The Great Prussia's Diary

November 9, 1989

Dear Diary,

            Today the Berlin Wall fell. I guess I should be happy, I get to see my brother again. I can’t remember the last time I actually got to hug him, feel his warmth as I held him close, whispering promised I’d never let him go. I think the last time I actually hugged him so tight was when he was still a growing nation. So much has changed since then. Now I can hardly wrap my arms around him, he’s so big! To think my little brother towered over me in such a way.

He changed to. The warm glint in his eyes whenever I visited him as a child was gone. He simply looked down at me and nodded. He acted as if he did not expect a hug, as if our reunion was meant to be short, a greeting between two war generals. I was the one who had to break the tension, oh God I felt like such a kid. Running up to him with tears lining my eyes as I embraced my little brother. But in that moment, I felt like a little kid running to an elder with cuts and bruises that could be considered trivial in the long run.

I still remember his actions perfectly. The steady pause as if he couldn’t believe I was truly there. He had stood rigid, like a statue never meant for interaction. And it wasn’t until a minute of me holding back tears (Tears of awesomeness, mind you), did he finally respond. His muscled arms had wrapped around me, and for the first time in twenty years, I felt protected. I had finally received the support I needed; I received the only family member I cared for. The brother I had helped to create-- raised him with fundamental principles vital to the maintaining of a nation. He was back and he was here, and I could feel the steady beating of his warm heart as my chest connected with his for the first time in so long. I missed him so much, and now he was able to see the awesome me again.

But I know this won’t last forever. I’m aware of the consequences of this wall coming down. The titles of East and West Germany have become void, holding no more meaning as we are once again united through the destruction of one small roadblock. I’ve suffered many things: wars, deaths, plagues, poverty, and losses. I have suffered through enough hardships to make any plain man insane. I’ve watched nations rise and I’ve watched them die, disappearing with their culture. I’ve watched many friends come and go, some making a lasting mark and others vanishing as quickly as they’d come, leaving no traces of their presence. I’ve experienced the best in the world and I’ve seen the world. I guess I deserve a reprieve from all the bloodshed, I suppose I’ve left a footprint big enough for others to follow. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough that they’ll remember me for another century. I can only hope all those years of battles and demise can lead to some lasting imprint, some sign that I truly was here. Because I know my time is coming. The last sign of me being a nation is gone. I’ve had a lot of names; Teutonic Knights, Prussia, East Germany. But now I have none, I can say nothing if someone were to ask me “What is your name?” Sure, I could always say Gilbert, but that would just mean accepting I am no longer a nation, but a normal civilian, one in seven billion. And who would want to see the Awesome Me reduced to that?

But I think the other nations will be glad I’m gone. Young Master and Hungary especially. All I did for them was cause trouble. I mean, who’d want to remember me? I tried to make an awesome impression; I tried so hard to leave things people would remember me by. But the things I did to achieve that would only make them want to forget. Who wants to remember the bad things, anyway? I’m sure my not-so-awesome younger brother will be glad I’m gone. He’d have no one to call a ‘Dummkopf’ anymore. Back when he was a younger nation, I was the one who cared for him, trained him to be a powerful nation like I used to be. But recently, he’s been caring for me, training me to be tough once more when I know it’s futile. I’m sure it’ll be a nice reprieve, to stop constantly fretting over me. Now he’ll have room to breath, room to be alone and think and live in peace like he’s always wanted.

That hug, it was nothing short of platonic, simply a standard greeting between two people with close history. But history fades away, jumbled together and buried under recent events of greater importance. No one learns about the Teutonic Knights, or the Grand Duchy of Prussia anymore. It’s simply facts of the newer age that people remember. Nobody celebrates Rome’s birthday, they celebrate the birthday of those who are still here. And soon enough, I’ll be gone too. No one will celebrate the day I took Silesia, or the triumphs of Old Man Fritz. Hell, soon enough people will forget my awesome name. And while I loathe the day that happens, I can’t stop the inevitable. I can’t change the past, and I can’t change the future, not anymore.

I’m happy to see Germany again, just so I can give him one more lasting memory.