Withered Petals
By: Aisaki Sumi
Important Notice: I'm planning to write TEN S+S drabbles for my lovely reviewers out there as my present for you guys for X-mas. The main them of these drabbles will be Christmas. I'm still taking requests, so if you're interested in requesting a drabble, leave a REVIEW or COMMENT on my Fic-journal. The last day to request is tomorrow, so if you're interested, request now and that drabble will be written and dedicated to you.
Chapter dedicated to all those who had taken the time to review this story and those who had added this story to their favorite list! (Hugs you all)
a/n: Once again, I apologize profusely for the previous lengthy boring chapter. Even I got bored scanning through it last night to get a sense of where the story had left off. Romance is not the only element in this story. There will be plenty of romance but also other things such as friendships, Sakura's development in trusting people as you probably have noticed she rarely talks, her life as a geisha before meeting Syaoran in their adulthood, war, prejudice, discrimination against women etc. So you've been warned once again. If you're a pure romance sucker and expect only Sakura x Syaoran fluffy romance in this story, well, I will have to advise you to turn around and read something else again. XD I'm actually quiet surprised by the number of people who are reading this angsty dramatic romance story XD. This is actually my favorite story so far, since it has all the things that I liked XD (yesh writing my other romantic comedy stories is a drag because I personally believe life doesn't work out that way.) You can expect a lot of updates from this story since it's my favorite so far XD. Enough with my babbling and on with the story!
Chapter 3 Burning Ambers
Time passes by like the sands in the hourglass, forever slipping through the tiny hole and falling into the unfilled container. When the bottom glass is full again, someone would tip over the delicate and fragile balance, and flip the hourglass around. The cyclic motion of flipping and fulfilling govern the motion of the universe. I always thought there were external forces that kept things going whether it was chance or gods, or other supernatural things that people believed in. And this got me thinking from times to times… Perhaps my departure of the small village that I lived in was destined to happen; perhaps my mother was destined to leave me and allow someone else to take me away and bring me to a faraway land where things weren't simply governed by chance, but also by powerful men.
Weeks had gone by since my arrival at the Okiya and I had done nothing exciting so far but cleaning the okiya's floor, washing dirty clothes, mopping the courtyard and many other chores that I did back at home. The only difference between the chores I done back then and now were the loads of it, the amount of it. There were many maids in this okiya, but the work load was much more than we could handle.
The strangest thought struck me the other day when I realized that all people who worked at the okiya as either maids or cooks or guards were women. There were no males around, not even a single man was around to guard the entrance door. I recalled seeing an ouji-san sitting on the chair by the gates of our village when I was little. He was always there, and his dog would bark at any stranger coming through the gates. I sometimes would go there and pat him on the head, but I always got yelled at afterwards by oneechan for wondering off to disturb the ouji-san by the door and his dog.
My new life at the okiya was surprisingly busy. Everyday was filled with chores, and more chores. I rarely got anytime to explore the new place or find a quiet place for myself to think through things or watch the cloud patches drifting away with the gentle wind like I used to do everyday on the porch in front of my house. My old life seemed to be fading away, along with some of my childhood memories of the village that I used to call home. I never seemed to have enough time to think about my father's betrayal, my mother's sudden departure and her sickness. Sometimes in my sleep, I would let my mind ponder on these matters, such as if my mother had recovered from her sickness, or if father was planting new berries on our land, but before I could even dwell on those thoughts and memories, my brain shut down and took me to a fantasy land, where the fairies and beautiful princesses had lived. A land where such things as sorrow and bitter betrayals didn't exist, where its residents' lives were filled with enchanting music and contentments… With those thoughts filling my mind, I let the bitterness and lonely feelings fade away and become insignificant, just for the night.
I hadn't seen Tomoyo ever since our first encounter on my arrival day. She was never around doing chores with the rest of the maids, nor was she ever around helping out our cook, Shizuko-san. I let my curiosity take control of my mind again, wondering about all the possibilities of Tomoyo's being in here. Was she the head geisha of the okiya? The one Arai-san mentioned earlier? I didn't know, but to me, she appeared a bit too young to be the head geisha, since the pretty geishas in kimono I saw down the streets all appeared to be much older than her. I shrugged off the thought as I heard a yell, which came from the slightly opened door down the other end of the corridor that I was cleaning. "HAI!" I got up quickly and dashed for the call. The bucket of water dangling uncontrollably in my small hands, I saw water droplets flying out of the bucket and splashing themselves onto the well-polished floor. But I had no time to wipe them up as the voice grew more impatient.
