Miracles
Haruno Sakura was three, when the trees began singing to her. She was three, and the branches of the willow tree in her backyard began to reach for her. She was three, and her mother watched in amazement as her baby giggled when the willow began to tickle her with its leaves. Haruno Sakura was three, when her gift of Mokuton became apparent. Haruno Sakura was three, when her first miracle happened.
Haruno Sakura was four when she was tempted by the calls of the forest, and inevitably got lost among the greenery. Luckily, a ninja came to save her.
‘What are you doing, so far out?’ He asked her. He looked funny, with his silver hair and mask. (Something in Sakura told her that he was safe.)
‘Got lost.’ She replied, and she was trying so hard not to let the tears in her eyes leak but she was so, so scared and the trees were swaying in guilty concern.
‘How?’ He cocked an eyebrow.
‘Mama said not to talk to strangers,’ she huffed.
‘...Come on, kiddo. Let’s get you home.’
Haruno Sakura was four, when a ninja picked her up and took her back home whilst hopping from one roof to another. Haruno Sakura was four, when she saw what Konoha looked like from above and was amazed. Haruno Sakura was four, when she unknowingly met the man she’d later on know as the jounin-sensei of her genin team: Hatake Kakashi. This was her second miracle.
(Haruno Sakura was four when she decided she wanted to become a ninja. She said this much to her mother that night, at dinner.)
Haruno Sakura was five when she met Uzumaki Naruto. She saw him in the playground, where a group of boys kicked him into the dirt and called him names. Haruno Sakura was five and it was the first time she felt so livid. Haruno Sakura was five when she pushed a boy of her age and spat in his face. Haruno Sakura was five when she broke another boy’s nose, and Haruno Sakura was five when she reached her hand out to the sun, smiled and asked— ‘Hello. I’m Haruno Sakura, would you like to be my friend?’
Haruno Sakura was five when she met Uzumaki Naruto, she was five and she had finally made her first friend that wasn’t the willow tree in her backyard. This was her third miracle.
Haruno Sakura was five when she became friends with the sun, who grinned so wide and told her with such conviction– ‘Hi there! I’m Uzumaki Naruto, and I’m gonna become Hokage one day!’
That night, she told her mother everything, and the next day, she was enrolled into the Academy. This was her fourth miracle.
Haruno Sakura was five when she started getting bullied for her sharp teeth and her large forehead. Luckily, she had a companion in Naruto, though their friendship only made her classmates and even her teachers hate her even more. She didn’t mind it much though, not when it meant she could see the sunny smile that she adored.
(When Naruto found out about how the girls bullied her and the boys made fun of her, and how the teachers neglected her — all he could do was apologise and tell her it was okay if she didn’t want to be friends anymore. She gave him a weird look.)
(‘Why would I stop being your friend?’ Haruno Sakura was five when she said these words, and although she had no idea about how much it impacted her blonde friend, she was happy that it brought a wide grin to his face. Haruno Sakura was five when she made a promise to herself that she’d protect that smile.)
Haruno Sakura had always been a quiet child, who never spoke to anyone besides the literal embodiment of the sun that always hung around her. Haruno Sakura was six, when silence fell onto her and her luck took a turn that was simultaneously for the worst, and for the better.