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     1.2 +++ b/stories/tomoyostory.txt	Fri Feb 19 06:24:59 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
     1.4 +
     1.5 +Love is the Crooked Thing
     1.6 +
     1.7 +By G. P.
     1.8 +
     1.9 +Comments can be sent to the author at: treeandleaf2002@yahoo.com
    1.10 +Note: All characters and names are copyright CLAMP. This work is in
    1.11 +no way meant to infringe upon their intellectual property rights.
    1.12 +
    1.13 +
    1.14 +BROWN PENNY by William Butler Yeats
    1.15 + 
    1.16 +I WHISPERED, "I am too young," 
    1.17 +And then, "I am old enough"; 
    1.18 +Wherefore I threw a penny 
    1.19 +To find out if I might love. 
    1.20 +"Go and love, go and love, young man, 
    1.21 +If the lady be young and fair." 
    1.22 +Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny, 
    1.23 +I am looped in the loops of her hair. 
    1.24 +
    1.25 +O love is the crooked thing, 
    1.26 +There is nobody wise enough 
    1.27 +To find out all that is in it, 
    1.28 +For he would be thinking of love 
    1.29 +Till the stars had run away 
    1.30 +And the shadows eaten the moon. 
    1.31 +Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny, 
    1.32 +One cannot begin it too soon.
    1.33 +
    1.34 + 
    1.35 +
    1.36 +
    1.37 +
    1.38 +Drawing a deep breath, pursing her lips in hesitant uncertainty,
    1.39 +Sakura flicked the clasp of The Book. Like a shot, the click
    1.40 +resounded loudly in the dimly lit room. Glancing up nervously, half-
    1.41 +expecting the entire household to come running, Sakura let out a
    1.42 +long, shaky sigh,.
    1.43 +
    1.44 +"Hoeeee, should I be doing this?"
    1.45 +
    1.46 +And without Kero to help, too. Another wave of ambivalence swept her
    1.47 +pajama-clad form as she hugged herself tightly in the chill night
    1.48 +air. For almost a month, she had been in turmoil, a gripping, minute-
    1.49 +to-minute whirlwind of heartsick emotion. Knitting her brow, Sakura
    1.50 +concentrated on the cards, willing them to come forth. Like leaves in
    1.51 +a storm they fluttered from the book, lightly spinning in a
    1.52 +breezeless swirl. Carefully reciting their names, Sakura closed her
    1.53 +eyes, hearing them fall softly to the table. Then, silence.
    1.54 +
    1.55 +Blinking her green eyes open, she stared at the two piles neatly
    1.56 +stacked before her. Sakura gently placed the bigger pile back in the
    1.57 +book, closing the cover and clasping the golden latch with a decisive
    1.58 +"snick".
    1.59 +
    1.60 +"All right, how did we do it before? 'Divide 4 with your left hand,
    1.61 +in any order you like'"
    1.62 +
    1.63 +She remembered Kero coaching her the first time, sagely fluttering
    1.64 +about as she arranged the cards. Oneechan had been in terrible
    1.65 +danger, tricked by an illusion of Mirror. She had  felt his danger as
    1.66 +a cold fist gripping her heart, squeezing tightly. The feeling now
    1.67 +was just as intense, but so very different: not cold, but hot, not
    1.68 +sharp and focused, but wild and dizzying. 
    1.69 +
    1.70 +"There"
    1.71 +
    1.72 +She looked down at the 10 cards, arranged in three neat rows of
    1.73 +three, with one set to the right side. Closing her eyes again, she
    1.74 +began to chant,
    1.75 +
    1.76 +"Cards made by Clow, answer my question. Show me the truth of the
    1.77 +situation before me".
    1.78 +
    1.79 +Speaking these last words, her heart fluttered as she drew a quick
    1.80 +breath. Thinking, do I really want to know the truth? For a month she
    1.81 +had not. She had turned away, closed her eyes, and desperately tried
    1.82 +to shut out the feelings that battered against her. Like a frightened
    1.83 +animal she had run, in sheer terror, from her own confused emotions.
    1.84 +But every day those feelings caught her, like baying hounds that
    1.85 +could not be stilled, hot breath on her neck, eagerly flushing her
    1.86 +into the open and cruelly driving her to ground. She shivered again,
    1.87 +sensing a whirling wind above the cards as her chant took effect. Her
    1.88 +auburn-red hair was lifted and tossed as her pajamas rustled and
    1.89 +flapped in the breeze. When the little zephyr died out, she blinked
    1.90 +her eyes open, gazing at the middle card in the top most row.
