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1 Dear Sakura
2 Fireflies and Cherry Blossoms
3 by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
4 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
5 pearsong1954@yahoo.com
6
7
8 “This is just what I needed. Work has been so busy lately, hasn’t
9 it, Tomoyo-chan? I think we both needed a chance to finally relax for
10 once,” Sonomi observed as she and her daughter walked around all of
11 the booths that had been set up at the shrine. The two Daidouji women
12 were resplendent in their kimonos. Sonomi had become more and more
13 concerned about her daughter’s welfare after finding her crying near
14 the mailbox several days earlier. But as usual, Tomoyo had tried
15 desperately not to worry her. And if Sonomi couldn’t get Tomoyo to
16 tell her what was wrong, how could she help? Of course, she had a
17 fairly good idea of what was bothering Tomoyo. Sakura. Sonomi
18 mentally twitched at the thought. Sakura was such a wonderful girl,
19 but the business woman was having a very difficult time keeping her
20 anger in check when it came to the Cardmistress. Seeing her daughter
21 in so much pain was heart wrenching to the distraught mother. Ever
22 since Tomoyo had returned from Hong Kong, something heavy had been
23 weighing down on the dark haired girl’s soul. Sonomi had been
24 thrilled to hear about Tomoyo’s experiences with Nadeshiko’s
25 daughter, but it seemed that her daughter had brought back something
26 other than happy memories from her trip. Something dark that had
27 wrapped around Tomoyo’s heart, it’s thorns piercing the gentle
28 object. So Sonomi had tried to get Tomoyo away from it all by taking
29 her out to a festival. The business woman dealt with her own pain by
30 focusing on other things, whether it be work or athletics or her
31 daughter. It helped her to forget that she had lost the one most dear
32 to her. It allowed her to be distracted from the ice cold anguish
33 that languished in her heart. She only hoped that the same thing
34 would help her precocious daughter.
35 “Hai, okaa-sama. It’s been very busy lately with the new deadline
36 coming up. But I’m sure that even with the added pressure, you’ll
37 have everything perfectly wrapped up in time. You always do such a
38 wonderful job of keeping things under control,” Tomoyo’s soft voice
39 replied. Pale fingers brushed back her braided hair from her eyes as
40 she looked forward. Noticing that Sonomi was watching her carefully,
41 she plastered on her typically charming smile and shined it at her
42 mother, though it felt fake and see through to her. She hadn’t wanted
43 to go and would have protested, but she didn’t want to worry her
44 mother. Poor Sonomi had been through enough without seeing the pain
45 in Tomoyo’s shattered heart. She needed to hold on long enough so as
46 not to concern the older woman. But it was so difficult to keep a
47 grasp on her masks. They felt brittle, translucent. Her inner turmoil
48 was making it impossible to hide the pain for much longer. So this
49 would be her last performance. When this show was over, she would
50 once and for all throw her masks away, tossing away the once
51 cherished mental barriers that had up till now protected those she
52 loved from her own pain. After all, there would be no one to worry
53 about hurting after that so they wold no longer be necessary. But for
54 now, she would perform her best for her mother. The thought reminded
55 her of when she was a child, how she had always sang her best when
56 Sakura had been in the audience or when Sonomi had managed to sneak
57 away from work long enough to listen to her daughter’s singing on
58 stage. It brought a small, sad smile to her lips. She always had
59 performed the best for those two, whether it be singing or hiding her
60 feelings. Unfortunately, it worked a lot better on Sakura than it did
61 with Sonomi. Her mother always managed to see through her to the
62 feelings inside.
63 Sonomi nodded in agreement, her stormy blue eyes settling on the
64 beautiful visage of her daughter. ‘Oh my God, she looks so much like
65 Nadeshiko-chan... I swear that she and Sakura-chan must have been
66 switched at birth. She’s so much like her. So loving. So gentle. So
67 sweet. Nadeshiko-chan always went out to care for animals and
68 anything that looked like it was in pain. Tomoyo-chan has done the
69 same with the hearts of others. She’ll never know how much she’s
70 helped ease the pain in my own heart. But it’s not fair that no one
71 can take away her pain,’ Sonomi thought to herself, still half in
72 shock at seeing Tomoyo in the moonlight. The younger girl could have
73 passed herself off as Nadeshiko at that age perfectly. Her pale skin
74 and dark hair, her sweet smile, they all painted a picture from long
75 ago. Sonomi smiled brightly, brushing away some of Tomoyo's dark hair
76 from her face. “You look so gorgeous, Tomoyo-chan! You’ve grown into
77 such a lovely young woman. I always knew that you’d surpass Goddesses
78 in their beauty.” Sonomi watched her daughter as she dug through her
79 purse for her camera. When was the last time the mother and daughter
80 had gone to a festival together? She had to have a picture of this.
