This story is for Jackie. You'll always be in our hearts. For all times.

Fly, my little one

(by April Eagle)

"Ruka?"

"Hai, little one?"

"I won't have to wait too long, right?"

"No, little one. One hour is just one second over there."

"And then we'll be together again?"

"Of course, little one."

"And if I'll find some friends there and play with them and won't be there when you'll arrive?"

"Don't worry. I'll find you. Wherever you are, I'll find you."

"That's good."

It was dark in the big room. A little girl was lying in an even bigger bed. A tall girl was kneeling in front of it, holding a small hand tight.

"Ruka?"

"Hai, little one?"

"Luv ya."

"Luv ya, too."

It was good that it was so dark in the room. So the little girl couldn't see the tall one's tears.

"Fly, fly little wing

Fly beyond imagining

The softest cloud, the whitest dove

Upon the wind of heaven's love

Past the planets and the stars

Leave this lonely world of ours

Escape the sorrow and the pain

And fly again"

"Michiru?"

The scream could be heard all over the corridors of the boarding school. Some girls passing by snickered, because they knew the red haired girl too well. Elza was always in a hurry. She simply couldn't speak quietly and whenver a party took place you could be sure that Elza was right in the spotlight, being the biggest party animal. It was strange that she not only shared her room with the quietest girl at school, but that she even was one of her best friends. While Elza talked and talked and talked, Michiru simply listened and smiled. She was a real beauty with her curly, sea green hairs and the nice dresses she always wore. All people liked her at school - and that was mostly because Elza didn't accept anyone who didn't like Michiru. And it was not very intelligent to not be a friend of Elza. Sometimes she could kill your nerves, but everyone agreed that you were better off not having her as your enemy.

"Michiru? Where are you?"

Her screams were famous and could wake you up, no matter, how deep you slept.

"Hai?" Finally Michiru stepped out of the bathroom. She still wore her swimming suit. It was a hot summer day and she just finished her training in the school's swimming pool. Next week there were the school competitions and of course she wanted to win. As every year.

"You know, I always talked to you about that girl who's in my athletic team, right?" Elza seemed to be a little bit nervous, but Michiru ignored it. To ask Elza why she was nervous was senseless. You only got strange or funny answers. So she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her wet hairs to dry them.

"I can remember. She's the only one who's able to beat you, right?"

"Well..." Elza coughed and blushed slightly. She hated it to lose, but that girl was simply too fast for her. Once, she told Michiru that this girl was as fast as the wind. And you couldn't beat the wind, right?

"Whatever." Elza coughed again and crossed the room. As always Michiru's half was neat and tidied up. As always Elza's half was not. The red haired girl stumbled over some of her shoes and searched around. "Are you still playing that violin you showed me?"

"Of course." Michiru frowned and went on her bed to take it from the bookshelf. Carefully she pulled it out of the violin case and held it towards Elza. The brown wood sparkled in the evening sun. "My father gave it to me when I has been little. Since then I have taken lessons and my teachers says that I am improving." It was a total understatement, but Michiru didn't like it to boast around with her skills. Once, she played for the school choir and they all liked it.

"So, maybe you could do me a favour?"

Michiru's head jerked up as she heard the low voice. Another girl was leaning against the door frame now. Her blonde hairs were cut so short that Michiru first thought she was a boy. But as she crossed her arms before her chest, Michiru could see some female outlines under the wide, black shirt she was wearing. Dark green eyes sparkled tiredly as the intruder put away her sun glasses. Although the sun had been shinning for the past five days without the interruption of any clouds, this girl was incredibly pale. There were shadows under her eyes and for a brief Moment Michiru wondered if she was ill.

"Hi, Haruka!" Elza jumped in amazement and ran over to the girl. "I thought you wouldn't come before six."

"Am I too early? I can come back later." Haruka searched for her sun glasses even though she put them away only some seconds ago. She seemed to be the first girl who didn't notice Elza's humour.

That's Elza's friend?

Michiru frowned even more and held her violin a little bit tighter. Somehow she had expected Haruka to be different. From all the things Elza had told her, this blonde was too calm, looked too tired and seemed to be too absent.