    1.91 +
    1.92 +"This is who is talking to me?"
    1.93 +
    1.94 +With a strangely steady hand, for the nervousness had drained away,
    1.95 +The Mistress of the Cards turned over... The Flower.
    1.96 +
    1.97 +"Eeeehhhh?"
    1.98 +
    1.99 +Puzzled, Sakura stared at the card, a sweat drop forming. Flower?
   1.100 +Not some Card of power and drama, like Dream, or Sword, or Windy?
   1.101 +Flower?! It was more than disappointing, it was…. irritating. For all
   1.102 +the wrenching agony she'd been through in the past weeks, it was
   1.103 +Flower that was talking to her?
   1.104 +
   1.105 +"This can't be right", she mumbled to herself. But it all looked
   1.106 +right, no, it felt right, too. If she didn't know the source of the
   1.107 +feelings that wracked her, she at least knew the Cards. And this was
   1.108 +right. 
   1.109 +
   1.110 +"OK, Flower. I found you at the School Festival, practically
   1.111 +drowning us in petals. Kero said you like people, and parties, and
   1.112 +fun, and, " Sakura felt a blush creeping up her neck, "and you danced
   1.113 +with me, hee". Hannyann! After the shock wore off it had been kind of
   1.114 +fun, dancing on the rooftop among the scents of a thousand blossoms.
   1.115 +
   1.116 +So, it was Flower that called to her. But looking at the Card,
   1.117 +Sakura could not believe that so gentle a thing could cause such
   1.118 +stormy feelings. With a quick breath, Sakura remembered yesterday in
   1.119 +school. Fidgety in class, the teacher calling her who knows how many
   1.120 +times before she came to, Tomoyo tugging desperately at her sleeve,
   1.121 +smiling as always. She remembered furious words with Li, stomping
   1.122 +away from the puzzled and angry boy. And even Tomoyo! Turning her
   1.123 +back on her very best friend, running away, sobbing. Wiping away the
   1.124 +tears with her pajama sleeve, she remembered the image of Tomoyo,
   1.125 +crushed, hurt beyond measure, clutching her hands tightly as Sakura
   1.126 +raced away from her. Guiltily looking at the pink cell phone, knowing
   1.127 +who had tried to call her all night before turning it off. Thinking,
   1.128 +“Now, I'm even hurting Tomoyo-chan”. 
   1.129 +
   1.130 +That's why she had to know, she could not put it off. Not knowing
   1.131 +the feelings that battered her was painful, but now it was hurting 
   1.132 +the people that she loved so dearly. 
   1.133 +
   1.134 +“Well,” she thought, “let's see just who, or what, is behind all of
   1.135 +this.” Looking decisievely at the middle row of cards, she reached
   1.136 +out and turned them over, 1, 2, 3.
   1.137 +
   1.138 +
   1.139 +The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
   1.140 +
   1.141 +
   1.142 +The emerald eyes widened as she scanned the cards. This made even
   1.143 +less sense than Flower trying to talk to her. There was nothing sweet
   1.144 +about the agony she had been feeling. Her heart racing and stopping,
   1.145 +flushed hot and cold, dizzy and spinney with a longing that was
   1.146 +tearing her apart. And a Silent Song? That was impossible,
   1.147 +ridiculous. What sort of song can be silent? TV with the sound off?
   1.148 +Karaoke? A broken CD player? But again, the Cards felt right.
   1.149 +Whoever, or whatever, was causing her to suffer was there on the
   1.150 +table, spelled out in three Clow Cards.
   1.151 +
   1.152 +Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated, as hard as she ever had. The
   1.153 +world fell away, room and house and family and friends and the whole
   1.154 +wide world vanishing into an inner darkness. Only three cards in a
   1.155 +black, velvety silence. Concentrate! For untold minutes, her
   1.156 +breathing stilled, heart barely beating, there nothing but the three
   1.157 +cards. All thoughts and feelings drifting away like incense at a
   1.158 +temple, wispy little nothings in the vast dark. And then, she heard it.
   1.159 +
   1.160 +From far, far away, down a tunnel or a tube or a cave, barely
   1.161 +audible in the inky midnight, a voice...no, a song! Sweet beyond
   1.162 +words, charming, alluring, and hauntingly beautiful. Sakura's heart
   1.163 +suddenly pounding, racing away from her as a stormy, thundering
   1.164 +whirlwind ripped apart the darkness, drowning out the faint melody.
