1.1 --- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
     1.2 +++ b/old/stories/dearsakura-24.txt	Fri Feb 19 20:53:12 2010 -0500
     1.3 @@ -0,0 +1,386 @@
     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 +	Bbbrrrrinnng.... Bbbrrrriiinnng.... Bbbbrrrrriiiinnng....
    1.11 +	Tomoyo rolled over in her sleep, her long dark hair covering her
    1.12 +pale form like a sinuous shadow. She stirred as the phone continued
    1.13 +to ring at her in the silence, finally sitting up in the darkened
    1.14 +room. She was lying on the couch in her little home theater room, a
    1.15 +video of Sakura still playing in the background. She was still
    1.16 +wearing her busines clothes from the day before, not having had the
    1.17 +will to change out of them. Her tired mind quickly located the source
    1.18 +of the ringing and she slowly reached out for the phone. Who could be
    1.19 +calling her at this hour? Her fingers paused just before touching the
    1.20 +phone as if it had suddenly become a venomous snake, its ringing the
    1.21 +deadly rattle of a beast about to lunge out and bite her. She was
    1.22 +filled with a deep and foreboding dread at who may be on the other
    1.23 +end. 'Leave it. You can pretend that you were asleep. It's late and
    1.24 +no one will mind,' she thought to herself. But she knew that she
    1.25 +couldn't do that. Whoever would be calling this late at night must
    1.26 +have a terribly urgent reason. She couldn't just ignore it. 
    1.27 +	"Moshi moshi..." Tomoyo heard herself say, but the voice didn't
    1.28 +sound like her own. It was cracked and pained, as if it still held
    1.29 +countless unshed tears. Her fingers trembled as she held the phone to
    1.30 +her ear, brushing back dark hair that got in the way. Her dread was
    1.31 +growing by the second as she waited for what felt like an eternity
    1.32 +for an answer. For a second, she felt the beginnings of relief begin
    1.33 +to brush lightly at her bruised and battered soul. It must have been
    1.34 +a wrong number. But her relief quickly turned to mute horror as an
    1.35 +all too familiar voice answered her.
    1.36 +	"Tomoyo-chan!!" an uberly genki voice called out. "Tomoyo-chan, I
    1.37 +was so worried. I couldn't get through earlier and I didn't know if
    1.38 +you would be there or not. I just... You see, I was in the garden
    1.39 +and... Well, remember how you kissed me?" A giggle before she
    1.40 +continued. "Well, I finally... Ummm... Can I come over?" Sakura
    1.41 +sweatdropped on the other end of the phone. She felt like a guilty
    1.42 +schoolgirl asking permission to go over to a friend's house to do
    1.43 +anything but study. That thought was silly and awkward for her, but
    1.44 +she couldn't help it. Being back home had felt almost like she had
    1.45 +travelled back in time. She hadn't been in the house more than a few
    1.46 +minutes before calling the Daidouji household. She could hear Touya
    1.47 +making tea in the kitchen and silently thanked her older brother for
    1.48 +all of his help.
    1.49 +	The phone clattered to the floor, dropping from Tomoyo's numb
    1.50 +hands. She stared at the deadly viper that had indeed reached out and
    1.51 +bit her. How could it be Sakura? Her letter couldn't have gotten to
    1.52 +her already, could it? Tomoyo wasn't even completely packed yet. She
    1.53 +hadn't planned on moving out for another two days. And how could
    1.54 +Sakura be in Tomoeda? She should be in Hong Kong at that very moment,
    1.55 +snuggling with her husband. This was wrong. This was all wrong. It
    1.56 +completely shattered Tomoyo's painstakingly crafted plans to fade
    1.57 +from Sakura's life as well as her mother's. She felt trapped, caged
    1.58 +in on all sides by imposing iron bars. How could she escape her
    1.59 +torment if Sakura would not allow it?
    1.60 +	"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura's voice asked, concern tinging her exuberance. 
