VERISIMILITUDE
CHAPTER 6: SEASONS OF MIST
BY: ELLE CHANT
The sky shifted and a great looming darkness blackened every corner of the foreseeable earth. Only the slight tingle of bells that sounded as if they came from a distance showed the presence of life.
A boy so beautiful and so fair knelt on the grass. He was a dark prince gifted with the beauty of the fallen, a damned one cursed.
A disembodied voice echoed from the sky.
"What is your purpose? It said.
The boy paused before answering and his voice held the tiniest trace of the human flaw. "Balance"
"It has been done."
The sky broke and light shimmered in and a sweet voice spoke from nowhere.
"Everything is done, child." She said and the boy trembled. A woman appeared in front of him and her rich cascade of red hair whispered on his cheek. She gestured in the existing path before them, a path that leads to somewhere, to nowhere, to anywhere.
"I know."
He stood up and reached out to take her hand. He paused.
Something strange is happening.
He brought his fingers to touch his face and held them out again for his eyes to see. A trickle of crystal slipped to his palm and fell like a never ending river.
"What's this?" He asked the woman who turned her head to look at him.
The crystals kept flowing.
Her hand came up and brushed them away leaving a sticky trail down his cheeks.
"Tears," She said. "How peculiar. I didn't think you could cry."
"I think we should do a Christmas play." Naoko said while placing her folder on the table. Terada sensei rolled his eyes as he heard the groans all over the class room.
This is the part that Syaoran hated the most. The planning.
"Gee, it's only three weeks away, when do we have time to write a script, cast actors and actually put everything in production?" Yamazaki said from his seat to Syaoran's right.
It wasn't that he didn't want anything to do with whatever thing his class is planning for the Christmas Holidays. It was just that everyone is so damn indecisive. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chiharu shake her head.
"Well, we could get an existing script and auditions well, we pretty much know…" Naoko furrowed her eyebrows and chewed on her lip.
"Right. Ship sailed away with a bleeding banner that says: Three weeks left to go!" Yamazaki said. "Its going to be orange just to make sure everyone sees"
"Thank you Takahashi for reminding us for our severe lack of time but please contribute something useful to the discussion." Terada sensei said.
"My comments are useful! If I didn't say anything we'll be halfway badgering ourselves through Death of a Salesman." He said.
"I said Christmas Play," Naoko said.
"Didn't you see the book's jacket cover? That was definitely a Ski outfit."
Syaoran sighed and sneaked a look at Hiiragizawa Eriol who sat right beside him. He sat straight, his expression showed slight interest to the discussion. Knowing Hiiragizawa he was probably bored out of his mind or he had a magical video underneath his eyelids.
The classroom door slid open and Sakura stepped inside, a sheepish smile on her face. Terada sensei shook his head and allowed her to come in.
It was one of those times he realized that the first person she would look at when she came in the room was not him. Her eyes went to the dark headed girl sitting quietly and saw her give Tomoyo a slightly fragile smile.
"Good Morning," She said as she sat down. She looked at her best friend. "What have I missed?"
"Nothing much," She replied. Tomoyo's voice was soft and fluid, the exact opposite of Sakura's hesitant behavior. She smiled. "It's all up for debate. You could have come in a little later; you still would not have wasted any time."
"Did they suggest a Christmas play?" Sakura said.
"Aren't all we in the happy? It was already vetoed."
It has been a week since the two girls had been acting like this. He remembered that night that his phone rang and heard Sakura sobbing in the other end. The phrase, "I made Tomoyo-chan cry" repeated between deep breaths. He sat there; listening to his girlfriend and already had inkling to what it was about but he did not push the issue.
"You knew didn't you?" She said after she calmed down.
Syaoran was quiet for a moment. "Yes"
"I am such a bad best friend." She said quietly before she hung up.