   1.165 +With a shuddering gasp, she came to, reeling, dizzy,  the cards on
   1.166 +the table slowly coming into focus:  
   1.167 +
   1.168 +The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
   1.169 +
   1.170 +
   1.171 +Breathing heavily, her fists in tight little balls, Sakura forced
   1.172 +herself to calm down. Only one more. Pursing her lips, she glanced at
   1.173 +the outside Card, separate, alone in it's own little row. This is the
   1.174 +card that will tell me where. With mounting excitement, she reached
   1.175 +for the card, then hesitated. What would she do when she knew? In a
   1.176 +way, the not knowing was easier. Painful, yes, but not knowing was
   1.177 +easier, safer, and more comfortable, because by not knowing, she did
   1.178 +not have to do anything. With a smile, Sakura suddenly reached for
   1.179 +the final card. She knew herself well enough. When she knew, she
   1.180 +would act. From the very first sounds in the basement, she had faced
   1.181 +whatever came along. Sometimes fearfully, sometimes with a push or a
   1.182 +tug from Kero or Li, but she had met the cards, one by one. Her
   1.183 +little hand reached out, flipping the final card over.
   1.184 +
   1.185 +The Maze.
   1.186 +
   1.187 +Well, this at least made sense. Total, complete sense. Because
   1.188 +whatever, or whoever, was affecting her so severely was hidden far,
   1.189 +far away. It almost seemed that she had been in a maze herself for
   1.190 +weeks, stumbling up and down one blind alley after another. Fear of
   1.191 +the time she and Li and Tomoyo were trapped in the Maze dissipated as
   1.192 +her confidence burned brightly. 
   1.193 +
   1.194 +"This is a maze I can understand.” Sakura’s once gentle face was set
   1.195 +with an iron determination. Smiling, she whispered, “Now I'll find
   1.196 +you".
   1.197 +
   1.198 +Standing up, Sakura tightly clasped the Key at her breast.
   1.199 +
   1.200 +
   1.201 +“Oh Key that hides the power of darkness, obey your Mistress”.
   1.202 +Arching over the table, the girl picked up the Maze card and tossed
   1.203 +it in the air as her room dissolved into golden light. Twirling her
   1.204 +staff above her head, Sakura lunged and struck the fluttering card.
   1.205 +
   1.206 +“Release"!
   1.207 +
   1.208 +
   1.209 +Part 2
   1.210 +In the Labyrinth
   1.211 +
   1.212 +Standing at the gaping entrance of the maze, feeling a cool breeze
   1.213 +from the deep dark within, Sakura suddenly wavered as a sickly fear
   1.214 +settled upon her. There would be no help if she entered, no Tomoyo or
   1.215 +Li or Mizuki-sensei to fetch her out. If she went in it was alone,
   1.216 +except for whatever awaited within. Drawing a deep breath, she
   1.217 +stepped lightly across the threshold, the golden light swallowed up
   1.218 +behind her. As her eyes adjusted to the dim contours of the smooth
   1.219 +walls, a sudden thought brought her to an equally sudden stop, 
   1.220 +
   1.221 +“And once I’m in, how will I ever get out?” With a quick smile she
   1.222 +drew the Flower Card and flicked it into the air. “Release! And leave
   1.223 +a trail of petals that follows my every step!”
   1.224 +Now, with every step a gentle rain of pink sakura petals marked her
   1.225 +way. Plunging into the darkness, the tiny pajama-clad figure listened
   1.226 +for the haunting strains of Song. But all was silent, save for the
   1.227 +soft shuffling of her own feet. 
   1.228 +
   1.229 +On and on she went, sometimes doubling back, sometimes spiraling
   1.230 +around and around as the gray walls curved and looped. Finally, after
   1.231 +what seemed like hours, Sakura slumped against the wall in an
   1.232 +exhausted and frustrated heap.
   1.233 +
   1.234 +“I’m going nowhere like this”. She shut her eyes tight, listening,
   1.235 +hearing only silence. “OK, stop walking, and concentrate. Concentrate…”
   1.236 +
   1.237 + Three Cards: The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song. 
