The Universe In Her Eyes • Levi Ackerman

prologue

〰️〰️〰️

She felt to the ground rather unceremoniously — her fragile, skinny and pale body twisting in painful angles as it collided with the cold, hard stones of the pavement.

For the past two days —that seemed like months to her— she had been traveling under a carriage. Her stomach was pressed agains the wood of the vehicle, while a thin rope with small hooks at its ends aided the girl to keep her hips from hitting the floor. Her hands could barely support her upper body, but her resolve had fueled her efforts to stay concealed there.

After two days however, sleep deprivation, exhausted muscles and the now surely infected gash that extended through her left side had pushed the girl's malnourished body to its limit.

She could not conceal herself anymore.

So she felt to the ground. Abruptly. Painfully.

She was done for.

Or so she thought.

Due to the delirium brought on by the fever she sustained, the girl hadn't realized that, in fact, she had already reached her destination.

And fate, working in mysterious ways, let her fall from below the carriage in front of a man that was actually willing to help her. Probably one of the few people in the Shiganshina District actually willing to help.

Doctor Grisha Jaeger took the broken girl home. There was no other way to describe the precarious state of her body. She was truly broken. The doctor doubted she would be able to make it past that night, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her to die in the middle of the street, without attempting at least to tend to her wounds.

But much to the Jaeger household's surprise, the girl survived the night and the days that followed, thanks to the efforts of the doctor and to those of a black-haired girl that tirelessly dressed her wounds and constantly changed the cold cloth on her head until her fever resumed.

Days after her ungracious fall —or weeks, she could not be entirely sure— she felt strength returning to her body, flowing once again through her veins.

She tried to stand up, careful not to put pressure on her left side, where she felt a stabbing pain that she decided to ignore to come into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

She could hear muffled voices from the other side of the door, and she was curious to see who they belonged to.

The girl took a few steps, weighing the steadiness her weakened legs could provide her. She adjusted her balance and went to open the door of the room that she shared, presumably with the other girl that had been helping her out.

Upon opening the door, her eyes were met with those of a boy around her age, that shone with the sun rays in a shade of tidal green unbeknownst to her. She did not know that such a shimmer was possible, that those colors actually existed. Her 12 short years of life were spent in a dimly lit environment. But not anymore.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the owner of the said eyes.

"Father says you shouldn't walk for another week."

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you ok?" the boy softly asked.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"What's your name?" he questioned. "I am Eren."

Her name. Good question. She had not think this far into the plan. Should she use her real name?

"Eva" she spoke, deciding to give him that.

"Come on, let's have breakfast" he gestured her to accompany him, moving in the direction of the other voices.

Breakfast? she thought, frowning at the boy's offer. Is he going to feed me without asking for anything in return? Is he mad?

She followed behind the boy, consciously taking in the surroundings. They seemed to be in a medium sized house, built in wood and stone, with a nice, cozy feel to it.

The two children reached the main room of the house, where they were greeted by a man, a woman and the girl that Eva faintly remembered.

"Mom, dad, Mikasa! Eva is up!" The boy announced.

"Oh, you are awake" the man started, standing up from his seat at the table, "you shouldn't be walking around though. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, sir" she replied in a quiet voice, trying to be as polite as her lack of manners and education allowed her. "It doesn't hurt."

"Now that's simply a lie, little one" the man with glasses stated.

"Like I feel it sting, but it doesn't hurt."

The man exchanged a glance with his wife. Just how much pain is this little girl used to tolerating?

"Sit down, Eva" the woman gently indicated "are you hungry?"

Eva stared at her with wide eyes. She was hungry. She couldn't remember the last time she wasn't hungry.

"Eva?" the woman questioned again, in a very sweet tone.

"Are-are you going to... feed me?" she questioned, bewildered.

Never in her life had she been offered food like this. Not that she remembered at least.

"If you are hungry" the woman smiled.

Why are they so nice to me? Who are these people? Where am I?

A million questions flooded the girl's head, forming a knot in her throat, as she also felt her eyes get watery.

"Why are you nice to me?" She questioned between sobs. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"We are the Jaegers, Eva. You are in Shiganshina."

Those words sent a blissful shiver through her whole entire body. She had made. She was there. And that was all that mattered.

〰️〰️〰️