The first time Sakura sought Tomoyo's eyes and not his own he feared for what the other girl would show in them but Tomoyo smiled at her warmly and chatted with her about some new dress she saw in her trip to a new boutique downtown. Sakura had smiled then, a little brittle, a little fragile and a little unsure.
Aren't you afraid Tomoyo would hate Sakura?
She could never hate her. Not even when she tried.
He looked to his left and saw Hiiragizawa smiling slightly; He turned his head and cocked it slightly at him, his eyes twinkling.
"…would have any suggestions, Li-kun?"
"What?" His head spun around. He saw the class looking at him expectantly.
"The Christmas play suggestion was a bust. Then I suggested that we all dance in red and green tutus and sparkle with tinsel in our hair while yours truly will play the organ but everyone seemed to object which I wondered why." Eriol said brightly. "So they wanted to know what you think since you are part of the soccer team that had that wonderful bake sale,"
"Um," Syaoran said.
"Don't you think a costume partly would be lovely?" Syaoran was pretty sure he was the only person who could hear Hiiragizawa now. "We'll have tea and cake and fire works and prizes. I also believe that you would look ravishing dressed as a chimney sweep and Sakura-san dressed as a chimney.
Syaoran choked.
"What's that Li-kun?" Terada-sensei said and the class waited with him.
"Costume party" Syaoran warbled. "I think a costume party's nice."
The class was silent for a second before it broke into murmurs then collective applause. He could see Terada-sensei sigh with relief and smile at his general direction.
"All right, a costume party it is." He said.
Syaoran let his lip curl slightly upward and saw Sakura turn and smile at him from her seat. His good mood faded however.
"…and when your drunk enough I could let Nakuru tell you how she loves ice cream and Touya-kun, not together of course," Eriol paused thoughtfully. "Well, now that you think about it, she could have implied she liked Touya-kun smeared with ice cream."
He could have done without the scary mental imagery.
Eriol didn't see her at first. It was a busy hallway with students walking or running to and fro and her face was just another in the crowd. He looked up to see her eyes looking at him from across his locker.
"Sakura-san" He said and tucked his book under his arm.
"Eriol-kun," She smiled. She looked at his book. "Geometry?"
"Yes, my next class"
"I'll walk with you." Her voice sweet but tinged with something that left him unable to argue.
"All right"
They crossed the corridor, silent. The noise in the hallway was enough to fill the quiet between them.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. Her face was unreadable, so drawn to herself that her eyes became dark.
"Sakura-san," He said as they turned left and everything was suddenly so still, the noise surprisingly absent. He felt the need to say this like he knew that it was what she wanted to hear. "Tomoyo-san is not angry with you."
She blinked up at him. "I know."
They were quiet again.
They stopped in front of Room 401. He was over ten minutes early so he paused and stayed outside the classroom. Sakura leaned on the wall and looked up at him.
"So…" He said.
"Hmm?"
"Sakura-san, I know things have grown awkward between the both of you and you probably feel wretched right now but I'm sure Tomoyo-san…"
She shook her head. "No, that's fine."
He looked at her.
"I know I've been a bad best friend and yes I'm feeling wretched right now." She said. "but Tomoyo-chan doesn't hate me so I'll get over it."
"Oh," Eriol said. He was suddenly feeling very stupid.
She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and looked at the white wrist watch that Nakuru gave her for Christmas. She got up from against the wall.
"Eriol-kun," She said. "Is everything going to be okay?"
"Yes, of course Sakura-san," He said.
But something inside of him winced at her question like it wasn't directed where it was suppose to be. Not at all.
"I hope so," She said and started to walk away. "Everything should be okay."
Sakura entered the student council's room and plopped on the bright orange plush seat in the corner. The sky was almost dark and the window filtered soft afternoon light that reflected on the room.
Tomoyo looked up from her work on her desk and smiled. "Did you get it?"
"Yes," Sakura extended her arm and Tomoyo got the small brown bag she held.
"Thank you," She sipped on her frappuccino. "I'm sorry I couldn't walk home with you tonight. There are a lot of things I have to do."
