My mother once told me that if I left the farm, a horrible monster would catch me right away, before the scorching sun could kiss my skin red, or the lack of moisture on my tongue could wilt me away. She would tell me tales of a hideous beasts, that really were not too hideous- from what she described the beast was human, completely and fully right. Though the beasts were disguised, they dwelled in the human world, and there were plenty of them.. all ravishing in others pain.. mauling those who were not the same. As a child, the thought was rather scary, I never wanted to be hurt because I stepped off of our farm. So I followed the rule safely, I never once left the perimeter of our farm, never went into the forest to see what was on the other side, the story dimmed my curiosity.

Though on a particularly hot day, my curiosity struck through me greater than it ever had before.

It was strange, I had just been running my rusty hoe through the dirt, trying to get the clumps of dry dirt at least somewhat broken up, so that it would blend well with the fertilizer, when my gaze flicked over to the thicket of trees. The humid air blew through the the green leaves, making the forest seem just so interesting.

I was fifteen, and somewhere in my mind I was starting to not believe my mother's story about the beasts.. I had tried going off the property plenty of times. I stepped into the small creek just a step off of our acre farm, and nothing came to get me, other than a fish that had lost its way in the water. I ran a couple metres off of the property just a few months ago and I sat there, like a hen on her nest, just waiting for some beast to show up. None did of course, and when I confronted mother about this she whacked me over the bottom with her wooden spoon and told me to never leave the property or she'd call for a beast. That scared me off until now, where I stood with the dirty hoe in my hand, my gaze piercing the forest.

Mother couldn't call for a beast if she did not know that I left the property.. she couldn't possibly alert one in time anyways. She was across the field, picking away the weeds that had overgrown there. I would have pitied her, since the job was quite a boring one, though she always said it was her favourite. So the pity disappeared. Though, on the other hand, father was in the middle of the distance of mother and I, so he could see myself more clearly if he were to look up. But, he seemed rather focused on planting those tomato seeds, so I didn't worry too much of it. They'd both think that I took a washroom break, rather than assuming I ran off of the property.

So I dropped the hoe onto the ground, picked a graze of grass and pinched it between my lips. The taste of grass would keep my mind off of the possibility a beast could get me. My gaze went to the sky, the sun was dead in the middle of the blue overspace, so it was noon, almost lunch time. I'd have enough time to sneak a glance at what was over there.. behind the thicket of trees.. before mother had our lunch all made up and she was ringing the bell for the meal. She still had to get inside, wash up, and start cooking. It would definitely be enough time, no doubt about it.

Before I could get clammy hands, or someone would call out for me, I grabbed the tip of my straw hat and I began sprinting over to the forest. My eyes scanned the area, no beasts, no bears or squirrels or any other creature. I was good, and I'd be fine. I felt the warm breeze hit my face as I dashed into the thicket of trees, passing several old ones without a second glance. It might've been from how hard I was running or how nervous or exhilarating the situation made me, but my heart was pounding hard in my chest. It had me worried- could the beasts hear my heart and how loud it was? Though it was no matter- I was the farthest away from my farm I had ever been in my whole life and that just made my chest swell with pride. I had stopped running a couple metres back, and I began to just walk so I wouldn't wear myself out.

I could survive the trip out, I had my straw hat to keep away the sun, and that piece of grass… well I might have inhaled that when I was running because it was gone. Ah, well..

My sense of direction was disoriented by the trees, that were taking my vision of the sky and sun from me, so I just kept on walking forwards, over fallen logs and mossy rocks. It was an adventure, I saw it as one. Wandering out into beast territory. I had to be careful.. if I saw one, I'd turn back right away. Mother wouldn't appreciate it if I died out in the woods, she'd never be able to find me. So that was not an option.

It took some time for my shoulders to become less tense, for my whistling to fill the air along with the chirps of birds. Maybe it was ten minutes when I became comfortable, though my comfort only lasted about five minutes or so. Because the forest suddenly came to an end, just abruptly as I jumped over a moss covered rock. All the trees stopped and revealed a neighbouring farm it appeared, though it looked smaller than my own.

