|
rlm@2
|
1
|
|
rlm@2
|
2 Love is the Crooked Thing
|
|
rlm@2
|
3
|
|
rlm@2
|
4 By G. P.
|
|
rlm@2
|
5
|
|
rlm@2
|
6 Comments can be sent to the author at: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
|
|
rlm@2
|
7 Note: All characters and names are copyright CLAMP. This work is in
|
|
rlm@2
|
8 no way meant to infringe upon their intellectual property rights.
|
|
rlm@2
|
9
|
|
rlm@2
|
10
|
|
rlm@2
|
11 BROWN PENNY by William Butler Yeats
|
|
rlm@2
|
12
|
|
rlm@2
|
13 I WHISPERED, "I am too young,"
|
|
rlm@2
|
14 And then, "I am old enough";
|
|
rlm@2
|
15 Wherefore I threw a penny
|
|
rlm@2
|
16 To find out if I might love.
|
|
rlm@2
|
17 "Go and love, go and love, young man,
|
|
rlm@2
|
18 If the lady be young and fair."
|
|
rlm@2
|
19 Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
|
|
rlm@2
|
20 I am looped in the loops of her hair.
|
|
rlm@2
|
21
|
|
rlm@2
|
22 O love is the crooked thing,
|
|
rlm@2
|
23 There is nobody wise enough
|
|
rlm@2
|
24 To find out all that is in it,
|
|
rlm@2
|
25 For he would be thinking of love
|
|
rlm@2
|
26 Till the stars had run away
|
|
rlm@2
|
27 And the shadows eaten the moon.
|
|
rlm@2
|
28 Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
|
|
rlm@2
|
29 One cannot begin it too soon.
|
|
rlm@2
|
30
|
|
rlm@2
|
31
|
|
rlm@2
|
32
|
|
rlm@2
|
33
|
|
rlm@2
|
34
|
|
rlm@2
|
35 Drawing a deep breath, pursing her lips in hesitant uncertainty,
|
|
rlm@2
|
36 Sakura flicked the clasp of The Book. Like a shot, the click
|
|
rlm@2
|
37 resounded loudly in the dimly lit room. Glancing up nervously, half-
|
|
rlm@2
|
38 expecting the entire household to come running, Sakura let out a
|
|
rlm@2
|
39 long, shaky sigh,.
|
|
rlm@2
|
40
|
|
rlm@2
|
41 "Hoeeee, should I be doing this?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
42
|
|
rlm@2
|
43 And without Kero to help, too. Another wave of ambivalence swept her
|
|
rlm@2
|
44 pajama-clad form as she hugged herself tightly in the chill night
|
|
rlm@2
|
45 air. For almost a month, she had been in turmoil, a gripping, minute-
|
|
rlm@2
|
46 to-minute whirlwind of heartsick emotion. Knitting her brow, Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
47 concentrated on the cards, willing them to come forth. Like leaves in
|
|
rlm@2
|
48 a storm they fluttered from the book, lightly spinning in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
49 breezeless swirl. Carefully reciting their names, Sakura closed her
|
|
rlm@2
|
50 eyes, hearing them fall softly to the table. Then, silence.
|
|
rlm@2
|
51
|
|
rlm@2
|
52 Blinking her green eyes open, she stared at the two piles neatly
|
|
rlm@2
|
53 stacked before her. Sakura gently placed the bigger pile back in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
54 book, closing the cover and clasping the golden latch with a decisive
|
|
rlm@2
|
55 "snick".
|
|
rlm@2
|
56
|
|
rlm@2
|
57 "All right, how did we do it before? 'Divide 4 with your left hand,
|
|
rlm@2
|
58 in any order you like'"
|
|
rlm@2
|
59
|
|
rlm@2
|
60 She remembered Kero coaching her the first time, sagely fluttering
|
|
rlm@2
|
61 about as she arranged the cards. Oneechan had been in terrible
|
|
rlm@2
|
62 danger, tricked by an illusion of Mirror. She had felt his danger as
|
|
rlm@2
|
63 a cold fist gripping her heart, squeezing tightly. The feeling now
|
|
rlm@2
|
64 was just as intense, but so very different: not cold, but hot, not
|
|
rlm@2
|
65 sharp and focused, but wild and dizzying.
