Cardcaptor Nadeshiko

 Chapter Zero

 by G.P. and the Amazoness Duo

 

 On Sonomi’s tenth birthday it rained hard all day. Mother cancelled the party, leaving her 

 daughter with the dreary prospect of being cooped up indoors. Like most girls her age Sonomi 

 was active and easily bored, so being shut in by the weather left her edgy and irritable.

  Frustrated, she prowled the house like a restless animal, looking at the birthday decorations

  with a pitiful disappointment. Surprised by a knock at the front door, she was opened it and 

 heard the rushing roar of the heavy rain. There stood her cousin Nadeshiko, drenched by the 

 downpour, smiling sweetly as always. Stunned, Sonomi silently ushered her in, then frantically 

 began yelling for her mother to bring all the towels in the house, and quickly. Her mother rushed

  to the hallway, spied the dripping wet girl, shook her head and laughed,

 “Oh, my goodness! Nadeshiko-chan, you look like something that the cat dragged in.”

 

 Sonomi blurted out indignantly, “Mother, it’s not funny. She could get pneumonia or something!”

 

 Mother regarded her worried daughter with a smile. Then, as mothers ever have, she began to bring

  order out of chaos, “Sonomi-chan, get the big red blanket from the hall closet. Nadeshiko-chan, 

 lets get you out of those wet clothes and into a hot bath right away. I guess you can wear some 

 of Sonomi-chan’s clothing”.

 

 Nadeshiko chimed in brightly, as if all the bedlam concerned her not in the least, “Thank you, 

 Oka-sama, but I brought clothes for the party I can change into afterwards.” Smiling proudly, she

  held forth a large package carefully wrapped in plastic.

 

 

 Sonomi’s mother smiled indulgently, “All right dear. Let’s get you in the tub straight away. 

 Sonomi darling, please get me that blanket.”

 

 

 Suddenly remembering her appointed task, the red-haired girl leapt up the stairs and hurried to 

 the hall closet. Her birthday forgotten, she felt a sickening knot in her stomach as she fretted

  about her precious cousin. Grabbing the heavy woolen blanket, she dashed to the bathroom. 

 Entering, she heard the sound of running water, and her mother’s voice calling out, “Sonomi-chan,

  please get that blanket around Nadeshiko right away.”

 

 

 Sonomi stepped over a heap of damp clothing, and then saw the girl hugging herself for warmth, 

 naked and shivering in the cold, October air. She looked like some bedraggled fairy, her long, 

 silver-gray hair a wet and stringy shawl draped over her slender body. Sonomi quickly wrapped her

  up and hugged her tightly, as if to give her own warmth to the trembling girl. Looking at her 

 cousin with glistening, grateful eyes, Nadeshiko spoke in her whispery, musical lilt, “Thank you,

  Sonomi-chan.” Burying her head in her cousin’s chest, she waited patiently for the bath to fill.

 

 

 Later that afternoon, the willowy girl sat on a chair by the window, staring out at the dark, 

 ragged clouds scudding across the steel gray sky. Enraptured by the jagged lightning illuminating

  the thunderclouds, Nadeshiko listened eagerly for the distant rumbling and booming to follow. 

 Clapping her hands in delight, she ooh'ed and ahh'ed with each brilliant burst of light like a 

 fireworks display at a festival. Simple things intrigued her, and this showy display of Nature 

 filled her with an indescribable joy. For the odd nine year-old, the world was an endlessly 

 fascinating place. Sometimes, she would sit still and quiet for hours, watching an ant laboring 

 mightily with an enormous crumb, or a delicate spider weaving her web with silent dedication. 

 Oblivious to the stares and whispers that followed her peculiar behavior, she dwelt in a solitary

  world inhabited only by herself and the current object of her fascination. Thus it was to be 

 expected that, enthralled by the crashing thunderstorm, she was quite unaware that her equally 

 enthralled cousin was staring at her.

 

 

 Sonomi perched on the edge of her bed, watching intently. Nadeshiko had changed into the outfit

  she had brought in the package, and now wore a frilly, flouncy dress of pure white taffeta that

  made her look like a fairy tale princess. This was no doubt her Mother's doing, as she 

 invariably dressed the lovely child in the cutest manner possible, like some rare and precious 

 doll. Her flowing hair, a curious shade of silvery-gray, was loosely tied with bows of light blue

  ribbon. She wore white shoes and lacey anklets, her crinoline crinkling as she swung her feet 

 back and forth. Sonomi gazed at her with an aching heart, a longing she felt but did not 

 understand. Yet the joy that bubbled up inside her was tinged with sadness, as if all her 

 happiness rested on a perilously fragile foundation. It was more than a girl just turned ten 

 could fathom, so she spoke out almost irritably, struggling to put her confused and distraught 

 feelings into words,

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan, why did you go out in the rain like that?”

