Let me die. Let me die. Let me die. If you would leave me to live alone, rather I would die and be together. Not once had prayer alone brought blessings to him. Not even once!
"Sir!"
From the other side, from that shut out world, he heard a voice. It came from someone living in the same time as him. The voice was out of breath and drawing nearer.
I'm... alive. I'm still alive. And with that life, I'm fighting to preserve, in some form, the ones I've loved and lost.
Nothing is granted for prayer alone, but for Oscar, confronted by darkness which no light could pierce, to prayer was where he turned.
"...O, God, please."
If I may not die now, then please, at least in the pages of my story, let that girl be happy. Let her be delighted by my tale. And let her be by my side. Let her be by my side for eternity. Even if only in that story. Even if as but an imaginary daughter. Please, let her be by my side.
These things he had to beg.
For in the meantime, his own life continued to stretch on.
Oscar bawled in a manner unbecoming of his age. Before him appeared Violet, drenched head to toe after having dragged herself out of the lake. Water streamed off from her, and her carefully chosen outfit hung limp and ruined.
But Violet herself seemed to be having more fun than she'd ever had before. One might have even thought the expression on her face worthy of being called a smile.
"Were you able to see it? I believe it was three whole steps."
I couldn't see anything for all the tears, Oscar couldn't bring himself to say.
So instead, while trying to sniff away his running nose, he answered, "Yes."
"Yes, I saw you. Thank you, Violet Evergarden."
He uttered the words with heartfelt respect and gratitude.
"Thank you for making my dream come true. Thank you. I feel as though I've witnessed a miracle. I do not believe there is a God, but if there is, surely it must be you."
Violet looked at him.
"I am an Auto Memories Doll, sir."
She answered duly, neither denying nor affirming the existence of God.
After that, Oscar drew a bath for Violet, who was completely drenched.
She refused to show herself during meals. But every day she took a bath, and almost certainly she used the bedroom he was providing her to rest herself at night.
She seemed very much human for being an automaton.
Modern civilization is quite truly a wonder. And the advances of science are quite remarkable.
It just wasn't proper to let a girl sit around in wet clothes, even if she were mechanical. Having figured she'd need something to change into, Oscar picked up one of his own bathrobes, which he thought reasonably clean, and headed toward the bathroom. It had been so long since he'd had anyone else in the house using the bath that to knock on the door completely slipped his mind. He walked right in to find her not yet changed.
"A... ah, s... so... rr... y? Huh?"
Oscar was so overwhelmed he could hardly find words.
"...What on earth?!"
The image of the naked woman coursed through Oscar's eyes. She was far more captivating, far more beautiful than any of the Renaissance nudes.
Drips fell anew from her golden locks, these of bathwater. Her eyes sparkled that perfect blue which no brush would ever capture.
YOU ARE READING
Violet Evergarden Volume 1
General Fiction"Auto Memories Doll." It's already been a long time since that name was first popularized. It's a machine that Dr. Orlando created that talks in a natural voice. At first, he only made it to help out his loving wife, but before long they spread out...
