Hye everyone! The second last chapter is here already! By the way, thanks for your comments! Have fun reading!

Chapter 17

Don't Take Me Away

Pain pierced in all the entire of her body when she landed with a hard thump onto something solid, like a big, flat rock. She tried to open her eyelids but they refused her orders. Her head felt heavy, she hardly can move her body. Her pulse was beginning to decreasing; the smell of blood filled her lungs. Her breathing became slower and slower. Everything felt so hurting. Am I …going to die? She waited for the moment to come.

"Hand me the rope!" The sound vibrated in her ears. That voice…it sounded so familiar. She forced her eyelids to open but they only opened halfway. Blurry vision of a figure coming down from the cliff, hanging on the rope came to her sight. Beginning to loose her conscious, she closed her eyes unwillingly, hearing her heart beating faintly.

"Sakura, open your eyes," The same voice told her, shaking her body gently but hard enough to bring back the pain she felt all over her body. "Open your eyes!" The voice demanded, slapping her cheeks lightly.

With much effort, she finally managed to open her eyes, blinking tiredly. She began to control her senses once again. A dark shadow was cupping her cheeks in his palms. She concentrated her eyes on him, little by little began to gain a clearer vision of the figure. "Can you hear me, Sakura?" he softly asked, caressing her head.

"Uh, S-Syao.." she mumbled under her breathes, trying to keep her eyes open but it was so hard, and also hurting. What if she just closed them? But then what if they won't open anymore? The thoughts kept disturbing her mind.

"I'm…tired…" she uttered helplessly, wanting to close her eyes. Maybe I'll just take a rest. Yeah, just a short one.

"No, don't Sakura! Don't close your eyes! We'll get you out of here. I promise…I promise." His voice quivered with fear. Fear of loosing her, fear that she won't open her eyes again when she shut them. He kissed her forehead. Watching her like this, it really pained him. She's loosing too much blood already. Damn! His tears dropped on her pale face, she felt it. Raising an arm towards him, she touched his cheek gently, wiping off his tears with her fragile fingers. "I-I'll…not l-leave you," she smiled faintly, giving him hope which she wasn't sure of.

"Don't you dare to leave me," he hissed weakly, brought her closer to him and embraced her in his loving arms. As if afraid that she'll leave him, he held her tightly onto his hard chest. "Pull us up!" he commanded to the rest of them from above. "Hang on, Sakura," he whispered in her ears, kissing her forehead again, however trying to avoid his eyes from seeing the blood flowing from the cut of her head. He could not bear to watch her pain. He just couldn't.

……

"Sakura, wake up dear." A soothing woman's voice called her. Sakura stirred momentarily in her sleep, and then decided to continue her peaceful slumber, ignoring the call.

"Wake up sweetheart," she called again, her fingers rubbing the smooth cheek of the young girl who was beginning to open her eyes unwillingly. "Yes, sweetheart. Open those eyes," she continued persuading her.

Slowly, she began to capture the image of the woman in front of her. Her hair was long and wavy, her lips were the colour of cherry blossom and then her eyes…they were bright emeralds…bright green emeralds…just like –

Sakura snapped her eyes open. "Mom!"

The woman smiled. She took Sakura's hand in hers and with a gentle squeeze, asking Sakura to stand up with her. Sakura obeyed. She was even more beautiful now, Sakura realized. Like a fair angel without wings. "Are you…really my mother?" Sakura hesitantly asked, looking for a trace of lie beneath her mask but there was none to be found when the woman nodded her head, smiling warmly towards her.

"That means…" Sakura let her sentence trailed of as she began to study the surrounding around her. It was empty and bright…everything was white. Even her clothes were also white and there was no exception for the woman either. There was no sign of living creatures, objects and other human besides the two of them, well, that is if she was still a human. "…I-I'm…dead? As cool as she seemed from the outside, she was actually trying to control the trembling fear within her.