    1.61 +	Tomoyo realized only dimly that Sakura had been waiting on the
    1.62 +other end while the phone had lain uselessly on the floor. She
    1.63 +reached out slowly, picking up the cold plastic once more. Her eyes
    1.64 +flickered to the screen that was still showing her beautiful second
    1.65 +cousin flying through the air like an angel. The angel had finally
    1.66 +come for her, and she had nowhere to flee. She searched desperately
    1.67 +for her soft voice, one that had served her well for years as a
    1.68 +member of the choir, but was frustrated to find it having suddenly
    1.69 +gone missing. What disturbed her even more was that she had begun
    1.70 +crying moments earlier and hadn't even realized it. Wet tears slipped
    1.71 +past her cheek and against the telephone as she held it tightly. She
    1.72 +briefly remembered the cute pink cell phones that she had gotten from
    1.73 +her mother to stay in contact with Sakura. They had been a wonderful
    1.74 +tether for the two girls, offering Sakura with a constant link to her
    1.75 +loving and supportive friend and giving Tomoyo a link to the
    1.76 +beautiful girl of her dreams. It had been a wonderful thing for both
    1.77 +of them, giving Sakura a way to always turn to her best friend and
    1.78 +Tomoyo a way to bask in Sakura's presence even when they were far
    1.79 +apart. It had worked so well, in fact, that Tomoyo had given Syaoran
    1.80 +one of the cute cell phones so that he and Sakura may be able to
    1.81 +share that same bond. Hadn't that been the start of all this? No,
    1.82 +no... The start of all this had been the gift of a small eraser a
    1.83 +lifetime ago.
    1.84 +	"Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura repeated, this time listening intently for
    1.85 +her best friend. She thought she could hear short, ragged breaths, as
    1.86 +if someone was short of air, and what sounded like sniffling. "Tomoyo-
    1.87 +chan?"
    1.88 +	'She can't hear me like this. It will ruin everything. She'll never
    1.89 +let me go if she knows how I feel. And it will destroy Sakura-chan's
    1.90 +fairy tale. Her beautiful new life will crumble. All because of me. I
    1.91 +can't do that to Sakura-chan. I can't stay because I... can't...
    1.92 +handle... it....' Tomoyo thought frantically, her shaking fingers
    1.93 +quickly wiping her tears away. It did little to soothe the cold and
    1.94 +broken shards of her heart. 'If I stay, it'll kill both of us, Sakura-
    1.95 +chan. I can't be a part of your life anymore. Seeing you, loving you,
    1.96 +knowing that I can't be a part of your heart, it's killing me. It's
    1.97 +killing me and I won't let it kill you, too.' When she finally spoke,
    1.98 +her voice came out weakly, a pale shadow of it's normal gentle self.
    1.99 +It sounded sorrowful in Tomoyo's ears and she immediately cut herself
   1.100 +off, closing her lavender eyes tightly. 'Hang up!' part of her cried,
   1.101 +but she knew she couldn't. Sakura was like the Syren from long ago,
   1.102 +luring her towards grave dangers that she couldn't force herself to
   1.103 +escape from. She needed to answer Sakura. And soon. But she didn't
   1.104 +know how. If Sakura heard her crying, then her farewell letter would
   1.105 +be for naught. Sakura would know the pain that resided in her heart
   1.106 +and they would both be doomed. With a supreme effort, the pale ghost
   1.107 +of a girl gathered the splintered shards of her masks, cutting her
   1.108 +soul in the process as she pulled them up for one final act. But
   1.109 +would they be enough? Were these tiny shards enough to hide the pain
   1.110 +she was in? "Sakura-chan..." her soft voice whispered into the phone.
   1.111 +The pain was still glaringly evident in Tomoyo's ears, but she hoped
   1.112 +that the brunette wouldn't hear it. The ocean of tears underneath her
   1.113 +voice's surface wasn't gone exactly, but it was muted, as if a large
   1.114 +tarp had been thrown over it.
