An Ackerman's secret

4

Waking up the next morning after training, I had managed to get up and get ready despite my lack of sleep. But I was paying the price, my eyes stung and my throat hurt no matter how much water I drunk.

I knelt down next to my bed and pulled out a box which was covered in a blanket to hide it. Opening it's lid, I pulled out the contents and shuffled through them, eventually finding what I was looking for.

It was a letter, one of many. However, this letter had been special to me all these years in the training corps and survey corps, it was the last letter ever. I carefully unfolded it, cautious to not rip the fine paper. My eyes scanned over the words, recalling the feelings I felt the first time I read it. The corners of my mouth turned into a smile as my ears became glossy with tears.

Dear my precious Mila,

Do not doubt my abilities my love, I haven't forgotten about you, nor have I forgotten all the precious letters you addressed to me during my mission. I can't inform you of its success so far, but I promise you I won't fail and I will come back to you.

There is however someone down here who is trying to interfere which I must warn you about. I don't know their intentions but they seemed to know of you and your whereabouts, which makes me worry. I hope your efforts were worth it and you are enjoying life above ground, I plan to join you soon.

But please, do me a favour, don't die. I want that to be your priority, not me. I refuse to let both of our journeys go to waste before we even get the chance to meet again, which we will. Even if you don't believe it, we will meet again.

My time is running short. I'm sorry my love that I can't talk to you for longer. I do have one more thing to tell you though, I was planning to tell you when we met but I'm afraid I don't have that privilege anytime soon. It's too important to wait.

The edge of the letter was stained red with blood and it was clearly unfinished. I always wondered what he wanted to tell me, would it even matter now?

Either way I knew I would never recover that information, his last letter to me he didn't even get to finish before his death.

I strived to find out what happened to him, I had been trying for years but had no success, it was hidden well and I didn't even know anyone else in the underground other than him. I kept to myself and he had never introduced anyone to me, claiming it was too dangerous.

Sniffling, I used my sleeve to wipe my eyes and calmed myself before I got too emotional. There was a light knock at the door, rushing me to put away the letter back under my bed. "Come in."

Christa walked in with some tea and bread, holding it on a tray in front of her. "Are you okay?"

I nodded and stood up, smiling at her, "Yeah I just woke up." She nodded and placed down the tray on my bedside table, still looking a bit concerned. I thanked her and raised the tea to my lips, feeling the warmth against my skin which soothed me instantly.

"What's this for?"

"It's a Monday morning, everyone needs a little pick up!" She exclaimed. I could see Ymir behind her in the doorway, chuckling while rolling her eyes at Christa's random act of kindness. She saw me took notice of her and nodded her head at me as to ask if I'm good, which I returned with a nod.

Me and Ymir had developed an understanding for each other ever since we met, although different, we shared the same humour and thoughts, which allowed us to grow closer. She's rarely not with Christa so we don't speak often, but her presence comforts me.

"Thank you again, is everyone at the mess hall?"

Ymir leaned forwards to engage more in the conversation, "Nah, fight which sent Jean running off interrupted the vibe. No clue where they all are now."