   1.238 +
   1.239 +She had heard the Song, sweet and melodic, faint but clear and
   1.240 +compelling. Now, there was only silence. The three cards were keys to
   1.241 +what had plunged her into turmoil for the past month. Her senses,
   1.242 +made keen and sharp by the year of hunting the Cards, could not
   1.243 +detect the presence of a Clow Card in all of this. With analytic
   1.244 +eyes, she turned to the stormy emotions that had beset her
   1.245 +since...since when?
   1.246 +
   1.247 +"Since I found out about Yue". 
   1.248 +
   1.249 +Yue, the real Yukito; and so coldly different. With a wistful
   1.250 +sadness she recalled lights like falling stars at the festival, a
   1.251 +gentle glance, the lazy arc of a candy thrown from a bike. Her
   1.252 +affection for him was undimmed, but, changed somehow. She shook her
   1.253 +head, jumped up with a start, and began walking again. Since Yue,
   1.254 +there had been an emptiness, a hole in her heart where a chill breeze
   1.255 +blew. But the strange, powerful feelings that wracked her were not
   1.256 +because of Yue, not about him at all. Or, rather, it was because he
   1.257 +was gone that those sweet, painful feelings were unleashed. It was as
   1.258 +if a dam had broken, and a flood of emotion, long bottled up, had
   1.259 +gushed forth sweeping all before it.   
   1.260 +
   1.261 +
   1.262 +Sweet, painful feelings. She stopped, standing quite still, and
   1.263 +closed her eyes. Sweet feelings? Yes, they were. They hurt, they
   1.264 +hounded her, and they had turned her life inside out. And yet, there
   1.265 +was an intense, breathless sweetness. It was like the delightful
   1.266 +feeling she had had with Yukito, or Mizuki-sensei, hannyann! But
   1.267 +wrapped tightly with a longing, an aching sense of incompleteness,
   1.268 +and an intensity that frightened her as no Clow Card ever had. And
   1.269 +whatever caused it was in here, with her, silent. Whatever, or whoever.
   1.270 +
   1.271 +Frustrated, she began walking again, one hand following the smooth,
   1.272 +cool wall, the endless corridors leading nowhere, the petaled path
   1.273 +stretching behind her into the distance. If only she could hear the
   1.274 +song again, she could get her bearings. She thought of Tomoyo-chan's
   1.275 +songs, her sweet voice, and suddenly felt a pang of longing for her
   1.276 +friend. Alone, the auburn haired girl realized how much she missed
   1.277 +the presence of the one who was always  at her side, with her on all
   1.278 +her adventures, waiting for her at school, always with a kindly look,
   1.279 +a gentle touch, and encouraging words.
   1.280 +
   1.281 +Tomoyo-chan. The wonder, the miracle of her friendship was something
   1.282 +she often took for granted amid the whirl of the Cards. But here,
   1.283 +alone in the twilight halls, she keenly felt the absence of that
   1.284 +sweet, loving presence. Even her odd obsessions, the costumes and the
   1.285 +videotapes (sweat drop forming), were signs of her love. Then, with a
   1.286 +gasp, Sakura  froze.
   1.287 +
   1.288 +Her love. Sakura, mouth open, stared at the ground in stunned
   1.289 +surprise. Her love. The crimson heat of an epochal blush crept up her
   1.290 +neck and shoulders and, like a red tsunami,  overwhelmed her. 
   1.291 +
   1.292 +"She...she likes me...like that". 
   1.293 +
   1.294 +Gripping the staff at her chest with both hands, Sakura stood
   1.295 +breathless. 
   1.296 +
   1.297 +"She...loves me". Shaking her head furiously, she cried, "Hooeee,
   1.298 +why didn't I see? Why didn't she tell me? Why?"
   1.299 +
   1.300 +Closing her eyes, Sakura thought of how unspeakably painful it must
   1.301 +have been for Tomoyo-chan, her most precious gift unseen and
   1.302 +unrecognized. But from Tomoyo, never a reproachful glare, an angry
   1.303 +word, never anything but unbounded, unconditional love. 
   1.304 +
   1.305 +"Baka", exclaimed Sakura, as her tears fell freely, 'How can I have
   1.306 +been so stupid? All this time, she loved me, and I, I didn't even
   1.307 +know. I'm so sorry, Tomoyo-chan, I'm so, so sorry...." Dropping to
   1.308 +her knees, the Mistress of the Cards buried her face in her hands,
   1.309 +sobbing.
   1.310 +
   1.311 +All this time, loving me...silently loving me. Through teary eyes,
   1.312 +Sakura stared into the distance and whispered,
   1.313 +
   1.314 +"Silently....loving me?"