A small gasp sounded from my parted lips and I quickly climbed back over the rock, only allowing my head to peep out to get a nice look. The field looked empty.. as if no one really lived there. And I believed that for a few moments before my eyes settled on a figure in the distance. It was a man, it appeared, who was wearing nothing but a pair of pants- and sandals I assumed. That must have been a beast.. no human with self respect would show that much skin, would they? Father never showed his chest, neither did mother nor I. Was that a respectful human being,.. or was it really some sort of beast?

Though.. no beast could move so smoothly, could they? No beast could hoe the dirt with as much precision as that man could, or have such defined muscles that I could see their power from where I stood ducked behind the large rock. So he must be man, and man was never a danger, correct? Maybe I could go say hello.. the only other interaction with a person was with father or mother.. but as if fate had condemned me, I heard the faint dinging of a bell that reminded me mother had made lunch and just finished doing so. And that was not good, I would be late for the meal and mother and father would not be pleased.

I gave a final glance to the man before I gripped my straw hat and began running through the forest, trying to make my way home as quickly as possible. Maybe I'd visit again.. yes I'd definitely think about it. But, the task I had to worry about was arriving home without being caught. I didn't want mother hitting with her wooden spoon.. or have father lash out at me. It was never pleasant.

I was ten minutes late to lunch, all the food had been eaten and I received no pity from mother when my stomach growled in protest. "You shouldn't have been late to lunch- the bell is loud enough to alert you,"

"Yes mother but I was using the washroom," Mother clicked her tongue as she pinched my ear tightly between her index finger and thumb. She was a beautiful woman, her face was soft and loving- though when she was angered she was like a bear; very frightening.

"Now, Eren, what did I say about lying?" I winced a bit as my hat fell onto the floor, her fingers pinching the circulation out of my ear. Whenever she did this I knew to just give into her, she would not stop until I was on my knees and sobbing what happened out to her. It was tough love I assumed. "Not to do it- ah mother please it hurts, I'm sorry!"

"Then tell me what happened, why were you late?" I could not lie to her.. She would always know.. and it was absolutely awful. My ears would give me away, with how red the tips would become if I told a lie.. I'd have to just twist the truth, before mother twisted my ear off. "I was exploring mother, and I got carried away,"

"Exploring where?" I could feel my knees becoming weak. She was a small woman but her strength was nothing to overlook. "I was-"

To my luck, father walked into the kitchen, his own hat resting over his head. He was more lenient, you could say. Though he made sure I kept to the rule of staying inside the property.. though he would not go to the extent of almost ripping my ear off like mother would, she was a dear.. and I loved her but maybe her aggression was a bit too much. "Carla, dear, you're going to twist the poor boys ear right off his head," The thought seemed to scare mother because she gasped and let go of my ear right away. "Oh my.. we wouldn't want that now would we..," She murmured then shook her head. "Go sit at the table Eren, I'll get you some watermelon,"

My brows narrowed slightly as I rubbed my poor abused ear, though I did follow mothers orders as I walked to the table, silently sitting down on one of the wooden chairs. When father sat across from me, his small smile cheered me up. "I'm going into town tomorrow, is there anything you would like?" My grin grew faster than the weeds in our fields did.

"Oh, yes.. Could you buy me an eyepatch father?" The look he gave me seemed to reek of confusion. "Now.. why would you want one of those?"

"Because you and mother always talk about how strange my eyes are, how eyes are supposed to be the same identical colour, not two different ones... so if I cover one up wouldn't that be better?" Father paused as he observed me, it was that type of look that made the hairs at the back of my neck stick up, though I didn't know why. "Very well, an eyepatch it is. Anything else you would like?"

"No father, that would be it," I smiled warily as mother placed half a watermelon in front of my with a spoon, telling me to "Be careful and do not make a mess! I just cleaned up the table,"

I did end up spilling a bit, but I wiped it up with my shirt.

The next day, I knelt in front of the window in my room, my chin resting against the wooden windowsill as I watched mother kiss father goodbye. Only father was allowed to go to town, I was never allowed since I had to stay back and take care of the farm and mother.. and be the man of the house while father was gone. Though, he always brought something back for mother and I. So that was what I had to gain from the situation.

After father came back two days later with all the supplies we needed for the month, my curiosity found me again. But I fought it off for a week. But it returned on the seventh day.

