Disclaimer: I don't own the Card Captor Sakura Characters. I've been praying hard that I did though. Am just so obsessed with them.
Chapter 1: A Rose and a Letter
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The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart
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Tomoyo Daidouji has a surprise waiting for her that morning. Unsuspectingly, she opened her locker and when she saw what it was, a slight gasp of surprise escaped her lips.
"What's the matter Daidouji?" Eriol asked, coming up behind her, "Is there any problem?"
Tomoyo closed her locker and turned to Eriol as she slipped a lavender envelope inside her bag. Tomoyo knew that Eriol noticed the letter and prayed very hard that he wouldn't ask any questions.
"Nothing," Tomoyo quickly thought of an excuse for her reaction, "I just remembered that I want to go over my math homework before class." She tried to smile brightly to reassure him.
Eriol raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing her but polite enough not to make an issue out of it.
"Well, we can go over them together. Can I walk with you to class?"
"Of course," It has only been exactly one week since Eriol arrived and many things had already happened.
But then, it started a few days before Eriol arrived and she couldn't exactly blame Eriol for it.
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"So, it happened again?" Sakura asked.
"Yes, Sakura, " Tomoyo sighed.
She found another lavender rose inside her locker. Someone has been leaving lavender roses in her locker for almost two weeks now. This is not what had surprised her this morning. Actually, she is already quite used to it. It's just that this time, it has a letter to go along with it. Not that she could tell Sakura about the note. It's kind of personal. It's bad enough that Sakura knew about the roses.
"What are you so worried about? It's not like it's a bad thing."
"ARE YOU KIDDING?! OF COURSE IT'S BAD!!"
Sakura put the phone away from her ear. "No need to shout, Tomoyo."
"Sorry," Tomoyo apologized. She didn't mean to scream at Sakura. It's just that this whole secret admirer business is already getting on her nerves. "It's just that it's starting to bother me."
"Bother you? I, personally, think it's great. Now you can have your own version of Li Syaoran."
"My own version of Li Syaoran?" Tomoyo asked, puzzled.
"Your very own boyfriend, silly." Tomoyo would be so lucky to have such a sweet boyfriend, Sakura thought.
"Sakura, I don't even know who have been sending those roses. He couldn't be my boyfriend if I don't actually know him. Besides, he could be a psychopath obsess with me for all I know."
Sakura sighed. Tomoyo is a great friend and all but she can be pessimistic at times. She just wish that Tomoyo could see that someone likes her enough to go all the trouble of giving her a rose every morning.
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Tomoyo was lying in bed. Reading her 'love letter' from her admirer for the sixth time. Something about it bothered her. Written in an elegant, almost feminine handwriting, is a poem for her.
She stands alone
her petals so smooth
I watch the Light hit her -
and my heart is moved.
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Such elegance, such beauty,
my eyes have never known-
she stands absorbing golden rays,
I sit and watch alone.
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Her silky petals...
and tender green leaves...
her long narrow stem
with its thorns of unease.
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It bewilders me to think
as I watch even now,
that rose that I see
has been battered somehow.
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Beaten by the winds
and the rains of life,
by the thorns of other roses,
by pain and strife.
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Oh! to be the Gardener,
and to know the exact way
to nurture that rose
back to health one day.
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But the Gardener, I am not,
an imitation, I am afraid,
simply struggling through the garden
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Even though Tomoyo doesn't want to admit it, she's deeply affected by the poem. It's obviously written by someone who knew her. Someone close to her. Someone who isn't fooled by the calm and cool façade she shows the world. It's been a long time since she felt that someone cared enough.
Everyone saw her as a mature and independent person who knew how to take care of herself, even her own mother thought so.
Who could it be? Putting the letter along with the dried roses in a box under her bed, she turned off the lights and tried vainly to sleep.
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Author's notes:
1. The poem is titled "The Rose" by Mark West. I found it in the Web; I just thought that it's perfect for this story. For the purposes of this fan fiction, we would assume that it's actually written by Tomoyo's admirer for her. )
I know it's on the short side but please be patient. It's just the first chapter.
Please read and review. This is my first fanfic and feedbacks are very much appreciated. Thanks!