Vita et Mors

Chapter 1

I sat at the dock in pure boredom. In this little town of Shinganshina, you can't do much except gaze at Mother Nature's beauty.

With the promise of a crisp summer breeze and the salty tang of the lake stinging my eyes, I dipped my toes into the murky water.

"Mikasa, I know you're there. Quit being weird and sit next to me."

A pair of sandals flopped down next to me, followed by a loud sigh.

"Eren, we only have a few more weeks here until we leave for college. Can you stop moping around and enjoy it for once?"

I gave her a dull stare.

How could I enjoy the summer? It reminds me of her. The beautiful woman I once called my mother.

I test the waters, fully submerging my foot into the water.

"Eren, listen to me!"

"What?" A hint of annoyance trembled in my tone.

"Come on, let's go home." She offered her hand. I grabbed it and huffed. "You're washing dishes tonight," I grumbled.

We head up the dock and towards our home. It's a modest home—a small two-story house with a nice view of the forest behind it. The exterior is dark blue, which complements nicely with the dark, cloudy sky that seemed to grow as we approached the white picket fence.

Mikasa paused.

"What's wrong?" She placed a hand on my chest to prevent me from taking another step and brought her index finger to her lips. There was a dull roar of thunder, and then a scream erupted from the house. My eyes widened.  

A lit lamp suddenly disappeared. There was a moment of silence until a chair flew through the window. Mikasa and I jumped back out of surprise.

Before I knew it, I ran up the steps and burst through the door.

Please let Dad be okay. Please. Please.

There was too much to process. The back door was flung open, and a steady stream of rain drifted in. The wind slammed the door repeatedly, and the torn curtains lay tattered on the floor. A scent of smoke and an indistinguishable odor poisoned the air.

The furniture was thrown about, and the sound of my dad's cries came from the kitchen area. I saw him bundled up in a sheet in the corner. I couldn't tell if he was shaking from the cold or his panic attack. His eyes fervently moved back and forth. His hair was extremely matted and tangled in his glasses. Mikasa and I both look at each other. 

He had another episode. 

We crouched down to his level and sandwiched him between us.

Dad looked at me with tears in his eyes as he mumbled something incoherent. Mikasa coaxed him to repeat himself. He trembled again before answering. "They took the book." He started to rock back and forth. Mikasa and I looked at each other. The book?

I rubbed his shoulders to calm him down. "Dad, what book?" I didn't want to trigger him into another attack, so I let him take his time as he shook his head. "The book. The book." He kept repeating over and over. I looked at my sister to see if she knew what he meant, but she knew as little as I did.

She pulled her flip phone from her front pocket and called the police. "Yes, hi. This is Mikasa Ackerman." She walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. I took a quick glance at my dad before standing up. I tried to pull him up with me, but he refused. 

Ever since my mom passed years ago, he'd always been on edge. Talking about weird things like angels, giant people, and a house my mother had apparently grown up in. He was specifically obsessed with this subject.