|
|
rlm@2
|
66
|
|
rlm@2
|
67 "There"
|
|
rlm@2
|
68
|
|
rlm@2
|
69 She looked down at the 10 cards, arranged in three neat rows of
|
|
rlm@2
|
70 three, with one set to the right side. Closing her eyes again, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
71 began to chant,
|
|
rlm@2
|
72
|
|
rlm@2
|
73 "Cards made by Clow, answer my question. Show me the truth of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
74 situation before me".
|
|
rlm@2
|
75
|
|
rlm@2
|
76 Speaking these last words, her heart fluttered as she drew a quick
|
|
rlm@2
|
77 breath. Thinking, do I really want to know the truth? For a month she
|
|
rlm@2
|
78 had not. She had turned away, closed her eyes, and desperately tried
|
|
rlm@2
|
79 to shut out the feelings that battered against her. Like a frightened
|
|
rlm@2
|
80 animal she had run, in sheer terror, from her own confused emotions.
|
|
rlm@2
|
81 But every day those feelings caught her, like baying hounds that
|
|
rlm@2
|
82 could not be stilled, hot breath on her neck, eagerly flushing her
|
|
rlm@2
|
83 into the open and cruelly driving her to ground. She shivered again,
|
|
rlm@2
|
84 sensing a whirling wind above the cards as her chant took effect. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
85 auburn-red hair was lifted and tossed as her pajamas rustled and
|
|
rlm@2
|
86 flapped in the breeze. When the little zephyr died out, she blinked
|
|
rlm@2
|
87 her eyes open, gazing at the middle card in the top most row.
|
|
rlm@2
|
88
|
|
rlm@2
|
89 "This is who is talking to me?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
90
|
|
rlm@2
|
91 With a strangely steady hand, for the nervousness had drained away,
|
|
rlm@2
|
92 The Mistress of the Cards turned over... The Flower.
|
|
rlm@2
|
93
|
|
rlm@2
|
94 "Eeeehhhh?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
95
|
|
rlm@2
|
96 Puzzled, Sakura stared at the card, a sweat drop forming. Flower?
|
|
rlm@2
|
97 Not some Card of power and drama, like Dream, or Sword, or Windy?
|
|
rlm@2
|
98 Flower?! It was more than disappointing, it was…. irritating. For all
|
|
rlm@2
|
99 the wrenching agony she'd been through in the past weeks, it was
|
|
rlm@2
|
100 Flower that was talking to her?
|
|
rlm@2
|
101
|
|
rlm@2
|
102 "This can't be right", she mumbled to herself. But it all looked
|
|
rlm@2
|
103 right, no, it felt right, too. If she didn't know the source of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
104 feelings that wracked her, she at least knew the Cards. And this was
|
|
rlm@2
|
105 right.
|
|
rlm@2
|
106
|
|
rlm@2
|
107 "OK, Flower. I found you at the School Festival, practically
|
|
rlm@2
|
108 drowning us in petals. Kero said you like people, and parties, and
|
|
rlm@2
|
109 fun, and, " Sakura felt a blush creeping up her neck, "and you danced
|
|
rlm@2
|
110 with me, hee". Hannyann! After the shock wore off it had been kind of
|
|
rlm@2
|
111 fun, dancing on the rooftop among the scents of a thousand blossoms.
