In my bedroom, I hear footsteps... and the door suddenly creaks open.
From my bed, I could not see anything but a dark figure greeting me at the entrance and it whispered to itself.
"Putting a monster like that in my house was a huge mistake..."
Not knowing who it is, I pretend to fall asleep in bed, but fear starts overwhelming my body. That voice belongs to my father.
My eyes shut tightly and the footsteps got louder until I could feel him breathing above me. My skin and muscles were shaking uncontrollably at this point.
"Titans like you... shouldn't be allowed to live!" My hearing sharpened when I heard him pulling out a knife and my eyes shot open at his face in the darkness, his eyes glowing at me as if I were his prey. "I should've killed you back then, but I hesitated. Now, I will end it here!"
As the knife went straight for my stomach, I sat bolt upright gasping and sweating, relieved it was only a dream.
"It's... just a dream..." I swallowed, putting a hand over my chest to relax. "Father would never—"
"Sina?"
My heart jumped at the sound of his voice from the other side of the bedroom door and he continued. "Are you all right? What happened in there?"
"N-Nothing, father," I reassured him. "Just a bad dream..."
He finally opened the door and the first thing I saw was a worried look on his face. "Oh, Sina..."
My father hurried over to my bed to bury my face in his chest and wipe my warm tears away from my rosy cheeks. "Do not be scared," he reassured me. "There, there."
I nodded, then pulled away from his body to force a smile. "I'm happy as long as I'm with you."
He was relieved to hear that from me and left the bed. "Breakfast is ready. Come down whenever you're ready."
I did not realize it was morning already until I heard birds chirping outside on the balcony outside the bedroom window. When he exits the room, I sit in bed for a moment, wondering if he ever had a bad dream about me.
Does he actually see me as a monster? Does he really love me?
In the dining room, my father served pancakes with mixed berry syrup, and together, we ate peacefully.
The rays of sunlight spilling through the curtains and birds singing sweet tunes remind me how beautiful the world is... yet so cruel.
"Father," I place my fork down and our eyes meet. "What... am I to you?"
There was a long pause, and of course, he did not expect me to act this way. "You're my daughter, Sina. Why? Is something still troubling you?"
After hearing that, I was finally at ease and shook my head. "No, I'm just glad to have you as my father."
At that moment, I believe this road of happiness will continue forever and ever into the distance.
⚔︎
A week flew by, and my father, as a doctor, has been busy as usual.
Recently, he's been hiding in the basement very often and I rarely see him at times. Worried that he might work himself to death, I've decided to cook for him.
In the kitchen, I prepared his favorite dish and was excited to reward him for working so hard. I put a lot of effort into my cooking, hoping my dish would touch his heart at the very least.
As I carry a dinner tray down the hallway, my heels click against the milky marble floor as I walk until I see a trail of dirt leading to the entrance of the basement.
"What is this?" I kneeled with the tray and since the hallway was dark, I couldn't tell if it was dirt... or drops of blood.
"Did father bring home a badly wounded patient this time?" I think that might be the case. "No wonder why he's been busy lately. I'll be sure to clean it up right after I give him his dinner."
Then, I finally reached the entrance to the basement. There is a small stairway that takes me down and I simply follow it until I reach the door.
"That's weird..." I whisper to myself. "Why wouldn't he want the Military Police to guard the door?"
I think it's because of how awful the smell is down here and that's because my father treats patients like wounded soldiers and criminals.
Without his consent, I open the door slightly out of curiosity and close one eye to see through the thin crack.
At that moment, I instantly regretted it. What I witnessed with my very own eyes was unspeakable.
In the basement, I see my very own father wearing a clothed apron drenched in blood and holding up a butcher knife, chopping away a fresh corpse. While he was in the middle of butchering, I saw a man in restraints on a wooden table.
The helpless man was crying out for help, but his mouth was stuffed with a giant cloth. He muffled loudly until my father stopped him by placing a finger on his lips.
"My, my... you're quite troublesome." he clicks his tongue in disgust. "My daughter is sleeping, and if you wake her, I'll be sure to slit your throat."
I was so shocked, that my body froze and my hands gave up on me as the tray crashed to the ground.
I gasped when my father turned to the door that slowly opened to reveal me. At this moment, we both stared at each other, but I was paralyzed in fear.
Afraid of him... my own father.
