1.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
     1.2 +++ b/stories/dearsakura-17.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
     1.4 +Dear Sakura
     1.5 +by Amazoness Duo and G.P.
     1.6 +amazonessduo@hotmail.com
     1.7 +pearsong1954@yahoo.com
     1.8 +
     1.9 +
    1.10 +Dear Tomoyo-chan,
    1.11 +
    1.12 +At our house there is a vine in the garden. It has been there for
    1.13 +many years, since I was a child. Most people do not pay attention to
    1.14 +it, for it looks like a dead bush, and is overshadowed by the many
    1.15 +gaudy flowers around. it. It is called a "peniocereus gregii", or
    1.16 +Night-Blooming Cereus. When I was six, my Mother told me about this
    1.17 +flower. She told me because I was not happy so much about my
    1.18 +appearance. I did not feel as pretty as my sisters at the time, and
    1.19 +was sad. So, Mother took me into the garden and showed me this most
    1.20 +pathetic looking little plant. I remember this surprisingly well. She
    1.21 +asked me, "Fanren, what do you see here?" I told her I saw a plain
    1.22 +looking plant. She answered, "You see with the eyes of a fool, who
    1.23 +looks once and knows nothing. Watch this plant at night". In our
    1.24 +family, when Mother speaks it is wise to listen. This is true in many
    1.25 +Chinese households, you know, but is especially true in ours. I could
    1.26 +tell you many amusing stories about this. 
    1.27 +
    1.28 +So, in the middle of summer, with no school to worry about, I went
    1.29 +into the garden each night to watch the plant. There was nothing much
    1.30 +to see, but I was not only obedient, but also very curious. Then one
    1.31 +night, a thing most amazing happened. I had nearly fallen asleep when
    1.32 +I noticed the little buds on the twiggy stems seemed to have moved.
    1.33 +To my wonder and astonishment, they blossomed that night into the
    1.34 +most beauteous flowers I have ever seen. They were like pale stars
    1.35 +with a golden center, delicate and intricate with a fragrant scent
    1.36 +that wafted over the entire garden. I stared at them all night, at
    1.37 +that beauty which had been hidden during the day. How easy it would
    1.38 +have been to miss them entirely. It was magical to share that warm
    1.39 +summer night with the beautiful flowers, but with the first ray of
    1.40 +light at dawn the petals withered and the blossoms dropped to the
    1.41 +ground. That morning I talked to Mother, and told her of the wonder I
    1.42 +had seen. I asked her if it would bloom again that night, for I very
    1.43 +much wanted to see it once more. She shook her head, and said the
    1.44 +plant only bloomed one night every year. She said that sometimes the
    1.45 +most radient beauty is hidden away, and can only be seen by those
    1.46 +with patient hearts.
    1.47 +
    1.48 +This was a good lesson for me, as I was not a patient girl. I am
    1.49 +still not the most patient of women, as my family would no doubt tell
    1.50 +you. So perhaps this lesson did not work as well as Mother may have
    1.51 +intended. But what I have always remembered is the surprise of seeing
    1.52 +such beauty so unexpectedly. I felt that delightful surprise when I
    1.53 +first saw you and Sakura-chan at our house those many years ago.
    1.54 +Aiyaaa, I do not think I have ever seen such adorable girls in all of
    1.55 +my life. And then, to my astonishment, there was Sakura's brother and
    1.56 +his most attractive companion. Such splendor was enough to break
    1.57 +one's heart. I felt like this again during your most recent visit. I
    1.58 +knew from the picture that Sakura-chan showed me that you were very
    1.59 +beautiful. I thought surely you were a model, or perhaps an actress.
    1.60 +But I was not quite prepared for you in person. Tomoyo-chan, I was
    1.61 +enchanted. 
    1.62 +
    1.63 +Mother can be very cruel, for when I told her this she said I am
    1.64 +always being enchanted. She is maybe perhaps right, I suppose. Mother
    1.65 +says I am too fickle, and like a bee dance about from flower to
    1.66 +flower, never working hard enough to gather any pollen. Or perhaps
    1.67 +she is frustrated that I have never married. But you are a flower
    1.68 +this little bee has been unable to forget. You are of course a most
    1.69 +beautiful woman. I do not have skill enough with words in this
    1.70 +language to speak of it properly. But seeing you kept me up at night,
    1.71 +and I longed to be with you. I have known many beautiful girls and
    1.72 +women, but most of them are tedious. Often their attractiveness is
    1.73 +dimmed by their vanity, and I quickly grow tired of their
    1.74 +companionship. But your company was delightful. You are bright, and
    1.75 +charming, and most witty. Your loveliness is so natural, as if you
    1.76 +were blithely unaware of it. Somehow that only makes you more
    1.77 +attractive. 
    1.78 +
    1.79 +I am sorry. I have been writing this while looking at pictures of
    1.80 +you Sakura has given me. They are quite terribly distracting, and I
    1.81 +should put them away so that I may finish this letter. But I will
    1.82 +not, because they are wonderful to look at. Thank you so very much
    1.83 +for them. Anyway, I quite fell under your spell. I appreciate that
    1.84 +you are telling me that you are bound to Sakura-chan. However, I
    1.85 +could see this for myself, as you look at her with such tender
    1.86 +regard. It is curious, because from the way Sakura-chan talked about
    1.87 +you, I had assumed the two of you were once lovers. She speaks of you
    1.88 +with such affection and awe. But oddly, she later seemed quite
    1.89 +perplexed by what I was hinting at. She is most deliciously cute when
    1.90 +she is confused about things, is she not? I was even further baffled
    1.91 +myself when I saw the two of you together during your visit. Your
    1.92 +love was most charmingly evident, but she did not seem to quite
    1.93 +understand it all. It was very baffling to me, though perhaps I
    1.94 +understand more now after your letters. Yet I wonder if anyone really
    1.95 +knows Sakura-chan's heart just now? 