"SAKURA! What's taking you so long!"
"Gomen!" I apologized while I carried the bucket with both of my hands and the dirty rug around my neck. This way I could be able to have both of my hands free and carry the heavy bucket of water. "Gomen." I mumbled quietly again as I arrived at the slightly opened sliding door with paper screens covering it. There I saw mother wearing a different kimono. It was a darker shade of red this time with beautiful sakura blossoms shrewd across the fine silky fabric that appeared to be glowing softly under the light. Mother made a rough grunt as she flipped the page of the newspaper she was reading. Mother was always interested in the news, especially the economics section – that was what Auntie told me the other day anyway. I didn't understand what economics meant back then, but I had my own way of interpreting it. I thought it had something to do with sounds, since it started with the sound 'eco', which I mistakenly thought was 'echo'.
"I told some maid to tell you to clean the floors of the upper level of the house moments ago, how come you're still here scrubbing this floor!" Mother asked impatiently, her raspy voice was sharper and higher pitched than usual, hinting the growing irritation in her. She always liked things being done her way. In the okiya, she was the law, and anything she ordered to do must be done or carried out within seconds. Auntie advised me to please mother as much as I could, but all I could do was making her angrier than before.
"Gomen nasai, mother." I didn't really know what to do then. All my dumbfounded brain could think of at the moment was to apologize. Those apologies were meant to cool down the boiling angers in mother, but they seemed to have forgotten their original purpose and did the contrary, which was to deepen the frown on mother's face.
"I don't even know why I have so many useless, filthy little girls in this okiya!" Mother snapped, her tone was harsh and cold as she flipped the page again, but this time, more roughly causing the paper to rustle louder than before. I flinched slightly, feeling the tears polling up in my eyelids. I was never informed on any other chores, nor had I ever come across any maids who were supposed to be mother's messenger. The entire thing felt unfair to me, as I had done nothing wrong, but merely following the instructions of Auntie's since she was in charge of the chores and of the maids. My vision blurred as the colors and patterns on mother's kimono became softer and lighter, and soon, I could no longer see the patterns of it. They appeared to be smudged colors and distorted image. But I made sure none of the droplets spilled out of my eyes since mother hated girls who cry. She made another grunt and snorted, I didn't know if it was directed to me or the newspaper she was reading.
I waited for a few minutes to see if she had anything else to instruct me before I leave, but she said nothing. I kept my eyes on the floor and they then traveled to my bare feet, they were dirty and had dried mud on the tips of my toes. I stood there by the door, with the water bucket still in my right hand. My arm was getting sorer as the time flowed by, to an extent that it felt numb and no longer mine, but mother hadn't give me the dismissal signal yet and I was afraid to get yelled at again for displeasing her. It was then her gruff voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Why are you still here? I thought I told you go get out already! Now out of my sight before you piss me off even more!"
"H-hai!" I responded as I bowed as low as I could, like Auntie had taught me before and dashed out of the room as quickly as possible. A number of water droplets splashed out of the bucket when I was on my way out, but I paid no attention to those, I had to get to the second floor of the okiya and scrub clean the floors of that level before I get yelled at again. Shaky and stumbling, I was slowly losing my balance as I made my way down the dark corridor, but regained my balance as I stopped to look around to search for the staircase that would lead me to the upper levels. The okiya was similar to a maze that one could never get out. I slowed down my pace just slightly to let my keen eyes and memory to guide me to the right way.
I saw a long darkened staircase covered by a thin layer of dust. Sighing a little, I took the rug off my neck and soaked it in the bucket of water, only taking it out after it had absorbed all the water. I gave it a slight squeeze to get ride of the excess water and started scrubbing the dirty staircase one by one until I reached the top of it. I let out a relieved sigh as I wept off the sweat clutched onto my forehead and brushed aside the strands of auburn bangs that were getting into my eye. The back of my blue cotton kimono was soaked with sweat, I shifted uncomfortably in it but the discomfort was brushed aside as I looked around, studying my surrounding inquisitively. I had never been to the second level of the main house before, since the maids room was at the back of the okiya and on the ground level. The childish curiosity in me stirred as a sense of exploration excitement sparked down my nerves.
