Freedom: Prologue
"Okasa, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Iwane asked brightly, fiddling with the small piece of yarn that lay loosely on the rough oak wood table.
Chuckling at her oldest daughter's eagerness, she replied: "It's a surprise!" Huffing in mock anger, the young 11-year-old jutted out her lower lip into a playful pout.
"Well, if you say so!" Iwane exclaimed, managing to create a small braided bracelet out of the pale pastel colored string.
"Sugoi, nee-chan!" her younger sister Reika said, her voice filled with admiration.
"Ne, Reika, it's really nothing." She said, feeling her cheeks grow warm under the praise. "Actually, you can have it if want. She laughed as she saw her sister grin widely in happiness.
"Arigatou!" She cried, slipping the flimsy decorative piece onto her slender wrist. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly. "Okasa, look!" Her mother turned from the stove, a warm smile on her face.
Suddenly, the front door pushed open, jingling the small bells that hung on the inner knob. "Okairi.." Hironori Hayashi said wearily as he entered the small cabin, clumps of fresh snow dropping onto the mat. He placed his briefcase onto a shelf beside the pantry before slipping of his winter coat and then his Military Police jacket. "Tiring day... More cases of rebellions and protests about the Survey Corps... What a ruckus they're causing these days, I wonder what Erwin is thinking.."
"Otosan!" the girls cried out cheerfully as they rushed to greet their father from his grueling day at work.
"Oh, hey Reika, Iwane." he said with a smile, reaching down and giving them a hug before patting their heads and going into his office to do some paperwork.
"Otosan is always so busy!" Reika exclaimed, her eyes bright and innocent. "I want to grow up to be like him!" Iwane laughed and picked through her meager pouch of rarely seen craft supplies. They weren't exactly rich, but the Trost district of Wall Rose was quite prosperous and Hironori was indeed one of the lucky ones that managed to get into the Military Police brigade. She fished out a handful of colorful assorted buttons that she lay neatly onto the wood plank floor.
"Come on Reika, let's play!" Iwane called to her sister, arranging the craft supplies into a usual format that they had created to play their game. Reika immediately bounded over, nonetheless extremely excited to join in.
Not a moment too soon after they started, a terrible shaking occurred, effectively cutting off all the power and shrouding the little cottage in pitch-black darkness. "Huh?" The raven-haired girl muttered, confused.
"Was this a joke? I sure hope it is..." Iwane thought, looking out the window and seeing that their neighbor's houses were all as black as their's.
"O-okasan.. W-what is going o-on?" Reika asked in a small, frail voice. Vague moonlight filtered in from in between the shutters, offering them limited vision. She saw that her little sister was on the verge of tears and quivering in fear.
"Don't worry, it's probably just a black-out." Her mother replied, trying to make her voice sound convincing. She could pretty much already conclude what this was. From the stories from the elders, their situation was almost identical. What was happening you ask?
The Colossal Titan had breached the wall and the gate was open.