IV.
Now, I am interested in thinking about Homura. She seems exceptionally intelligent, at least academically. Her social skills are lackluster at best, but people still seem drawn to her angsty, lone wolf airs. She moves through everything—work, walking, even conversations—as if she simply wants to get them over with. She looks tired of everything. Then again, perhaps it was a stressful day for her. I'll have to see later, once we've both adjusted.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Madoka. She's cheerful, timid, and deeply caring in how she treats people. Her academic skills seem very good: she does all her work on time, tries her best, and gets most answers correct. She moves through everything like each little task and interaction counts for something. If she's like this all the time, I understand why someone would want her never to change.
Homura wanted her to stay the same, I reflect, for the sake of her family. Perhaps Madoka reminds her of someone she knew before. Then again, the dream suggests Madoka did meet her in the past. If Homura looked around the same age as she is now—enough so Madoka recognized her from the dream—then it must have been recently that they last saw each other. She must have seen her in passing, at least. That seems like a decent explanation, one worth sharing with Madoka if she's still worrying about the matter.
"Want to come with us?" I hear Madoka asking me.
"Oh, of course!" I respond. Wherever we're going, it would be good for me to spend time with nice girls like Madoka and Sayaka.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Sayaka asks, "You seemed kinda zoned out there."
"Sorry about that," I apologize a little sheepishly. "I was just thinking about all this information about Homura. I don't think it's too important, but it's still very interesting to wonder about."
"Oh, brother," Sayaka puts a hand on her forehead, "not this again!"
"Really? What do you think about it?" Madoka asks eagerly. It seems she really does want to put her finger on her connection to Homura Akemi.
"I believe you two might have seen each other in passing, like on the streets or at a store," I present my theory, "and you may have reminded her of someone she knew and cared about."
"Huh, I guess that could explain a lot…" she doesn't seem so convinced, but it's something.
"Anyways, where're we going, Sayaka?" I ask, seeing she's more anxious to go than to talk about 'total psycho' Homura.
"The music store. Let's go!" She points the way and marches off. After a while, she realizes Madoka and I are still standing in place! She turns around and waves us over. "Well, come on!" she commands cheerfully. "We don't have all day!"
Madoka glances at me, then runs after Sayaka, and I follow suit. The two of them giggle like the schoolgirls they are. I direct my eyes to the heavens.
Oh, dear Lord, I wonder to him, what kinds of people am I making friends with?
I could almost hear the answer: Good people.
The "M"s in PMMM do not stand for "mine".