I picked up the bucket of water once again, with the now dirtied rug in the other hand as I slowly wandered down the corridor, passing by closed rooms. The paper screened doors lacked the soft glow I saw every time I entered mother's room. They appeared unoccupied by human presence. I continued down the ghostly quiet hallway, the only sounds I could hear were the squeaks made by the wooden floor, caused by the constant shifting of my own weight. I stopped by a room with some form of shadow cast upon paper screens of the wooden sliding doors. Pausing, I scrutinized at the shadow, and it appeared to be a human figure, a silhouette of a girl.
It was then my eyes discovered the little gap between the two parts of the sliding door that shielded the room closed. I tiptoed forward a few steps and stopped on track right at the little gap. I poked my head out, and leaned forward, bending my body and to form a "c" shape. There I caught a glimpse of the flicker of candle fire that looked like it was going to die out soon. The fire was pale orange, slightly blue at the center of the flame. It seemed to have cast a spell upon me as my eyes softened with the soft flow. I nearly forgot about the water bucket that I was holding. My arm was probably protesting to my brain while I was gazing at the candle fire, but my brain appeared to have ignored it and was too preoccupied with something else. As a result of the disagreement between the two, my arm reached it maximum capacity and dropped the water bucket.
A loud thump was created as a result of the water bucket, filled with dirty water, hitting the floor. I panicked and squeezed my eyes shut and prayed hard for some kind of miracle to happen, or at least, cancel out the fast spreading sound waves before it gets a chance to reach mother's ears, or anyone's ears in fact. "Who's there?" A sweet gentle voice called out. I opened my eyes and stared at the mess on the floor. I felt my heart bumping rapidly as if it was going to jump out of my chest. My fears overwhelmed me and took control of my body. I literally froze on the spot, panicking inwardly but refused to reply to the call.
"Who's there?" The music-like voice repeated. It seemed to be coming out of the room I just took a peek of, or more like, took a peek of the candle light. The voice was so soft and gentle, and sounded extremely familiar to my ears. I was sure that I had heard it somewhere before, but I just couldn't remember from where. Still in hiatus, my mind told me to stay where I was while my heart told me to come forth and clean up the mess and apologize to whoever was in the room sincerely.
"Go-gomen…" The apology flowed out of my mouth so naturally, before I even had the time to stop it. I heard a soft giggle from the room and my eyes widened. Utterly confused, I stepped forward, into the water to get closer to the gap to see who it was. I just made a mess and disturbed the peaceful transquility of the okiya. I expected some kind of scowling, or a beating for the trouble I had just caused. But instead, I earned myself a quiet childish giggle. I was confused and intrigued at the same time. A part of me wanted to slide open the door and see the owner of the giggle, yet a part of me felt unsure and was afraid.
"Ah, Sakura-chan desu ka?" The girl inquired after the giggles had been absorbed by the air. I was shocked at first. The only thing on my mind at the moment was, how did she know my name? How could she possibly have seen me with the door closed? Did she have some sort of magical power? My mind was bombarded with curious and childish questions. But before I could even search for the answers to my questions, the person from the other side of the sliding door spoke again. "You're probably wondering how I could tell ne? Saa, it's actually quite simple. I have very sharp ears, and your voice is very distinctive and I can recognize it easily. So come inside will you?"
I took another step forward but hesitated again. I really didn't know what was the wisest thing to do at the moment. What if I get into trouble again for entering the rooms on the second floor without mother's permission? I would get a beating for sure! But the quiet, velvety voice interrupted my thoughts again, assuring me that everything was alright. "It's alright, you can come in. I give you the permission to do so. It is my room after all." The sentence was ended with another giggle. The warmness of her words melted away the doubts in my heart and I finally pushed away the fear that was restraining me from moving forward.
