Sakura blossoms on the Alps Chapter (7)

Sakura-Heidi * Touya-Aunt Dete * Syaoran-Peter * Sakura!¡Âs great grandfather-Alm Uncle * Tomoyo-Klara * Rika-Sebastian * (non-CLAMP) Miss Reeves-Miss Rottenmeir * Sonomi-Mr. Sesemann * Mizuki Sensei-Dr. Classen * the grandmothers as themselves.

Speech form: "Speaking" [Thinking]

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Tomoyo observed Sakura!¡Âs face and felt guilty.

"I!¡Âll choose a different backdrop!| I!¡Âm sorry!|"

"N-no it!¡Âs okay. You can use that one. Can I keep a copy though?"

"Umm sure."

~* That night in Sakura!¡Âs room *~

Sakura looked at the developed pictures that Tomoyo and her did that day. They were very professional and it looked as if a camera crew followed Sakura to the Alps. In every picture Sakura was wearing something different. One was the first costume Tomoyo asked Sakura to wear. The next one Sakura was wearing traditional Japanese kimonos and the next was traditional alpine clothing. Tears began to well inside Sakura!¡Âs eyes and began to drop onto her bed covers. It was her first day at the Daidouji residence and she already felt home sick. Soon Sakura made muffled sobs under her sheet. After meeting Miss Rottenmeir Sakura had a clutch of fear what she might say when catching Sakura crying.

[I miss my home so much. How could my brother do this to me? How can I bear without home?]

Weeks began to pass and Tomoyo began to notice her companion!¡Âs fake smiles and dry eyes. It was nothing like the times before and Tomoyo began to worry. Sakura!¡Âs cheeks were stale of dried tears.

"Sakura!| what!¡Âs the matter?" Tomoyo asked Sakura gently at the end of their first tutored lesson. Sakura looked so gloomy Tomoyo couldn!¡Ât bear it any longer.

"Oh, it!¡Âs nothing!" Sakura started to do the fake-I!¡Âm-alright-smile.

"But!|"

"I!¡Âm okay Tomoyo. Don!¡Ât worry." [No I!¡Âm dead miserably home sick! I miss my Grandfather and my other friend Syaoran along with the Alps itself.]

~* The next day *~

"Rika, what is the meaning of this?" Miss Rottenmeir looked down at the maid. (Okay, imagine a Rika in her twenties ok?) "Get up you lazy girl and vacuum the mess you made." Rika slowly opened her eyes and saw the face of the angry Miss Rottenmeir. It was morning already. Rika was on the carpet and before her was a toppled rubbish bag.

"(GASP) No Miss Rottenmeir, I didn!¡Ât do this on purpose! I was taking out the rubbish during the night while everyone was asleep!|"

"And then I suppose you opened the door to let the cold in and worsen Miss Tomoyo!¡Âs condition? It!¡Âs a wonder she didn!¡Ât worsen you know Rika."

"No that wasn!¡Ât it. A ghost came down and opened the door and frightened me. I fainted Miss, honestly I did."

"I!¡Âll see that for myself."

That night Miss Rottenmeir waited on the sofa for midnight. As soon as the clock struck twelve, she felt strange. Was it her imagination or did she see a girl dressed in white walk down the stairs?

"Grandfather!| please come back!|"

Miss Rottenmeir froze to the spot and tried to scream but nothing came out. The !Rghost!¡Â opened the doors open and went outside. -Thud- She too fainted.

The next day Mrs. Daidouji came home from her very, very long one-month business trip. She came home with Dr. Kaho, Mizuki. Tomoyo was so worried that she phoned her mother about Sakura!¡Âs condition. Sakura was now so home sick she looked very pale and weak. Now, constantly crying and getting puffy sleepless eyes.

"This is worse than I thought!|" Dr. Mizuki said as she tossed back her long light chestnut hair. Tomoyo!¡Âs lips quivered and wheeled herself to her room. "You can cure her I know it Kaho. Just please cure her and tell us the conditions." Mrs. Daidouji spoke frantically.

"I haven!¡Ât diagnosed the disease yet but the symptoms are clear my friend. Let us wait for her to wake up."

Every hour Sakura woke up sweating and mumbling gibberish. Dr. Mizuki tried to question her but all Sakura said was, "Grandfather!| Syaoran!| the goats!|" Then Sakura went back to sleep. Dr. Mizuki had no idea how to diagnose this and treat it. Tomoyo now placed herself by Sakura!¡Âs bed nursing her. Turning on classical music gently, wiping sweat with a warm and wet towel etc. Whenever Sakura mumbled "Water!|" Tomoyo gently dampened Sakura!¡Âs lips and gently coaxed her to drink water.

"Miss Rottenmeir, I discussed this with Mrs. Daidouji. I!¡Âm going to stay for the night."

"I think you!¡Âll object my good doctor. There had been some haunting of a ghost recently!|"

"You hear that Sonomi?"

"A ghost? Don!¡Ât you think it is a prank of some sort?" replied Mrs. Daidouji.

"We!¡Âll have to find out for ourselves. Let!¡Âs stay up Sonomi."

Miss Rottenmeir silently obeyed and said no more. The night drew near and Sakura slept more peacefully. Tomoyo went to bed and the two ladies stayed reading on the sofa. As the clock stroked eleven, the lights had to be turned off. The hour soon passed and the clock stroked twelve.

"Grandfather!| where are you? Are you outside?" the ghost appeared. Mrs. Daidouji and Dr. Mizuki clutched the sofa. "Let me help you with the goats!|" The word goats made Dr. Sonomi and Mrs. Daidouji think. Both of them shone their torches at the ghost.

"Sakura?"

Sakura regained her consciousness; "Oh please don!¡Ât punish me!|" Her voice began to choke and moved to tearless sobs.

"Sonomi, go get the child something light to eat and some warm milk."

"Please, send me back home!|" Sakura whispered. "As long as I can go back home!|"

"I!¡Âll see to it dear."

Sakura rested after taking in the meal. Mrs. Daidouji and Dr. Mizuki began to have a talk.

"You!¡Âre the best doctor who has earned a consultant degree! You!¡Âre a psychiatrist and received a license for other medical positions! Of course you can cure her here!"

"Being homesick is different Sonomi. If I take her through counseling she!¡Âll only long for it more in this stage. If you don!¡Ât want her to catch worse conditions, you must send her home."

"!| Alright."

The next day Sakura woke up early and had a light breakfast. She was overjoyed by the fact she could come home after three painful months. Tomoyo sat silent as she watched Sakura skipping around packing her things. Three years ago when Tomoyo!¡Âs legs paralyzed, she had many playmates but no truthful friends. During the three months when Sakura was around Tomoyo learnt the true meaning of friends.

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Hello I am Alien_no#6! I BET NONE OF YOU KNEW THAT! 0_0 hehehe ^-^!¡Â well how did you like this chapter? Pity I couldn!¡Ât squeeze Syaoran in!| I was typing this in such a hurry that I forgot to put in the second Grandma!| well, she!¡Âs not much use because in the original Heidi, she comes along and teaches Heidi to read and Heidi then teaches Peter to read!| "sigh" but those times are 1800s where proper schooling JUST begun so nothing can be said about that in this modern Sakura version!|