How long has it passed since you left us? Although I have no idea how to see you again, but I hope you still watch us from the beatiful place high in the sky. Now, I work for the new mistress of the Cards, and I’m living a happy life; she is very nice to us. These days, however, I have a strange emotion inside my mind that I’ve perhaps never felt this way. To look back for the reason, perhaps the day when I was sealed—that might have been the first time I felt this emotion.
I woke up to find myself in a woods on a hill. It was just the end of summer. I had no clue where I was, because I was supposed to be sleeping inside the Clow Book along with the other Cards. How long did I sleep—perhaps more than a hundred years? Yes, I remembered I was one of the Cards created many years ago by you, a great wizard who could control the complicated magic of Eastern-Western mixture. Thinking for a while, I kind of knew—that someone must have accidentally broken the seal on the Clow Book, when whole 52 Clow Cards including me were scattered all over town.
I thought to myself, “There may be some other Cards in town. I should look for my friends to figure out what to do.” Fortunately, you had created me with the special ability to turn into anyone, so I turned into a girl and went down the hill. Everything I saw in the town just astounded me. There were many tall building made of stone like castles. Strange metal boxes with wheels were running at a surprising speed to and fro in town, carrying persons inside. I got pretty confused since I felt as if I fell into some wonderland or something, but it was the reality.
When I was walking in a park, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and looked for where the voice came from. It seemed like there was someone hiding in the shrubbery, so I looked inside. Wow, it was the Fight Card who called my name. Fight who had woken up a few months earlier than I did told me many stories about what had happened to us and what was happening to us.
According to her story, the seal on the Clow Book was broken about five months before. Immediately after that accident, Cerberus came out and chose the cardcaptor as the candidate of the new master of the Cards. The chosen cardcaptor was only a ten-year old girl who attended Tomoeda Elementary School. Unfortuntely, two element Cards—Windy and Watery—were already in her hand. She was looking for the other unsealed Card, and she had captured about twenty Cards so far.
I got kind of scared and asked, “Hey, what’d happen if we were caught by the girl?” “I don’t know,” Fight replied, “but we would be supposed to work for the new mistress. So that might mean we’d lose our memory of Clow Reed.” Oh, I didn’t want to forget the whole stuff about you. We lived happy days when you were still around, though you might have had some personality problems; I really enjoyed working for you. “No way! The memory of Clow Reed is precious to all of us,” I cried, then Fight soothed me, saying, “Don’t worry, Mirror. I’ve got a plan.”
Fight stated that the best way was to make the cardcaptor quit being the cardcaptor herself. Her plan was this: every night, she’d pick up a karate expert to challenge to a fight, and beat him up. Then, Cerberus would know sooner or later that it was the work of the Fight Card. Nevertheless, the cardcaptor would be spooked about fighting against the Card when some karate experts had been badly beaten up. If the carpcaptor ever should show up by any chance, then it would be her turn to be beaten up.
The plan started out very well, Fight challenged a karate expert every night, and beat up the macho supposed to weigh 200 pounds or more. Yes, Flight was incredibly strong! The sequential violence was issued in Tomoeda Local Newspaper. What would the cardcaptor do—take it or leave it? If she leaves it, we would be free and get the others unsealed. We would never forget about you, I thought.
The cardcaptor did not give up. A week later, she showed up, when I was stunned at her figure. It was just a little kawaii girl, but she was dressed in kind of wierd outfits like pink balloons. Was she really the cardcaptor chosen by Cerberus? Further, another girls showed up, too. She looked like a Chinese girl, but I sense no magical power coming out from her. It seemed like she doesn’t think a good way of the chosen cardcaptor. And it was when I learned the cardcaptor was named Sakura, the Japanese word meaning cherry blossoms, your favorite flower. Then, Fight chose the Chinese girl to take a fight against, perhaps because Fight thought she was more skilled a fighter than Sakura. That was right. The Chinese girl is stronger than any karate expert Fight had fought against. However, Fight was a skilled fighter, she knocked down the Chinese girl. Just at the moment she was giving her the final blow, another fighter appeared. It was a kawaii boy dressed in a green robe—wait a sec—that was Li family’s ceremonial robe! So he was one of your descendants. The chosen carcaptor was with your descendant! But the Li boy was badly beaten up unable to fight just because he blocked the Chinese girl safe. Nevertheless, God blessed the cardcaptor; she had the Power Card strenghen her power, and beat up the Fight Card—could that be because she neglected the cardcaptor as lame, or because she was totally exhausted from those two unexpected skilled fighters. Jeez, Fight was being sealed just before my eyes! I shivered at this scene, and I could do nothing but escape from the spot before Sakura or Cerberus could sense my presence.