   1.115 +	The auburn haired girl on the other end of the line sighed in
   1.116 +relief. She had thought that the line had disconnected or that, even
   1.117 +more irrationally, Tomoyo had finally made good on her words.
   1.118 +'Goodbye,' echoed through Sakura's mind in Tomoyo's sweet voice,
   1.119 +surrounding her like a sad song from long ago. It anchored Sakura's
   1.120 +heart with painful chains and hooks. But Sakura struggled forward
   1.121 +despite the immense weight on her heart. She was here now. Tomoyo
   1.122 +couldn't leave or fade away. She would finally fulfill her promise.
   1.123 +'I knew Sakura-chan would come and rescue me,' Tomoyo had said an
   1.124 +eternity before. And Sakura had finally come to rescue her fair
   1.125 +skinned damsel in distress. "I'm here, Tomoyo-chan," she said again,
   1.126 +not noticing that she was speaking out loud. She blushed slightly,
   1.127 +but continued on. "I'm glad to hear you. I was so worried about you.
   1.128 +I got your letter in the mail today... well, yesterday... Anyway, I
   1.129 +got your letter and I had to come see you. Tomoyo-chan..." her voice
   1.130 +caught in her throat as she blinked back crystal tears. "I don't want
   1.131 +you to go. I need you, Tomoyo-chan. I need to talk to you. Right now.
   1.132 +I'm going to be over in a few minutes, okay? Just unlock your window
   1.133 +and I'll be there as soon as I can," the Cardmistress said quickly. 
   1.134 +	Sakura was too flustered to sleep, her heart's recent revelation
   1.135 +too much to keep inside for herself. It longed to be offered up as a
   1.136 +gift to the woman who had been there for Sakura every step of the way
   1.137 +through her life. But she couldn't do that over the phone. Words
   1.138 +weren't Sakura's strong point. She always went on her emotions. She
   1.139 +couldn't even understand her emotions half the time. But she knew
   1.140 +that the woman on the other end of the phone knew her emotions
   1.141 +perfectly, as if she could read Sakura the same way others read a
   1.142 +good book. She had the eye of an artist, but one that was attuned to
   1.143 +the human soul. No one else understood her like Tomoyo. No one else
   1.144 +could hope to. But there was one thing that even Tomoyo hadn't been
   1.145 +able to uncover. The glistening love that lay shrouded in the curious
   1.146 +mists of Sakura's heart. Now that Sakura had finally understood it,
   1.147 +she wanted to go to her gentle best friend and to tell her the
   1.148 +deliscious secret she had learned. 
   1.149 +	Of course, she didn't know if Tomoyo would accept her tentative
   1.150 +offering of love or even how she would react. The eccentric young
   1.151 +woman held so much love in her heart that its depth felt endless and
   1.152 +all encompassing, like a warm, deep ocean. She knew that much from
   1.153 +the love Tomoyo had always showered on her. It may have been
   1.154 +embarrassing at times, but Sakura would never have wished it away. In
   1.155 +fact, being without it during her months in Hong Kong had felt like
   1.156 +she had been exiled to a barren and empty desert. She knew that
   1.157 +Tomoyo's warm and giving heart had a very special someone at it's
   1.158 +core, but she knew not who that person was. She only knew that if
   1.159 +they couldn't love her dear, sweet Tomoyo, then they were undeserving
   1.160 +of the lavender haired woman's boundless love. And Sakura would try
   1.161 +her hardest to take away all of Tomoyo's pain, to love her with all
   1.162 +of her heart. She may not be Tomoyo's special someone, but she would
   1.163 +more than try to make up for it. She would love Tomoyo with all of
   1.164 +her heart and soul and try to make everything, for once, all right.
