Mirror, Mirror… Chapter 1

SUMMARY: An experience no one wants to have.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own CCS.

Pitter-patter-pitter-patter.

It's been raining steadily for days now, Sakura's father, Fujitaka, and her brother, Touya, were out for the night, both working late. Sakura, on the other hand, her mind tired from trying to understand the natures of the properties of linear equations, was heaving a slight migraine and therefore decided to sleep early and to hell with her homework. The summer heat was gradually giving way to the rainy season and the weather gave off a rather comfortably cool but sickly humid theme. This was giving Sakura a rather odd dilemma. Covering up in a blanket was too hot, yet kicking off her blanket made her shiver. In the end, she decided to half-cover herself. Slowly, after a bit of tossing and turning, she finally drifted off to sleep…

Her eyelids suddenly shot up. Something wasn't quite right. She glanced at her glow-in-the dark wall clock (an ornate oak-wood square-shaped thing) and thought it unusual she woke up a few minutes before 3 AM. She shrugged and sat up. Another thing, she wasn't feeling groggy like the grogginess she always feels when she wakes up, in fact, she sort of felt quite energized. She decided to go for a glass of milk.

Silently, she went through the hallways and down the stairs into the cozy kitchen that they had. She flipped on the lights and did what she set out to do. Since there was nothing else planned in her mind, she took her time sipping on her glass. Random things came to her thoughts, like how silent it was, there was not a sound, and her guess on what she would eat for breakfast tomorrow. Perhaps it's something exotic again. Her father had recently acquired a cookbook featuring breakfast delicacies from different countries. Last week, her brother and she had the opportunity to see, taste, eat, and gag at Fried Cow Eyes. She shuddered at the thought.

After rinsing her glass, she flipped off the lights and went back upstairs. Passing once again through the hallways, she noted that her father was not snoring like he always does. That's good. She had read somewhere that snoring was a sign of fatigue. As she climbed back to her bed, she felt sleepy again. Must have been the milk I drank. But wait, her mind argued, milk doesn't work that fast does it? Well, it doesn't matter now…all that matters is getting some…sleep…

Beep-beep-beep-beep….Beep-beep-beep-beep…

She opened her eyes with much effort. This time, she felt the usual morning sleepiness. The sunlight streaming into the room was almost unbearable. After washing her face, brushing her teeth, and taking her morning bath, she put on her uniform (school started last week) and went downstairs. Now what happened was beyond her understanding. No smell of any sort was wafting through the house. Was there any conversation she had with her dad that she had forgotten? As far as she knew, he was always, always supposed to cook breakfast every single day. She walked into the kitchen like she was in a trance. She was not used to this and, small a matter it was, it gave her a bit of a shock. She frantically searched for some sort of note—there was none. She rushed upstairs. Perhaps they had overslept! And what a terrible thing that would be. She opened the door to her father's room. Everything was neat and tidy. The bed was made and his suitcase was nowhere in sight. Odd. She went to her brother's room. It, too, looked as if he had already left. Oh well. She was still full from the milk she drank last night anyway. She ignored the terrible feeling she had at the pit of her guts and hurried to school.

'There you are, Sakura! I've been waiting for you for eons!' exclaimed Tomoyo. They agreed that in order to curb Sakura's late-waking-up-ness, Tomoyo would wait for her at the school gates so that Sakura would be at least a little bit more conscientious.

'Sorry, Tomoyo, but something weird just happened. Dad and Touya weren't there when I woke up.'

'Really?' Tomoyo's face twisted a bit, trying to think of a possible explanation. 'Well, maybe their work required them to work overnight.'

Sakura nodded. For some reason, she didn't want to figure it out. It will work out soon enough.

After school, she rushed back home. Surely Dad and Touya are home already. She excitedly opened the door and was greeted by darkness. As if the heavens understood her plight, it started to rain. Where on earth ARE they? She was starting to worry.

She was up 'til midnight. She paced in her room. Up and down she went. She called Tomoyo, but despite her comforting words, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something really bad had happened. Finally, mentally exhausted, she decided to sleep for just a little while.

Ring-ring…Ring-ring…went the telephone.

Sakura jumped up and ran to where it was. 'Hello? Dad? Touya?'

'Is this the Kinomoto residence?'

'Oh, sorry. I thought you were-…nevermind. Yes it is. May I ask who's calling?'

'This is the Tomoeda Police Department. I'm afraid I have some very bad news, miss…'

Her mind went blank. She felt as if she didn't exist anymore. Her mouth went dry, all she could utter was a coarse and almost inaudible…'What?'

They were gone. Their lives, once her warm beacons of love and security, snuffed out like…like…like they weren't so important after all. She was so unkind to them, too. These past few days, she had vented her frustrations out on them, and they accepted it, soothed it, and made her feel like they deserved it. She cringed deep inside. How could they have left her?...It was all so utterly sad…

She didn't go to school the next day. She lay on her bed, her head aching from all the tears that have flown from her eyes. She was like a cold, lifeless thing, whispering silently, to herself or probably to the people who are now gone. The telephone rang a few times, but it can never be her dear father calling, or even Touya, who loves her so much he barely shows it.

At the end of the day, her hunger got the best of her. She slowly got up, her head spinning like a crazy merry-go-round out of orbit. She groaned and just bumped herself down the walls of the hallway. When she reached the kitchen, her tears started to flow again. She started to whimper, and just dropped on the floor. She wailed and cried and regretted. It wasn't any use, she knew, but she hoped that the hurt would just get out of her along with all her sadness.

The next few days went by with a blur. She couldn't remember anything. All she knew was that, since she was already past legal age (she was 18 and a half), she was allowed to stay in the house in peace. Distant relatives took pity and agreed to pay for the household bills. (Which, to their delight, was almost none as Sakura usually put herself in the confines of her bedroom). Tomoyo offered to stay with her but as Sakura seemed to be drifting off elsewhere, she figured that she might want to be alone for a while—or a long time for that matter.

A week went by and Sakura seemed to be improving. Although she had the usual dead look in her eyes, she was more communicative, and Tomoyo noticed a little spark that showed more of Sakura.

There was nothing she could do to bring them back. She lay on her bed, appreciating the silence that only nighttime can give. She'd just have to live with it. It had stopped raining, and what was left was the humidity. She wore a thin sleeveless undershirt and a pair of short shorts. Even sadness cannot null the sense of being comfortable. For a while she stared at the ceiling.

Rustle, rustle… something was making noise in the room.

Rats weren't popular in this side of the city. She sat up and scanned the room.

Rustle, rustle…

There it was. In the mirror. Something was moving. She squinted at it and tried to take a closer look. It was some sort of bush…rustling. She looked at where the mirror was facing…

It was a blank wall.

I really really hope you like this story! Thanks for reading! Please do review, I'd appreciate it very much:)

Have a nice day and good night!

Cheers! ----------------------funkyfunky.