Deluge of Desolation | l. ackerman

To What He Owes

"Liberty for the wolves is death to the lambs."

Isaiah Berlin

(chapter five)

Doctor Jaeger quickly became a household name all throughout walls Maria, Rose, and Sina after his rather striking debut of ridding Shiganshina, his hometown, of a pandemic.

Following his demonstrated potential, Jaeger was appointed the title of physician, to which his presence was requested for longer hours and in turn, he was granted greater pay. And in just the first year of his arrival in the walls, Jaeger was authorized a position as general surgeon. Upon that, he was permitted the authority to dictate the procedures of Shiganshina's clinic and its practices.

When tragedy struck the people of his town he wasted but a second to share his knowledge and tend to the citizens. In just a few days time, the city was once again cleansed from a potentially greater threat than it turned out to be.

News of the noble hero who saved a district all by his lonesome was quickly spread throughout the walls and soon, the district capitals of Wall Sina called for his attention.

However, in that time of pressure and anguish Jaeger developed a blossoming relationship with a woman who lurked around town in her ornate dresses with painted lips and modest smiles. Employed at the tavern, she often saw Jaeger and would send him flirtatious smiles and gestures. It wasn't until recently he'd reciprocate those actions, though, for warding off the guilt of loving another was too heavy for his fragile heart.

Carla, her name was. It means free woman, though she was far from that. Her father's harrowing addiction to alcohol shackled her to the poor town in which she grew up. Her dreams of becoming a playwright shunned as alcoholism began to deteriorate her only living parent. Serving at the tavern became her full time job despite it only granting a few coins per hour for.

Her income was shaky, inconsistent and unreliable. Tips from drunken men were the only thing keeping her from losing the title of house owner. Upon her father's lessened state from the pandemic's after effects, his hourly consumption of booze only brought him to rock bottom.

He soon perished from liver disease.

Carla was sad, naturally, and she had to take a short leave from her work to collect herself for waitresses at her establishment had pristine appearances they had to uphold.

Money was becoming tighter than ever, what with her father's funeral and lack of income. Carla was living on moldy bread and vapid soup. When she found herself accepting her father's inevitable death, she began work at the bar again, where she saw Doctor Jaeger more often than not.

Hearing of her absence, Jaeger started to worry for her health. He thought his worries stemmed from his occupation, but there was no doubt of an underlying meaning to his daily visits and questions about the gal. When he saw her again on her first day back from her leave of absence, his adoration for the woman grew tenfold.

Every step she took seemed as though it was previously thought out to create a beautiful sequence. The way her chest heaved with every laugh and how her white teeth shimmered in the afternoon sunshine, she was absolutely stunning. And Grisha Jaeger was absolutely bewitched.

Two years they had known each other, and one year they had spent vehemently in love. In the year eight hundred thirty-two, Jaeger offered the gal his last name.

Carla hadn't thought twice about her positive answer, squealing 'yes' once he descended to one knee.

It was the best of times but it bred the worst of crimes, for a friend lay in the shadows of the newlyweds past, fighting for their future and many others and wishing it was he who married the ethereal woman who walks this hell. And in the knowledge of his friend's— his savior's admiration, Grisha still asked for the gal's hand in marriage.

But his atrocity was far from over. In just three years of a blissful relationship, a child was brought into this world.

Fulfilling the promise Jaeger made to Krueger some years back on the wall, Grisha started a family. He loved again.

But at what cost? The loss of a true friend's trust, or perhaps it was the lies Grisha would soon be subjecting his third child to. How could one continue on with their daily lives knowing they gave their child a taste of life but not even a lick of freedom?

This world, this atrocious world, is filled with nothing but anguish and despair. Everyone is shackled to some woeful fate that they must accomplish, because if not, then how would this world, this life, progress?

Time carries everything forward but it is up to those who inhabit the plane that time exists to act for change, lest nothing will come from humanity.

But it was not Eren Jaeger who chose to be born, nor was it he who chose his fate. He owes his parents nothing because they were the ones who decided to procreate in this Godforsaken world.

And as a wise man once said, this world is a hell to be saved from.