Waiting

By: Dreiser


	
I can still hear them calling out to me and see those infectious 
smiles on their faces. They would always say the same thing to me.
	
I love you, Otaru!
	
Otaru-sama, I love you!
	
He's mine! I love you, Otaru!
	
Now I'll never hear them say that again. And why? Because I 
did my job too well. I loved them so much and so well that their hearts 
grew to the point that they were willing to sacrifice themselves to save 
Terra II.
	
I loved them and I never told them that. I loved them and 
that's why they left me. I loved them and even though I didn't ever say 
it they knew it. I loved them and that was why they left. To protect me 
and all the other humans that they loved.
	
Part of me wishes I'd treated them like Faust did. He still has 
his loves with him. Until recently he never knew the gift that their 
unconditional love could be. He never knew and because of that he 
still has them with him.
	
I wish I was Faust. 
	
Strange, to hear myself wishing that. The others are the 
apartment building are worried about me. I know that. It's funny, even 
Hanagata misses them.
	
At the opening of the museum when they unveiled the statue of 
them they cried. Not just everyone from the apartment building but 
almost the entire crowd.
	
They cried for their sacrifice. They cried for their loss. Perhaps 
they even cried for me and for the misery I felt. Humans cried for 
marionettes.
	
Maybe we will reach that last stage of humanity that Lorelei 
spoke of. Where mankind can live in harmony with marionettes but I 
somehow doubt it.
	
They will always be revered for their actions. I know this. But 
with the imminent rebirth of the human female I find myself wondering 
how marionettes will be treated in the future.
	
As the false females, perhaps? As the mindless robots that we 
saw them as in the beginning? As tools?
	
Tools.
	
I curl into a tight ball and press the pillow closer to my chest as 
I steady my breathing.
	
No, never that! They were never tools! Not to me! I loved 
them! I loved them all!
	
Lime. Cherry. Bloodberry.
	
It's the early morning now and I still haven't slept. I can feel 
myself slowly nodding off but I fight it. I don't want to sleep because if 
I sleep then I dream.
	
My dreams haunt me. They're always the same. It begins with 
their return or some sign that they're coming back but when I wake 
there's nothing.
	
Only emptiness greets me in my house and my heart. I can feel 
myself drift into sleep and I know that I'll dream.
	
Maybe this time when I open my eyes they'll be here, waiting 
for me to wake up. And even if they aren't here when I wake up I'll 
keep on waiting for them.
	
My life isn't eternal but my love is.	

-End-

The character of Mamiya Otaru in this fanfiction is from the series 
Saber Marionette J. Well, I just finished watching the end of this series 
and this fanfic came about through osmosis. I can't say in words how 
much the last video touched me. SMJ is definitely one of the best 
anime series out there. It just has amazing amounts of emotional depth 
in both the storyline and characters.

"And waiting is the hardest part."
-Tom Petty-