81 Tomoyo was practically shining in her kimono. The picture would look
82 perfect right next to a picture of Nadeshiko in a kimono just a year
83 or two younger. “I’m going to take a picture, Tomoyo-chan. I want to
84 be able to look back on tonight.” ‘Especially if you’re leaving,’
85 Sonomi added glumly as an afterthought. She already knew that Tomoyo
86 was moving out, but she suspected that her reasons were far more
87 complex than simply wanting to get out on her own. The pain in
88 Tomoyo’s eyes was a fairly good indicator to Sonomi of that. She had
89 come to the conclusion that her daughter wanted to escape the pain,
90 that she was leaving to try and put it behind her. Sonomi couldn’t
91 fault her baby girl with that. She had done the same thing when
92 Nadeshiko had married Fujitaka, leaving shortly after the wedding and
93 breaking all her ties with the only person she had ever loved. It was
94 the only way she could survive. She would never have been able to
95 stay near her cousin while she was happily married to the man who had
96 stolen her away. She guessed that it was the same for Tomoyo, that
97 she hoped to outdistance the pain. If only it were that easy. But
98 Sonomi knew that it may be the only way for Tomoyo to handle the
99 agony of never having her love returned.
100 Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, clasping her hands in front of
101 her as she smiled sweetly. The camera clicked and whirred as Sonomi
102 took her picture. Time froze in that instant, a single memory frozen
103 forever on film. The picture of a shattered girl hiding behind her
104 tattered and unraveling masks, crying helplessly underneath the smile
105 that she shined out at the camera. Despite her smile, Sonomi would
106 forever find the picture disturbing, never quite sure what was wrong
107 with the beautiful picture. When she looked at it long enough, she
108 would almost be able to see her daughter’s tears, the agony on her
109 face and the pain in her torn heart. But after a cold chill would
110 pass down her spine, the image would be gone, replaced once again
111 with the slightly disturbing picture of Tomoyo smiling in her kimono.
112 And with that, time continued along its inevitable path. Tomoyo
113 continued to hold her hands in front of her as she and her mother
114 glanced around curiously at the decorations and the festival goers.
115 Tomoyo was wearing a delicate teal kimono with dark blue flower petal
116 designs across it, like flowers floating on a calm ocean. Sonomi’s
117 kimono was a rust red, multicolored flowers adorning its design as if
118 bouquets had been sewn into the red fabric. The two Daidouji women
119 turned several heads as they continued along under the moonlight,
120 though neither paid any attention.
121 Sighing inwardly, Sonomi wished that there was some way that she
122 could take away her daughter’s hurt, that she could assume all of the
123 dark haired girl’s suffering for herself. Watching Tomoyo slowly
124 splinter apart was maddening for the already overprotective mother.
125 It was much more painful to see the most important piece of her life
126 begin to crack and break apart than it was to deal with her own pain.
127 With the loss of Nadeshiko she could mourn or fume in anger over the
128 man who had stolen her precious cousin away from her. But there was
129 nothing she could do for her delicate daughter. She felt trapped by
130 her own helplessness, and it was suffocating her. As Tomoyo’s mother,
131 it was impossible for her not to feel the torment of her baby girl.
132 Having lived through the same pain herself, Sonomi would give
133 anything to take it away from her daughter. Then she would have
134 something to fight, something that she could actually do to fix the
135 situation. It wasn’t fair that Tomoyo’s heart was just as doomed as
136 her mother’s to an eternity of loneliness. What had the young woman
137 done to deserve such an agonizing fate? Who had she ever wronged?
138 Tomoyo had been nothing but selfless in her love for Sakura. She
139 deserved her storybook ending and it tore at Sonomi’s heart to see
140 that denied to her little girl.