"What are you..." I notice the man in restraints staring at me, but he's slowly blacking out due to blood loss. He wants my help, but right now, I don't know how to flee from this situation.
"Sina..."
My father's tone of voice darkened and I felt a chill down my spine. The air got cooler and I continued to stare at him as he approached me. "What are you doing here?"
That voice was filled with rage yet so gentle. And his eyes were twitching at me; that's not my father, and I do not feel safe around him anymore.
"I-I didn't mean to..." I told him, but he wasn't buying it. He warned me about this, but now, everything changed at this very moment.
Over his shoulders, I see a sack of what I assume are human flesh and bones until he immediately rushes toward me and slams the door behind him, so that it is us two standing outside of the basement.
Instead of being afraid, I decided to confront him. "What are you doing with that man!? And were those bodies!?" I give him a cold glare. "Human bodies!?"
He knows I'm not stupid, so there was a long pause in the darkness. I saw it all, and there was no way for him to hide everything from me. My father was such a kind and gentle man, but tonight, he is no longer the father that I used to admire.
"Sina, let me explain—"
"No, stop!" I yell at him for the very first time. The things he committed to there made my blood boil, so I screamed in his face. "You're no doctor! You're just a cold-blooded serial killer!"
Nothing came out of his mouth and he didn't even try to defend himself. Those words that I spat out made him chuckle, and slowly, his dark laughter filled the air.
I became more frightened, but I tried my best not to show it in front of him or else he'd think I was an easy target.
"Oh, Sina..." The blood on his face was haunting me, and the blood running down from his lips was questionable. "I knew this day would come."
Looking down, he had a knife in his hand the entire time and it was covered in fresh blood. He starts wiping the blood off with his apron with a slight chuckle. "And maybe now is the time to confess."
"W- What are you trying to say?"
"What I'm saying is... you've matured so much." he stops cleaning the knife to stare deeply into my soul. I was confused, but my fear was finally showing this time.
"Do you know what humans taste like?"
My mind starts spinning at his words and that's because I have so many questions to ask.
"Why are you asking me!? You said I'm human, right!?" I retorted. Did he see me as a titan this whole time? Did he lie to me my entire life?
"I never once said you were human." he truthfully tells me in disgust. "This whole time, I saw you as a titan's child and claimed you as my daughter."
My heart suddenly shattered.
"And I was right. You are a titan's child because you eat human flesh."
"I'm not a titan!" I cried defensively. "I never once ate a human and you know this! I will never eat a human!"
"But you already did."
My tongue stopped moving and my mouth hung open at his words, which he found amusing. "What?"
This time, he leans over to my left ear to whisper it. "You've been eating humans."
As he pulls away, my mind starts racing and I shake my head, not wanting to believe in his lies. "No... when did I ever—"
"Every night at the dinner table, the meats that I cooked for you... were human flesh."
Upon his words, I immediately gagged, putting a hand over my mouth and the other hugging my stomach as I vomited on the ground until nothing was left.
I was speechless, disgusted, and horrified at the same time. This whole time, I've been eating human flesh because of him.
No wonder why I've been getting sick after eating meat... I don't think I ever once ate an animal, but I no longer want to put meat in my mouth ever again.
I just now realized he's been eating human flesh, which also makes him a cannibal.
"You're sick..." I told him as an insult, but it didn't bother him one bit. He still finds my pain amusing.
"Don't feel that way, Sina." he put his bloody hand on my shoulder and I vomited even more. "Don't lie. You like my cooking, and humans are delicious, don't you agree?"
Looking at him now, I only see a demon wearing human skin.
I then slapped his hand away with all my might and got back on my feet. "Don't touch me, you monster!"
"Oh? But you're the monster here." he then got back up with me. "Admit it. You enjoy eating humans."
"STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE!" I shove him to a wall and turn on my heels to storm up the stairs. The echo of my heels clicking on the marble tile bounced around and sounded into the hallway. I flee to my bedroom so I can hide or even better... escape.
I can hear him chasing after me in the hallway with a knife in his hand and I continue to run with my dear life.
At last, I storm into my room and slam the door behind me to lock it. I took a step back, wondering if he had given up on me, but I heard knocking which sent my heart racing in fear.
"Come out, Sina." his voice lowered, intimidating at the same time. "You can't hide forever."