 

 

 Literally lost in the clouds, her cousin failed to respond. Sonomi sighed, and reflected on this 

 craziest of birthdays. After a warm bath and hot tea, Nadeshiko had defied all Sonomi’s worries 

 by appearing perfectly fine. Mother broke out the party hats, colorful napkins, and all the 

 birthday regalia that had been consigned to the closet. At first it seemed quite foolish, this 

 party of two, but Nadeshiko’s innocent enthusiasm soon swept away the birthday girl’s lingering 

 inhibitions. After luncheon, Nadeshiko insisted on singing Happy Birthday in as rousing a chorus

  as she could manage with her gentle voice. Sonomi blushed during the song, and after when her 

 cousin hugged her with delirious abandon. Now, clad in her birthday party best, the silver-haired

  girl seemed oblivious to Sonomi’s edgy concern. Clearing her throat, the auburn-haired girl 

 spoke up in a voice loud enough to get her distracted cousin’s attention,

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan!”

 

 

 Startled, the girl turned around. Sonomi, unable to hide her gnawing worry, said,

 

 “Nadeshiko-chan, why did you come like that in the rain? You could have gotten terribly sick.”

 

 

 Tilting her head and smiling brightly, she replied, “Nadeshiko would have felt terrible if she 

 had missed Sonomi-chan’s wonderful tenth birthday party.”

 

 

 Exasperated, Sonomi declared, “But didn’t your parents tell you the party was cancelled? I can’t

  believe they let you go out in weather like this.”

 

 

 “Oh, they told me the party was cancelled. But that would have made Sonomi-chan too sad on her 

 special day. Sonomi-chan being sad would have been worse than any cold I could catch.” With that,

  she giggled conspiratorially and whispered, 

 

 “Mother and Father didn’t know I was coming. But I left them a note for when they get back, so 

 everything is all right.”

 

 

 As if that settled the matter, Nadeshiko went back to sky gazing, leaving Sonomi more perplexed 

 than ever. But suddenly, the silver-haired girl leaped up, clasping her hands and blurting out, 

 “Oh!”

 

 

 Sonomi felt her heart racing as she exclaimed, “Nadeshiko-chan, what’s wrong?”

 

 

 Nadeshiko bolted for the door and sang out, “I’ll be right back. Stay there, and no peeking!”

 

 

 In no time she was back, holding two rather soggy presents wrapped in pink paper and bows. She 

 bowed and smiled apologetically as she merrily offered the first one to her startled cousin,

 

 

 "Happy Birthday, Sonomi-chan!"

 

 

 Sonomi took the package, looked at it, then stared at Nadeshiko. Smiling, she shook her head and

  began to undo the ribbon. Thoughts of her crazy cousin gave way to a child's curiosity as she 

 carefully undid the ribbons, then ran a finger through the seam of the paper. It was skillfully 

 wrapped, which led her to believe that Nadeshiko's mother had done it. Finally the paper shook 

 loose, revealing a scrapbook with a hand-written title, "Sonomi-Chan's Precious Memories." The 

 script was labored and unsteady, as if her cousin had spent an inordinate amount of time trying 

 to get it just right. The cover was gaily decorated with hand-drawn hearts and flowers, and odd 

 little animals and faces. She opened it, and saw the blank pages had little marginal notes and 

 drawings written in a familiar, childlike scrawl. She looked up and saw Nadeshiko's expectant 

 face, and struggled to keep her own tears in check as she spoke,

 

 

 "Thank you so very much. It's beautiful."

 

 

 The silver-haired girl smiled with glee as she bounced up and down , "Open the other one! Open 

 the other one!"

 

 

 Sonomi carefully placed the hand-made scrapbook on her desk. It was typical of Nadeshiko's 

 presents. Despite a lack of skill or craft, her little gifts were imbued with an innocent love 

 that deeply touched the heart. Sonomi took the next package, which was a small rectangle. 

 Carefully opening it, she saw a box for a camera kit. With a puzzled glance at her cousin she 

 asked, "What is it?"

 

 

 Nadeshiko could scarecely contain herself, "Open it, Sonomi-chan, open it!"