"It all right," Sakura stretched and peered at Tomoyo's desk. It was neat as usual except for the papers that littered her desk. A cork board was placed at the corner and bunch of colorful reminders and a couple of photographs were pinned on it and below it stood a sunflower picture frame, a mug filled with writing materials and a small pocket organizer.
She blinked and looked at the cup.
Decorated on it was a watercolor picture of a small girl with flowing dark hair and large happy eyes and a small smiling mouth. She sat on a mat eating cake from a plate. The painting itself was not realistic but cartoon like and quite adorable but something struck her as familiar.
Tomoyo looked up and saw her gazing at the cup and a light flush tinged her cheeks.
"Oh um," She said.
"Eriol-kun made that?" Sakura asked.
"How did you know?" Tomoyo looked surprised.
Sakura turned the cup a little to the left and read the quote.
When life gives you lemons make lemonade… then douse the person who gave you the lemons and stick him in the oven and sink it in the Pacific!
"Lucky guess," Sakura said dryly.
She returned back to her seat. It's very good. When did he give you that?"
Tomoyo looked at her. "After"
Sakura suddenly looked contrite but quickly hid it. "I see,"
Tomoyo waved her hand dismissively. "You know it doesn't matter."
"Yes," Sakura stood up and looked out the window. The soccer team was practicing and a distant holler of the track team yelling "fight-o fight o," rang briefly in her ears. She turned around and leaned on the window sill.
"The soccer team is ending late today too so I'll be heading home early." She said. She traced random patterns on the glass. She turned her head and smiled at her. "So it's going to be a costume theme for the school Christmas party huh?"
"It's all right," Tomoyo said adding a slight twang to her voice. She grinned.
"I'll be heading out now," Sakura said. "You won't need anything else?"
Tomoyo shook head. "No, thank you."
Sakura nodded and waved her fingers before heading out the door and shutting it behind her.
Tomoyo dreamed.
She sat in one of the booths of the Café Mocha Cup a steaming mug of latte in front of her. The café was strangely empty but she did not question it and accepted it as it was. The music played cool Jazz on the background and the lights were dim in some places, light in others. She sipped her coffee and placed it back on the table.
"There you are," Syaoran suddenly appeared. He wore a light green cashmere sweater and khaki pants. He sat down in on the plush seat in front of her and placed a mug of chocolate frappuccino with a helping of whipped cream in front of him.
She didn't realize it before but she knew in some weird way that he was the one she was waiting for.
"Did you wait long?" He asked.
"No," She shook her head. "not at all."
They sipped their drinks in silence.
"Everything's going to be okay you know," He suddenly said.
She looked up surprised. "Of course,"
He smiled. It was one of those boyish smiles that she thought she'd never see on his face when he first appeared in her life years ago. "Nah, thought you should know."
Tomoyo smiled. "If this is about Sakura-chan, you know I'm not angry at her."
"Of course you aren't" He said dismissively. "Why would you?"
They sipped their drinks in silence again.
"How do you know? Tomoyo said after some time. "If everything's going to be fine or if things are not actually fine or…"
"Daidouji," Syaoran said. "Do you feel that sometimes people hurt you because they know you can survive it?"
She blinked. "This is turning out to be a very odd dream,"
"Ah well, dreams are dreams," He stood up. "You'll be fine you'll see,"
"Li-kun-"
Tomoyo opened her eyes slowly.
Everything was dark only the bare traces of moonlight reflecting on the walls. She had her head nestled on her arms, the school proposals stacked on her left. The clock overhead blinked at her.
7:30
It was already 7:30? How had she managed to stay up so late?
Then she heard it. It was a soft humming, a melody she couldn't place. She turned her head and slightly raised it from her arms. Her eyes saw a dark figure crouched on one of the desks while leaning his head out of the window.
She straightened up with a start.
