Title: From Across The Room
Part 6: Walking Away
Rating: PG-13
Author: Alse
E-mail: alsepang@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Sigh. Look, let's just get this straight. I don't 
own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, I never said I did 
and this is not written for profit, and there was no such 
idea in mind. HOWEVER, this is MY storyline. 
Originally crafted by yours truly and painstakingly 
written, revised and polished within an inch of its life by 
yours truly.  


For Sake-chan... Cliche Conclusion II will be out soon... 

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AUGUST 3RD


         I saw him from across the room.

         It was the last day I was working at the 
café. 

         It was his birthday.

         I had given Andrew the requisite one 
week's minimum notice when I knew 
that I couldn't take the strain much 
longer. I caught only a few hours' sleep 
each night and dark smudges were 
beginning to show under my eyes. I was 
losing weight slowly and steadily as well; 
my wrists were getting alarmingly thin 
and I knew that I had to leave. The last 
straw had been finding out the truth. 

      Andrew, needless to say, had noticed 
that I was suffering a trouble of some 
sort. "Go back home and rest," he told 
me. "You've been working too hard, I 
think." 

     I didn't learn until later, overhearing 
Andrew by accident, that the last day I 
was working at the café would be HIS 
birthday. I wanted to laugh. It had to be 
fate; it had to be destiny. Mere 
coincidence could not have chosen to 
draw me to him so many times, to bring 
him so close and then condemn me to a 
painful existence just watching him from 
afar. The first time, so many years ago, I 
had moved away after two months, and 
never got to meet the dark-haired boy I 
had given my teacher's rose and cupcake 
to. The second time, I was the high 
school freshman, newly transferred after 
having moved again, and he was the 
untouchable, unreachable senior I never 
saw again.  Fate or destiny-likely 
both-had chosen to give us completely 
clashing timetables, so we would never 
meet. And now-- now... 

     There was a gorgeous brunette with him 
that day, her fingers curled around his 
arm, her short dark brown hair cut in a 
sassy, sophisticated style. Every now and 
then, she flipped her glossy hair and it 
would swirl beautifully around her head 
before settling back in its original 
position, not a hair out of place.  

     He was spending his birthday with her.

     I turned away silently, shoulders 
hunching slightly in pain, as I had done 
so many times before, just as he walked 
up to the counter with the beauty in tow. 
It was my last chance to tell him the 
truth, but did I want to? Besides, I knew 
that by the door, at the apartment where 
he lived, lay a card, a single, deep 
crimson rose, a package of chocolate 
cupcakes and a small gift, all hand-
delivered. I couldn't help it. I wanted to 
do something special for him. And-- and 
I wanted him to know that the 'dream' 
girl who had met him only twice before, 
still remembered him. 

     When five o' clock came, I hung up my 
apron, changed into street clothes, and 
took one last look around before walking 
away. 

    "Hey, Sere!" Andrew's voice stopped me 
in my tracks as I trudged silently towards 
the doors. 

    I turned. Andrew's face was kind and he 
smiled warmly at me. 

    "Take care, Sere, and come back 
anytime."

    I smiled faintly and my eyes shifted, for 
a moment, to meet dark blue ones that 
were usually cool as ice, but now held a 
startled expression. I held the gaze for a 
long moment, my heart aching, and felt 
my mouth tremble. It was time to go. 

    I turned on my heel and left.



(c) Copyright 2001, original storyline by 
Alsepang

Did you know?

This is a true story...

Once, there was a poet who married a girl. It was
an arranged marriage. He went away to Europe and 
left her behind. She was extremely clever, but 
wanted to improve herself because her husband 
was brilliant. It was for his sake, you see. 
Hence, she studied very hard while her husband 
was away . Later, she went over to Europe to 
look for him. By then, he had fallen in love 
with another girl, a very beautiful and wealthy woman. 
He completed the divorce from his wife 
on his newborn son's first-month birthday.
(Chinese call it 'man yue', which means 'full
month' and it is an extremely important day
for all Chinese children). He went to look for
his lover, but discovered by then that she was 
now engaged to another, an arranged marriage by her
influential family back in China. Well, our 
poet then fell in love with lady no. 3, 
also rich and quite pretty. 

I don't know much else, except that this poet died
at the age of 36 in a private plane crash.

He was a great friend of the English writer,
Katherine Mansfield, and wrote a poem eulogising her
after her death.

"Qiao qiao shi li bie de sheng xiao"
~~ a line by our poet, whose name I can't remember