   1.165 +	Tomoyo didn't know how much time had gone by as she sat on the
   1.166 +floor of her room in the dark, her legs curled under her and her
   1.167 +tearstained eyes still focused on the moving images of Sakura on the
   1.168 +screen in front of her. Panic consumed her, a viscious monster that
   1.169 +had snagged her in it's fangs. Her clothes were only half packed, her
   1.170 +airplane tickets not for another two days. Sakura had caught her in
   1.171 +the midst of her plan to fade away from her life, and like a breath
   1.172 +on a house of cards, it all came tumbling down. Sakura couldn't come
   1.173 +now, not with the state she was in. It was all Tomoyo could do to
   1.174 +clutch onto the few remaining shards of the illusions she used to
   1.175 +hide her pain from those she loved. If Sakura saw her.... "Sakura-
   1.176 +chan...  I can't see you... Not now. Today was such a long day and I
   1.177 +can't keep my eyes open much longer." And it was true. She couldn't
   1.178 +keep her eyes open without tears cascading down her pale cheeks.
   1.179 +	Blinking in confusion, Sakura listened to Tomoyo words once again
   1.180 +in her mind. That didn't sound like her happily eccentric best
   1.181 +friend. She knew that Tomoyo had stayed up quite often on costumes or
   1.182 +videotapes and the like. Besides, Sonomi was the businesswoman in the
   1.183 +family. She was the one who threw herself into her work. And even
   1.184 +then, she would throw that aside when her daughter needed her. And
   1.185 +there was something else as well, as if there were little broken ice
   1.186 +crystals in Tomoyo's voice, threaded through the lavender haired
   1.187 +woman's melodious voice. This took Sakura completely by surprise. She
   1.188 +hadn't thought of the possibility that Tomoyo might not be ready for
   1.189 +her to visit as soon as she reached Tomoeda. She was almost as
   1.190 +shocked by the lack of Tomoyo's usual embarrassing comments. No
   1.191 +'Sakura-chan's lovely voice is like a dream', 'All of Tomoeda must be
   1.192 +ecstatic to know that Sakura-chan is back again', or even 'Isn't Hong
   1.193 +Kong missing Sakura-chan's beautiful face?'. They had always caused
   1.194 +such a flurry of emotions in her, but the lack of her best friend's
   1.195 +adoring remarks left her in silence.
   1.196 +	Covering the phone as she choked back a sob, Tomoyo tried
   1.197 +desperately to think. She couldn't let Sakura see her like this,
   1.198 +teary eyed and broken. It would crush the energetic Cardmistress's
   1.199 +spirits. She was like a shattered China doll lying upon the floor.
   1.200 +Wasn't it better for Sakura to think that her favorite China doll was
   1.201 +simply elsewhere than finding it broken and smashed? Pulling together
   1.202 +the last bit of her strength, Tomoyo could feel her tears burning at
   1.203 +her eyes as she kept her voice as level and soft as she could. Her
   1.204 +tattered heart heaved in her chest as she hung onto her crystalline
   1.205 +mask shards until her soul cried out. "Sakura-chan needs her beauty
   1.206 +sleep so that she will be gorgeous and genki when the morning comes,"
   1.207 +she said at last, and was relieved to hear it sound as obsessive and
   1.208 +adoring as ever. 
   1.209 +	That seemed to relax Sakura on the other end of the phone, calming
   1.210 +some of her worries for her dark haired friend. Sakura sighed,
   1.211 +hugging her knees to her chest as she held onto the phone. "Are you
   1.212 +sure, Tomoyo-chan? I... I really want to see you." She had been
   1.213 +waiting so long. Ever since they had said farewell at the airport,
   1.214 +Sakura had been longing to see her friend again, to hold her, to love
   1.215 +her, and to kiss her. To make sure that things would truly be all
   1.216 +right. That feeling had become even stronger since discovering the
   1.217 +love within her for her blue eyed friend. Tomoyo had been all she had
   1.218 +thought about on the flight out and the ride home. Things like her
   1.219 +marriage and what would happen when they met failed to concern her.
   1.220 +All she knew was that she had to be with Tomoyo again. To lose
   1.221 +herself in the sweet scent of her long, luscious hair. To feel her
   1.222 +gentle embrace, and her warm lips. She wanted to give Tomoyo her
   1.223 +entire heart, to offer it on a beautiful platter of silver and
   1.224 +emeralds. What Tomoyo would do with her gift was entirely up to her.