141 What made the situation all the more unbearable for the head of the
142 Daidouji household was that it was Sakura behind her daughter’s
143 suffering. Cute, genki, innocent Sakura-chan. Sonomi had only the
144 highest regards of Sakura for years. The sweet little schoolgirl had
145 brightened her life nearly as much as she had brightened Tomoyo’s.
146 And the fact that she was Nadeshiko’s daughter was not lost on
147 Sonomi. Even if there were more similarities between Nadeshiko and
148 Tomoyo than between Nadeshiko and her actual daughter, Sonomi had
149 always managed to catch a glimpse of Sakura’s mother in her. And she
150 had always been such a delight to have around. Sonomi understood
151 completely how her daughter had fallen in love with the spirited and
152 somewhat naïve woman. So it pained her all the more to know that
153 Sakura was the one that caused her daughter’s tears again and again.
154 It was almost a contradiction that such a sweetly lovable girl like
155 Sakura would be capable of the brutal pain that battered Tomoyo’s
156 heart. This same contradiction was what confused Sonomi’s own
157 thoughts. She thought very highly of Sakura. Cared very much for the
158 young woman, in fact, as Nadeshiko’s daughter, the one Tomoyo loved,
159 and as a wonderful girl in her own right. But Sonomi was also
160 fiercely protective of those she cared about, and with Nadeshiko
161 gone, the one that took highest priority on her list was her gentle
162 daughter, Tomoyo. And seeing Sakura causing such devastation to her
163 daughter was something that she simply couldn’t forgive. Yet she
164 couldn’t bring herself to hate Sakura. Not in the same way that she
165 hated Fujitaka, the girl’s father. She genuinely liked Sakura and was
166 always pleasantly charmed by her company. She had been nearly as
167 captivated by the brunette as her daughter always was. So it was very
168 difficult for her to sort out these conflicting feelings.
169 But seeing the painful shards in Tomoyo’s usually deep and soulful
170 indigo eyes had pushed Sonomi to reevaluate her feelings towards the
171 Cardmistress. How could Sakura treat her daughter’s heart as if it
172 was some mere trinket? Something that she could ignore and take for
173 granted? Such an act showed just how terribly Sakura had failed her
174 best friend and Sonomi’s one and only daughter. Anyone who could
175 bring tears to Tomoyo’s lovely eyes was guilty of a terrible sin to
176 the dark haired beauty. Yet Tomoyo could never bring herself to be
177 angry with Sakura, could never fault the brunette’s naivete for the
178 pain it caused her. On the other hand, her mother wasn’t quite as
179 forgiving. ‘Sonomi-chan, you’re not still mad at him, are you?’
180 Nadeshiko’s voice gently chided, deep from within Sonomi’s memories.
181 As always, it was accompanied by the most dazzling of smiles, of
182 which one always graced Nadeshiko’s beautiful features. Nadeshiko was
183 so much like her daughter in that way. Never one to get angry, even
184 when she had every right to be, always having such a remarkably
185 touching faith that things would turn out all right. But Sonomi was
186 starting to fear that her daughter was losing that faith. And with
187 it, her daughter’s soul began to crumble like a house of cards.
188 ‘Yes... Yes, I’m still angry with him, Nadeshiko-chan... But not just
189 for beating me at track the time when you said that. No, I will never
190 forgive him for stealing everything from me. Most importantly, for
191 taking you away. And now his daughter’s doing the same thing to my
192 baby girl,’ Sonomi mentally replied to her cousin’s question from
193 years long past. Her eyes narrowed as she once again saw the familiar
194 features of the man that had managed to single handedly ruin her
195 life. To her surprise, his face shifted into someone else entirely.
196 Tilting her head to the side, Sakura smiled sweetly.
197 Nearly backpedaling from the sight, Sonomi was relieved to see that
198 it had only been her imagination. A young girl stared at her
199 awkwardly for a moment before running off to find her mother. Placing
200 her hand on her chest, the business woman began to breathe deeply,
201 trying to relax her thunderously beating heart. It had only been her
202 already overworked mind playing along with her thoughts. Not that she
203 needed that at the moment. She was too busy trying to... “Tomoyo-
204 chan?” Turning around, Sonomi tried to catch a glimpse of her
205 daughter but to no avail. While she had been lost in her thoughts,
206 Tomoyo had disappeared. Panic gripped at the business woman’s heart
207 as she scanned the crowds for any sign of pale skin or lavender hair.