That should be the great runner? The child of the wind? Tenô Haruka?

"No." Elza pouted. "Don't do as if I am a bad host! Better I'll make some coffee, okay? And don't look that dark. You know that you can't scare me away!" The red haired girl went determinedly over to their small cooker and started to search for coffee and three cups. If anyone could make good coffee, it was Elza. Normally Michiru loved her coffee, but right now she wanted her to be by her side. To face that strange girl together with her.

"Hello. I am Tenô Haruka. Pleased to meet you." Said the blonde and bowed before her. Michiru saw that the wide shirt was only camouflage. Haruka was even thinner under it.

"Kaioh Michiru." She stammered in return and tried to bow, too, but Haruka held her back by taking her violin in her hands. In long, skilled looking fingers. Carefully she stroke over the strings... almost looked tenderly, as if she was stroking something else. Or someone.

"Are you able to play this song?" she asked after some moments and produced a crumbled sheet of paper out of the pockets of her jeans. Long jeans. For a second Michiru wondered if Haruka didn't sweat like hell in such warm clothes like those, but then she concentrated on the notes. It was a slow, tender song she slightly remembered having heard on the radio.

"Hai." Michiru nodded and took her violin back. She went over to her desk and put the sheet down, then placed her violin on her shoulders and started to play. It wasn't a very long song, but it was touching. Slightly she remembered a man's voice in the background, but couldn't understand the lyrics anymore. But the melody was clear and so she played it without missing a single note.

"Was that okay, this..." she put the violin down and froze as she saw the tears sparkling in dark green eyes. Quickly Haruka rose her right hand and tried to wipe them away secretly.

What has Elza been telling me the whole time about this girl? She's completely different!

Michiru gulped as she saw the same shocked expression on the red haired one's face.

"Would you please play that song again? At my home?" Haruka seemed to fight with herself, but she could hold back her tears. As she could hold back a silent sob. "For my little sister?"

"Fly, fly precious one

Your endless journey has begun

Take your gentle happiness

Far too beautiful for this

Cross over to the other shore

There is a peace forevermore

But hold this memory bittersweet

Until we meet."

It was the biggest house Michiru had ever seen. Okay, her parents weren't poor. They could afford to send her to this well-known boarding school. She could visit them as often as she wanted to. Whenever she needed new clothes or new sheet music for her violin, she got them. And there was always enough pocket money in her purse to buy herself a nice book or delicious chocolate she often had to share with Elza who was the most greedy girl she ever knrew.

"Why are you going to a boarding school when your home is right around the corner?" asked Michiru wondering and held her violin case a little bit tighter. Haruka stood beside her, searching for the keys in her school bag. Some sheets fell out and Michiru could see that the taller girl got some very bad notes in the last exams. Without looking at the tests, Haruka pushed them again into the bag as she finally found the keys. Just one day passed since Haruka had asked Michiru to play and Michiru had agreed, but the young violinist could only think about the strange girl. She didn't sleep a lot the past night and no matter how often she bugged Elza, the red haired girl didn't know anything about the sister Michiru should play for. Elza couldn't remember Haruka ever saying something about any siblings and Michiru wondered once more what kind of a girl the blonde was.

"It has the best athletic club." Answered the low voice that had hunted Michiru down in the little sleep she finally found shortly before her alarm clock woke her up again.

Haruka opened the door and the corridor was long and dark. Michiru gulped and suddenly wondered why she did this. Was it because Haruka was Elza's friend? Was it because the tall blonde had looked so lost yesterday when she asked her to play? Michiru didn't find an answer, but her legs were suddenly very heavy as she finally entered the house.

What if she attacks me?

In her own house? Are you a baka, Michi? All you have to do is to play this song.

But I hardly know her.

She hardly knows you, too. So it's fair.

Michiru sighed slightly and followed Haruka through the big house, trying to ignore her inner voices. She noticed all the big pictures filling the walls, but she had no time to look directly at them. Suddenly Haruka walked very quickly and she had problems not to lose her and get lost in all the corridors. Some staircases led upstairs but they passed them. Then Haruka stopped suddenly. Michiru almost crashed into her and looked askingly up into a face that was covered with shadows.