|
|
rlm@2
|
112
|
|
rlm@2
|
113 So, it was Flower that called to her. But looking at the Card,
|
|
rlm@2
|
114 Sakura could not believe that so gentle a thing could cause such
|
|
rlm@2
|
115 stormy feelings. With a quick breath, Sakura remembered yesterday in
|
|
rlm@2
|
116 school. Fidgety in class, the teacher calling her who knows how many
|
|
rlm@2
|
117 times before she came to, Tomoyo tugging desperately at her sleeve,
|
|
rlm@2
|
118 smiling as always. She remembered furious words with Li, stomping
|
|
rlm@2
|
119 away from the puzzled and angry boy. And even Tomoyo! Turning her
|
|
rlm@2
|
120 back on her very best friend, running away, sobbing. Wiping away the
|
|
rlm@2
|
121 tears with her pajama sleeve, she remembered the image of Tomoyo,
|
|
rlm@2
|
122 crushed, hurt beyond measure, clutching her hands tightly as Sakura
|
|
rlm@2
|
123 raced away from her. Guiltily looking at the pink cell phone, knowing
|
|
rlm@2
|
124 who had tried to call her all night before turning it off. Thinking,
|
|
rlm@2
|
125 “Now, I'm even hurting Tomoyo-chan”.
|
|
rlm@2
|
126
|
|
rlm@2
|
127 That's why she had to know, she could not put it off. Not knowing
|
|
rlm@2
|
128 the feelings that battered her was painful, but now it was hurting
|
|
rlm@2
|
129 the people that she loved so dearly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
130
|
|
rlm@2
|
131 “Well,” she thought, “let's see just who, or what, is behind all of
|
|
rlm@2
|
132 this.” Looking decisievely at the middle row of cards, she reached
|
|
rlm@2
|
133 out and turned them over, 1, 2, 3.
|
|
rlm@2
|
134
|
|
rlm@2
|
135
|
|
rlm@2
|
136 The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
|
|
rlm@2
|
137
|
|
rlm@2
|
138
|
|
rlm@2
|
139 The emerald eyes widened as she scanned the cards. This made even
|
|
rlm@2
|
140 less sense than Flower trying to talk to her. There was nothing sweet
|
|
rlm@2
|
141 about the agony she had been feeling. Her heart racing and stopping,
|
|
rlm@2
|
142 flushed hot and cold, dizzy and spinney with a longing that was
|
|
rlm@2
|
143 tearing her apart. And a Silent Song? That was impossible,
|
|
rlm@2
|
144 ridiculous. What sort of song can be silent? TV with the sound off?
|
|
rlm@2
|
145 Karaoke? A broken CD player? But again, the Cards felt right.
|
|
rlm@2
|
146 Whoever, or whatever, was causing her to suffer was there on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
147 table, spelled out in three Clow Cards.
|
|
rlm@2
|
148
|
|
rlm@2
|
149 Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated, as hard as she ever had. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
150 world fell away, room and house and family and friends and the whole
|
|
rlm@2
|
151 wide world vanishing into an inner darkness. Only three cards in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
152 black, velvety silence. Concentrate! For untold minutes, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
153 breathing stilled, heart barely beating, there nothing but the three
|
|
rlm@2
|
154 cards. All thoughts and feelings drifting away like incense at a
|
|
rlm@2
|
155 temple, wispy little nothings in the vast dark. And then, she heard it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
156
|
|
rlm@2
|
157 From far, far away, down a tunnel or a tube or a cave, barely
|
|
rlm@2
|
158 audible in the inky midnight, a voice...no, a song! Sweet beyond
|
|
rlm@2
|
159 words, charming, alluring, and hauntingly beautiful. Sakura's heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
160 suddenly pounding, racing away from her as a stormy, thundering
|
|
rlm@2
|
161 whirlwind ripped apart the darkness, drowning out the faint melody.
|
|
rlm@2
|
162 With a shuddering gasp, she came to, reeling, dizzy, the cards on
|
|
rlm@2
|
163 the table slowly coming into focus:
|
|
rlm@2
|
164
|
|
rlm@2
|
165 The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
|
|
rlm@2
|
166
|
|
rlm@2
|
167
|
|
rlm@2
|
168 Breathing heavily, her fists in tight little balls, Sakura forced
|
|
rlm@2
|
169 herself to calm down. Only one more. Pursing her lips, she glanced at
|
|
rlm@2
|
170 the outside Card, separate, alone in it's own little row. This is the
|
|
rlm@2
|
171 card that will tell me where. With mounting excitement, she reached
|
|
rlm@2
|
172 for the card, then hesitated. What would she do when she knew? In a
|
|
rlm@2
|
173 way, the not knowing was easier. Painful, yes, but not knowing was
|
|
rlm@2
|
174 easier, safer, and more comfortable, because by not knowing, she did
|
|
rlm@2
|
175 not have to do anything. With a smile, Sakura suddenly reached for
|
|
rlm@2
|
176 the final card. She knew herself well enough. When she knew, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
177 would act. From the very first sounds in the basement, she had faced
|
|
rlm@2
|
178 whatever came along. Sometimes fearfully, sometimes with a push or a
|
|
rlm@2
|
179 tug from Kero or Li, but she had met the cards, one by one. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
180 little hand reached out, flipping the final card over.
