Frieda was taken aback. First by how friendly he was, and second by his warm brown eyes.
"Um...this is my spot."
He laughed. "Your spot?"
She nodded.
He looked around, he stood up, and lifted up a rock.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for some sign or decree that declares that this is..."
"Frieda Reiss"
"Frieda Reiss' spot. Or do you have the deed on your person"
Frieda frowned, "now your just being an a**"
He let out a laugh, "my old captain use to say that about me sometimes."
"So you were a solider then Mr...."
"Oh" he tucked his sketch pad under his arm holding out his hand. "Gunther Schultz."
Frieda shook his hand, noticing how rough it felt.
"And yes, I was a member of the Survey Corps, Special Operations Squad."
Frieda felt her heart sink a bit. It took her a minute, but then it clicked. She remember watching in horror as the female titan massacred soldiers. Her heart was about to burst out of her chest, as she watched her sister doing her best to stay alive. She wanted to scream at her sister, that the blonde solider she was with couldn't be trusted. But she knew her words would fall on deaf ears.
You can scream as loud as you want, but the living can't hear the dead.
"Oh...you were one of those...in the forest" she said quietly.
Gunther let out a small laugh. "Yeah, hope we put on an entertaining show"
Frieda was surprised by his morbid humor. "I'm...I'm sorry...about what happened to you. What that girl did to you and your friends."
Gunther's faced softened a bit. "So" he said changing the subject, "about this spot"
"Right, I found this little place a few years ago. I needed a place where..."
"You can quite your mind" Gunther said.
Frieda nodded. "Yeah, I was pretty upset that she joined the Survey Corps."
"I found this place a few days after I got here. I just...seeing my dad...alone now standing by an empty grave"
Frieda remembered the bodies being dumped from the wagon.
Gunther sat back down on his small blanket. "Look, this place seems like it's big enough for two" he patted a spot beside him.
Frieda was hesitant.
"I don't bite...hard"
Frieda gave him a look, trying not to show her amusement. She was a bit surprised that she was finding Gunther so charming.
Setting her basket down, she sat on the blanket, hugging her knees to her chest.
They sat in silence. Listening to the sounds of the coast.
Gunther caught a glance of Frieda, her black hair gently blowing in the sea breeze. Carrying a hint of lavender to his nose.
"You know...I don't even think I have a grave" Frieda said quietly. "My body...never mind. It's not something I really want to talk about"
"You can trust me"
"It's just complicated, and I'm honestly not in the mood for complicated, not here at least."
"Right quieting the mind" Gunther said, opening up his sketch pad.
"Can I see what your drawing?"
Gunther chuckled a bit, "sure but, it's not very good, just a hobby I had when I was alive"
Frieda reached for the sketch pad, brushing his hand in the process. Frieda felt a tingle in her spine, Gunther felt his cheeks flush.
Frieda looked at the work in progress. It was a seagull, well part of one, perched on a rock.
"I was working on that before you scared my subject away" Gunther said with a sly smile.
"Sorry about that" she said with a giggle. "But this, this is really good, you have talent."
"Too bad you can't make a living being an artist. Not enough to take care of my dad"
"Was you dad sick?"
"Yeah, something I can't pronounce, but it slowly took away his mobility, then my mom died when I was 10 I had to help some home, the military offered good pay. My father didn't have to worry about keeping me fed, clothed, so I joined up at 12"
"Kinda f*cked, having kids fight your battles" Frieda mused.
"That's why I joined the Survey Corps. Had the option of going to the MPs, but it didn't feel right. When you were in the Scouts, you all fight together, and you all die together. Age be damned. So what made your sister join up?"
"She followed a girl. Historia...never knew how to live for herself. She was in the top 10 of her class, but I guess she's trying to find purpose in her life. If she only knew..."
"Look at me being an a** again. Ruining your 'spot' with all this heavy sh*t."
"It's fine, I know how hard it can be to feel alone here." She handed his sketch pad back to Frieda.
Gunther picked up one of his pencils and flipped to a new page. He stared out at the horizon. Frieda took out her book.
"Good book?"
"Yeah, it's a beautiful romance, something I never got to have".
Her face went pink as soon as she realized what she said.
Gunther was about to say something but Frieda cut him off.
"Forget I said anything. I'll let you get back to you drawing."
"And I'll let you get started on your book".
The two enjoyed the comfortable silence. The warmth of the sun, the sound of the waves, the scratching of pencil on paper.
Frieda and Gunther felt a warmth settle over the small alcove. Catching subtle glances at one another, both of them finding it hard to focus.
"It's nice to have some company" they both thought.
To be Continued
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