"Don't be shocked. My sister's very ill and can't leave her bed any longer. She..." Haruka seemed again to fight with herself again. Then she took a deep breath. "It's her most favourite song. Her mother once played it for her on a violin, but she died last year. I can't play the violin, so I asked you."

Michiru opened her mouth, but before she could reply anything, the door was opened and she stood in a big room. The curtains were pulled before the windows and at first, all she could see was darkness. Then the frame of a big bed appeared. Just like a small shadow sitting in it. The light next to the bed was on and in its shine Michiru saw a small girl. First Michiru wanted to turn around and go. To run out of that scary house into the sun shinning outside. Because this little girl was no longer slim, she was skinny. Like a living skeleton. Her head was wrapped in a dark scarf and Michiru assumed that the little girl didn't have any hairs any longer. But then she saw the big, dark eyes. They were full of life. Of life the little body didn't seem to have any longer. Michiru didn't know much about medicine, but she knew that this girl was very ill. But her soul wasn't. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she saw her and her white lips curved in a happy smile.

"Hello..." whispered a high voice and Michiru needed some seconds to recognize that the little girl spoke to her. First she hesitated, then she went over to the bed and knelt down in front of it.

"Hi. I am Michiru." Introduced Michiru herself and touched the little hand carefully. It was cold.

"And I am Hotaru." the little girl smiled even wider and tried to look into Michiru's lap where her violin case was. "Do you wanna play something for me?"

"Of course." Michiru looked around and saw Haruka standing near the window. "But I need more light. Am I allowed to open the curtains." The tall blonde nodded and Michiru turned again towards the little girl.

Only five years old! How can this world be so cruel?

She tried not to let Hotaru notice her sad thought and took her violin out of the case.

"What do you want to hear? I have a lot of songs here. That's a book my father gave me when I was a child. We used to play it together."

"That's nice." Hotaru's cold hands reached for it and she looked into it for some moments. Michiru wasn't sure if she could already read some notes. "My mother used to play the violin, too. But she's dead now."

"My father's dead, too." Admitted Michiru silently and corrected some strings. "I am sure they're now in heaven, playing violins together."

Hotaru looked thoughtful at her, then she nodded and smiled even wider. Then she tried to sit up and Haruka was immidiately by her side to correct the pillow in her back. Meanwhile, the curtain was pushed away and nice sunlight filled the room. Michiru simply kept kneeling, put her violin to her shoulder and started to play. First she played the song Haruka wanted her to play for little Hotaru. After only five minutes she had finished. But she couldn't leave. She simply couldn't go like that. Not after she got to know such a loving child like Hotaru. So she simply took her song book and started to play some other songs. Songs her father had taught her when she started to play the violin. Songs they often sung in the kindergarten. Hotaru frowned a little bit and it didn't seem as if she could remember. So Michiru played those songs very often and sang the words she could remember. Soon Hotaru tried it, too, and soon they both sang together. Hotaru seemed to like it a lot and wanted her to play on and on. Her cheeks were slightly redden and the paleness seemed to disappear. Her dark eyes sparkled even more and she laughed as Michiru tried to bark like the dog they sang about in one of the songs. A dog who stole a sausage and wondered where to eat it so that no one would see him.

Michiru didn't know how long she sat there and played her violin and sang together with a child's high voice. The sun set and the moon rose. Hotaru got more and more tired and after Michiru sang two songs alone she realized that the little girl fell asleep. The smile was still on her face and she looked peaceful. Michiru swallowed and put her violin away. Carefully she caressed over two cheeks and, without a second thought, gave the little girl a kiss. The next moment Haruka was again by her side and covered Hotaru with her blanket and gave her her teddy bear. The whole time the tall blonde stood near the window and watched them. Now she mentioned for Michiru to silently stand up and leave. Hotaru should get her sleep.

Michiru nodded and put her violin again in the case and went silently back through the whole house towards the door. There she turned around and looked into Haruka's face again. Seeing a small smile on her lips as well.