I kneeled down to wipe the spilled water back into the bucket… somehow. After a few minutes of hard work, I managed to use the method of letting the rug absorb the water into itself which then allowed me to squeeze the water out into the bucket. Much of the water was gone now, there were still a few patches of water here and there, but majority was back to the bucket again, where it belonged. I wiped my dirty and wet hands on my apron and took a deep breath before pushing the door open. As the paper screens of the wooden door slid passed my eyes, more of the room was revealed, and eventually, the soft-spoken, mild mannered girl was revealed.
My eyes widened as I recognized who it was. "To-Tomoyo… chan?" I gasped, but she merely smiled at me. Her bright, heart-warming smile made my heart pound faster than before. She was beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen in my entire life. Her beauty could rival the ones of those beautiful geishas' I saw on my way to the okiya. The kimono she was wearing was simple, but gorgeous, fully enhancing her natural beauty and the color of her eyes, which were the only part that was incompatible with the rest of her stunningly beautiful face. The pair of amethyst orbs were dull, and hallow, lacking a shine that could've made her glow even more brilliantly.
"Hai, who did you think I was?" She had a playful grin on her face as she turned around to face me, giving me a full view on her oval-shaped face.
"What took you so long to come in and say hi? 'Kaasan said you were going to come and play with me once you're done your chores, but you never dropped by, and I thought you weren't going to come visit me anymore." Her words faded into a bare whisper as her eyes saddened, the smile vanishing from her lips. A heavy weight seemed to have settled down in my heart as I saw her saddened expression. Even though I had done nothing wrong, other than spilling the water and peeking on her part, I felt an unexplainable guilt tugging in my small heart, and it had an apparent weight of a thousand tons.
"Gomen." I muttered softly. It seemed to be the only word I spoke of at the okiya and the only word I knew. Ever since I got here, I did nothing but apologize, even if I did nothing wrong. Auntie told me it was the way things were here in the okiya and that if I apologize often I could get myself out of a beating. An uncomfortable silence settled in the atmosphere again, stirring the uneasiness in me. I shifted uncomfortably and decided to say nothing. I didn't want to upset her again, and silence appeared to be a much better choice to me.
The ever-present smile returned to her face once again, immediately lightened up the room. "Daijoubu yo, you don't need to apologize to me. You've done nothing wrong. Just remember to come by and visit me whenever you get a chance. There aren't any girls around my age in this okiya. You're probably the first young girl here in a long while." Tomoyo explained as she settled her hands gracefully on her lap. I watched her elegant movements and felt the urge to do what she just did, so I could seem less like a peasant next to her.
"I rarely gets any visitors and spend most of my time in this room. Kaasan says it's not safe for me to wonder around the okiya on my own. I might bump into something and get hurt." Tomoyo went on, her eyes were now on the floor, unfocused, as if she didn't know what she was looking at. "It's all because I can't see." The last comment came out heavy and dreadful and I could feel my heart stopping for a few seconds. My mouth opened in surprise and studied her more carefully. No wonder her eyes were so dull and unfocused all the times. No wonder I rarely got to see her around doing work like the rest of us. No wonder she spent most of her times in a dimly lit room.
I heard of stories about people being blind from my mother when I was little. She called the ones who couldn't see poor souls. "It must be very lonely and scary for them to be constantly immersed in a world of darkness. They can't see normally like you and me Sakura. Just think about how your life might be if you can't see anything around you. You' can't see okaasan, or otousan, or your oneechan and oniichan." My mother words rang in my mind as I gazed at Tomoyo with watery eyes. I felt the tears swelling up in my eyes as the thought of Tomoyo suffering from an overwhelming loneliness entered my mind. There was also a sudden inrush of guilt into my heart.
How could I be complaining about my life when she had a more horrible life than me, and yet, did not even complain a word of it? God deprived her of her sight. She had never seen Auntie before, nor had she been able to see the friends she had in the past, or this beautiful okiya, or her own beauty. Her world was surrounded by an eternal darkness. The more I pondered on the matter, the worse I felt. "Go-gomen." I choked on my own words, the tears streamed down my cheeks, I was sad for her, and at the same time, disappointed and angry with myself, of the kind of baby I was. I should consider myself to be lucky comparing to her. When I was sulking in the corner, she was smiling brightly, as if she was enjoying what she had and what the world had offered her. Sometimes it is better to be thankful of the things you have, rather than sulking about the things you don't have.
