Something Pink

Part 11: A Time of Mending

"It is a relief that car did not hit them," the doctor said. Seiji nodded in response. "Is he going to be alright?"

The doctor smiled warmly. "Of course. He was only knocked out cold from the impact of the floor to his head. He can now wear that scar proud across his forehead, being one of the few who survive such fatal accidents…"

"Thank you, Doctor. May we see him now?"

"Yes, go right in. He's awake…"

Seiji glanced into the waiting room, where Sakura and an older woman sat.

"Sakura, he's alright, stop blaming yourself."

"But it was my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid and selfish none of…"

"Hush." The woman spoke in a firm, commanding tone. "My son will heal fast. He is, after all, a Li and everyone one of us are strong. Now, you have to be, too."

"But I'm not a Li."

Yelan stood up, bringing Sakura up with her, by the hands. "Child, you aren't a Li anymore, you're right. But, you are still a part of our family. You were strong when I first met you. Now, show me that part of you that I love so much."

Sakura straightened, as a gentle smile appeared on her face. Yelan kissed her cheek and smiled back. "There, there, that's much better, now."

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered as Yelan hugged her.

"And I thank you. Thank you, thank you so very much," Yelan murmured over Sakura's apology.

Perplexed, Sakura looked into her eyes. "Child, you have saved him. I am the most grateful mother in the world."

Now, it was Sakura's turn to comfort the woman. "What have I done to save him? I almost killed him."

"No, Child. I thank you because you have truly taught him to love."

Sakura's eyes widened at that statement.

Yelan squeezed her hand affectionately. "There is a piece of his life story he probably has never told you about."

"When he was a boy I had him make a choice. He was about to start high school and I let him decide if he wanted to go to one that was private or one that was public. He said to me, 'I want to meet more people and get out of uniforms for good, so I pick public.' Boy, was it a big mistake to have him go there."

Sakura frowned, "Why? I think it's wonderful that he decided that on his own. Nowadays, I would never hear Syaoran say he wants to meet more people."

Yelan shook her head sadly. "He was rich and very popular with the teachers and girls, so he was picked on a lot by the guys."

"He was picked on?!"

"For being rich, athletic, and popular. P.E. teachers adored him, and girls started a fan club for him." Yelan laughed at that memory. "He didn't like all the attention, but he told me he liked school. Not because he was a straight 'A' student or because he was good at every sport, but because there was that freedom to do whatever you want."

Her face suddenly fell as she recalled the past. "I regret ever letting him go there."

"Why? I thought you said he liked it."

"Oh, he liked it, but people in there either loved him or hated him and that was the most dangerous matter I overlooked. Syaoran settled in quickly. In days, he joined up a group of boys who became his best friends. At the same time the teachers at school were urging me to get him to play a sport and not waste his talents. I wish I never took their advice because all it ended up doing was drive him away from me. Silly, we fought over such a pointless issue. His excuse for not joining a sport was because the 'guys' at school always hung out with him after school. I accused him of being a gangster. Can you believe that? I had never even met those boys. After that, we did not speak to each other for weeks."

"One day he came home drenched in rain. He came to my room and kneeled before me. 'Mother, something terrible has happened' he told me. Then he brought me outside, to the park near our house. There, laid five prone bodies on the ground and one horrified girl by one of them. I asked her 'who did it?' And she pointed at Syaoran. I could have died, right there and then. I had to call the police. The ambulances came and took the boys. But my own boy was put in a police car and sent to juvenile, where he would have to stay for a whole year."

"What—what happened to the boys?"

"Each of them had a broken bone somewhere. Their parents sued me. Money never mattered to me, though. I just wanted to know the truth. I went to visit Syaoran, who refused to speak to me. He was hurt. I saw it in his eyes. Life between us would never be the same again. The pain he revealed to me after the incident was the last emotion I had ever seen him express to anyone."

"What did you do?"

"I decided to investigate on my own. I gathered up information from before and after the fight and I finally learned the truth. That girl who had accused Syaoran, had fallen in love with him before the fight. She confessed his love for him and got rejected. Later, I find out one of the boys that was Syaoran's 'best friend,' was actually this girl's boyfriend. She broke up with him in hopes of being with Syaoran. He never found out that Syaoran rejected the girl, so he gathered up his friends and they all ganged up on Syaoran when he was walking home. The girl tried to stop them, but they were all overpowered by anger. Syaoran only defended himself that day. I convinced the girl to stand up for Syaoran and she did, so we got him out of jail after he had already stayed there for a month."

"How did he break bones anyway?"

"He didn't know his own strength and I didn't know it was too late already. He came home and tried to act normal, but I could tell there was tension in our family, then. My youngest daughter was still home and she told me that Syaoran never went to talk to her anymore about his problems. She suspected that he was alright. But I had my doubts being a mother and always worrying about her children. Knowing what was right for him I just home schooled him, hiring the greatest tutors in America to do the job. He seemed colder as the days went on. I was not used to it. I confronted him and asked him why he was so detached. 'Just think, Mother…. How would you feel if everyone went against you?' I begged him to explain why he didn't tell everybody the real story in the first place. I got an answer from him alright. He said to me, 'I didn't think I would have to…. I would give up my whole life in prison just to know that someone trusts me.'"

Yelan at this point broke down and cried. Silent tears rolled down her dark eyes and Sakura could do nothing but reveal complete astonishment. Yelan Li had never cried before, especially not in public. She was a refined woman and specialized at concealing her emotions. While Sakura lived with the Lis, the one thing she learned about mother and son was that they never cried because crying was a mark of weakness.