I was wearing the eyepatch father had gotten me, and it was such a bother at first. My vision was half blocked and it was hard to focus and do my chores, but after a few days I got used to it. The plus was, when our lanterns all burnt out and father couldn't see enough to replace them, I had my left eye used to the dark so I easily fetched new lanterns from our storage unit. It was useful in a way to wear the eyepatch.

Also, it was useful for when I woke up in the middle of the night, and I got curious again. I wanted to go explore again. My hands reached for the eyepatch that was sitting on the wooden table beside my bed, and I tied it around my head, covering my left eye; the golden one. I then climbed out of bed, grabbing the bow and sheath of arrows that rested against my bed. They'd be my protection if I ran into anything.. I slung the sheath of arrows over my shoulder, my breath held in my chest as I tip toed out of my room and down the hall. If I was caught.. I'd be locked into my room every night.. and that would be such a pain. So I kept quietly walking down the hall, until I walked through the front door with my shoes in my hands and a burlap bag slung over my other shoulder. On the wooden porch step, I let out the breath I had been holding in, and I tied on my shoes. I wouldn't be out long, just long enough to see if beasts only came out at night.. maybe that's why I got home safe during the day.

I jogged through the grass, over to the thicket of trees I entered one time before. I was quite nervous, but I needed to see if the monsters existed. And apparently they did not, because I climbed on top of that large rock I hide behind last time, and I hadn't run into anything dangerous. Just a rabbit and a couple squirrels- I managed to shoot two squirrels and the rabbit with my bow as I walked through the forest. The dead animals sat in my burlap bag, the one I brought just in case I found some interesting things. There was a patch of glowing moss on a tree I passed plenty of minutes ago, but I didn't deem it worthy enough to store in my bag.

A nice breeze blew through my hair, the night sure was cool- compared to the day time temperature, but it was nice. Without my hat on my head, I had the chance to feel the breeze, and I really enjoyed it.

Mother and father would ask be about the squirrels and rabbit I shot.. they'd probably wonder when I got them.. I'd just say I found them scurrying passed me, which was not a lie. It was as if they were running from something, something I hadn't encountered.

The burlap sack sat on the rock next to me and I just glanced at the wooden house in front of the rows of field. There was a flickering light that came from the window of what could be the living room.. or maybe the bedroom... and it had me wondering how other people lived. Was it the same as mother, father and I? That thought had me picking up my bow and sack, and had me scurrying across the field, hoping I would not be seen.

And I actually was not caught, I managed to run all the way over to the windowsill, the one the was glowing because of the lantern inside. My knees dug into the grass as i ducked out of sight, only occasionally glancing into the home. Even from the outside I could smell remnants of the man's dinner.. I could hear soft snores right next to the windowsill, which had me to believe the window was opened a smidge.

I wondered if the man had a family, no one else seemed to be working in the field when I first discovered the place maybe two weeks ago. Maybe he was living alone- an outcast maybe?

When the snoring let up and the lantern's light grew brighter, I quickly gathered my stuff and began to scurry away from the house and through the fields, feeling eyes on my back the whole time. When I glanced over my shoulder as I was about to climb over the rock, I saw the man standing outside, holding up the lantern and just looking at me. He never approached, just observed. And that sent chills down my spine, and sent my flying home as quickly as I could run.

The next morning I awoke to mother shaking me awake, which lead me to believe she found the animals I shot last night. "Eren, dear, when on earth did you shoot these squirrels and rabbit?" Her voice didn't sound accusing, but in my groggy state it was just bothersome. "Yesterday mother.. They just scurried by me so I shot 'em," I murmured then rolled over onto my side, the sheets up to my chin.

"And you never told your father nor I?"

"You were busy and I didn't want to disturb either of you..," I could feel her eyes observing me as I spoke in a mumble, and I suppose she believed me because mother hummed softly in response and made for the door. "Well, we'll prepare them for lunch I suppose. So you mustn't be late,"

"Yes mother..,"

"Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes, so I suggest you get out off bed and go feed the chicken,"

"Yes mother..," A soft sigh passed my parted lips as I sat up in bed. I hardly got any sleep last night, I was afraid that the man would have come over to our farm to tell mother and father that I trespassed onto his property.. That would lead to a good lashing from mothers wooden spoon.

I was sure the man saw me, of course, he looked straight at me, we could have possibly made eye contact. Maybe he didn't mind that I went over there.. Because I stayed up most of the night waiting to hear a knock on the door, though one never came. It made my shoulders relax and my breathing become easy.