"Don't cry Sakura-chan. It's alright. I'm used to it now. Don't feel bad." She murmured softly, comforting me. "Just come by and say hi to me more often. After all, kaasan did say we're friends, and friends should play with each other and keep each other in company ne?" Tomoyo cocked her head to the side and enlarged her smile. I sniffled and wiped the tears off my face with the sleeve of my kimono. I was really glad that I had met her. Even though my life was hard here at the okiya; even though I was abandoned by my family, I was still accepted by her. Though I wasn't fully opening myself up to her just yet, but I knew that we will one day become very good friends. I simply smiled back at her, filling my heart with the warmth offered by her. It had been a while since I felt this kind of contentment.
It was then someone's footsteps disturbed the pleasant tranquility that surrounded us, it sounded the person was slowly approaching Tomoyo's room. I turned my head around and looked over my shoulder to see who it was and I was astonished by what I saw. She was wearing a light pink kimono covered in beautiful white sakura petals, the material woven of fine silk was wrapped around her perfect body, displaying her feminine curves Even though there were layers of other silks underneath the outer kimono layer, she still looked light and delicate. The kimono fitted her perfectly and appeared to be a layer of her skin rather than decorative clothing. Unlike Mother or Arai-san who made the kimono seem heavy and a drag to wear, she made it appear lighter and more comfortable than it actually was.
Her raven black hair were smoothed into a popular geisha hair style at the time, and it was decorated by ornaments and beautiful hand made flowers that matched her kimono perfectly. Her face was oval-shaped, slightly pointy around the chin. It was covered by a layer of rich white powders that geishas had to wear, giving her a pale but beautiful appearance. Her scarlet red lips stood out the most, like the colors of blood splashed onto the white snow. And her cheeks were painted slightly rosy. My amazed eyes traveled up her face, stopping on the way to admire her delicate nose. It was small and had just the right steepness. But what shocked me the most were her eyes. They were the colors of deep cerulean. They appeared watery and beautiful, sparkling under the dim light. Her entire face was flawlessly beautiful, as if it was touched by the divine hands of the God. There was a small but elegant smile on her face. It wasn't as wide as a grin, nor was it like a friendly smile. It was just a small, simple, but extremely lovely smile.
"You must be the filthy new girl they got." Commented her rudely, but nonetheless, she had a sweet and beautiful voice. "I don't get why mother even bothers to buy disgusting things like you." Shaking her head slightly, she let out a small faked sigh as if she was truly disappointed.
"It must be nice to have another peasant like yourself to hang out with you," She turned to smile at Tomoyo, but there was something eerie and unfriendly about that smile that caused me to frown slightly. All I could think of at the moment was: how could someone so beautiful be so mean?
"After all, all you can do is sit here all day long and wait for that mother of yours to feed you and take care of you. I don't understand why mother still keeps you around. And I thought she was smart. Investing money in a useless, blind thing like you is truly wasteful." I stole a glance at Tomoyo from the corners of my eyes and saw the smile fading away, replaced by a mixture of emotions. Her lips were suppressed into a thin line. "Hmm, oh well I guess I'll just have to put up with you and your stupid new friend there for another few years since Auntie's still around. But once she's gone, the first one I'm going to kick out is you." She gave out a bitter laugh and then turned to face me.
"You there, peasant girl. Go fetch me some peaches, I want fresh and sweet ones. They seemed to have run out of it in the kitchen. Useless maids, they really don't know how to please the one who's making all the money here and feeding them. If I don't go to tea parties and entertain men, you people would be on the streets right now, begging for the half-eaten food that people thrown out in the garbage can." She tossed me a disdained look, as titled her head upward before, looking as beautiful and as conceded as ever.
"Here's some money and go. I don't like to wait around." She held her arm up and took out a few coins from the hidden pockets in her sleeves and thrown them at me. The coins bounced off the floor at first, making a nice cling sound and then rolled to my way, spinning around before they came into a stop.
