On Wed, 9 Feb 2000, Scott Schimmel wrote:
Pale Reflections
a Hime-chan's Ribbon fanfic by
Scott Schimmel
SQUEE! Hime-chan!!
If it had been Daichi saying those words to me...
On first reading, I was definitely very interested and confused. For
most of the fic I thought it was the Princess. Poor Himeko. :(
That was a surprise. No, not the kiss; that Manami
would ever be so serious about one man. It wasn't that she
didn't like Tetsu-kun; quite the contrary, obviously. She
just liked Daichi, too. And Hiroshi-kun. And
Morita-sempai. And... I've forgotten his name; the sempai
on the soccer team. And Sei-sama. And dozens more. She
was rather infamous for it.
Nice details and background on the story.
Afterward, Manami lobbed the bouquet practically right
toward her friend I-chan and me. I stretched like everyone
else, but I wasn't the one who caught it. Always the
bridesmaid, never the bride, I guess.
Just not genki enough. Ooh, this is so sad!
Of all of us, she's the one who's changed most, I
think. Even more than I have. She was the most practical,
down-to-earth one, but now she's more cynical, even acerbic.
That sense of humor is as strong as ever, though, and much
more strange at times.
Then she started that stand-up routine, and got in a fist fight with
Margaret Cho!
The clothes, the music, the dance; it reminded me of
long ago. But that had been a dream to me; this was real.
Daichi was real. His arms around me, real; his steps
smoothly, gracefully, guiding my own so that they seemed as
natural as walking. Real. I melted into his embrace and
prayed that it would never end.
This is a very good and sad contrast. Real when the person is not.
Now, we stand before a wooden door in a sterile
hallway; even the lighting seems pale and antiseptic. It's
a stark contrast to the frivolous decoration of yesterday.
He is beside me, and takes my hand; seeking or offering
comfort, I cannot tell which. Perhaps both.
Maybe contrast and compare the whites of the wedding to the whites
of the bed linens? White means transition or death, after all.
She hasn't changed at all since the last time; there's
no sign she's so much as moved. Her body is still, a fly
trapped within a web of medical equipment and monitors,
slowly wasting away -- she looks pale and thin, though no
worse than she had. At the same time, somehow, she looks
almost angelic; she seems utterly at peace. I find myself
profoundly thankful for that as I whisper, "Hime-chan..."
POKOTA: Hime-chaaaaaaan!
What happened to Hime-chan? She gets better right? Wahh!
He nods, slowly, tears rolling openly over his cheeks
now. "I'll try," he promises. He leans forward; his lips
brush lightly against mine. Then he whispers once again, "I
love you... Himeko."
"Hai," I whisper back, and embrace the magic as it
crashes over me.
Then Hime-chan bounces back up, marries Daichi and they all live happily
ever after.
So there!
Seriously, thank you very much for sharing this, it hurts me to see a
character that I adore so much in pain, but it was wonderfully
written. Then again, look at what I'm writing. ;) Maybe you can have
Pokota the rag lion with her, as the stuffed animal. Or is he with
Pink-chan? So many questions!
Thanks again!
Colleen