To her surprise, the woman chuckled. "No, sweetheart. You're not." She took Sakura's hand and laid it on her chest, the place where her heart was situated. "Can you feel it?" she asked. "Can you feel the beat of your heart?"

Indeed, her heart was still beating. Sakura was relief at that moment. At least she knew her heart was still functioning and that she was erm… probably still alive. "Even so, why am I here? What is this place?" she questioned the woman who claimed to be her mother, the lovely Nadeshiko Kinomoto who died fourteen years ago when she was just a three year-old little girl. There was no mistake that she has the looks of Nadeshiko, but still Sakura doubted if she was really her mother.

"You'll know." With a wave of her hand, a bright light flushed in front of them, blinding Sakura temporarily until everything came into a clearer vision. Sakura opened her eyes timidly. "This is-"

"The place where you belonged," the woman said.

She was now in a room, much different from the first place she was in before. It was a small, empty room with only a single bed in the middle, lit only by the moonlight that burst in through the window. There was, she saw, a girl lying on the bed and a person whom she couldn't identify the face accompanying the girl beside her.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sakura turned to look at angel-like woman, demanding for an answer. Instead of answering her, the woman nodded to the direction of the door. Just as Sakura turned to look at the door, a figure entered in. Daddy?

Fujitaka Kinomoto walked towards the guy sitting on a chair beside the bed, removing his jacket and gently wrapped it around the young man who was burying his face in his arms on the bed. Feeling the sudden light pressure on his shoulders, he snapped his eyes open and whirled around. Sakura's orbs widened. Syaoran!

"Sorry I woke you up," Fujitaka apologized. He looked wearied and gloomy.

"No, I shouldn't have fallen asleep," Syaoran smiled weakly at him, and then turned his attention towards the girl lying on the bed that was sleeping peacefully. Sakura took little interest to know who that girl was at that moment.

"You should take some rest, Syaoran. It's been two days and you have to prepare for your final semester," Fujitaka said. He too, turned to look at the young girl on the bed with a sad expression on her face.

"I know," Syaoran nodded, grasping the girl's tiny hand in his, receiving no response from her. Why do you look so sad, Syaoran? Sakura thought, standing at the side of the bed across Syaoran's when she finally realized that the girl lying on the bed without motion, the girl who gave her father and her boyfriend a wearied face was none other but her! It was really she who was lying on the bed! "I-Impossible…" Sakura gasped, denying the truth in front of her eyes. Here she was standing, yet there was another her lying on the bed.

"I'll leave her to you for a while," Syaoran excused himself after giving a light kiss on the forehead of the motionless Sakura on the bed and made his way towards the door.

Syaoran wait! Don't leave yet! That's not me! I'm here! Syaoraan! Sakura shouted but he didn't look back nor did he stop walking. Unwilling to give up, she reached for his hands but heard the sound of her heart broken into pieces. Her hands went right through his. She wasn't able to touch him. She was like the air, passing by without anyone seeing her. She stood there with a horrified face , watching as he closed the door right in front of her pale face.

"I'm…I'm…" she looked at her hands, tears leapt from her confused eyes. "What am I?" she whispered to herself, and then turned to look at the woman with those miserable, confused emeralds.

"You said that I am still alive, then why isn't he listening?! Why can't I touch him?! And who's that girl on the bed, who took my form, pretending to be me?!" she burst out, unable to hold her rage. Tears flowed uncontrolled from her eyes.

"You are her, sweetheart." The woman comforted her, holding her trembling shoulders.

Sakura jerked away from her. "Stop giving me riddles and stop calling me with that name! I am not your daughter and you are not my mother! She's dead! You're not her!" she cried, throwing herself to the corner of the room and slumped on the floor, burying her face between her folded knees. "You lied to me. I'm already dead. That's why I can't touch me, because I am already dead!" she cried at the corner.

The woman walked towards her and squatted in front of her. "I did not lie to you, sweetheart," she tipped Sakura's chin, gazing into those confused, innocent eyes. "And you're not dead either," she assured her, wiping the tears away from the young girl's cheeks.