208 Though Tomoyo was a young woman now and capable of taking care of
209 herself, Sonomi felt the irrational fear that she would never see her
210 cherished daughter again. Her mind quickly reassured her that it
211 simply wasn’t the case, but it was cold comfort. And she was
212 generally one to listen to her feelings over her thoughts. And her
213 feelings were telling her that something was terribly wrong. That she
214 had to hurry to her daughter’s side before it was too late. But what
215 would she be too late for?
216
217 Tomoyo walked silently out into a clearing, devoid of anything but
218 the soft sparkle of fireflies as they lit the sky around her. A
219 small, sad smile crossed her lips in remembrance of watching Sakura
220 catch the Glow Card out on a similar night. Those tiny little
221 floating lights in the air were so similar to the Clow Card’s own
222 gentle glow. Sakura had been so happy that night, spending time with
223 her crush at the time, Yukito Tsukishiro, under the moonlight. And
224 Tomoyo had been more than happy to watch the two of them from the
225 safety of some bushes, delighting in Sakura’s cute blush and the
226 brunette’s ecstasy of spending time with the snow rabbit. Why wasn’t
227 that enough for her anymore? Why couldn’t she be content to watch
228 Sakura’s life through a camcorder lens the way she always had?
229 Fanren’s words returned to Tomoyo in answer to her unspoken
230 question. Because her own heart was always pouring out love to
231 Sakura, it was empty inside. And her brittle heart was collapsing
232 under its own weight. She couldn’t continue to watch Sakura married
233 and living a life that really didn’t need her. Tomoyo was only human.
234 Even she couldn’t handle watching the one she loved forever in love
235 with someone else. It only made her own lonely heart cry out even
236 more into the moonlight, making it ache incessantly more. It had been
237 what she wanted, to make Sakura happy by any means necessary. And she
238 had given up Sakura to Syaoran in the hopes that he could make her
239 happy. “As long as the one I love is happy, it doesn’t matter if they
240 love me,” Tomoyo whispered, repeating words from a happier childhood.
241 And it was true, she wanted Sakura to be happy above all else. But
242 seeing it, actually watching Sakura’s new happy life unfold, it only
243 made the loneliness in Tomoyo’s heart more poignant, more acute. Her
244 love for Sakura actually made it infinitely worse for her because it
245 just reinforced the emptiness in her heart. Knowing that the most
246 important person in her life no longer needed her, that she was no
247 longer necessary was a chilling revelation. With that, all purpose
248 from her life seemed to disappear like mist on a sunny morning. She
249 had devoted so much of her life to Sakura that the prospect of no
250 longer being useful to the brunette was devastating. But even then,
251 at least she would be able to watch Sakura. But even that was beyond
252 her now. Every time that Sakura came to her about her husband, about
253 her happy new life, it hurt her. It hurt her to know that she was not
254 a part of it, that she could never be a part of it. To see the two of
255 them in love, to know that Sakura’s love was for someone else alone,
256 it left her frail and weak. She now knew why her mother had left when
257 Nadeshiko had gotten married. It was simply too painful to stay and
258 watch the one you love while they love another.
259 Tomoyo had wrestled with her feelings about leaving for quite a
260 while before that, so she understood what lay behind them. Her fear
261 of ruining Sakura’s happy life and her need to get away from the pain
262 that haunted her while she remained in Sakura’s life had all played a
263 part in her decision. She already regretted her decision terribly,
264 but knew that she really had no other choice. To stay in Sakura’s
265 life would be to invite disaster. If she didn’t ruin the brunette’s
266 marriage when Sakura discovered her feelings, her heart would die
267 from remaining to watch it all. So this was for the best. But somehow
268 that knowledge did little to comfort the lavender haired heiress. She
269 would never see Sakura again, even if it was the only way out. Tears
270 began to trickle down her cheeks as she held herself in the cold
271 night. That was the way it always was. She was all alone, holding her
272 feelings inside. And it was the way things always would be. A life
273 devoid of Sakura felt incredibly empty, like life in a vacuum. But
274 wasn’t that what her videotape collection was for? Somehow those
275 collections of frozen images and captured memories felt poorly
276 inadequate now. She wanted the real Sakura. She longed for her touch,
277 for her soft voice and her beautifully hopeful eyes. The videotapes
278 were now a painful reminder of what she could never have, of what she
279 would never again behold. Yet they were her only taste left of
280 Sakura. Her last great treasure. Even if they were bittersweet, they
281 were beautiful moments with Sakura, captured forever on videotape. So
282 she would always have them to drown in, beautiful memories to
283 surround herself with. They would make a wonderful coffin, one of
284 cute moments, dizzying costumes, and the always energetic Sakura. And
285 she could bury herself in them.