"Just stop this! You're scaring me!"
I can't imagine how many... how many people I've eaten because of him. And because of him, I regret everything and now I am so disgusted with myself.
I can hear him sigh from the other side. "Oh, no. I didn't mean to stress you out." he chuckled creepily. "I don't enjoy eating stressed beings. They taste the worst."
My stomach was acting up again, but there was nothing left for me to vomit. My esophagus burned and I could taste every stomach content, which drove me into insanity. I try to calm myself down so I can focus on how to escape. "So you've been planning to eat me..."
"I would've eaten you sooner, but you were so special to me." he attempted to bait me, but I wasn't falling for it. "I wonder what titans such as you taste like."
"I'm human! You're the real titan here!" I was nearly hyperventilating, tears flowing in my eyes. "It was all an act! You never once loved me, and that's so cruel of you..."
Yet again, there was a dramatic pause and this time, he was already impatient with me. "I did not raise my daughter to act this stubborn."
This whole time, I've been living with a titan who enjoys eating humans. He saw me as a titan's child and took advantage of my humaneness by feeding me human flesh as a punishment I never asked for.
I've always wondered why I became a titan's child, but now... some things started to make sense to me.
I screamed when he kicked the door down to find me shaking in the middle of the room, helplessly finding a way to flee. This is the end of us. For me.
"That's it," he growls, approaching me with the knife. "You're no longer my daughter. I'll just end your suffering here and eat you until you're nothing left but bones."
They say this beautiful world is plagued by bloodthirsty titans, but the real monsters are my father and this fucked up society.
My heart slammed against my ribcage as he approached me, a wisp of fear floating across my glassy orbs. His body pinned me down to the cold floor, strangling me with his bare hands. My lips quivered, letting out a slight cough, and struggling to escape. The tightness around my neck was unbearable and I knew my life was over. I felt a familiar lump rising in my throat, but he pressed on my neck harder since I was resisting.
Is there anyone out there who can save me?
I am no longer valuable to him. He only sees me like a rotting piece of meat. That means he'll probably lose his appetite, right?
"Now, you stay put so I can slice you up..." he said through his clenched teeth and I was already seeing my life flash before my eyes.
What a waste, I thought. My life is coming to an end so soon and I never had the chance to see the outside world. I wanted to prove that I am not a titan's child, but it's not too late, is it?
He is no longer in charge of me and no matter what he does to me next, I must live on...
The knife was raised above my head, and suddenly, hatred ran through my veins. This hatred came from my heart and out my mouth as I screamed, a stream of anger replaced my fear. The man I was confronting was not my flesh and blood. He was indeed a stranger possessed by demons. What I did next... I can't easily explain. Whatever guided me, I tore myself from his grip and moved my head so that the knife cut through the ground.
"So you refuse to die..." he noticed, but he wasn't giving up on his meal. "Give up."
On his second attempt, the knife was raised again and this time, I stopped him by catching his wrist with my two bare hands. Of course, I was a lot weaker than him, but I couldn't just die by his hands.
Since I was an eyewitness, he wanted to get rid of me to save his own reputation. "JUST FUCKING DIE!"
"ENOUGH!"
I used this God-given opportunity to grasp the knife from his hand and force the weapon straight into his neck. Above me, he lets out a blood-curdling scream as I push it in deeper, brutally penetrating him with the knife.
When I finally let go, the knife sits on his neck as he tries to stop the bleeding. I lay there, feeling petrified at the sight of him screaming in agony. His warm, thick blood drips over my face and down to my chest.
His scream begins to die out and finally, his heavy body drops on top of mine, nearly knocking the air out of me. I shriek at his bright reddened eyes, still open after he was no longer breathing and I roll him off out of fear. I started to hyperventilate when a pool of blood formed below his body and my dress was drenched in his blood.
Suddenly, the door swings open and I see the Military Police barging in. After seeing Doctor Aziel Vogel's body, their eyes stared down at my hands painted in his blood, silently revealing the cruelest truth.
"What the hell did you do!?" one of them pointed at me, screaming bloody murder and I didn't even have the chance to explain myself when they shouted,
"Seize her!"
I never thought this would happen and they took me away without questioning me.
I don't think... there's a place for me in this house anymore. I can't face my father—no, that monster ever again either.
No matter the outcomes, I was born just to be punished by humanity.