"Still Dreaming"
I don't own Naruto. Leave a review and enjoy. J
Modern-day, American SasuSaku.
Dedicated to anyone who has lost someone they love in the Iraqi Freedom War. Please keep your prayers with those who are fighting for us!
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It was all so much like a dream. She still remembered the day he told her.
"Sakura… I'm going to join the army." he had said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. She had nodded and smiled, telling him she was proud.
But when the time came for him to go off to boot camp, she didn't smile like she had told herself to. She wanted to be proud of him. She did. But…
She was scared. For him. And for herself.
The bus came up to the front door of their little white house. It was all going by so fast; they'd only been married for a few months.
He grabbed his bag, and her hand, and walked to the end of the pathway.
When it came time for him to join the other men on the bus, tears came to her eyes. She had told herself she wouldn't cry…
Yet she did. He had only smiled sadly and gathered her in his arms. "I'll be back. I promise."
With that, he kissed her, not hesitantly like usual. He gave it everything inside his heart. Gave HER everything. A chorus of cheers came from the bus.
She blushed as he pulled back. She stared at his face for as long as she could. Would she ever see that face again?
He left her. She waved to him, her petite frame shaking with sobs.
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All that time he was away, was like a dream. Every day passed in a haze. Nothing to look forward to. Nothing to fear… but for his life.
The news came to her unexpectedly. A car had come.
She thought he was home. He was home! He was back here, with her again! She was so happy, it brought tears to her eyes.
But she was wrong. Instead of him, it was another man in uniform. He knocked on her door, and she had gone to it with a smile.
"Is he here?! Is he back?!" She had asked, her happy tears overflowing.
Instead of responding, he handed her an envelope.
She opened it, confused. Her world shattered. The envelope had brought her very life to a sudden and sickening halt.
He handed her his uniform and left. She sank to her knees. "You promised." was all she said before collapsing to tears.
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Weeks later, there she was, clad in black. Tears ran down her face.
She holds onto what she had left, just his uniform. That's the only thing left of him. It's the last thing he wore; the last thing he touched.
Sighing, for she had finally run out of tears, her fingertips graze along the glossy wood top of the mahogany casket which and American flag has been draped across.
She looks toward the sky, wondering if he can see her, right here, right now. Would her find her pitiful, like everyone else did?
Later that day, he was buried. A simple epitaph was written. "Uchiha Sasuke. Devoted husband and loyal US soldier."
She kept her head bowed. New tears came. Everyone tried to comfort her.
She did not want to be comforted.
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It has been a year since then. She tells herself to let it go. She tells herself he wouldn't like to see her cry. But she cannot stop.
And even after all this time, she hopes, prays, wants to believe….
She is still dreaming.
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Arigato for reading. Review, please.