"Take the money and go. Are you deaf or something?" I opened my mouth to dispute that but remembered what Auntie said about no talking back at the members of the upper family. I closed my mouth again, letting her continue on. "The fruits store is down the street. All you have to do is walk straight down from this avenue for half an hour or so to get it. Now go, I expect the peaches to arrive before dinner." With that, she swiveled around elegantly and walked off, leaving the bottom of her kimono fluttering behind her.
I picked up the coins and looked over at Tomoyo again, to seek some advices from her since she knew the okiya better than me. "Who was that person?" I questioned, keeping my voice low and quiet. My eyes were fixed on Tomoyo's face, watching her every moment like a cat observing someone of its interest. I saw her lowering her gaze to the floor for a brief moment before giving me a response.
"That's Nanako-san… the head geisha of this okiya."
The size of my eyes widened again, increasing to twice of its original shape. No wonder she looked so elegant and dazzling. I should have had been able to tell from the way she was dressed and the sort of make up she had applied to her flawless face. That was my first time meeting Nanako-san, her beautiful image was permanently imprinted onto my mind, but at the same time, I had a glimpse of the type of horrible person she was. It was ironic how someone so angelic and goddess-like lovely could be so ill-minded and mean.
"She never liked me because she thinks that Mother would adopt me instead of her and let me run the okiya after she is unable to do so. But as you have probably noticed, Nanako-san wants to become the new owner and become fully independent." Perplexed and puzzled by what Tomoyo was saying at the moment, I simply scratched my head in confusion and decided to think through it a bit later when I get a chance to. At this time, I didn't know how the okiya was operated, since I was only told to do follow instructions.
In my later on years, I learned that there was a head geisha in every okiya. They were the main source of the okiya's incomes. By doing so, they pay off their own debts and geisha lessons and their own medical bills. After all that, a large portion of their income went to the okiya to keep things running and they only receive a small portion of their own money made from going to tea parties and entertaining men. However, if the geisha was successful enough and charmed the most powerful men, someone would offer to be their danna, which meant a buyer. Their danna must pay for everything the geisha needs and for their company. Some of them would woe the geisha of their interest with expensive gifts such as jewelry or kimonos. I was yet to learn how this but I would soon be taught of that in my future geisha lessons.
"Ne Sakura-chan… you should get going now before she reports something horrible about you to mother that's not true and then you will be in big troubles." Tomoyo reminded kindly me and gave me a meek smile. I returned it with a small smile of my own before getting up and smoothing out the plain cotton fabric of my kimono like the way Tomoyo and Auntie did. I wanted to be elegant and graceful like them. I picked up the water bucket on the way and looked down at the floor making sure it was fully dried, and it was, much to my contentment. I tossed the rug into the bucket and tugged the coins safely into the sleeves of my kimono before exiting Tomoyo's room.
"Ja matte ne." I turned to bid my goodbye and added a little wave that I often did whenever I was saying good bye to someone. It was an old habit of mine that I kept with me throughout most of my life, until I was told to stop doing it. She smile pleasantly back at me even though she couldn't see where I was, but it made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
……
It was my first time out of the okiya since my arrival here at Kyoto and I once again, was taken back by the broad streets and the number of people hurrying passed me, and off to some unknown destinations of their own which wasn't important to me. For I, had somewhere to go myself instead of wandering aimlessly on the streets, even though I was only doing Nanako-san her errand, but it made me feel important, just like the rest of the adults rushing down the roads. Straightening my back, I smoothed out my kimono a bit and then my sleeves and then adjusted the simple obi I had around my waist. The kimono I was wearing wasn't half as beautiful as Nanako-san's, but it was the most elegant thing I had ever worn.
Meandering down the street while observing the stores that lined up on both sides of the road, each store had crowds of people coming in and out and the entire district looked so lively, as if a festival was taking place. I took the time to look around and allowed myself to become amazed by the simplest things, and tossed Nanako-san's words to the back of my head. I never had a good view of this part of the Gion district since I was dreading over the bitterness I felt from the betrayal when I was on my way here, but now, for some strange reasons, I felt less bothered by it. Maybe it was because I was slowly adapting to the busy life at the okiya, or maybe it was because of Auntie and Tomoyo. I really didn't know.
