Chapter One

I was told to run, so I ran.

The dollhouse stayed empty, it will never be happy.

. . .

I stared at the marble floor, refusing to look around the house. My right hand squeezed the handle to my pink suitcase tightly.

"Oh my, you're here!" a cheery voice called out. I shut my eyes involuntarily, for some reason I refused to see how she looked like.

I held onto the handle of the suitcase tighter. At this moment, it was the only thing keeping me standing. I pretended I didn't hear her. For a second, I wished I could just turn around and run back home.

But, where is home? I gripped the handle even tighter to the point where it hurts, I felt my hand trembling. And then, I felt warm fragile hands on my shoulders. I opened my eyes and I saw a woman in her mid-40. She smiled warmly as her eyes stared into mine. I could see slight wrinkles around her cheeks as she smiled, also on the side of her eyes. Her brown eyes gave off nothing but warmth.

"Hello, Sakura-chan," she said after a while. "It's been a while."

I didn't say anything in return. Yet, she kept her smile on. She radiated warmth, and it made me uncomfortable. I forced a smile, except I could feel myself cringing instead.

"You must be tired, it was a long drive wasn't it?" she ignored the unpleasant cringe plastered on my face. "Come on, I'll show you your room."

She took my other hand. I shook her hand off instinctively. She looked at me in the eyes, and I looked away. Stop it Sakura, you're being rude, I could hear myself think.

"I-I'm sorry, that was rude of me," I muttered, not like it could fix anything. I looked at her and she was smiling again.

"No, it was my fault. I'm sorry for being too familiar," she said. "Follow me."

I did as told. I followed her up the beautiful set of stairs that echoed both her and my footsteps, down a long hallway with beige wallpaper and cream-colored carpet. I didn't even know when the floor wasn't marble anymore. Or was it wood after the marble?

I stared at her back. She had a beautiful white blouse on with a dark grey pencil skirt down to her knees. They both complimented her slender body. Despite her age, she was quite sophisticated, and I wondered if this was how mom would look like if she was still alive. I do like her black stiletto heels, though.

"Here you are," she said, and I looked up quickly. She smiled wider when she noticed I had been looking at her shoes. "They're Jimmy Choo's."

"Excuse me?" I looked at her, confused.

"The shoes, they're Jimmy Choo," she gestured at her feet. "We can go shopping later if you'd like."

"Oh, I have no money," I stammered. "I need to get a job before I can do anything."

She frowned, and surprisingly this was the only time since I entered this house that she ever showed a negative emotion.

"Sakura, you are now like a daughter to me, whatever you need me and my husband will provide them for you," she said, sternly. "Speaking of which, we've enrolled you in high school. If I'm not wrong you should be a freshman this year, right?"

"Uh, y-yes," I hesitated. I'm going to be a freshman? I don't remember where I should be in school. "I think…"

Her frown deepened and they softened almost immediately. I didn't miss the guilt that washed over her face before they were replaced with another smile.

"Well, school will start in a week, so you can take your time familiarizing yourself with this neighborhood. I can take you to where your school is so you can have a look around," she said. "As for jobs, you don't need to worry about that, unless you insist, of course. But give it another thought. You'll have more time to work on schoolwork."

"Okay," was the only word I could reply her with. Given so much information all at once was overwhelming and I had no idea how to respond.

"Well, take your time unpacking. If you need me, I'll be in the living room," and with that she closed the mahogany door and I could hear her footsteps fading away down the hallway.

I stared at the door, scrutinizing the pattern. Is that a flower carved into the door? Did she just tell me school starts in a week? In a week? I'm not ready for this. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to react? And why is this room so big? I don't need a bed that big. The last time I slept in a bed that big was years ago with mom and da–

Oh.

I felt my eyes water and tears soon rolled down my face like waterfall. I want to go home. Where is home, Sakura?

I tightened my grip on the suitcase, and held back my sobs. No, stop crying. Stop crying.

I wiped off my tears, only to have new ones replace them as soon as I wiped them off. No, stop it. Stop it. You don't want anyone coming in here to find you like this. Stop it.

"Stop crying, Sakura, stop crying," I heaved, letting out a sob.

I looked around the room, the overly sized bed, the beautiful curtains, the big windows overlooking the garden, the warm carpet, the nice light blue wallpaper, the dresser, wardrobe, study desk, another door that probably led to the bathroom. This is home now, Sakura. This is home.

"This is home," I smiled. "This is home."

. . .

can't believe i'm actually updating this story.

got a little inspired, haha.

reviews are appreciated,

dd.