Ah, there it is, Eren thought as he solemnly smiled. Quickly, he turned to his seven- year-old daughter, whose soft, little hand was in his bigger, more muscular hand, and said, "Come on, it's just right there." The little girl quickened her pace to match her dad's longer stride; both she and her dad were unusally quiet. The sun was slowly setting, making the sky look a magnificent orange that was mellow, like the mood between the parent and child at that moment.
On a hill not too far ahead, there was a cross surrounded by flowers. On the cross, there was a name engraved: Carla Jager. The little girl walked closer to the cross with her dad, squeezing his hand tightly. Eren felt some emotion flicker up inside of him, but he just focused on his daughter, who usually is loud and bubbly, was now quiet and respectful. The little girl looked up at her dad's soft gaze.
"Daddy?" the little girl said, tugging on her dad's sleeve, but Eren didn't seem to hear her, only seeing her lips move, but not hearing what was coming out. "Daddy?" Eren was stuck in his world, turning his gaze from his daughter to the grave. "Daddy?" the little girl said, tugging on her dad's sleeve a bit harder, snapping Eren back into reality.
"Yeah, sweetie?" Eren said, not really trusting his own voice at the time. This was the seventeenth anniversery of his mother's death. Eren had put the cross up for his mother long ago, back when he was eleven, on the first anniversary of his mother's death. Eren had bought it from a master craftsman within Wall Rose with his whole two weeks food allowance, but luckily he had been able to share food with his "sister" Mikasa and best friend Armin. The funny thing was that they never knew why Eren had spent his food money or even what he spent it on, so this little grave for his mother was practically his little secret, and to that very day, no one knew of it, except for his wife, and now his daughter.
"Who is this lady?" she asked, pointing at the picture of Carla that Eren had put up earlier that day, "She looks a lot like you."
Eren smiled and picked up the picture. "This is my mother, Carla Jaeger," Eren said, and even though he was smiling because he knew his mother was in a better place, he still wanted her there with him, and he wanted her to see him grow up, he wanted her to see the love of his life, he wanted his mother to see his own daughther: all he wanted was his mother. It was a selfish desire to want her back in that world, but he couldn't help but think What if I could have saved her, or, What would she say if she saw me know? His daughter squeezed his hand a little more tightly, and then pulled close to him. Just like her mother, Eren thought as he placed his hand on top of her head, stoking his daughter's brown hair,which she inherited from him.
"What happened to her?" his daughter asked, her voice extremely quiet, almost to the point of being inaudible, but to Eren, her voice unlocked the gates of emotions welling up ever since he told his wife he was taking their daughter there.
Eren's breathing got deeper and his heart started beating faster. "My mother... died because I couldn't save her... I wasn't strong enough... I couldn't stop a Titan from eating her. I was ten when she died..." Eren said, his voice starting to crack up, but it was better than when he had first taken his wife here, way before their daughter was born. Back then, he was almost unable to speak without bursting into sorrowful cries and regretful tears. Eren's mind seemed to go back in time, blocking out what was going on in the present ;Eren felt ten again, inable to do anything but stand helplessly and watch his mother go, remembering her last words: Please don't go...
A sudden shock went throgh him when he felt something hit his hip, causing him to jump a little, but the initial response soon subsided when he looked down and saw his daughter burrowing his face into his shirt. He crouched down to her level, stroking the little girl's brown hair. "Sweetie, look at me. Why are you crying?" Eren asked, his fatherly voice kicking in.
The little girl gazed at her father, but her eyes were blurry with tears so she tried to blink the tears out of her eyes, just to get them replaced by fresher tears. "Because... I wanted to meet her," Eren's daughter said, staring her dad right in the eyes, "Why are you crying?"
Eren touched his warm, wet cheeks. Ha, I didn't even realize I was crying... Eren thought. Eren picked up his daugter and sat down in front of the cross, holding his small daughter in his large arms, making her feel safe. Eren looked at he and smiled, "Because I miss her!" Eren's daughter smiled but held her dad closer,crying even harder, feeling extremely sorry for her dad. Eren, after seeing his own daughter break out into even more tears, cried, tears making his eyes bloodshot, and in an attempt to gain control of himself before he completely lost it, he hugged his daughter and put his hand over his mouth.
"Daddy?" his daughter asked. Eren just nodded. "How was grandma like?" she asked as Eren slowly removed his hand from over his mouth and stood up.
"Well, she..." Eren said, looking for a way to start, "your grandmother love flowers and gardening. Ah, and her cooking was amazing! She was almost always patient with everyone, but I was a bad kid and didn't like listening to her," Eren said, more tears welling up in his eyes. Why didn't you ever listen to her? he thought, but then found the strength to continue, "And she was kind enough to take in a girl whose parents died, and she treated her like herown child," Eren said as he thought about Mikasa. "She was faithful and prayerful, even though she didn't show it in front of me very much. And she was selfless, because she was willing to let her children... leave her behind," Eren said.
"Daddy?" his daughter asked again, this time giggling slightly, "Are you sure you aren't just describing mom?"
And then, it hit Eren. It was true that his mother was a lot like his wife. Eren smiled at the comparison.
"Do you know what a memento is?" he asked, tears still in his eyes, but his eyes were not sad, but loving. Eren's daughter shook her head.
"A memento is somethingthat reminds you of something or someone else. And giuess what?" Eren asked.
"What?" his daughter asked.
"Your name is a memento, Carla, and your name will always remind of your grandma!" Eren said, giving a thumbs up to Carla. Carla did the same.
And thus, Carla Jager and her dad walked back home, hand in hand, their bond stronger than ever. And at that moment, Eren realized that the bond between a parent and child lasts forever , just as the bond between him and his mother lasted.
Their bond was a memento of Eren's motivation for most of his life: his mother, Carla Jager.