The Past Returns

Exploring the Enchanted Garden

In her room, Sakura thrashed about in her bed, tumultuously trying to awaken from her slumber. Kero darted around her head, urgently attempting to rouse her.

"Wake up, Sakura! Wake up!" Kero implored repeatedly.

Suddenly, the young girl shot upright in bed, her eyes wide with horror. In a panic, Sakura scanned her small pink bedroom, nearly leaping out of bed.

"Goodness, Sakura, what's the rush?" Kero inquired.

"I saw Tomoyo," Sakura replied, as she hurriedly changed from her nightdress into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

"What do you mean you saw Tomoyo?" Kero inquired.

"I saw her, tied up in a dark room. I have to go to her," Sakura replied, swiftly gathering her magical Cards and stashing them in a small mesh clip-on pocket.

"But it was just a dream. You know your dreams can sometimes predict future events," Kero reminded his Mistress.

"I know, but it felt so real, like Tomoyo was standing right here with me in this very room," Sakura explained, emphasising her point by stretching out her arms.

Kero's expression shifted from concern to curiosity and back to concern as he absorbed her words. Never before had anyone described a dream so vividly that it blurred the lines between reality and the dream world. Even the most powerful magicians could distinguish dreams from reality. Wow. Maybe Sakura's magical abilities are becoming so potent that she's on the brink of surpassing Clow Reed himself, Kero pondered, observing Sakura as she conducted her final checks in front of a mirror before heading to her door.

"Are you coming?" Sakura asked, gesturing to her bag.

Kero flew over to Sakura and deftly squeezed himself headfirst into her small bag. After settling into a comfortable position, he poked his head out to keep an eye on their surroundings.

"Sakura?" Kero began.

"Hmm...?" Sakura responded, her attention drawn back to Kero's question.

"I was just wondering, with Tomoyo gone for the night, did you come up with a plan to explain her absence to her mother?" Kero continued.

"It's already taken care of," Sakura replied.

"When?" Kero inquired, his curiosity evident.

"Yesterday after dinner, while you were eating ice cream, I came up with a plan and gave her landline phone a call," Sakura explained.

{Flashback to yesterday}

Sakura, dressed in her pyjamas, sat on her bed, her gaze fixed on her magical cards. Her thoughts raced as she contemplated a convincing plan to help Tomoyo.

She slowly went through each individual card, carefully considering her options. After a thorough review, Sakura had laid out five different cards in front of her, pondering which out of them would serve her best.

"I can't use Illusion to fool people; they'll all end up seeing something different and I won't be able to keep track," she muttered, returning the card to her book.

"Time's power is too demanding on my magic to stop time for extended periods, and rewinding it won't do any good," Sakura sighed, placing the Time card back in the deck.

"Twin is out of the question; it will just replicate everything around it," Sakura concluded.

"Hmm... Mirror might work. She has replicated me perfectly in the past," Sakura said, sounding hopeful, but her expression soon soured. "Then again, I'll be in the same situation as if I was using Time, not knowing how long I'll need to keep the card active and it will compromise my magic."