Coming for your heart

Chapter 53

Eren POV

He remembered the rain.

It splashed against the window; the drops much heavier than Eren was used to. They might have been little animals, flying and crashing against the glass in their panic and yet Eren knew that it was only water.

He had always been astonished by the concept of storms.

Water fell from the sky, while the wind carried it around like someone would do with the partner they were dancing with. Swirling them around in a hall only they could see and listening to the music consisting of tremendous thunder and watched only by the light of the lighting.

Eren was sitting in the alcove next to his window, his little feet up against his chest while a soft blanket was thrown over his knees. It was a gift of his big brother and although Eren had first abandoned it on the ground like the petulant child he was, he now cherished it like nothing else.

The thunder roared again, reminding him of the sounds his mother made when she told him stories about animals far, far away from the palace.

He flinched in fear but was still watching the raindrops running down the glass of the window until they reached the spots where Eren would no longer be able to see them. He followed their movements with his finger, counting on a single one to win the race.

Naming them might have been silly.

But it comforted him in the absence of his mother.

She had to go somewhere for the night. That's what she told him. Just like she told him not to be afraid. And he wasn't. Definitely not. He was a big guy already with his age of five years.

"Eren, what are you doing up there?", a familiar dark voice asked in the quiet of the room. It hadn't been disturbed by anything but the storm as for now.

Eren didn't turn his head.

His favorite drop was winning the race. He had to watch it to make sure.

Steps came closer, the shoes of it's owner hard against the floorboards. Eren knew that his room was big. Bigger than most, his mother had told him.

A calloused hand came down on top of his head, patting him softly.

"You know that your mother doesn't want you to sit here when the weather's not that good."

"Big brother, where does all that water come from?", Eren asked, not fancying the idea of getting lectured by his older brother again. He was a big boy. Five years.

The older one sighed and squeezed his body in the alcove. Eren squeaked in surprise when he got lifted on a warm lap with gentle hands hugging him from behind. The blanket was now on both of their bodies.

"The water is coming from the sky."

"And why is it in the sky?"

"Hm? Well, the water came from somewhere else.", his brother murmured and rested his chin on Eren's scalp, who was leaning against the young man's chest. "And the clouds brought it here."

"Big brother, why do you know that?"

"You'll get to learn that in school, Eren."

Eren made a pouting face and crossed his arms, interrupting their quiet cuddling session.

"I don't want to go to school."

"You won't have to deal with many kids, Eren. That's because of who we are.", his brother said calmly, always the same patient person with him. "There will only be a few more. But much less than in-"