The moonlight hazed through the thin curtains and a filter of light reflected on them both. She saw him then. Eriol's pale skin, milk or ivory against the darkness of the room was like a pearl laid against black silk. His hair was a shadow on his face partially obscuring the gentle undertones of his eyes. Under the moonlight, he was beautiful, a great and terrible sort of beauty that appreciated the dichotomy of kindness as well as malice, a kind of beauty that had taken its roots in the intricate webs of tragedy.
For most, this kind is the most alluring of all.
She wondered, since she is lighted under the moonlight as well, if he saw her this way.
"Oh, you're awake." He said softly. "I'm sorry, was I not quiet enough?"
She shook her head and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. "You should have woken me up."
"No," He stood up. "It's a gift. To be able to sleep while your mind assures you there are no worries. "
She looked up at him and he smiled at her. A small fluttering of sorts went on inside her stomach that settled in lovely warmth inside her chest.
"I think that you want me to."
She smiled at him and stood up. "Walk me home?"
He laughed. "Of course."
Suddenly with no thought or question, Tomoyo knew the Hiiragizawa Eriol was special to her. It didn't surprise her like a big realization dropping out of the sky but in its simple unwavering clarity.
"Let's go?" He said.
She picked up her satchel. "Yes, let's" She answered.
"Suppi!" Nakuru bounded down the oak staircase and peeked and the floating plushie on the kitchen. "Did you know where Eriol went last night?"
Spinel flapped in mid air and deposited a stack of pancakes on the table. "You know as well as I do where he went."
Nakuru pouted. "It seems so much nicer to hear it from somewhere else."
Spinel tossed him a rag. "Clean the table up. Make yourself useful."
"Tsk, how domestic."
Nakuru circled the large mahogany table and started fixing it for breakfast. Eriol was still somewhere upstairs finishing work like he usually did during the morning. She glanced at Spinel's hovering form that flew towards the table and placed a pitcher of orange juice in the middle.
"Why is it orange juice again?" Nakuru whine and flopped herself on the nearest armchair.
"Live with it."
"One of these days, I'm going to be in charge of the meals." Nakuru said. "Everything is going to be my own personal recipe."
"What recipe? Shoving a bag of popcorn inside the microwave and heating it for 3 minutes?"
"Heat it?" Nakuru turned his head. "I thought you were suppose to click defrost?"
"Idiot"
A shutting of metal could suddenly be heard outside and the roaring of a motorcycle. Nakuru jumped out of her chair and rushed out of the room.
"Mail's here! I'll get it!"
"You do that." Spinel said.
Nakuru bounded towards the foyer and outside the house, grabbing for the stack of envelopes inside the mailbox. She made her way back inside the manor humming a happy tune while throwing letters she conceived irrelevant behind her.
"Hmm, electricity bill… credit card bill… Oxford scholarship… Oooh, newsletter from Beads and Bangles! Daily newspaper… Eriol's daily love letters…. Tsk, he thinks they're funny…" Nakuru paused and her eyes widened. "Ara…?"
The envelope was gray almost tinting to silver. It wasn't the pristine white of company reminders or the cheery pastels of love struck school girls. It wasn't even the faintly scented lavender envelopes of Tomoyo-chan in which she uses to deliver school documents. It was metallic and bold and the light script written on the back was that of a woman's penmanship not the messy girlish cursive written in bright colored pens.
"Not again you idiot," Spinel came in the room. "Why do you always insist on throwing letters around when some of us actually finds them important?"
"Suppi-chan," Nakuru said plastering a big smile on her face. "Letter for Eriol! Give it to him would you?"
Suppi clasped the envelope in his paws while Nakuru skipped towards the kitchen.
"Lazy bum… why don't you give it to him?" He turned the envelope over and scanned the names at the back.
To Hiiragizawa Eriol
Reed Manor Tomoeda, Japan
Spinel's eyes widened.
From Mizuki Kaho,
6 Elms street Surrey, England.