Lara (Long-Fic Levihan | Armin Arlert X OC)

Epilogue, by Levi Ackerman

"Today I am a very, very old man..."

My hair is white as snow and there are so many lines on my face, I can barely open my eyes.

This will probably be the last letter I write...

Lara left us two months ago.

She's gone, with seventy-one years of pure joy.

It was on a beautiful Sunday morning. Armin turned to say 'good morning' to her in bed, and she just didn't reply to him.

Lara died in her sleep, with a little smile on her face, as she held the seashell her husband had given her when we first saw the ocean many, many years ago...

Poor Armin... He was devastated... I don't think he will stay with us much longer either... He can't live without his beloved Lara...

No wonder. After all... Not everyone can be married for fifty-one years.

But Lara and Armin achieved this feat.

Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky. I got married way later than I should have.

Hange left me eight years ago. That four-eyes...

She was gone because of that darn high blood pressure.

But not without leaving me with the best family I could ever have.

Eventually, we did have Tiny-Human-Bean III.

And this time, it was finally a boy.

David, his name.

After all, I'm a big fan of that guy.

My girls and my son left me many grandchildren and great-grandchildren...

Including Lara. She also gave me grandchildren, not just Erwin and Moblit, her twins.

But also Mike and Sara, who were born a while later (don't worry, they're not twins, they came one at a time).

Lara had her children the way she dreamed: three boys and a girl.

She was the person who lived to the fullest that I've ever known.

Wherever she, Armin, and their four children went, it was as if the sun had arrived at that place.

I can't say... They irradiated a glow of their own...

Looking back, I see how foolish I was for not wanting to be her father.

How could I be so stupid?

If it wasn't for Lara, maybe I would never have admitted my feelings for Hange, and consequently would never have had Kuchel, Hannah, and David.

Maybe I wouldn't even be here, because those two girls saved my life, in every possible way.

Lara.

It was her who brought us together.

Such a little, simple name...

A girl with no dignified past, but with an honor greater than most people I've ever met.

An honor even greater than mine. In the end, she did become humanity's strongest soldier. For precisely showing that: humanity.

If I could go back in time and see her, sitting in that tree at the orphanage, crying in bitterness, I would tell her:

Be brave, little one.

Make a wish for each sad little tear.

Hold your head up though no one is near.

Someone's waiting for you.

Don't cry, little one.

There will be a smile for every tear you shed.

You'll be part of the love you so much seek.

Someone's waiting for you.

Always keep a little prayer in your pocket.

And sure enough, you'll see the light.

Mom and I are coming soon, and you'll have joy and happiness.

And your world will be bright.

Have faith, little one. Just like He's with me, He's also with you.

'Til your hopes and your wishes come true, you must try to be brave.

You're not alone.

There's someone waiting to love you... Me, Mom, and Armin.

Lara, my little one.

You saved me in every way I can imagine. You not only saved my life, you also saved my soul.

Today I can repeat the sentence you read to me so much:

'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.'

Soon I will also be gone, but not before remembering how much you made me the happiest man in the world.

Thank you, my dear daughter, for opening my eyes to what really matters.

You were one of the best things that ever happened to me, Lara.

Or rather, Lara Zoë Ackerman Arlert (she would get mad if I didn't list her Family Name collection).

Goodbye, my love... I mean, see you soon, because I know we will meet again.

I love you, my baby.

Sincerely yours,

Daddy."