|
|
rlm@2
|
181
|
|
rlm@2
|
182 The Maze.
|
|
rlm@2
|
183
|
|
rlm@2
|
184 Well, this at least made sense. Total, complete sense. Because
|
|
rlm@2
|
185 whatever, or whoever, was affecting her so severely was hidden far,
|
|
rlm@2
|
186 far away. It almost seemed that she had been in a maze herself for
|
|
rlm@2
|
187 weeks, stumbling up and down one blind alley after another. Fear of
|
|
rlm@2
|
188 the time she and Li and Tomoyo were trapped in the Maze dissipated as
|
|
rlm@2
|
189 her confidence burned brightly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
190
|
|
rlm@2
|
191 "This is a maze I can understand.” Sakura’s once gentle face was set
|
|
rlm@2
|
192 with an iron determination. Smiling, she whispered, “Now I'll find
|
|
rlm@2
|
193 you".
|
|
rlm@2
|
194
|
|
rlm@2
|
195 Standing up, Sakura tightly clasped the Key at her breast.
|
|
rlm@2
|
196
|
|
rlm@2
|
197
|
|
rlm@2
|
198 “Oh Key that hides the power of darkness, obey your Mistress”.
|
|
rlm@2
|
199 Arching over the table, the girl picked up the Maze card and tossed
|
|
rlm@2
|
200 it in the air as her room dissolved into golden light. Twirling her
|
|
rlm@2
|
201 staff above her head, Sakura lunged and struck the fluttering card.
|
|
rlm@2
|
202
|
|
rlm@2
|
203 “Release"!
|
|
rlm@2
|
204
|
|
rlm@2
|
205
|
|
rlm@2
|
206 Part 2
|
|
rlm@2
|
207 In the Labyrinth
|
|
rlm@2
|
208
|
|
rlm@2
|
209 Standing at the gaping entrance of the maze, feeling a cool breeze
|
|
rlm@2
|
210 from the deep dark within, Sakura suddenly wavered as a sickly fear
|
|
rlm@2
|
211 settled upon her. There would be no help if she entered, no Tomoyo or
|
|
rlm@2
|
212 Li or Mizuki-sensei to fetch her out. If she went in it was alone,
|
|
rlm@2
|
213 except for whatever awaited within. Drawing a deep breath, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
214 stepped lightly across the threshold, the golden light swallowed up
|
|
rlm@2
|
215 behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the dim contours of the smooth
|
|
rlm@2
|
216 walls, a sudden thought brought her to an equally sudden stop,
|
|
rlm@2
|
217
|
|
rlm@2
|
218 “And once I’m in, how will I ever get out?” With a quick smile she
|
|
rlm@2
|
219 drew the Flower Card and flicked it into the air. “Release! And leave
|
|
rlm@2
|
220 a trail of petals that follows my every step!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
221 Now, with every step a gentle rain of pink sakura petals marked her
|
|
rlm@2
|
222 way. Plunging into the darkness, the tiny pajama-clad figure listened
|
|
rlm@2
|
223 for the haunting strains of Song. But all was silent, save for the
|
|
rlm@2
|
224 soft shuffling of her own feet.
|
|
rlm@2
|
225
|
|
rlm@2
|
226 On and on she went, sometimes doubling back, sometimes spiraling
|
|
rlm@2
|
227 around and around as the gray walls curved and looped. Finally, after
|
|
rlm@2
|
228 what seemed like hours, Sakura slumped against the wall in an
|
|
rlm@2
|
229 exhausted and frustrated heap.