My eyepatch was tied around my head as I got out of bed. I had to feed the chicken and clean my arrows.. I never thought to do so last night, which was a bother. "Mother where is the chicken feed?" I asked after I walked downstairs in a pair of worn out slacks and a shirt that had plenty of stains. They were not in the best condition obviously, but I found that the grass stains on the knees and dirt smudges around the chest made the clothes have character, originality I supposed. I explained this to father once when he brought home several new pairs of slacks and overalls, but he just shook his head and said I mustn't have originality, that the beasts would come and take me away because of it. So I took the new clothes and wore them right away. Though.. They became dirty very quickly. So they had character again, which I enjoyed. "It's where it regularly is Eren,"

"Alright," I slipped on my shoes and kissed mothers cheek before I slipped out of the house and to the coop next to our red barn. We didn't have any animals other than chicken, because it would be too much work for just three people, so the barn served no use other than it stored all the hay- that we didn't use either.. And the bags of chicken feed.

I slung one heavy bag over my shoulder with a soft grunt and I adjusted my straw hat that almost fell off my head. "You're a heavy one..," I murmured to myself as I walked out of the barn and into the coop. The bag of chicken feed made home on the floor for a few minutes while I took out my pocket knife and slit the top of the bag, then kicked it over. All the chickens came flocking to the seeds, some pecking at my shoes in their rush. They were hilarious creatures honestly.

I whistled a soft tune as I grabbed the basket mother weaved many years ago, and began to collect the eggs each chicken laid. Mother didn't tell me to do this but I figured that I'd rather do it now than later when she was prissy about it.

She seemed to appreciate it, because a soft smile came upon her face as I set the basket on the kitchen table. "Oh Eren, you're such a thoughtful boy," I would be lying if I said my chest didn't swell with pride.

Mother made a few boiled eggs for breakfast along with berries and ham, it was a delicious breakfast; though it was as such every day, mother was just gifted in the kitchen I suppose.

"Father, are there any farms around ours?" I asked over a forkful of fruit, receiving a pointed look from mother because of if. "No, of course not Eren. What would make you think that?" Well.. I saw one with my own eyes for starters. "Because, I was wondering, from what you say.. we're the only non- beasts alive, there aren't any humans around anymore?" The grim look my father possessed right then just made my skin crawl, as if a spider was crawling up and down my spine.

"That's right son, it is only us,"

"Then what is in town?"

"They are all beasts, that's why you mustn't ever come with me,"

"Why do you get to go and I don't, that isn't fair!" I was a grown boy- a man really, it wasn't like those beasts really existed! My own father took me as a fool!

Strong hands slammed down onto the table, making my mountain of strawberries tumble over. Father had stood up, his eyes blazing a fire that reminded me of the time it got so dry that our wheat started to flame. "It is fair, son! You will never leave the farm, I forbid it!" His voice held more anger and warning than I had ever heard within it before.. father was always so kind and never yelled.. but this.. it made me so mad. I felt like a head of corn trapped inside the corn stalk.. I was cradled into this closed space and it made me sick, the words made me sick. But father was always right.. he really was and I could not doubt him.

Though, my dream had become apparent to me in that moment; I wanted to see the outside world. The world beyond my farm- I needed to know what it was like to feel free. It was my birthright, I knew it. "One day father, one day I will go past the farm, and you'll see that I can take care of myself,"

Those words made father's eyebrows pull together as he grimaced. "Go get to work boy, leave your breakfast as it is and go work in the fields until sundown," I sighed softly when father said that. What a cruel punishment.. I grabbed my straw hat and a sack that held some cool water, and I began walking outside into the heat. Even in the early morning the sun rays were strong, good thing my hat protected me though. The water supply I had would run out quickly, and it did. Twenty minutes after the lunch bell dung for father, the last drop fell onto my dry tongue.

When sundown finally came, I was exhausted. I trudged into the house and ate up my dinner, receiving a pitiful look from mother. "Go wash up Eren," And I did without complaint. I let the soapy water drip over my legs as I squeezed the sponge, the bath was relaxing though.. which was a relief.

Once I was allowed to go to bed, I did right away, though I woke up early in the morning with a yearning to see that man.