286 That had felt like her only means of escape, her only way to
287 survive without Sakura. But now she had to wonder if even that would
288 be enough. Her life felt woefully empty without the captivating
289 brunette. And she knew that nothing, not even her videotapes, could
290 ever truly replace her. Of course, that was never what the videos
291 were intended for. They were her documentary of Sakura, her footage
292 of time long ago, more like memories than anything else. And just
293 like memories, they paled in comparison to the real thing.
294 So just how could she survive a life without Sakura? Her stormy blue
295 eyes closed, her braided hair fluttering around in the biting breeze
296 as she tried to concentrate on just what a life might entail. The
297 wind whispered in her ear as the fireflies continued their endless
298 dance up above her. Sound could be heard in the distance as the
299 festival continued for those merry enough to join in. Nothing... She
300 could see nothing. It was as if her life’s journey ended once she was
301 without Sakura. And even if she continued on with such a life, what
302 meaning would their be to it? What possible purpose could it serve?
303 Like a clock that had wound down, it would be cold and meaningless.
304 Just like her masks, it would be pretty, but absolutely false. It
305 would be empty. Is a life lived merely for the sake of living really
306 worth living at all? Would it not be better to join Sakura’s mother
307 up in the skies above, to watch down on Sakura and her mother rather
308 than to continue forward helplessly alone and lost in the dark?
309 “Tomoyo-chan!! There you are!” Sonomi called out as she hurried to
310 meet her daughter in the clearing. She smiled in relief, glad to see
311 that her daughter was in no trouble after all. But a closer glance
312 made her rethink that. She could see wet tears on her daughter’s
313 cheeks, though the pale girl quickly wiped them away with the sleeve
314 of her kimono. Perhaps she was in no physical danger, but Sonomi was
315 beginning to think that was the least of her problems. “Tomoyo-chan,
316 what’s wrong?” she asked quietly, her hands resting on the dark
317 haired woman’s shoulders.
318 Tomoyo didn’t meet her mother’s gaze for a long moment, and it took
319 all of her strength to attempt a smile as she finally turned to look
320 at Sonomi. “It’s nothing. I’m fine, okaa-sama,” she said quietly. But
321 she knew at once that she had failed miserably. Sonomi didn’t look
322 the least bit swayed by her words, concern etched on her face.
323 “Tomoyo-chan, I’m your mother. I know that’s not true. Please, tell
324 me what’s wrong. I need to know,” Sonomi whispered. She cupped
325 Tomoyo’s chin when the younger girl tried to avert her gaze, stormy
326 blue eyes meeting stormy blue eyes.
327 The dark haired girl balked at first, unsure of what to say to her
328 mother. Explanations popped to mind, all specifically tailored to
329 diffuse her mother’s worry. But she felt too weak to use any of them.
330 With a sobbing breath, Tomoyo let go of her masks, their remains
331 shattering uselessly in the wind. “I don’t know how to say goodbye,”
332 the pale heiress whispered as fresh tears made their way down her
333 cheeks and past Sonomi’s waiting hand. Her whole body felt consumed
334 with despair, eating away at every bit of her soul. She had failed at
335 protecting those she cared about with her masks, first in front of
336 Sakura and now with her mother. She could only hope that her masks
337 had held when writing her last letter to Sakura, but the brunette was
338 probably still angry with her or at least confused about why Tomoyo
339 would leave. And Tomoyo would understand if Sakura was angry with
340 her. As long as Sakura was happy in her new life, it didn’t matter.
341 But she didn’t have that same safeguard with her mother. She knew
342 that leaving could very well hurt her mother terribly. And when she
343 left, her mother wouldn’t have the one she loved and a happy new life
344 to fall back on. Which is why she had tried so hard not to worry her
345 mother with her departure. She had never wanted to hurt the older
346 woman. It’s just that she couldn’t stay any longer. She was too
347 consumed with grief. She had to get away. It would only hurt her
348 mother if she stayed.