"Thank you, Michiru. You made her happy today. That's what she should be: A little, happy girl."

Michiru gulped as she heard the words and bowed slightly before Haruka.

"It was an honour for me. May I be allowed to came back tomorrow?"

"Of course. You are a friend now, right?"

"Right."

But there was something in Haruka's voice that made Michiru shiver.

"Fly, fly do not fear

Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear

Your heart is pure, your soul is free

Be on your way, don't wait for me

Above the universe you'll climb

On beyond the hands of time

The moon will rise, the sun will set

But I won't forget"

Haruka didn't come to school the next day. Normally Michiru didn't see her anyway. Haruka was in another class, but Elza told her that the blonde didn't come to the athletic club's training. Michiru tried to call her up, but no one answered the telephone. So she took her violin case again and went towards the big house. Something had changed. Some cars parked in the drive that Michiru didn't notice the past day. Well, maybe Haruka's father returned? Michiru hadn't seen him yesterday and so she thought that he had been on a business trip. The house still looked the same silent and peaceful, but there was light on in the windows. Michiru sighed but knew that she couldn't turn around and go away. She was Hotaru's and Haruka's friend, right? Okay, she only knew the sisters for one or two days, but this small time had been enough to like them a lot. She wanted to get to know them better. She wanted to become a real close friend of them. Somehow she had the strange desire to be there for them.

So Michiru took a deep breath and rang the bell. First nothing happened. Then some doors slammed. She heard someone crying, a low man's voice and her heart sank. But before she could react, the door was opened and Haruka's head appeared. The tall girl looked even worse than the other days. Her hairs were messed and her face was so pale that she looked more like a ghost than a living human. Her hand shook as she opened the door a wider. It was almost four in the evening but she still wore her pyjamas. Dark blue ones that were covered with milk. Dry milk and some other food. Michiru wanted to ask something as she finally looked in dark green eyes. Tears were swimming, overflowing. Haruka blinked and two tears ran down her cheeks. Leaving dirty traces on her white skin.

"No..." Michiru whispered silently and the violin case escaped her suddenly stiff fingers. She didn't hear it falling down the stairs. She didn't notice anything any more. Only Haruka's desperate face. The sparkling tears, the shaking lips.

"Himme-chan's always been very ill. We tried all we could. We went to every doctor and she had to feel a lot of pain. A lot of operations. A lot of therapy." Whispered Haruka, looking at Michiru but somehow looking right through her. "I really thank you, that you played for her yesterday. That you made her laugh. That you made her happy." Haruka's voice broke and her whole body shook. "She died last night."

Michiru didn't know what to say, didn't know how to react. All she could do was to embrace Haruka as she broke down sobbing. Take the shaking girl in her arms and hold her tight. Simply to be there for her. For this moment, the darkest one in Haruka's life. For the following weeks. And, as they found out later, for the rest of her life.

"Fly, fly little wing

Fly where only angels sing

Fly away, the time is right

Go now, find the light"

"Ruka?"

"Hai, little one?"

"You were right. I didn't have to wait for too long."

"Of course not, little one. Seventy years are just some hours here."

"And I found some nice friends here. I played with them the whole time."

"That's fine."

It was bright on the meadow near a lake. The water was crystal blue and the sun was shinning warming.

"Ruka?"

"Hai, little one?"

"Did you bring Michi with you?"

"Of course. She'll be here in about ten minutes. That's not very long."

"That's good."

A little girl jumped in the arms of a taller one and laughed happily. They both swirled around and tickled each other, not noticing that the shadow of a third girl that came to them some minutes later. Her sea green hairs moved in the slight wind. She was holding a violin tight in her hands. A smile laid on her face, too.

"Ruka?"

"Hai, little one?"

"Luv ya."

"Luv ya, too. For all times."

Finis

Disclaimer:

The persons in this story belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The song "Fly" belongs to Celine Dion and Jean Jacques Goldman.

Thanks to everyone for reading this story. Any comments please to aprileaglefreenet.de.

I want to thank Adriann who corrected this story for me. I am a German, so I can't speak and spell English as well as a native speaker.

April Eagle

27th January 2002