Anticipation (Sakura gen) *repost*

[storypaint]

Comm: 52_flavours
Words: 500
Title: Anticipation
Series: Cardcaptor Sakura
Theme no.: 29 // the kind of April morning no other month can touch
Character(s)/Pairing: Kinomoto Sakura gen
Rating: G

Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP. All fanfiction archived here is a derivative of canon material that is not my property. I do not profit from these writings. The opinions and actions expressed in these stories are not necessarily the views and beliefs of the original author or me.

Excerpt: When I turned ten, I wished for something special to happen.

When I turned ten, I wished that something special would happen this year. Last year I'd met Tomoyo, and now I had a best friend. The year before, Touya had gotten into Seijyuu and now I could see him (and Yuki!) every day.

It was a legacy of my mother. The only clear memory I have is her curls fanning out around me as I sat in her lap, giggling. There was a cake on the table and she whispered in my ear, "Wish for something special this year, my baby." I wished as hard as I could deep in my heart. That year my mother died, but I never stopped wishing.

When I turned ten, I wished that something special would happen, because I could feel it in the air. My dreams were restless. My father poked me on the nose at dinner, teasing that my mind was elsewhere. I just had this feeling that there was something big happening I didn't want to miss.

"It's part of growing up," my father told me when I said that, and he patted my head. His words were a comfort, like this was a rite of passage and it would go away soon. But the days stretched into weeks and I lived on the edge of my seat.

I doodled on my homework at school, fantastic beasts, like teddy bears with wings. I kept thinking that I had seen this creature somewhere, or I would. Even Tomoyo couldn't help me focus. I felt like something was struggling to burst out from under my skin.

It was that special kind of April morning that no other month seemed to have, a morning sky heavy with promised rain and bright with sunshine. That day I found the Clow Book, and the anticipation I had seemed to be absorbed into its cover, and it was hot under my fingers when I first touched it. It felt like dormant electricity and I knew I had to open it. This was what I couldn't miss. When I opened the book and the cards flew away, I was scared, sure, but excited.

This was it-- this was what I had been waiting for all my life. "The Clow Cards," Kero told me, and the word didn't feel thick or foreign on my tongue. It felt like destiny.

Syaoran came, and I stood up for myself and my cards, because I had been waiting ever so long. I wouldn't give my destiny away. And every day I'm thankful that he turned around to help me. It might have been my duty, but I couldn't manage alone.

The night I finished capturing the cards, after all the madness was done, I came home, exhausted, and lingered at the window, leaning out to taste the wind.

I fear I may make things difficult for you, dear Sakura, but I'm sure you'll be all right...

Clow's words were large in my consciousness. I shut my eyes and felt something more in the wind.

"I wish that something special will happen this year," I said, and felt a star blink in answer. I smiled and went inside to sleep.