I was lost in thought. How could I defend myself from the cardcaptor? I didn’t have any fighting skill or anything to defend myself. I groaned in nightmares in which I recalled the moment of Fight being sealed and turning into a Card at the tip of the sealing wand. Weeks went by and the season shifted into autumn, while I was depressed in thought, and I heard the rumor that Loop, Sleep, Song, and Little had been sealed by the little cardcaptor. No point in drawned in depression, I had to do something. Then I remembered what Fight had said, “The best way is to make the cardcaptor quit being the cardcaptor herself.” I made up my mind to take a psycological tactics since I wasn’t a fighter like the Fight Card.
I turned into a girl looking totally like Sakura, and went down the hill. In Tomoeda-cho, I hung around and played mischief to ruin Sakura’s reputaion. I knocked down a pile of display of stuffed animal at a store, pulled down the stationary rack into a mess. I thought a rumor would call Sakura a menace, then she would have a hard time, and if she finds out it was the revenge from a Clow Card, she wouldn’t like to be the cardcaptor.
My plan didn’t work so quickly because her friend convinced Sakura that all the mischief was caused by her doppelgenger. No matter how much she was scared, there was little chance at this rate for her to find out it was all the work of a Clow Card. Therefore, I had to proceed to the next plan—to harm someone close to Sakura. I had to proceed to such a desperate plan to warn her to hold back from the card capture. She had a big brother Touya who always teased her, but I knew he really loved her. “Yes, my target should be him,” I said to myself.
I saw Touya on his way home, and told him I wanted him to help me look for my stuff lost in the woods on the hill. Just like my expectation, he came with me into the woods, looking for my fictitious lost stuff. I guided him deeper into the woods. He looked a little funny to me, what a sister-indulging sweet brother he was! And with my final direction “Further back,” he slipped and hung off the cliff by one hand. It was not long till his grip collaped, and he fell off the cliff about twenty feets down to the ground. I got down the cliff and saw him have his anckle so badly sprained that he was unable to walk. “I’ve done it. I’m sure Sakura will never capture the Cards anymore,” I thought to myself, when something evil inside me made me chuckle. However, to my surprise, he tried to continue the search for my fictitious stuff, not angry at me at all. He said to me that he already knew I was not Sakura, or even not a human. He didn’t just come into the woods to help his own sister, but he tried to help me because I was in trouble whether or not I’m a human. Ohh, what in the world was I doing? How sinful I was! I just didn’t want to be sealed, I just didn’t want to accept a new master of the Cards, and I just didn’t want to forget anything about you. However, because I didn’t want to be sealed doesn’t mean that I was allowed to harm anyone. I was such a self-centered being to forget such a basic common sense. He might have known even I had planned to harm him, but he tried his best to help me. In contrast, what a fool I was!
Just in a few minutes, Sakura flew down the cliff, and showed up. She got mad so fiercely at the sight of her brother unconcious from the injury. However, I could see a deep gentleness in her fiercely flaming eyes in anger. No wonder that Sakura must be a warm-hearted girl, just because she was Touya’s sister. I then realized how silly of me to look for an escape way from being sealed. I thought I should be sealed there, and should work for this warm-hearted master—even if I had to forget about you. Unfortunately, I’m a helix—not an ordinary Clow Card—that cannot be defeated by attack cards. Sakura had to figure out my identity in order to seal me. So I copied every motion she took to help her figure out what Card I was, and soon she finally shouts my name. I automatically turned into my visible form; it was over. I couldn’t hold back my tears. I didn’t think it was forgivable, but I could only fly to Touya and kissed his forehead saying, “I’m sorry.”
As soon as I stood in front of Sakura and closed my eyes, she raised her sealing wand and sealed me. The moment of seal, I felt as if I was being refreshed. The moment felt to me much longer than it was—like several minutes, long enough to remember back of the days in the past. Then I turned into a card.
Well, I was wrong. I didn’t forget anything about you even though I was sealed by someone else than you. I still have a good memory back when you were around, and besides I am very happy working for Sakura. Sakura is a gentle girl. She cares about us prior to even herself, that is just like her brother. Oh, that reminds me—since I was sealed, I’ve felt a strange emotion. I can’t help thinking of Touya and his self-sacrificing gentleness. Maybe I kind of like him, but it feels like a slightly different than the emotion I like Sakura and you. When I think about him, I feel a little pain in my heart like it’s pressed by some unseen force. What is it? You never taught me about this strange feeling, did you?
Yours truly,
Mirror Card