What if {ereri}

4

Levi

I have lived with the Jaegers for five months now.

I am happy.

Really happy.

Everyone is kind to me. No one gets angry when I don't talk much. No one forces me to.

And I have friends.

When I say friends, I mean Eren and Armin.

They talk. I listen. Sometimes I nod. Sometimes I shake my head.

It's enough.

⸻

Today, we go to meet Armin.

We do this most days.

It's nice.

Being outside. Being with them.

It feels safe.

"Eren! Levi! Mikasa!!"

I hear Armin before I see him.

He runs up to us, smiling, always smiling.

We all sit together.

They talk. I listen.

I answer when I need to. Short words. Small nods.

It's enough.

⸻

Later, we go somewhere quiet.

No people. No soldiers.

Armin looks excited.

"Do you want to see something?"

I tilt my head.

He pulls out a book.

"My parents showed me this. It's about the outside world."

I blink.

A book? About outside?

I feel something in my chest. Curiosity. Worry.

Mikasa shifts, uneasy.

Eren's eyes widen.

"Armin... you know that's illegal." His voice drops. "You could get arrested for having that."

Armin doesn't flinch.

"I know."

I know too.

If we're caught, it won't just be Armin.

It'll be all of us.

But he still opens it.

The pages are old. Worn.

He flips to one.

It shows water.

Endless water.

Saltwater.

Sand.

Eren stares. "That's impossible. If something like that existed, we'd get salt from there."

"It's real," Armin insists. "I know it is."

Eren looks at me. "Do you think it's real?"

I hesitate.

I don't know.

I don't understand.

But—

"...Things we... don't know," I mumble.

They all look at me.

Eyes wide.

I nod.

"I... believe."