Sakura wrapped the woman in her arms, crying herself. After a moment of mutuality, Yelan dabbed at her own eyes and continued to speak. "He grew up all those years, not trusting or loving anyone, including his own mother. It was my fault he never had any girlfriends. And it was my fault I made him so inexperienced at loving, causing him to push you away to this day. So I am eternally grateful to you for teaching him to believe in love again and to love again. The day he married you was the day he set the past behind him. The day that stiff married you was my happiest day. He was my little boy again."

"Yelan, Sakura, sorry to bother the both of you, but the doctor said we can visit him one at a time now," Seiji said behind them.

"You go first," Sakura whispered with assurance. Yelan nodded, as she straightened herself up.

When Yelan left Seiji asked Sakura what they were talking about. Sakura's answer: "Nothing."

Sakura had waited a long time for her turn to pay a visit to Syaoran. Somewhat impatient, she decided to go see him, while Yelan was still with him. As Sakura walked down the hallway and neared the door, she could hear Syaoran shout, "It's my choice, Mother!"

"So, you're going to just leave them here without trying."

Sakura watched them through the crack between the door that stood ajar.

"If I stay here any longer, accidents like this," Syaoran was saying as he pointed at his bandaged head, "Will occur much more frequently! Or worse, something might happen to them. I don't want to endanger or mess up their lives anymore than I already have."

"That's it, then."

He sighed. "That's it, then."

"It's over."

"It's over," he repeated.

"You don't love her anymore."

"Mother," he growled, clenching the sheets tightly in his fists.

"Well, isn't it true if you're going to just give up?"

"No… I'm doing this because I want her to be safe. She almost killed herself, trying to get away from me, so it's best if we try to put distance between one another."

"What about my granddaughter. Can you stop loving her, too?"

Tired, he shook his head. The woman was clearly flustered, now.

"Mom, I know what I'm doing.," Syaoran promised her

She looked at him in surprise. He seldom addressed her so informally as 'mom.' He only did it when he was asking for something he could not get. He did it often as a child, but never as an adult.

"Let me go home."

Sakura covered her mouth, afraid that she would make a noise. She tried to muffle her crying as the thought of Syaoran leaving Japan for America, hit her like a slap in the face. He was truly giving up on them, so why was she crying?

"Sakura?" Eriol whispered loud enough, so that she could hear. He assumed she was eavesdropping on someone because she looked like she did not want to be seen. Her tear filled eyes looked up at him, who stood with a colorful basket of fruits. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head furiously, looking down at her feet as if she were a child caught doing something naughty. Before Eriol could question her further, she dashed off in distress.

Eriol shook his head, but knew better than to chase after her. He smiled sadly. "Let time flow for speedy mending."

Then, Eriol stepped into the room, where Syaoran lay.

"Hi Syaoran. Feeling better, I must say. You are sitting up in bed, looking very happy and ready to be helping with the planning of my wedding."

Syaoran glowered at him. "And what makes you think I'm going to do that?"

"After all the trouble you put me through, you owe me something."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Have you not noticed this whole time?!"

"Notice what?"

Eriol shrugged, setting the basket of fruit by Syaoran's head. "When Tomoyo told me about you two, I thought I could help out. That doesn't mean Tomoyo put me up to it. I did it myself!"

Syaoran frowned. Why exactly was he defending his fiancé anyway?

"Just to get that straight before you come to conclusions."

By now, Yelan had left the two men alone.

"I was thinking of taking a nap later, but since you can't speak in a comprehensible language I think I should take it now," Syaoran yawned.

"Syaoran you're such an ignorant blob, I think I can just kill you."

"Wow, you've never spoken to me like that before."

Eriol shrugged and folded his arms in front of him. His expression turned thoughtful.

"When a once and a lifetime opportunity is under your nose, are you going to throw it away?"

"Huh?"

"To drive things away with your bitterness…"

"What…"

"To find one that fits, you might need to give it time. Being patient helps to make cognizant decisions…"

"Odd, you sound like a broken record."

"You can do anything to me, Syaoran Li, but the real question is; what can you do for her? It takes two to tango. Do YOU understand?"

"Why…"

"If you care so much for her, then why don't you just pack her up and ship her back to America with you, far away from me."

"Oh."

"For someone so in love, I wouldn't think he would court another girl."

"You!"

"And your ignorance and denial will take you no where. Don't you have some place to go?"

"How was I supposed to know?!"

Eriol shook his head. "I said many things to hint my objective for the both of you."

"You're a lousy advisor, you know? I don't get the meanings behind every little word you say because I'm normal!"

"I'm amazed that you actually took some of my advice along the way. I'm more surprised you picked up at what I was getting at. Well done, Syaoran."

"But you're mission failed," Syaoran spoke darkly.

"Then, you're leaving."

"That's right.

Eriol threw his head back and laughed. Syaoran thought he had turned into a maniac.

"Well, I will be seeing you there soon as my wedding takes place there."

Syaoran groaned.

"Cheer up, Boss! I'll make you my best man!"

TBC

Hi readers of this CCS fanfiction!

You know I would not kill Syaoran... Maybe... I don't know! Look at the genre if you're wondering what's going to happen next . I didn't mean to put so much drama into this story. The ideas just come along and I can't leave them unfinished.
How does this sound? 'she cried because...' can you stand that?I know I can't stand that even though I know how that sentence ends.

Another thing: Whoa, doesn't Eriol-san have a good memory? Does wisdom always come with memory? If only I had both... No... If only I had one!

There's about 3 chapters remaining to this story. Can you keep up?

Review!

-MistyWing