 

 

 What on earth did she put in this box, Sonomi wondered. Cookies? Candies? Undoing the tape on the

  lid, she pulled out a cardboard liner wrapped around a small, black camera. Stunned, she gaped 

 open-mouthed as Nadeshiko hopped up and down, her face alight with excitement, "Do you like it? 

 Do you like it?" The girl asked eagerly.

 

 

 "It's...it's wonderful," Sonomi stammered, "But how did you...it must have been so expensive."

 

 

 Nadeshiko's grinned hugely, " I saved up all my birthday money, and the money grandfather gave me

  for Girl's Day. The man at the store said it was a very good camera. You can buy new lenses and 

 everything."

 

 

 Sonomi ran her finger over the cold metal trim and the bumpy black body of the amazing 

 instrument. She had always been fascinated by photography, by the ability to capture a moment out

  of time forever. But this was too much. She couldn't accept such a costly gift. Yet one look at 

 Nadeshiko's ecstatic face and she knew it would break her heart to refuse it. And that was 

 something she could never, ever do. Carefully placing the camera down on the desk, she wrapped 

 her arms around the long-haired girl. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she hugged tightly, 

 whispering thank-yous. Finally, reluctantly, she pulled back, wiping away the tears, and said,

 

 

 "Well, the first picture should be of my most precious memory for my beautiful scrapbook. May I 

 please take your picture, Nadeshiko-chan?"

 

 

 Her cousin bowed and answered in mock solemnity, "I would be honored to serve as the first 

 subject of the future famous photographer, Amamiya Sonomi-sama."

 

 

 Giggling, the two girls examined the camera and began to read the complicated instructions.

 

 

 II. 

 

 On the way home in the car as her mother gently chastised her, Nadeshiko's mind wandered. Her 

 walk in the rain was great fun, dodging from tree to tree, helping the poor little worms to keep

  from drowning, and dancing in the streams and rivers that gurgled down the storm drains. The 

 warm bath and hot tea had felt so good, and the love of Sonomi's mother had washed over her like

  a gentle wave. The magnificent cake was so pretty, with curlicues of pink and green frosting 

 around the edges, and little sugar decorations that looked like rosebuds. The look on Sonomi's 

 face as she unwrapped her presents had been so adorable. Nadeshiko's heart beat faster at the 

 thought of her precious cousin. She smiled, feeling the love swirl inside her heart. 

 

 

 And the pictures! Posing for the camera had been almost like dancing, gliding and moving like 

 liquid, her body infused with light, shimmering and transparent. Sonomi-chan was so cutely 

 flustered at first, but soon seemed determined to take the perfect shot. All that afternoon 

 Nadeshiko posed while Sonomi fussed with the camera. Finally, Nadeshiko's worried, apologetic 

 parents swept her away to home, where a comfy bed was waiting. By the time the car arrived at her

  house, Nadeshiko had slipped into the land of dreams. Her father carried her to bed as she 

 danced with Sonomi under a purple moon.

 

 

 The days that followed her birthday were an agony of waiting for Sonomi. On the way home from 

 school she stopped faithfully at the drugstore to see if her pictures were ready. Finally, on 

 Friday, the clerk saw her coming and smilingly placed a neatly wrapped brown packet on the 

 counter. Sonomi eagerly paid and ran home. At first she was crestfallen. Some of the shots were 

 blurry, or washed out, too light or too dark. She frowned, realizing only a dedicated effort 

 would bring the skill she needed to be a real photographer. But one came out just right: 

 Nadeshiko standing, holding a straw hat on her head, framed by the gray storm clouds in the 

 picture window. She looked carefree and natural, as if the camera did not even exist. Sonomi 

 always felt self-conscious when pictures were taken, but not Nadeshiko. In a way, the picture was

  oddly disturbing, as if her cousin was blithely unaware of the furious storm that raged all 

 about her. But the anxiety Sonomi felt was eased by the sheer beauty of the photograph. Nadeshiko

  looked like something from a storybook, a beautiful princess or a magical spirit. Sonomi felt a 

 hot, crimson blush on her cheeks, but could not stop looking at the ethereal image. All that day 

 she kept it with her, finally falling asleep under the covers, gazing at her beautiful cousin by 

 flashlight. In the morning, worried about the picture being crumpled, she carefully placed it in 

 her kawaii little scrapbook before going to school.

 

 

  Then, and forever after, Nadeshiko would be her most precious memory.