update. I'm really busy. There are a lot of things to be done.
Anyway, now that Gaara is back to "ruin" everything, what will Sakura do? What about Sasuke? Just find out..
After a million years. Please review.