|
|
rlm@2
|
230
|
|
rlm@2
|
231 “I’m going nowhere like this”. She shut her eyes tight, listening,
|
|
rlm@2
|
232 hearing only silence. “OK, stop walking, and concentrate. Concentrate…”
|
|
rlm@2
|
233
|
|
rlm@2
|
234 Three Cards: The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
|
|
rlm@2
|
235
|
|
rlm@2
|
236 She had heard the Song, sweet and melodic, faint but clear and
|
|
rlm@2
|
237 compelling. Now, there was only silence. The three cards were keys to
|
|
rlm@2
|
238 what had plunged her into turmoil for the past month. Her senses,
|
|
rlm@2
|
239 made keen and sharp by the year of hunting the Cards, could not
|
|
rlm@2
|
240 detect the presence of a Clow Card in all of this. With analytic
|
|
rlm@2
|
241 eyes, she turned to the stormy emotions that had beset her
|
|
rlm@2
|
242 since...since when?
|
|
rlm@2
|
243
|
|
rlm@2
|
244 "Since I found out about Yue".
|
|
rlm@2
|
245
|
|
rlm@2
|
246 Yue, the real Yukito; and so coldly different. With a wistful
|
|
rlm@2
|
247 sadness she recalled lights like falling stars at the festival, a
|
|
rlm@2
|
248 gentle glance, the lazy arc of a candy thrown from a bike. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
249 affection for him was undimmed, but, changed somehow. She shook her
|
|
rlm@2
|
250 head, jumped up with a start, and began walking again. Since Yue,
|
|
rlm@2
|
251 there had been an emptiness, a hole in her heart where a chill breeze
|
|
rlm@2
|
252 blew. But the strange, powerful feelings that wracked her were not
|
|
rlm@2
|
253 because of Yue, not about him at all. Or, rather, it was because he
|
|
rlm@2
|
254 was gone that those sweet, painful feelings were unleashed. It was as
|
|
rlm@2
|
255 if a dam had broken, and a flood of emotion, long bottled up, had
|
|
rlm@2
|
256 gushed forth sweeping all before it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
257
|
|
rlm@2
|
258
|
|
rlm@2
|
259 Sweet, painful feelings. She stopped, standing quite still, and
|
|
rlm@2
|
260 closed her eyes. Sweet feelings? Yes, they were. They hurt, they
|
|
rlm@2
|
261 hounded her, and they had turned her life inside out. And yet, there
|
|
rlm@2
|
262 was an intense, breathless sweetness. It was like the delightful
|
|
rlm@2
|
263 feeling she had had with Yukito, or Mizuki-sensei, hannyann! But
|
|
rlm@2
|
264 wrapped tightly with a longing, an aching sense of incompleteness,
|
|
rlm@2
|
265 and an intensity that frightened her as no Clow Card ever had. And
|
|
rlm@2
|
266 whatever caused it was in here, with her, silent. Whatever, or whoever.
|
|
rlm@2
|
267
|
|
rlm@2
|
268 Frustrated, she began walking again, one hand following the smooth,
|
|
rlm@2
|
269 cool wall, the endless corridors leading nowhere, the petaled path
|
|
rlm@2
|
270 stretching behind her into the distance. If only she could hear the
|
|
rlm@2
|
271 song again, she could get her bearings. She thought of Tomoyo-chan's
|
|
rlm@2
|
272 songs, her sweet voice, and suddenly felt a pang of longing for her
|
|
rlm@2
|
273 friend. Alone, the auburn haired girl realized how much she missed
|
|
rlm@2
|
274 the presence of the one who was always at her side, with her on all
|
|
rlm@2
|
275 her adventures, waiting for her at school, always with a kindly look,
|
|
rlm@2
|
276 a gentle touch, and encouraging words.
