Shorter Than Me

22 Ecyn

When I get home on the third day after taking a walk, I'm met by a loud "Surprise!" Some colorful decorations are hung up, and my mom, brother, and cousin are here. My cousin is a lot older than me and owns a shoe store in a town not too far from here.

"Ecyn, since your birthday is in a couple weeks, we wanted to celebrate it with you now. I was going to mail your gifts, but you came home instead," my mother explains.

"Thank you." I smile, walking farther into the room. My cousin, Gabrell, steps forward to give me a hug.

"It's so good to see you again. I hear you got promoted, Captain." He smiles.

"Yeah, I did."

"Congratulations. Not many can say they became a captain at age sixteen. You must be a fantastic Scout."

"I wouldn't say that," I deny his words. I'm not fantastic. I panic every time I have to fight titans.

"You're most definitely better than that Captain Levi." He winks at me.

"No! No, he's so much better than me." And really rude and impossible to get along with. I can't even fully like him because he's so negative.

Better than Me... prequel? Too much to hope for? Stupid title?

"Do you want to open your presents now, or after dinner?" my mother asks.

"I don't know... what do you want?"

"There's that selfless soldier, thinking about others even when not in the midst of battle."

I roll my eyes at Gabrell.

"Open your presents now," my brother tells me.

"Alright," I say. I accept the small box Gabrell hands me and take the lid off. Inside is a small chain attached to a wooden charm. The charm isn't very fancy or anything. It just has four little notches taken out of the side.

"Girls like jewelry, don't they? I was thinking you could keep it, and the notches would remind you of your family. Your mother, brother, the uncle no one knows the location of anymore, and me. And when you get married and have kids, you can add them too." He smiles and I smile back. I hug him and thank him. I really like the necklace, and the thought of keeping a memory of those I fight for with me always is really interesting.

"Here's mine." I take the small thing wrapped in paper from my brother.

I open it. Inside is a pocket knife. I hug him and thank him.

My mother's present is bigger. When I take the lid off the box, I see a bunch of pretty light blue fabric. When I pull it out, I find it's a dress. I hold it against my body. It reaches mid-calf and the sleeves are long. It feels really soft, and the fabric of the skirt swishes around as I move it.

"It's beautiful!" I exclaim.

"I made it to your size."

"You made this? For me?" My eyes get wide. She works as a seamstress, but I never thought she would make something for me.

"Yes. I thought the color would compliment your eyes."

My eyes are blue, just like hers. My brother's eyes are brown like my father's were.

"Can I try it on?"

"It's yours."

I rush to my room and quickly undress before dropping it over my head. It fits me really well. The fabric feels amazing against my skin. I twirl a little and feel the skirt section rise. I almost feel like a little girl again. I walk out smiling and am met by smiles and compliments.

"She doesn't look like a captain anymore. She looks like a princess," Gabrell comments.

I smile. "Thank you." I walk to my mother and hug her tightly.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you so much. I love it!"

"I don't know if you'll wear it much because you probably have to wear the uniform, but if you're ever invited to a party of some sort, you can wear that and be the most beautiful girl there."

"Thanks." Do they have parties in the military? Probably.

We have dinner. I've gotten used to the food made at the Scouting Legion, but nothing compares to my mother's cooking. She cooked my favorite meal, chicken with a red sauce on it. It's good to see Gabrell again. His jokes keep the mood light and happy.

That night, as I'm reading, I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in."

My brother opens the door. "Hey."

"Hello."

He comes farther in and closes the door behind him. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." I put my book down. He sits next to me on my bed.

"I was wondering if you were going to stay in the military your whole life."

"I don't know." The thought of going on expedition after expedition until I die scares me, but I can't imagine doing anything else.

"Why would you want to stay?"

"Because I feel like it's my duty to. I know I can kill titans, so I should. I need to."

"Mom doesn't want you to stay."

"I know. But..." I can't think of what to say.

"I'm fine with the whole Scouting Legion Captain thing. Just don't die. If you died, mom wouldn't let me join."

"You want to join?" I look at him, surprised.

"Yes. Just like you."

"Am I your role model now?" I tease.

"No. I'm going to do better than you. I'm going to be the commander."

I laugh at him. He just rolls his eyes. He knows I'm joking.

"Are you sure you want to join though? It's not fun or anything. It's awful."

"But you're going back," he points out.

"Yeah, I am."

The picture is her dress (edited a bit on the app Pixlr). The sleeves are wrong, though. Ecyn's has long sleeves. Thanks for all your reads and votes and comments. I say that so much but it's so true. Also thanks to God for getting me through this part. Haha.