   1.225 +But Sakura knew that she had to give her most precious Christmas
   1.226 +present to Tomoyo soon.
   1.227 +	The dark haired woman waited in silence for a long moment, trying
   1.228 +to regulate her breathing. This was even more difficult than when
   1.229 +Sakura had complained about the butterflies in her stomach while
   1.230 +Tomoyo had helped her into her wedding gown. That had been a very
   1.231 +traumatic experience for the young heiress. Helping Sakura into the
   1.232 +intricately designed and lovingly crafted dress, her own heart
   1.233 +pouring out to the auburn haired woman as she tried to soothe
   1.234 +Sakura's worries over marrying someone else had been one of the
   1.235 +hardest moments in her life. Part of her had wanted to confess her
   1.236 +love right then, to stand up after helping Sakura with her stockings,
   1.237 +to look her in the eyes and tell her 'You don't have to be afraid,
   1.238 +Sakura-chan. I love you.' But even that now seemed like nothing
   1.239 +compared to this bitter struggle with her emotions. She knew that she
   1.240 +had strings around Sakura, that she had since they had been small
   1.241 +children. Sakura was so loving, so trusting, and she had such faith
   1.242 +in Tomoyo. Tomoyo knew that she could use that to manipulate Sakura
   1.243 +like a marionette on it's strings. Sakura would listen to whatever
   1.244 +she had to say, always trusting her dark haired friend. But Tomoyo
   1.245 +had never used that for her own gain. Well, aside from getting Sakura
   1.246 +into her costumes and videotaping her. Tomoyo's gentle heart would
   1.247 +not allow her to use Sakura in such a way. So she had merely used her
   1.248 +influence on the brunette to gently nudge her heart in the right
   1.249 +direction, to help her through all of the obstacles life placed
   1.250 +before the Cardmistress. She now had to try and keep Sakura from
   1.251 +coming to her, though the longing in the brunette's voice broke
   1.252 +Tomoyo's already shattered heart into further pieces. Taking a deep
   1.253 +breath, Tomoyo fought back her tears as she continued. "It really has
   1.254 +been a long day, Sakura-chan, especially if you've been on a plane
   1.255 +for so long. Please get some rest. When next I see Sakura-chan, I
   1.256 +want to see her emerald eyes sparkling happily as she laughs with
   1.257 +joy."
   1.258 +	Sakura smiled softly as she held the phone to her ear. Just hearing
   1.259 +Tomoyo's voice made her feel better. "Yeah, I guess you're right,
   1.260 +Tomoyo-chan. I can wait till the morning. That would probably be
   1.261 +better anyway. I have a lot I need to tell you." Slumping back on the
   1.262 +bed, Sakura moved an athletic leg into the air as she yawned. It
   1.263 +really had been a long flight. And it would probably be better if she
   1.264 +could actually decide what she wanted to say to Tomoyo. Not that she
   1.265 +was ever very good with such things. As Tomoyo had told her before,
   1.266 +she should simply speak her heart. She nodded in silent agreement to
   1.267 +her best friend. She would speak her heart when she saw Tomoyo the
   1.268 +next day. "Okay. Thanks, Tomoyo-chan. I'm so glad to hear you again.
   1.269 +I really missed you. Please sleep well, okay? I'll see you early
   1.270 +tomorrow."
   1.271 +	"Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan. Dream of the most beautiful angels,"
   1.272 +Tomoyo's soft voice whispered quietly on the other end. And with a
   1.273 +slow click, she was gone.
   1.274 +	Lying back in bed, Sakura stared straight up. She wasn't looking at
   1.275 +the ceiling so much as she was looking through it, as if it wasn't
   1.276 +there. She had wanted to see Tomoyo that night, but the lavender
   1.277 +haired woman had made sense. Besides, it was better for Tomoyo to
   1.278 +hear what Sakura had to say when she was rested. Sakura, on the other
   1.279 +hand, was pretty sure that she couldn't sleep. She had slept off and
   1.280 +on during the plane ride and in the car with Touya. On top of that,
   1.281 +her mind was still buzzing with excitement over being back in
   1.282 +Tomoeda, of being so close to realizing her hearts secret desires.
