Memories

Chapter 1

Autumn of 1994.

Thirteen degrees Celsius, the wind at fifteen kilometers per hour, and the sun is covered by clouds.

4:00 PM, Bingo time.

Miss Gabi speaks over the loudspeaker to all the residents of the Shiganshina Home. All the elderly came to the large room quickly, including Mikasa.

Mikasa has been a resident of the Shiganshina Home for some time, years you could say. Everyone knew the 80-year-old lady, and even if she didn't speak much, everyone liked her. Bingo was her favorite game.

As everyone sat down, Gabi began to introduce a new resident of the Home. His name was Eren Yeager, German. Eren is the active and extroverted type of elderly person, and he told everyone to be patient with him as "being old was still a new thing for him."

The energetic gentleman sat next to Mikasa and soon greeted her. Mikasa greeted him back but didn't say much more. Unfortunately for Ackerman, Eren soon started talking again.

He asked her to explain how to play Bingo as such a game didn't exist in Germany. Mikasa found it strange but soon began to explain step by step how to play. Eren kept conversing with her, and the short-haired lady always gave brief answers. Not because she wasn't interested in talking to him, but simply because she had poor social skills. So she just listened to everything the elderly man had to say, with a smile on her face.

Before, Mikasa used to get irritated during Bingo time. The inappropriate songs that played on the radio annoyed her. The other residents talking to each other without including her annoyed her. Not having friends annoyed her. She was bored. She was miserable.

However, after Eren arrived, Mikasa had someone to talk to, even if it was about trivial things. Their favorite topics were books and music, although they also shared life stories with each other.

Yeager's favorite author was Yukio Mishima, so Ackerman read Spring Snow, so they would have more topics to talk about. The short-haired lady felt she would never get tired of Yeager's voice. She, who was used to always being alone, had finally found her comfort person.

When Eren discovered that Mikasa's favorite singer was Miki Matsubara, the elderly man made sure to order all her CDs. They listened to all of them in one night, and in the morning, he hummed to Mikasa, just to see a smile appear on her face. Seeing Mikasa smile warmed the old man's heart, as such an act was rare.

One day, the two were sitting in the home's garden. Even though it was mid-autumn, the sky was clear, and there wasn't a hint of clouds. The grass was green, and there were still some flowers on the trees. Eren was poking the ground with a piece of wood while complaining about the "Hello, Silver" program for the twentieth time. Mikasa ran her hands through her few remaining hairs while looking at the flower on the ground. A child was passing in front of them when the old German called out to her. He whispered something in her ear, and the child soon went to the grass and picked the flower that the elderly woman desired. The child handed the flower to Mikasa and left. Mr. Yeager laughed and apologized for not being able to bend down to pick the flower himself. Ackerman blushed and laughed. The German then continued with his complaints, but this time about the government.

Eren asked Mikasa about her scarf. The lady always wore a red scarf around her neck. The elderly woman explained that when she was a soldier, fighting against the Japanese and Germans in China, she found herself in a life-and-death situation where a German soldier helped her. That same soldier gave her that scarf. She explained that even though he was the adversary, the soldier restored her faith in humanity and that not everyone involved was necessarily a bad person, so she refused to take off the scarf even when it was hot. Yeager looked down and thanked her for the explanation.

That night Yeager cried in his room. Actually, Yeager cried every Tuesday in his room; it was basically a tradition. This tradition started years ago and persists to this day. No one knew he did this; no one had ever even seen him cry. Not even his 60-year-old wife. Eren cried for his past. He blamed himself for his actions; there were no excuses for what he had done. The love of his life was dead, and he did nothing to protect him. He killed innocents. He had blood on his hands. A lot of blood. Eren didn't look in the mirror. He didn't even know he had many wrinkles on his face and even a small wart on his forehead. Eren had a morning appointment that Tuesday, and the doctor told him there was a chance he might develop Alzheimer's. But as much as he wanted to forget his past, he was afraid of also forgetting important things like the people he loves or loved. So he started writing a diary where he detailed every aspect of his relationship with his first love.

One day, Mikasa touched Eren's hand. They didn't hold hands; their fingers simply touched. Eren didn't pull away; in fact, he liked it and blushed.