349 Sonomi smiled softly, her own eyes glittering with tears as her
350 hands moved to Tomoyo’s tear stained cheeks. “Oh, Tomoyo-chan... Is
351 that what this is about?” She shook her head, laughing slightly. It
352 was a pained sound, but it was honest. “I understand, my little girl.
353 I know you have to put all of this behind you. I know that you can’t
354 stay and let the pain devour you. I did the same thing when I left
355 Nadeshiko-chan when she got married. I couldn’t stay. Even now, I
356 have so many regrets about that. I only saw her for such a brief time
357 before she died. I missed out on so many years of her life. But I
358 don’t think I could have survived if I had stayed there with her
359 during her marriage to Fujitaka. The human heart just isn’t made to
360 handle that kind of pain. I don’t think I would have survived at all
361 if it hadn’t been for you, Tomoyo-chan. You gave me a reason to live.
362 You were my sweet little girl. You were the one person that I could
363 always love and cherish, who I knew would forever be a part of me.”
364 Tears of her own fell down her cheeks, though she continued to smile
365 at her quietly sobbing daughter. “And I thank you so much for that.
366 You gave me so much in life that I thought had been lost forever. I
367 was so consumed by sorrow and anger that I had forgotten the things
368 that make life worth living. You brought them all back to me. So I
369 understand if you have to flee all of this. I was happy to try and
370 keep you with me as long as I could, even if I knew this was
371 inevitable. You have to let a baby bird fly free some day. Just like
372 my angel, Nadeshiko-chan. I couldn’t protect her forever. And even
373 though I wish dearly that I could always protect you, Tomoyo-chan, I
374 know that I can’t.”
375 Tomoyo’s mind spun as she considered the similarities between
376 herself and her mother’s cousin. ‘I want to be an angel,’ she thought
377 to herself. Oh, to be able to soar above this mortal coil, to escape
378 the anguish that now seemed a permanent aspect of life, to be able to
379 watch Sakura and protect her, it all sounded like a dream. But there
380 was a darker side to her mother’s words. And Tomoyo felt them
381 instantly. She hugged her mother tightly, still crying weakly against
382 the slightly taller woman. “But I don’t want to leave you like that.
383 I know how much it hurt you when you lost her. I would never want to
384 hurt you like that, okaa-sama... Sometimes I think you’re the only
385 person who ever really knew me.” She closed her eyes tightly, trying
386 to stop the onslaught of fresh tears. “You always understood how I
387 felt about Sakura-chan. You know how much it hurts not to be with the
388 one you love. I don’t want to leave you, but...”
389 Silencing her daughter with a kiss on her forehead, Sonomi hugged
390 Tomoyo tightly. “Shhh... I know. I know.” The older woman smiled
391 softly. “Not that you didn’t make it difficult enough to know you.
392 You always did have a tendency to hide your feelings when you didn’t
393 want to burden someone. But you’re my little girl, so I had to see
394 through it.” She paused, brushing Tomoyo’s hair out of her eyes. “I
395 don’t want you to hurt like this, Tomoyo-chan. I don’t want to see
396 you so heartbroken. And if leaving is the only way that you can heal
397 your broken heart, then I have to accept that. But please... If you
398 can ever come back, or even if you could just write me a letter to
399 know what my darling daughter has been up to...” Her voice trailed
400 off.
401 Tomoyo burst into pain wracked sobs, clutching onto her mother. She
402 couldn’t even promise that she could send her a letter. How could she
403 just abandon her mother like that? But Sonomi was right. She couldn’t
404 stay. She had to fade away. She had to disappear before it was too
405 late for everyone. “I’m so sorry, okaa-sama...” Tomoyo got out
406 between sobs, her head resting on Sonomi’s shoulder.
407 Standing there, holding onto her daughter, Sonomi finally made her
408 decision. She hated Sakura. She hated the girl for all she had done
409 to her daughter, for all of the anguish she had caused her only
410 child. Holding Tomoyo tightly, Sonomi could only rock back and forth,
411 humming a gentle lullaby that she used to sing to Tomoyo when she was
412 only a child. She only wished that it still held the same power to
413 put the dark haired girl into a peaceful slumber. Standing in the
414 moonlight, surrounded by fireflies, the mother and daughter cried
415 together. Over lost love, over the end of the beginning, and over the
416 death of hope.
417