Brushing aside the thoughts, I allowed myself to enjoy the moment while it had lasted. Being in the okiya was like being locked up in a prison where you had to work your butt off every day. I didn't get many breaks. The work usually went from 6:00 A.M. in the morning to the late afternoon, and then into the night, and the next day, the cycle started again. It was nice to finally be free again. Inhaling the fresh city air, I closed my eyes and smiled a little as I opened up my arms to welcome in the cool autumn breeze. It caressed my cheeks and exposed skin gently, leaving feather-light touches across my pale skin, and rustling through my auburn hair, then, vanishing without a trace, as if it was never there.
I reopened my eyes and gazed into the shades of crystal blueness above me. There were patches of unfolded sheets of clouds floating slowly in the sky. Some were moving in groups and some were alone. My gaze then fell upon the large trees planted on the side walk and noticed how the leaves were turning a reddish-brown, darkened auburn color. I didn't know it had already been that long. The last time I was out on the little crooked muddy road of our village, it was still humid and warm, and the trees were still as brilliantly green as ever, but now… such dramatic change took my by surprise.
I continued down the road, leaving the crowded area and entering a totally different world, where the streets were quiet and empty, occupied a pleasant peaceful tranquility. There were large palace-sized houses on the sides that were even more grand and beautiful than the okiya. My jaws dropped as I gasped at the beauty of the houses. Unlike the avenue the okiya was located at, which had all identical looking houses. Each of these mansions were unique in their own ways and had a style of their own which further enhanced their elegancy. The front entrance to the mansions were slightly different from the traditional ones of the okiya, they had a more westernized and modern appearance. I could actually see the lovely gardens from where I was because of the metallic barred tall fences. I felt like I was in a mystical land and my pace slowed down drastically as I became more enchanted by the beauty of the traditional Japanese gardens inside.
Finally coming into a stop in front one of them, I approached the gates without realizing I had done so since my eyes and mind were too preoccupied and immensely impressed by the beauty of the large cherry blossom tree located near the grand entrance to the mansion. It was so large that its branches formed an enormous umbrella that acted as a shelter of some sort. My mother had once told me that large trees were actually possessed by spirits who were probably a member of the family, he or she resides in the tree to be close by their loved ones and act as their guardian spirit.
My head bumped into the cold metallic bars of the gate and realized that I had trailed off my path once again. "Itai. (Ouch.)" I rubbed my head, trying to ease the sharp pain created by the bump. It was then I saw the most magical thing in my life. I saw a young boy around my age appearing under the tree. He must have had approached the tree while I was distracted by the pain.
He had short messy chestnut hair and extremely handsome features. He was wearing an expensive looking boy's kimono which fitted him perfectly, giving him an appearance of a true samurai. He had a wooden stick held in front of him and appeared to be cutting through the invisible air. The sudden chilly breeze that swirled by rustled through his hair, causing the chestnut bangs that framed his delicate yet handsome face to sway rhythmically with it.
His kimono sleeves swayed to the direction of of the wind as well and I was astonished by the beautiful scenery before my eyes. I didn't know if it was just a mere illusion or reality, but one thing was for sure, I was captivated by the mysterious boy with the wooden kendo stick. Mother used to tell me stories of the great samurais who risked their lives to protect our beautiful country, and before me, was exactly the type of great samurai I had pictured in mind. He might be a bit young to be a hero of this country at the time, but I knew, from the way he controlled his sword, he was going to become a great samurai when he grows up.
With these thoughts filled in my mind, I poked my head in between the two metallic bars to get a closer view of him. The soothing coldness against my warm skin felt strangely pleasing. And suddenly, he held out his sword in front of him again, his head turning my way just a little bit and looked straight into my eyes. It was a brief moment but I felt my own body being paralyzed, and my heart literally skipped a beat as it started pounding much faster than before. My breath became short and uneven as my eyes widened. I was startled by the determination and passions I saw in his burning amber eyes.
The ambers burned brightly under the pale sunlight of autumn, and I was at a loss of words when I felt them drawing me in, draining all the strength I had in my body. I felt I was going to fall and that I was losing my balance. The level of intensity and seriousness held by those orbs, and the fierceness mixed with the passions for life made him look breathtakingly handsome. I was lost in the endless amber. I didn't know what to do except gaping back at him with my own astounded and bewildered emerald green eyes. Our eyes were locked in a gaze, and I found myself unable to pull away from the strong attraction. The warmth spread across my cheeks, making me flushing slightly pink, adding onto my natural rosy color.
