I was standing under huge trees. Their trunks went on forever and the leaf roof was so thick, barely any moonlight got trough. This is the same dream again.
Smiling, I started walking, and a paved road blinked into existence under my feet. This time there was a purple tint on the gray stones. That was always different, but nothing else ever changed.
It was always night. The moon was shining, but I had never seen it. Air was full of smells, like every flower in the world was blooming there secretly. I had never seen any flowers either. Just the huge trees, like red woods, but not quite. Maybe the flowers were hidden up there.
I was wearing a pale blue dress and nothing under it. The transparent fabric streamed around me as I walked on.
The road would take on a seashore. It's sand was so white, it glowed in the moonlight. Sometimes I just sat there and listened to the waves, sometimes I swam in the warm dark water. I had never seen anything living and moving, except myself, so I had decided it was safe. This was my dream after all and I had been dreaming it for years.
But life has a funny way of keeping people humble. Just as you think you know everything, something new and unexpected happens.
There was a boy standing on the shore.
The paved road stopped appearing where the white sand begun. It felt cool on my feet as I sneaked closer. I stood there silently for a moment, looking at the boy. He had longish hair, it was the color of ripe wheat, and the light here gave it a silvery tinge.
"Who are you?" I finally asked. The boy made a surprised sound and spun around.
"I-I-... My name is Armin." he finally got out, after looking at me with wide blue eyes.
"Hello, Armin. I am (your name). What are you doing in my dream?"
"Dream?" the boy seemed to relax a bit. "I don't know how I'm here. Where am I exactly?"
I told him what I knew of the place. He looked stunned.
"So there's no walls? ...And no monsters? And that's an ocean, really?" his voice was filled with joy, and it looked like he was barely able to contain himself, and not jump around.
I smiled and nodded, wondering where had the boy come from, to get so exited about the sea.
"Do you want to go for a swim? The water is warm and salty, you can just float there."
I took my dress off without thinking much about it. Where I come from, the transparent clothes are worn by everyone. It's just to protect your skin from sunlight, nobody wears clothes indoors. Or when swimming. The boy, Armin, was red and stared furiously at the sand beneath his feet. I was curious, but didn't ask. Sometimes it was better to let things and people be. I walked into the sea and dived under a wave.
Armin watched the woman shyly, then he looked at the sea. There was no end to the water that he could see. Just like in the book his grandfather had kept. He knew he could not pass this opportunity and started to strip.
The water really was warm. He cupped a hand and tasted it from his palm. It was so salty! Just like when he had taken a whole spoonful and put it in his mouth, thinking it must be good, because it was so expensive.
He took a few more steps and suddenly it was deep, his feet didn't touch the bottom anymore. But the water lifted him up with ease.
Armin felt a surge of emotion. Eren, Mikasa, I wish you were here! I want to share this with you!
I heard the boy sobbing, and thought he was scared. I swam closer to him and to my relief, he was smiling. He was looking somewhere inside his thoughts and I waited for him to return. Finally he looked at me and smiled, letting out a wild laughter.
We dived in the dark but clear water. We floated on our backs and watched the starry sky. There was no need for words, we knew we had something special.
The light dimmed a bit and I knew this was about to end. I touched Armins hand to get his attention.
"You will wake up soon." I told him.
He nodded, eyes filling with determination. I wondered again, what kind of place was it, that he came from. He looked so young, but something on that face, on that very moment, made me think he had seen things that I could not possibly imagine. Sad and horrible things. I swam to him and took his head on my hands. I kissed his forehead.
"Be blessed and find happiness, Armin." He was becoming transparent, as was I.
"Thank you." I heard him say. Then I was awake and in my bed.
I stared at he marble roof and listened to the songbirds. It was so peaceful. I wondered would I feel lonely, if he wasn't there next time.
Armin woke up. The old castle didn't smell like flowers at all. It smelled like sweat, despair and blood. They were still pinned down and waiting for reinforcements. He had fallen asleep on the cold hard floor out of exhaustion.
Everyone was silent and grim. There were too many titans out there, they could not handle them all without help. All they could do was wait and hope the building would hold 'till then.
Armin stood up and walked over to Eren and Mikasa. They were still arguing if Eren was in any shape to get them out using his titan power.
"Hey. I saw the ocean." Armin told them. His friends turned to look at him as if he had grown too heads.
"We will go there together one day. We just have to hold on a little longer. I'm sure help is on it's way."
Mikasa touched Armins hair and her eyes widened.
"Your hair is all wet!" she exclaimed!
At that moment they heard horses neighing outside. Everyone got up and ran to the windows. The titans were turning away from the castle and meeting the newly arrived troops with huge smiles. Green cloaked figures met them and cut them down with precision.
"Hah, looks we are going to live to fight an other day! Let's go!" Jean shouted and jumped out of the window. The mood was completely different now. Despair had been replaced with hope.
Armin placed his hands on the shoulders of his two friends.
"We will see the ocean together."
They looked at each other for a while, then Eren and Mikasa nodded with serious faces.