"Then why can't Syaoran feel me? Why can't daddy see me?" Sakura asked, looking at Fujitaka who was gripping the motionless girl's hand on the bed. "If she is the real Sakura Kinomoto, then what does that makes me?" she looked achingly into the woman's eyes.

"Her other half." The woman answered. Sakura gazed at her with puzzlement. Gaining a more comfortable posture, the woman explained. "A part of her had began to loose the will to survive for some reasons. It refused to cooperate with the other parts because it was scared. Perhaps it could not bear the pain of returning to the real world that it prefer to have a deep slumber instead. While the other parts worked hard to survive, this part of her turned its back and wouldn't take the risk for it will have to bear the pain she received when she finally recover. And this little part my sweetheart, is you," she finished. (a/n: I know this is nonsense but hey, I'm the author so as insane as this story seemed to be, it's my story, right? Heh.)

"I-I'm her…other half?"

"Yes, you. You are afraid of the pain, and therefore you chose to stay unconscious because it gives you pleasure. That is you, sweetheart." The woman rose up and turned her back at Sakura. (a/n: Don't bother to understand if you can't. It's just a crazy stuff I created on my own anyway)

"W-Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"I had done here. Now I have to return to where I belong." The woman turning towards Sakura, beginning to disappear slowly into the air. (a/n: Typical angel anime style of disappearing)

"Wait! I-"

"You know what you must do, my princess," she smiled.

Princess? No one else called me that except…" Wait!" Sakura tried to reach her but it was already too late. The woman disappeared into the thin air right in front of her eyes. "Mom…"

"Oh, Syaoran. I must have fallen asleep to realize you're back," Fujitaka chuckled softly, trying to brighten Syaoran up although he himself didn't feel like laughing at that moment. Sakura watched in silent as the two men spoke to each other as if they were mourning for someone until finally Syaoran managed to persuade Fujitaka to return home for rest.

You looked terrible, Syaoran. Sakura thought to herself, watching as the young man seated himself beside the motionless young girl lying on the bed, rubbing the back of his hand on her pale cheek. For some time he was leaning his head down, as if trying to hide his face. And there she realized, he was crying.

Having the urge to comfort him, she placed her hands on his shoulders. Just as before, she couldn't touch him or feel his solid figure. "No…no!" Sakura cried. Every touch she gave him just went through him like the passing wind. Syaoran, I'm here! She went to his side, trying to pull his attention, wanting to touch his face but everything was useless. No matter what she did, he couldn't feel her presence. Worst, he couldn't even see her standing right in front of his eyes!

"Please, Sakura. Open your eyes. Please…" he cried, grasping her hands tightly in his, waiting for a miracle to happen. As expected, there was no response from the unconscious figure on the bed. She won't…because I'm here…Sakura wept. "You said you won't leave me." Tears rolled down from his cheeks.

I don't want to. Sakura put her invisible hands on his that was gripping the other Sakura's hands. It went through his but she didn't bother about that. She just wanted to feel his touch again, his warm, tender touch. Two drops of tears fell on their hands, one was Sakura's and the other was Syaoran's. Exactly at that moment their tears fell together on their hands, Sakura watched in horror as her body began to disappear slowly into the air like small blue particles.

W-What's happening to me? She looked at her hands. They had already turned into crystal blue particles, and then her legs. No, no! I don't wanna disappear! I don't wanna leave daddy! I don't wanna leave Syaoran! Please! The tiny blue particles dissolved completely into the thin air. Syaoraaan!

-End of Chapter 17-

a/n : I can't wait to finish this story. Stay with me for the final chapter of So Close, "Threads of Fate." And oh, I've started with my second story. Maybe I'll give you the summary when I added the last chapter of this story. It's a king and princess story of magic, love and fantasy. What do you think? I hope to hear from you guys soon! See ya!