Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. But, you could've guessed that, hmm?
I sat there. My palm was pressed against the window. My breath created fog against the glass when I exhaled. I watched.
The rain poured down in sheets, drenching anyone caught out in it. A couple ran past, huddled underneath one umbrella. The boy had laid a protective arm around the girl's shoulders, in the loving way that couples had. I closed my eyes. They were the perfect picture of what I couldn't have.
Love. Sometimes I even doubted I had the unconditional kind.
How the rain suited my mood. It was quite depressing, watching rain fall.
The tears of the sky, my mother used to say.
Your tears, he used to say. He always said that I never cried. That when it rained, the sky was crying for me. That was when I would always laugh and change the subject.
I shouldn't have.
I knew it would end like this, but still…
I chuckled humorlessly.
I had really been just setting myself up for a fall.
But when exactly had I started falling? It all happened so fast…I didn't even notice until I was already in love with him.
I'll always be young in his eyes. When he looks at me, does he see a little girl I wonder?
What if I told him I loved him?
Would it change anything?
Would he still be leaving with her?
I am full of doubt. But even with these thoughts in my head, I still hope.
Maybe if I had tried harder, things might not be this way. But it is. And I have no one to blame but myself.
Sometimes I would be irrational and blame it all on him. When all he did was smile…
I was upset then, too. Distraught over Sakura's sudden absence in my life. There was never any time anymore for her and I. She had Li-kun now and I know she must have wanted to spend all her time with him. I know I would have liked to spend all my time with the one I loved.
But at that time, I just kept telling myself, "If the one I love is happy, so am I" as if repeating it over and over in my head made it anymore true. Those days were a dark time in my life. There was nothing to light up my life anymore. No one.
We were in class that day, making handkerchiefs. I'll never forget that day. I had been mending the handkerchief I had been making. The needle flashed in and out of the cloth, like a fish through water. I hadn't really been paying any attention to the work in front of me; I had been more preoccupied with my own thoughts than anything else.
"Daidouji-san?"
They about her, of course. Who else could cause me to be oblivious to the world around me?
"Daidouji-san?"
"What!?" I snapped at the interruption, irritably. How unlike me I was, now that I think of it.
And of course, the interruption was him. Perfect in his high school uniform, he stood there calmly gazing at me serenely, despite my outburst.
"You really shouldn't work with your finger like that, Daidouji-san," he informed me, coolly. I stared at him for a moment in confusion, before looking down to see my work. I noticed a few brown and red spots upon my work in a few places, almost imperceptible. I cursed silently. Sometime during the lesson, I had pricked my finger unknowingly causing it to bleed over my work. Only as I pulled my hand away from my work, did it start to throb. Strange, that I hadn't even noticed the pain.
"Here." Two warm hands clasped my own. I looked up in surprise as he wrapped a band-aid around my finger. He was gentle, holding my hand as if it were made of glass. After wrapping the band-aid securely, he bent his head and brushed his lips against my fingertips.
"That's better now, isn't it? I even kissed it better for you." he whispered, turning your face to gaze at me thoughtfully. I resisted the urge to dip my head and blush, as some other girls in my situation would.
"Arigatoo." I murmured softly, not knowing what else to say. He just smiled at me affectionately in reply, his eyes staring into my own.
And maybe that was when I fell.
It was the smile. And I couldn't help but helplessly fall under his spell.
I brought my hand up to the light, stared at them in some odd fascination. Too bad. There wasn't even a scar to remember by. I continued to stare out the window.
I shouldn't be here. Should be there, seeing him off. I wonder; is he waiting for me? Am I a bad friend? But I can't face him; it hurts too much.
I scolded myself.
I can't be his everything. I can't be his lover. But even if it hurts, I should be there for him. I can at least be h is friend. And if I am close to his heart, than that should be good enough for me.
I glanced the clock hanging on the wall. Half an hour until his plane left. Could I make it? Maybe I should call to apologise when he lands in England. I bit my lip. I didn't want to admit to myself, but I wanted to see him.
I made up my mind quickly. I hastily grabbed my coat, containing my car keys, and left.
I was going to go see him.
I ran into the airport, dripping wet.
When it rains, it pours. I quoted, dryly. I looked up at the flight schedules as I quickened my pace towards his boarding gate. Eriol's flight was boarding. I started to run. I pushed past travelers, airhostesses and pilots, but I paid no heed to them. All I knew was that I had to see him, at least a glimpse.
I was panting in exertion when I reached his gate. My eyes searched for him among the other passengers, though most had already boarded the plane. I saw him near the great big windows of the airport. And he was staring at me.
I swallowed, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. He had the same look on his face that he always wore. That impassive mask. I walked towards him, nervous about his reaction. Maybe he was angry I was so late? I could tell he had been waiting for me.
His eyes softened almost imperceptibly when I reached him.
"You're late." he told me; smiling the smile I always loved. "I had almost given up waiting." My heart ached, but I smiled back bravely.
"I'm here now, aren't I?" Somehow, my words made his smile widen.
"Yes," he agreed. And then he did something that shocked me. He moved closer and embraced me. My mind barely registered this action enough to respond back.
"I'll miss you," he told me sincerely. His voice, his kind words, his comforting embrace...
It was too much. My eyes begun to water, but I tried to hold back. I pulled out of his hold, fearing I might do something I'd regret if I stayed any longer. I gave him a watery smile, trying to act happy for his sake.
"I'll miss you, too. I just came to see you off, but you had better go. I wouldn't want you to miss your plane." Eriol nodded, but I don't think he heard what I was saying. I wish he wouldn't stare at me like he was.
"You'll write?" he asked, somewhat pleadingly. I hesitated. He looked at my face, seeking confirmation and maybe some other emotion. I nodded, feeling guilty. He was too close. He was too sweet. He was too much.
'You shouldn't be like this. He has Mizuki-sensei. You had better let him go before the plane leaves.' the righteous part of my mind told me. The final call for his flight sounded. My resolve hardened.
"Eriol-kun, you should go. Mizuki-sensei's waiting for you." I told him, subtly reminding him of that person he loved. His eyes flickered and he nodded. He raised a hand, as if to stroke my cheek, but quickly lowered it again. Haltingly, he kissed my hand.
"Sayoonara, Daidouji-san." he whispered and left towards his gate while I watched him.
Maybe it was just me, but I thought I had seen him cast one more pained glance back towards me, before I was once again left alone.
I left the airport, got in my car and for the longest time, I didn't move. I just watched as the rain made rivulets down my window.
I love him. I love him. And it is the truth.
For that amount of time that I was in the car, it felt like I was in a trance. But it didn't last very long.
Suddenly, the rain stopped. And slowly, slowly…the clouds were parting and the sun, in all its glory, shone through, its first rays casting magnificent light on our town.
I sighed.
I couldn't blame my blurring vision on the rain anymore.
Owari.
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