The Monster Within

Chapter 1.1

Eren woke up to a regular morning. Wake up. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Do chores. Run around town. Go back home. Eat, sleep and do it all again the next day. This is the reality of the life behind the walls. Restricted. Trapped. And the worst part is that no one asked any questions. It was as if they just accepted this "gift" from the Great Ymir. "Did no one else care?" Eren thought, "Was it just me?" Everyday was always the same, and if it was not, some supernatural force somehow made it go back to "normal".

He hurried downstairs to the kitchen where he joined the rest of the family for breakfast at the dining table. To his left, Eren saw that his father was dressed and ready to leave for work at his clinic. Grisha Jaeger was a well-known and well-praised doctor in Shiganshina. In fact, he saved the town from an epidemic a few years ago. To some people, he was a superhero. But to Eren, he was simply his father. Today, he was wearing his usual brown trench coat and his circular glasses were propped up on his nose as he was sipping his morning black coffee.

Eren looked to his right and saw Mikasa drinking a glass of milk. She was wearing a light brown cardigan with a cream-coloured blouse underneath and a white skirt that fell to her ankles. As usual, she was wearing the tattered red scarf he gave her. "She really loves that scarf," he thought. Eren had always told himself that he hated that scarf because it reminded him of blood. But why was it that he was not as bothered at the sight of it? Maybe he thought that it suited Mikasa, which it did. It always did. No matter what she wore, the scarf always matched. Or maybe, it was just Mikasa.

"Eren, eat your breakfast before it gets cold," his mother said. Carla Jaeger was a housewife. She always thought that the gods had favoured her. All she wanted was to lead a peaceful life filled with love. Ask anyone in the family and they will happily tell you that unlike the meat supply in Shiganshina, Carla's love is infinite. Though, times were not always happy. Sometimes, they did not have the means to put food on the table, or to fix their leaky roof, or Eren got into another fight with other children, or when Grisha contracted a rare disease from a sick patient. Through all these, Carla gracefully fulfilled her role without any complaints. With some magical mom powers, food appeared on the table, the leaky roof was sealed, and she healed Eren and Grisha with her love (or so it seemed to Eren). Which is why it is not surprising that when a certain black haired girl with tear-filled black eyes, shocked beyond comprehension and wrapped around in a red scarf suddenly appeared by her doorstep two years ago, she welcomed her with open arms.

Her dark brown hair in two loose pigtails and wearing her usual light brown, long-sleeved blouse with a long brown skirt, plus the usual white apron, she gave Eren his porridge with a side of bread.

"This again?" Eren asked.

"Good morning to you too, sweetie," Carla said.

"Eren," Grisha quickly interjected, "for once, could you please be a little more polite to your mother? I know you're growing up and this is "normal" attitude for people your age, but will it hurt to--"

Eren cut off his father and mumbled a "sorry". He cannot help himself, but he also knows that it was not his mother's fault. Farmland was limited inside the walls and the small area allotted for raising animals could not keep up with the demands of the residents in Wall Sina, much less than the growing population. All the finer things in life were given to the nobles and the other wealthy individuals and families inside Wall Sina first. Those filthy royals, pretentious noblemen, and uppity rich folk did not deserve anything more than porridge and bread just like the rest of the population. What makes them so special? Afterall, they lived inside these walls too, so, as far as Eren was concerned, they were the same. Except, maybe they were somewhat different. They are happy to be inside the walls. They were happy to be in a cage. They cowered in fear about the uncertainty of the outside world so they burrowed inside the deepest wall like rats in the sewers where they stuff their faces with food and drown their sorrows in liquor all to hide their cowardice. And this makes all the difference.