Project Eruri Remastered

Chapter 25

There was a nest outside Levi's dorm window. Every day he would wake up and watch two birds, he didn't know the species, build it. Every day, all day. Tirelessly they would build and build and build... then one day Levi looked out and found three perfectly white eggs in the nest. He would watch the mother sit on them and the father bring her food. Then they hatched and the peeping of the chicks woke Levi up every morning. Then they grew and flew away.

Now, the nest was empty and without the birds to care for it, the nest was whittled away by the wind and the rain. Only a few twigs remained. Levi stared at the twigs for a long time on Sunday morning. Levi was so engrossed that he didn't hear Hange enter, or feel their stare.

"Hey Levi?" Hange's voice drew him from his trance. "You okay?" Levi took a deep breath.

"If I said yes would you believe me?" He asked.

"No." Hange said. "What were you looking at anyway?"

"Nothing." Levi mumbled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hange asked, sitting on their bed. Levi sighed and sat on his.

"What do I do if I've been put in a no-win situation?" Levi's shoulder slumped. Hange thought for a long time.

"A while back," Hange began. "There was a little girl who didn't want to be a little girl. Her parents would force her into dresses on Sundays and tie her hair in pink ribbons. The little girl didn't like this and always tried to rebel, but was always reprimanded. One day, when no one was looking, she made a fake penis out of paper, cotton balls, and staples. She put it in her pants and walked around the house. Why couldn't she just have both? Of course, it fell out and when her father saw it, he knew exactly what she had done. He sent the little girl to her room without dinner and told her to start acting like a 'proper' girl. And so she did.

"For many years she wore dresses and tied ribbons in her hair. Then one day on TV she saw someone who didn't look like a girl or a boy. She was older now and knew what the word transgender meant, but she had never heard of agender. That word stuck. But she was in a bad situation. Did she come out and tell everyone and face the consequences? Or did she wait? It was the summer before her freshman year of college. It was a no-win situation.

"She and her best friend, a short boy with raven hair, talked about it. He was the first one she ever told and as she did, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. The boy began calling her 'they' and those pronouns made her beam with joy. Eventually, she thought of herself as 'they.' The little girl, now they, went to their parents and told them everything. Enraged, their father chased them out of the house. With nothing but the clothes on their back, they went to the boy's house and he and his uncle took them in for the summer.

"Although they had nothing to their name but a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and sneakers, they were the happiest they had ever been. Why? Because they were true to who they were regardless of the consequences." Hange laughed. "I'm not sure if that helped." They said.

Levi smiled at them. "Thank you." He whispered, tears putting pressure at the back of his eyes.

"Don't go getting soft on me!" Hange jumped to their feet. "Now tell me what's wrong."

Levi told Hange and as he did, he felt increasingly better. Hange listened quietly, pacing a hole in the carpet. Once Levi finished, they stopped.

"I don't know what to do." Levi sighed.

"I'd say this isn't just your decision." Hange said. "You love Erwin and don't want to hurt him, but either way you'll have to or risk living with your uncle again which is a no-go. I think you two need to have a talk."

Levi nodded. "Thanks Hange. I'll text him."

"And Levi?" Hange said. He looked up at them. "Just make sure it's a choice neither of you will regret."