Nikki narrates her recollection of a ghost in the forest to her friends. Little girls being little girls, Chelsea suggests they go back there to check it out. Sakura attempts to dodge this proposition by bringing up their science project, but her excuse falls flat. In the woods, Chelsea asks what she should give her mother for her birthday, reminding Sakura that same day would have been her mother's birthday. Finally, they arrive at the cliff, but the apparition doesn't show up at first. Suddenly, a white orb flashes and reveals...a mysterious woman! A lizard creature! A swirling eye! Sharp fangs! A big hamburger. Yeah, apparently Madison saw a hamburger. Heh.
Cut to Sakura in the bath still scared of what she saw. Kero points out that she fights Clow Cards all the time, but ghosts are different you see! She can't sense them after all! Sakura makes a mention of Kero's true form wishing that could be her bodyguard, which requires all the Element cards. Oddly, she imagines it to be a giant version of his regular form, you know, despite there being a blatantly obvious hint on the Clow book.
At dinner, Sakura reminisces about her mother Natasha, admiring one of her modelling pictures at 16. She doesn't remember much about her, but her father tells her that she was the most beautiful and kind person in the world. Madison calls her later saying that Chelsea got a bunch of other friends to go check out the ghost. There's no keeping children's curiosity down, is there?
This time, Sakura is ready for action in a bunny suit. Following the white orb to the cliff, the ghost reveals herself to be none other than her mother. Enraptured, she follows her embrace while the force field around prevents Kero from following her. As she falls, the spirit's hand slows her descent. Julian, watching her float down, catches her in his arms and brings her to his house. A girl falling slowly? There's nothing weird about that at all, or so he seems to think.
Sakura remembers nothing about that fall, but instantly worries about Madison and Kero. Still nothing weird about her caring so much about some stuffed animal. Tori comes to bring a sleeping Sakura home, as Julian mentions that she saw their mother in the woods. They talk about Tori's strange ability to see his mother's spirit, which instilled a fear of ghosts in Sakura since he was always talking to "see-through people". He never saw her since junior high, but he understands she must be lonely without her. Aww, he's really so sweet, yet he says it's his job as a big brother to be mean to her.
The next day, Madison comes to see Sakura, who managed to skip school thanks to Tori. She remarks that Sakura is the only one who saw a woman and that everyone saw something different. Kero begins to have doubts about whether they should continue to pursue the spirit since he doesn't want Sakura to get hurt, suggesting it might be a real ghost and not a Clow Card. Okay, that's probably just an excuse, but admittedly I was fooled the first time watching. Regardless, she resolves to come back since her mother might be trying to tell her something.
This time, all three of them see Sakura's mother. Sakura, worried, asks her about her presence while she just floats smiling and with embraced arms. The spirit floats away as a desperate Sakura asks her to come back, following her off the cliff yet again. This time, her mother's not going to come save her, yet she remembers Julian asking whether her mother would really put her in danger. Finally realizing the truth, she rescues herself from the fall and confronts the faker, which causes a static glitch in the spirit revealing a geometric pattern: The Mirror of Erised Illusion Card◊. Turns out that hamburger thing was a result of Madison being hungry. Sakura, while disappointed, is just happy knowing her mother is watching over her.
The next day, Sakura gives her mother's photo image a present for her birthday. Suddenly, Tori sees her mother's angelic figure hover over her for the first time in ages, reassuring him that Sakura will be just fine. I have to mention Tori sure looks attractive when he's smiling. Sakura skates off to school, reassured and ready to embrace a new day.