|
|
rlm@2
|
277
|
|
rlm@2
|
278 Tomoyo-chan. The wonder, the miracle of her friendship was something
|
|
rlm@2
|
279 she often took for granted amid the whirl of the Cards. But here,
|
|
rlm@2
|
280 alone in the twilight halls, she keenly felt the absence of that
|
|
rlm@2
|
281 sweet, loving presence. Even her odd obsessions, the costumes and the
|
|
rlm@2
|
282 videotapes (sweat drop forming), were signs of her love. Then, with a
|
|
rlm@2
|
283 gasp, Sakura froze.
|
|
rlm@2
|
284
|
|
rlm@2
|
285 Her love. Sakura, mouth open, stared at the ground in stunned
|
|
rlm@2
|
286 surprise. Her love. The crimson heat of an epochal blush crept up her
|
|
rlm@2
|
287 neck and shoulders and, like a red tsunami, overwhelmed her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
288
|
|
rlm@2
|
289 "She...she likes me...like that".
|
|
rlm@2
|
290
|
|
rlm@2
|
291 Gripping the staff at her chest with both hands, Sakura stood
|
|
rlm@2
|
292 breathless.
|
|
rlm@2
|
293
|
|
rlm@2
|
294 "She...loves me". Shaking her head furiously, she cried, "Hooeee,
|
|
rlm@2
|
295 why didn't I see? Why didn't she tell me? Why?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
296
|
|
rlm@2
|
297 Closing her eyes, Sakura thought of how unspeakably painful it must
|
|
rlm@2
|
298 have been for Tomoyo-chan, her most precious gift unseen and
|
|
rlm@2
|
299 unrecognized. But from Tomoyo, never a reproachful glare, an angry
|
|
rlm@2
|
300 word, never anything but unbounded, unconditional love.
|
|
rlm@2
|
301
|
|
rlm@2
|
302 "Baka", exclaimed Sakura, as her tears fell freely, 'How can I have
|
|
rlm@2
|
303 been so stupid? All this time, she loved me, and I, I didn't even
|
|
rlm@2
|
304 know. I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-chan, I'm so, so sorry...." Dropping to
|
|
rlm@2
|
305 her knees, the Mistress of the Cards buried her face in her hands,
|
|
rlm@2
|
306 sobbing.
|
|
rlm@2
|
307
|
|
rlm@2
|
308 All this time, loving me...silently loving me. Through teary eyes,
|
|
rlm@2
|
309 Sakura stared into the distance and whispered,
|
|
rlm@2
|
310
|
|
rlm@2
|
311 "Silently....loving me?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
312
|
|
rlm@2
|
313 The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
|
|
rlm@2
|
314
|
|
rlm@2
|
315 And then, she heard it again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
316
|
|
rlm@2
|
317 Louder this time, the song wafted from the center, the very heart of
|
|
rlm@2
|
318 the maze. Staggering to her feet, Sakura stumbled towards the sound.
|
|
rlm@2
|
319 Her face, streaked with tears, brightened as she recognized the voice,
|
|
rlm@2
|
320
|
|
rlm@2
|
321 "Tomoyo-chan...Tomoyo-chan!"
|
|
rlm@2
|
322
|
|
rlm@2
|
323 Racing towards the source of the song, Sakura felt her heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
324 throbbing from excitment and exertion. All the feelings of the past
|
|
rlm@2
|
325 month welled up inside her, but focused now, like a laser beam of
|
|
rlm@2
|
326 light. Now she understood. The roaring tempest within, no longer
|
|
rlm@2
|
327 angry at her ignorance, throbbed in harmony with her own heart. Now,
|
|
rlm@2
|
328 at last, she realized who she loved, had always loved, and always
|
|
rlm@2
|
329 would love for ever and ever and ever.
|
|
rlm@2
|
330
|
|
rlm@2
|
331 "Tomoyo-chan!"
|
|
rlm@2
|
332
|
|
rlm@2
|
333 Ahead, a pale, amythest light shone as the maze began to dissipate
|
|
rlm@2
|
334 and dissolve. The love song flowed like the burbling water of a
|
|
rlm@2
|
335 mountain brook, like white-hot lava, like the stars and the suns and
|
|
rlm@2
|
336 the moons in the black velvet river of the sky. Sobbing, laughing,
|
|
rlm@2
|
337 delighted, Sakura neared the white shrouded, dark haired singer
|
|
rlm@2
|
338 bathed in a shimmering, purple glow. Slowly the figure turned to face
|
|
rlm@2
|
339 her, blue eyes sparkling, smiling.