   1.283 +The thoughts of once again basking in that sweet love that she had
   1.284 +taken for granted during the years she and Tomoyo had been friends
   1.285 +sounded exhilerating. She let out a warm sigh. "Hanyaan..." It had
   1.286 +always been there, but she had overlooked it as something that would
   1.287 +forever be a part of her life. Now she knew that Tomoyo was its
   1.288 +source, the reason behind so many of her happy childhood memories,
   1.289 +and throughout her adolescence. Tomoyo had bloomed like a gorgeous
   1.290 +flower, and like a beautiful gardener had coaxed Sakura into becoming
   1.291 +a very pretty young woman, always nurturing her heart and soul with a
   1.292 +warmth that Sakura could search the world over for and never find
   1.293 +again. Sakura felt blessed to have grown up with such love in her
   1.294 +life. 
   1.295 +	But if Tomoyo's heart belonged to another, to her special someone,
   1.296 +then how would she react to Sakura's declaration of love? Would it
   1.297 +bother her? Would Tomoyo put her down gently? Or would she be happy
   1.298 +to simply be loved by someone for once in her life? And just who was
   1.299 +this special person anyhow? Tomoyo had first mentioned them when they
   1.300 +had only been ten year olds. And yet she still spoke of them with the
   1.301 +same passionate fervor she had always shown for this mysterious
   1.302 +person. So it had to be someone that Tomoyo had known for years.
   1.303 +Someone who had been close to her, always there in her life
   1.304 +throughout all of that time. Someone who Tomoyo thought could never
   1.305 +love her back. 
   1.306 +	Sakura sat bolt upright in bed, her emerald eyes wide as a sudden
   1.307 +realization hit her. She ran down the stairs two at a time, almost
   1.308 +running full tilt into her older brother as he finished up the tea.
   1.309 +"Oniichan!! I know who Tomoyo-chan's in love with!"
   1.310 +	Touya turned around in surprise. He hadn't expected Sakura to find
   1.311 +out so suddenly on her own. Especially after all the hints Tomoyo had
   1.312 +dropped over the years and the one's he himself had been dropping
   1.313 +since the two had turned fourteen. That she would finally come to
   1.314 +that conclusion after all of this time stunned him. "You do?" he
   1.315 +asked curiously, holding the two tea cups with the grace that years
   1.316 +as a waiter, among other things, had afforded him.
   1.317 +	Sakura nodded energetically, her short hair flying about her face.
   1.318 +The young woman looked seriously focused, as she could often get when
   1.319 +faced with a particularly difficult problem. She sighed, blinking her
   1.320 +emerald green eyes. She wasn't too happy about it, but at least she
   1.321 +knew. "Tomoyo-chan's in love with one of her bodyguards," she said at
   1.322 +last, her shoulders slumping. 
   1.323 +	Staring at Sakura for endless minutes, Touya slowly raised an
   1.324 +eyebrow. Handing Sakura her cup of tea, he ruffled the younger
   1.325 +woman's hair. "Good try, monster, but you're going to have to try a
   1.326 +lot harder than that if you're going to figure out who she's in love
   1.327 +with." Sighing, the sleep deprived older sibling made his way
   1.328 +upstairs. 
   1.329 +	"Hoe.... Why is this so hard?" Sakura asked herself in the empty
   1.330 +kitchen. Figuring out Tomoyo was certainly a lot more difficult than
   1.331 +understanding the Sakura Cards. She would have argued with her
   1.332 +brother, but she simply wasn't in the mood. Taking a sip of the
   1.333 +flavorful tea, she wondered idly just what she was supposed to do for
   1.334 +the next... five hours, if she left at eight in the morning. A sudden
   1.335 +idea struck her like a lightening bolt. Grinning, the Mistress of the
   1.336 +Cards made her way upstairs. 