   1.315 +
   1.316 +The Sweet, The Silent, and The Song.
   1.317 +
   1.318 +And then, she heard it again. 
   1.319 +
   1.320 +Louder this time, the song wafted from the center, the very heart of
   1.321 +the maze. Staggering to her feet, Sakura stumbled towards the sound.
   1.322 +Her face, streaked with tears, brightened as she recognized the voice,
   1.323 +
   1.324 +"Tomoyo-chan...Tomoyo-chan!"
   1.325 +
   1.326 +Racing towards the source of the song, Sakura felt her heart
   1.327 +throbbing from excitment and exertion. All the feelings of the past
   1.328 +month welled up inside her, but focused now, like a laser beam of
   1.329 +light. Now she understood. The roaring tempest within, no longer
   1.330 +angry at her ignorance, throbbed in harmony with her own heart. Now,
   1.331 +at last, she realized who she loved, had always loved, and always
   1.332 +would love for ever and ever and ever.
   1.333 +
   1.334 +"Tomoyo-chan!"
   1.335 +
   1.336 +Ahead, a pale, amythest light shone as the maze began to dissipate
   1.337 +and dissolve. The love song flowed like the burbling water of a
   1.338 +mountain brook, like white-hot lava, like the stars and the suns and
   1.339 +the moons in the black velvet river of the sky. Sobbing, laughing,
   1.340 +delighted, Sakura neared the white shrouded, dark haired singer
   1.341 +bathed in a shimmering, purple glow. Slowly the figure turned to face
   1.342 +her, blue eyes sparkling, smiling.
   1.343 +
   1.344 +
   1.345 +"Sakura-chan?"
   1.346 +
   1.347 +Puzzled, smiling, Tomoyo took her friend by the hand, leading her
   1.348 +into the spacious room. A shadow of concern darkened her face as she
   1.349 +squeezed the girl's hand and whispered,
   1.350 +
   1.351 +"Sakura-chan, are you all right?"
   1.352 +
   1.353 +Catching her breath, blinking as she realized the maze had vanished,
   1.354 +Sakura saw the familiar outlines of her friend's room. Looking at
   1.355 +Tomoyo she smiled, blushed fiercely, then glanced away.
   1.356 +
   1.357 +"Tomoyo-chan, I...."
   1.358 +
   1.359 +Tomoyo gently held her hands, head tilted to one side, and gazed in
   1.360 +wonder.
   1.361 +
   1.362 +"Tomoyo-chan, I like you. I...I really like you".
   1.363 +
   1.364 +With a musical laugh that angels might envy, Tomoyo beamed and
   1.365 +replied,
   1.366 +
   1.367 +"I like you too, Sakura."
   1.368 +
   1.369 +Shaking her head wildly, Sakura squeezed the startled girl's hands
   1.370 +in an iron grip.
   1.371 +
   1.372 +"No...NO! I don't mean it like that. I....Tomoyo," Her emerald eyes
   1.373 +flashed fire as she grappled with the words,
   1.374 +
   1.375 +"Tomoyo I....I love you. I love you, too"
   1.376 +
   1.377 +For a long second, Tomoyo's face was a mask of shock and surprise.
   1.378 +Then, smiling through the tears, blue eyes shimmering in unforeseen
   1.379 +joy, her face shone with a radiant, heavenly light. Hand in hand,
   1.380 +eyes locked together, the two friends stood alabaster still. Leaning
   1.381 +closer, Sakura felt a warm breath against her tear-stained cheek.
   1.382 +Eyes closing, her lips lightly brushed against Tomoyo's. Tomoyo
   1.383 +wrapped her arms around Sakura as she returned the kiss with a gentle
   1.384 +passion.
   1.385 +
   1.386 +Sakura and Tomoyo stood, entwined and oblivious, as Flower gaily
   1.387 +danced above them, showering the lovers in a hurricane of blossoms.  
   1.388 +
   1.389 +
   1.390 +
   1.391 +
   1.392 +
   1.393 +
   1.394 +
   1.395 +
   1.396 +
   1.397 +
   1.398 +
   1.399 +
   1.400 +
   1.401 +Love is the sweet, silent song. And in the maze lies Tomoyo,
   1.402 +waiting, her silent song heard at last by Sakura, who braves the
   1.403 +confusion of the Maze to bring back her one true Love.     
   1.404 \ No newline at end of file