|
|
rlm@2
|
340
|
|
rlm@2
|
341
|
|
rlm@2
|
342 "Sakura-chan?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
343
|
|
rlm@2
|
344 Puzzled, smiling, Tomoyo took her friend by the hand, leading her
|
|
rlm@2
|
345 into the spacious room. A shadow of concern darkened her face as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
346 squeezed the girl's hand and whispered,
|
|
rlm@2
|
347
|
|
rlm@2
|
348 "Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
|
|
rlm@2
|
349
|
|
rlm@2
|
350 Catching her breath, blinking as she realized the maze had vanished,
|
|
rlm@2
|
351 Sakura saw the familiar outlines of her friend's room. Looking at
|
|
rlm@2
|
352 Tomoyo she smiled, blushed fiercely, then glanced away.
|
|
rlm@2
|
353
|
|
rlm@2
|
354 "Tomoyo-chan, I...."
|
|
rlm@2
|
355
|
|
rlm@2
|
356 Tomoyo gently held her hands, head tilted to one side, and gazed in
|
|
rlm@2
|
357 wonder.
|
|
rlm@2
|
358
|
|
rlm@2
|
359 "Tomoyo-chan, I like you. I...I really like you".
|
|
rlm@2
|
360
|
|
rlm@2
|
361 With a musical laugh that angels might envy, Tomoyo beamed and
|
|
rlm@2
|
362 replied,
|
|
rlm@2
|
363
|
|
rlm@2
|
364 "I like you too, Sakura."
|
|
rlm@2
|
365
|
|
rlm@2
|
366 Shaking her head wildly, Sakura squeezed the startled girl's hands
|
|
rlm@2
|
367 in an iron grip.
|
|
rlm@2
|
368
|
|
rlm@2
|
369 "No...NO! I don't mean it like that. I....Tomoyo," Her emerald eyes
|
|
rlm@2
|
370 flashed fire as she grappled with the words,
|
|
rlm@2
|
371
|
|
rlm@2
|
372 "Tomoyo I....I love you. I love you, too"
|
|
rlm@2
|
373
|
|
rlm@2
|
374 For a long second, Tomoyo's face was a mask of shock and surprise.
|
|
rlm@2
|
375 Then, smiling through the tears, blue eyes shimmering in unforeseen
|
|
rlm@2
|
376 joy, her face shone with a radiant, heavenly light. Hand in hand,
|
|
rlm@2
|
377 eyes locked together, the two friends stood alabaster still. Leaning
|
|
rlm@2
|
378 closer, Sakura felt a warm breath against her tear-stained cheek.
|
|
rlm@2
|
379 Eyes closing, her lips lightly brushed against Tomoyo's. Tomoyo
|
|
rlm@2
|
380 wrapped her arms around Sakura as she returned the kiss with a gentle
|
|
rlm@2
|
381 passion.
|
|
rlm@2
|
382
|
|
rlm@2
|
383 Sakura and Tomoyo stood, entwined and oblivious, as Flower gaily
|
|
rlm@2
|
384 danced above them, showering the lovers in a hurricane of blossoms.
|
|
rlm@2
|
385
|
|
rlm@2
|
386
|
|
rlm@2
|
387
|
|
rlm@2
|
388
|
|
rlm@2
|
389
|
|
rlm@2
|
390
|
|
rlm@2
|
391
|
|
rlm@2
|
392
|
|
rlm@2
|
393
|
|
rlm@2
|
394
|
|
rlm@2
|
395
|
|
rlm@2
|
396
|
|
rlm@2
|
397
|
|
rlm@2
|
398 Love is the sweet, silent song. And in the maze lies Tomoyo,
|
|
rlm@2
|
399 waiting, her silent song heard at last by Sakura, who braves the
|
|
rlm@2
|
400 confusion of the Maze to bring back her one true Love. |