    1.96 +
    1.97 +Thank you for your most forthright honesty. Though it is beautiful,
    1.98 +it saddens me somewhat that your love is so constant. I myself feel a
    1.99 +longing for you, and know your presence would brighten life up quite
   1.100 +a bit. But most of all I am sad for your heart that has no rest, and
   1.101 +knows such pain. Sakura herself is in a turmoil these days. She is
   1.102 +always talking about you, and sighs when she speaks your name. I have
   1.103 +heard her crying at night, in the kitchen and the garden. She misses
   1.104 +you so, and is much like a little lost child without her mother. I
   1.105 +hope that all goes well with your plan to fade away from her life.
   1.106 +What you say is very logical indeed, and must certainly be true. But
   1.107 +hearts are strange, and sometimes what we think does not seem to
   1.108 +matter to them. They are impertinent, and have their own way of
   1.109 +things. Maybe I am sympathetic with hearts, for they are like me bit,
   1.110 +yes?   
   1.111 +
   1.112 +Being with you was a most delightful surprise, for if our meeting
   1.113 +was as brief as the Cereus blossom, it was also as beautiful. I will
   1.114 +pray for you and Sakura-chan at the temple today. May all the gods
   1.115 +and spirits protect your hearts.
   1.116 +
   1.117 +
   1.118 +My best regards,
   1.119 +
   1.120 +Fanren
   1.121 +
   1.122 +PS- I will be in Tokyo next year, and will most gladly accompany you
   1.123 +to the local clubs in Tomoeda. Aiyaaa, I cannot wait to dance with
   1.124 +you!        
   1.125 +
   1.126 +
   1.127 +Dear Fanren-san,
   1.128 +	What you said about the Night-Blooming Cereus was beautiful. Ieran-
   1.129 +sama is a very wise and knowledgable woman. It's true that if your
   1.130 +heart is patient enough, you can find the most stunning beauty. I'm
   1.131 +very lucky that it didn't take me long to find it. But it certainly
   1.132 +caught me by surprise. I had never dreamed that I would discover such
   1.133 +a gorgeous creature on this planet, not just in her appearance, but
   1.134 +also in her shining spirit. It was almost too much for me at the
   1.135 +time. I remember coming home and lying in my bed, staring up at the
   1.136 +ceiling in amazement, my heart lost in confusion at the sheer bliss
   1.137 +that the cute girl at school had stirred within me. I didn't get much
   1.138 +sleep that night. Actually, I haven't gotten much sleep since that
   1.139 +night. There have always been costumes I have designed just so I
   1.140 +could see her in them, videotapes to watch her actions from times
   1.141 +long since passed, and thoughts of her to keep me from sleep's gentle
   1.142 +embrace. 
   1.143 +	But you are right. Patience is necessary to see the beauty that is
   1.144 +so often hidden right in front of us. I know that patience certainly
   1.145 +helped with Sakura-chan. Sometimes it takes her a while to understand
   1.146 +things, but I was happy to wait for realization to dawn upon her,
   1.147 +helping her gently along the way. You're also right about how cute
   1.148 +Sakura-chan can be when she's confused. I always loved seeing her
   1.149 +like that. In the end, Sakura-chan always wound up fixing things. She
   1.150 +has an awe-inspiring determination that is really unstoppable when it
   1.151 +comes out. I don't know if you've had a chance to see it, but her
   1.152 +eyes sparkle like emeralds when it takes hold of her.
   1.153 +	Thank you for letting me tell you all this. I can't tell Sakura-
   1.154 +chan because I don't want to burden her with any of it. It has helped
   1.155 +quite a bit to be able to talk to you. I don't think you're fickle at
   1.156 +all. I think that your heart wanders. But when you find the right
   1.157 +person, the one who holds your heart, then it will stop its journey.
   1.158 +I hope that you find this person soon. You are a very delightful
   1.159 +woman and I think anyone would be extremely lucky to have your
   1.160 +company.   
   1.161 +	I'm sending this at the same time as I send my final letter to
   1.162 +Sakura-chan. It pains me so much to do so, but I know I have to. The
   1.163 +thought that I'll never see her again tears at my heart. It was so
   1.164 +hard to see through the tears while I wrote it. I'm lucky I didn't
   1.165 +have to tell Sakura-chan in person because I don't think I could
   1.166 +have. I already miss her terribly. My heart will always belong to
   1.167 +her, no matter where she is. Please keep an eye on her for me. Her
   1.168 +happiness means everything to me. I can't stay or I'll ruin that
   1.169 +happiness. If she continues looking, she may unravel her new life
   1.170 +because of me. I couldn't bear to see her lose all of that. And even
   1.171 +if she quit searching, I don't think my heart would last much longer
   1.172 +if I stayed in her life. I wanted to fade out slower, to disappear so
   1.173 +that I would only be a distant memory to her. But I can't. I'm afraid
   1.174 +that everything is too close to the edge. I have to leave her life
   1.175 +now before it's too late. But it hurts so badly. It feels like I'm
   1.176 +leaving a piece of myself behind. I will always love her. That's why
   1.177 +I have to fade away. 
   1.178 +	Fanren-san, thank you again for all of your help. I look forward to
   1.179 +seeing you in Japan someday. Perhaps you can tell me what has become
   1.180 +of Sakura by then. Right now I would love to dance. I'll always
   1.181 +remember it as such a beautiful activity, a song of hearts. Thank you.
   1.182 +
   1.183 +Sincerely,
   1.184 +Daidouji Tomoyo
   1.185 \ No newline at end of file