It was then someone from within the house called him and he turned away, breaking off our eye contact. "Syaoran!" The person called again, but this time louder. Her voice was soft but strong and very motherly. The boy was now facing the side of the house instead of me. I gathered up the only strength left in my body and exerted myself off the gates and scurried away, hurring away from something and yet nothing. Maybe I was trying to run away from him… from his fierce, piercing gaze… or his burning amber orbs that seemed to have cast a spell on me, binding me to it with invisible strings.
I was running, escaping, fleeting. My mind was racing at the speed of light and my body seemed to have a mind of its own, temporarily separated from my brain. And my heart was pounding as fast as it could, I placed a hand on my chest, to slow down my heartbeat, but it didn't seem to work. The world around me seemed be have been silenced by something, muted, and at the moment, all I could hear was my own pulse, beating through my body.
I had never seen such passionate, radiant amber eyes before. I felt so drawn to it that if he didn't turn around I couldn't have been able to pull away from that gaze. It was the first time I had felt something like this, something so exciting and scary at the same time. I was afraid, yet I wanted to stay and find out more about him.
I finally slowed down, my breath heavy from the running. Sweat was trickling down my cheek from my forehead but I did not bother to wipe it away as I usually did. His image was haunting my mind. I wondered who he was… it was then I remembered something, his name was Syaoran… I was pretty sure it was his name, but then again, a part of me was doubtful, since I wasn't myself at the time and was apparently cut off from the rest of the world, my surroundings. But I heard a woman calling him by that name… It must have been his name…
"Syaoran…" I repeated, unaware I had just done so. I turned around slightly and looked over my shoulder, allowing my eyes to gaze at the emptiness of the road which had once led me to that mysterious boy. Little did I know at the time that he had captured my heart the moment our eyes met…
The pair of passionately burning amber orbs that bewitched me… belonged to the man who I fell deeply in love with, the man that I will love for the rest of my life. And that love, so destructive and beautiful and passionate, will linger on, even after death… But for now, I was simply fascinated by him, his wooden kendo sword, and most of all, his intensive amber eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED...
a/n: I'm a lazyass but I'm updating this story weekly. And that is a HUGE commitment. So keep up the reviews guys! I adore each every one of them and get inspired every time I read one XP. So if you want me to keep updating this story, then KEEP ON REVIEWING! Lolz. Alright I'll shut up now. XD but I swear to god long chapter kills my patience and brain cells but then again I couldn't resist adding in some little details about things. (yesh it's my own fault XD) After all, details x angst beautiful. So yah, I'm probably gonna stick to that equation until I get tired of it one day XD.
Anyway, like I said before, Sakura is going to meet Syaoran in this chapter XP and she did! Muwahaha, such kawaii moment eh? Too bad it only lasted for about… (looks down to check her watch) 30 seconds. XD A few of the characters is introduced in this chapter, but Eriol and Meiling and the rest of them will appear only in later on chapters. And you can count on seeing Syaoran again in the next chapter again! (smiles) I apologize for the lack of romance and fluff in the story and it appears to be moving very slow right now, but I promise it'll get better. The plot will take a few more chapters to develop and I hope you're starting to the notice the difference between my story and Memoirs of the Geisha. I said I wasn't going to use that plot and the only reason the first two chapters appear to be similar to the book is because those are mostly background information and how things worked back then, and I can't just make up stuff and say it is historically accurate.
I got lazy from times to time and took a LOT of breaks in between when I was typing up this chapter, so I think you can tell when I got lazy and when I wasn't lazy. (Hint: the parts that lacked my usual detailed description are where I got lazy XD buwahaha)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you haven't done so already, please add your email to my Fanfic Notify List if you want me to email you when there is an update. Also, if you don't want the crazy authoress (MOI!) to have your email (that's very understandable too XD after seeing my insaneness, who would wanna put up with me ne?), just letting you guys know that I usually update things on the weekend, Friday night and Saturday night to be specific. So check out my fanfics on those days to look for new updates! (Not just this fic, all my fics are updated on those nights)
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