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Homura thought, as she sometimes did, about what had become of Madoka. They had given up their humanity when they became magical girls, but at least they still had their human minds and bodies, to the point that very few magical girls actually realised that they were no longer human. Madoka had gone beyond that, and had become- what was she, anyways? A concept? A goddess? Something good, to be sure, and something that helped people, gave them hope and chased away despair. Not a witch. But at the same time, not that different from a witch, a magical girl who had lost her mind and became consumed by her wish. And in that sense, Homura had failed in her mission: she had not saved Madoka, who was now gone from the Earth.
Homura watched as one of the petals from a blossom on one of the cherry trees floated to the ground. They bloomed for so little time, those trees, much like how she and Makoda had had so little time with each one in the first go-around. It had been barely a month, and yet she had loved every minute of it, how Makoda shone brightly though it all, and she so desperately wanted to extend it - for Madoka’s own sake, yes, but also selfishly because Homura wanted more time with her as well.
Madoka was always with Homura, in her heart, in her soul, as the warmth of hope. But- was she really with her? They could no longer see each other, talk to each other, laugh and do homework and fight and travel and be- friends with each other. And oh, how Homura longed for that to happen, even just to have more more conversation so that she could plainly say, I did all this because I loved you. Did you love me too?
Well. Homura takes one of the petals and examines it. The fact that cherry blossoms have such a short season does not make them any more beautiful, and indeed makes them more valuable. So perhaps the short time that she knew Makoda was a bad thing, but rather lovely in its own right. And, while the trees may stop blooming, she is still able to take some of the flowers and press them, to have a kind of facsimile of what the blooming was like. Likewise, even though Makoda is not physically present anymore, she is still with Homura, and all the rest of the magical girls - when they face wraiths instead of witches, when they disappear before becoming overwhelmed by despair, and when all of them summon the courage and hope to face one more day of life. And in that sense, Madoka will forever but with Homura.