   1.337 +	"Not where is it?" she asked no one in particular as she sifted
   1.338 +through her bag. She smiled at the Cardcaptor Sakura keychain that
   1.339 +Tomoyo had had made for Sakura's thirteenth birthday that lay hanging
   1.340 +on the side. It was one of a kind, the design of the superdeformed
   1.341 +Sakura completely Tomoyo's while Sonomi had it crafted by her
   1.342 +company. She pushed it with a finger, watching it swing back and
   1.343 +forth like a pendulum. Shaking her head, she went back to searching
   1.344 +and within moments pulled out the object of her search. Tomoyo's half
   1.345 +finished costume lay unfurled before her, it's dazzling design
   1.346 +obvious even in that early state of completion. Tomoyo had always
   1.347 +been making such beautiful things for her. It seemed a shame that
   1.348 +Tomoyo's final costume design was never to be finished. She
   1.349 +understood that Tomoyo had wanted her last design for Sakura to be
   1.350 +the wedding dress, so the lavender haired woman thought it
   1.351 +unnecessary to finish this final costume. So if Tomoyo couldn't
   1.352 +finish it, Sakura could. 
   1.353 +	Smiling to herself, Sakura ran to the other room to get the
   1.354 +supplies she would need. Sewing wasn't exactly her forte, but she had
   1.355 +sewn a yukata for Syaoran and she knew that if she tried hard enough,
   1.356 +she could finish what Tomoyo had begun. It wouldn't be as lovely as
   1.357 +Tomoyo's delicate work, but it would finally be finished, putting to
   1.358 +rest at least one of Sakura's worries. This was their work, both
   1.359 +Tomoyo's and Sakura's. She wanted to show it to her best friend.
   1.360 +After all of those years of wearing Tomoyo's costumes, blushing all
   1.361 +different shades of red with the bizarre yet captivating designs,
   1.362 +this would be a combination of both of their hearts, every stitch
   1.363 +lovingly etched into the beautiful fabric. Clasping her hands
   1.364 +together determinedly, Sakura got to work. 
   1.365 +
   1.366 +
   1.367 +	Clutching onto the teddy bear Sakura had sewn for her as a farewell
   1.368 +present, Tomoyo rocked gently back and forth, whispering a lullaby
   1.369 +that her mother used to sing to her when she was a little girl. Icy
   1.370 +tears dripped down her chin, falling onto her little stuffed bear
   1.371 +named Sakura. She held it tightly, sobbing quietly as the phone lay
   1.372 +haphazardly a few feet away from her. "I love you so much, Sakura-
   1.373 +chan... Please forgive me... I don't know what to do, Sakura..." she
   1.374 +whispered tearfully into bear Sakura's ear. Her whole body felt cold,
   1.375 +torn apart by countless thorns that snaked around her heart. "Please
   1.376 +help me..." But no one would come and save her. Not even her darling
   1.377 +Sakura could save her from the darkness that surrounded her now. If
   1.378 +the brunette came for her, they were both doomed. Sakura's happy life
   1.379 +would be ruined and Tomoyo would never be able to survive watching
   1.380 +Sakura so closely like that, unable to be with her.
   1.381 +	An even darker thought that crossed her mind was about what Sakura
   1.382 +had been struggling to say on the phone. What feelings did Sakura
   1.383 +have for her? What feelings did the Cardmistress understand now? Did
   1.384 +she know of Tomoyo's love for her? Which meant that Sakura's
   1.385 +marriage, her beautiful marriage, the child she hadn't yet had, the
   1.386 +whole life that lay before her was in peril. And all because Tomoyo
   1.387 +had failed to fade out of Sakura's life properly. 
   1.388 +	"Sakura-chan, what am I to do?" Tomoyo asked hopelessly, pressing
   1.389 +her tearstreaked cheek into the soft material of the teddy bear.