still there (syaoran/sakura)
Title: Still There
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Length: 408 words
Excerpt: He had spent sleepless nights trying to get used to Hong Kong again, chanting Chinese greetings and songs under his breath and hanging out with Meiling more often, pretending like he had never known Japan and the language.
Syaoran woke, the first few rays of sunlight hitting his eyes. He rubbed them shut, and then made sure the boarding ticket in his bag stayed in place. He looked back at the window next to his seat. It was majestic, all of it. Fifteen thousand feet above the ground made world look more like a sea of white, crept with the orange tint of a new day.
One didn't get moments like these too often, not often enough. Not in his twenty two years of life.
Growing up was easy. Painless. Most of his thoughts had faded into the cycle of the ordinary: coming home before curfew, doing his homework, cooking dinner on the weekend for his extended family . Graduating high school and university classes were only the next steps. Simple, really. Most Chinese boys his age could have expected nothing more, nothing less.
And Tomoeda, for an extended time, seemed like a distant magic memory. The tale of a magician's cards in need of a master, perhaps some story he had believed at one point, pursuing what seemed like a fantastic quest far too great for him. He had spent sleepless nights trying to get used to Hong Kong again, chanting Chinese greetings and songs under his breath and hanging out with Meiling more often, pretending like he had never known Japan and the language. He had deliberately made time to erase what he could from goodbye cards, emails, and small gift boxes.
But Syaoran had never made time to forget about her. It never ocurred to him as he religiously sent letters to her every week, telling her in short, awkward ways about his life, and squeezing bridled feelings through words. She knew she would understand just how much he missed her. Sort of, that was.
He shut his eyes, sinking into a deep sleep before he arrived at the airport.
For once, Syaoran felt no need to dream because Sakura would be there, waiting for him with open arms and a loving smile. For once, he would embrace her, and it wouldn't be a distant cry for her in the middle of the quiet night.
Syaoran knew he could never forget her. Not even if he tried. And as he picked up his luggage, and turned to see her waiting, only until then did he realize nothing needed to be forgotten anymore. Everything was still there, just as he had wanted it to be.
Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Length: 408 words
Excerpt: He had spent sleepless nights trying to get used to Hong Kong again, chanting Chinese greetings and songs under his breath and hanging out with Meiling more often, pretending like he had never known Japan and the language.
Syaoran woke, the first few rays of sunlight hitting his eyes. He rubbed them shut, and then made sure the boarding ticket in his bag stayed in place. He looked back at the window next to his seat. It was majestic, all of it. Fifteen thousand feet above the ground made world look more like a sea of white, crept with the orange tint of a new day.
One didn't get moments like these too often, not often enough. Not in his twenty two years of life.
Growing up was easy. Painless. Most of his thoughts had faded into the cycle of the ordinary: coming home before curfew, doing his homework, cooking dinner on the weekend for his extended family . Graduating high school and university classes were only the next steps. Simple, really. Most Chinese boys his age could have expected nothing more, nothing less.
And Tomoeda, for an extended time, seemed like a distant magic memory. The tale of a magician's cards in need of a master, perhaps some story he had believed at one point, pursuing what seemed like a fantastic quest far too great for him. He had spent sleepless nights trying to get used to Hong Kong again, chanting Chinese greetings and songs under his breath and hanging out with Meiling more often, pretending like he had never known Japan and the language. He had deliberately made time to erase what he could from goodbye cards, emails, and small gift boxes.
But Syaoran had never made time to forget about her. It never ocurred to him as he religiously sent letters to her every week, telling her in short, awkward ways about his life, and squeezing bridled feelings through words. She knew she would understand just how much he missed her. Sort of, that was.
He shut his eyes, sinking into a deep sleep before he arrived at the airport.
For once, Syaoran felt no need to dream because Sakura would be there, waiting for him with open arms and a loving smile. For once, he would embrace her, and it wouldn't be a distant cry for her in the middle of the quiet night.
Syaoran knew he could never forget her. Not even if he tried. And as he picked up his luggage, and turned to see her waiting, only until then did he realize nothing needed to be forgotten anymore. Everything was still there, just as he had wanted it to be.