It's been over 3 years for me, and I'm sure my writing has changed and that it's strange to return to writing after years of sitting idle. To those of you who chose to follow the story, I hope that what I provide now will be good enough to have been worth the wait. Thank you for your patience.
The taxi rolled up to the airport and stopped in front of the departure section of the roadway leading up to the building, various people wandered to and fro, suitcases towed along with an air of diligence towards their destinations. Levi couldn't help but feel nervous about the whole ordeal, finding it jarring that his first flight would be to America of all places.
"Isn't this going to be a ridiculously long flight? Are you sure this is going to be safe?" Levi shifted in his seat, pondering all of the ways their trip could go wrong, the filth that could infest the inside of a plane filled with miscellaneous humans.
"Everything will be fine dear, we're less likely to have an issue during the plane ride than we are to be struck by lightning. Calm yourself." His grandfather smiled at him before getting out of the taxi to retrieve some of their belongings, thanking the driver whilst Levi assisted in moving the bags.
"Let's get checked in, the earlier we do that the easier it'll be for us to get to the terminal on time. Let's hurry boys." His grandmother laughed a bit before walking at the head of the group, excited at the prospect of their travels.
'You'd think she was a schoolgirl with the energy she's giving off...' Levi chuckled to himself before carrying as much of the luggage as he could, hoping to lessen the load for his elderly family members.
The trio checked in their bags and received their official passes before finding the best direction to go in to reach their terminal.
"I told you, love, it's easiest to follow the little numbers!" His grandfather argued, pointing to the numbers beside the gate letters, his wife had said that was incorrect and that the gates were, in fact, alphabetical.
"I hate to provide you with bad news grandfather, but our dear grandmother is correct. Can I lead us so that we can save time?" Levi gave his grandfather a soft smile as his grandmother chuckled and kissed her husband playfully. He grumbled and allowed Levi to lead them to their destination.
"Terminal G twelve. Now that we're here, 20 minutes early, I suppose I can get us all some breakfast before we have to leave. What would my lovely grandparents want this morning?" Levi rescued his wallet from the confines of his backpack before turning back towards the couple.
They all decided on different variations of crepes before Levi set off to purchase what seemed to be their last meals in France. He returned to the terminal, carefully carrying their breakfast and a small carrier with three cappuccinos to enjoy with their breakfast. After exchanging thanks, they ate and watched others pass by.
'I wonder how different America is from here. There are so many businessmen sitting near us, I feel so out of place.' Levi mused, observing a man with an expensive looking briefcase.
"Grandmother, would you tell me about your pen pal? If we're going to be living with them, I'd like to be informed."
"Of course dear. My pen pal's name is Carla Yeager, she has a son about a year younger than you and an adopted daughter who's about your age. Their names are Eren and Mikasa, the young girl is of Japanese descent."
"That's an interesting family. Has the father of the family ever been mentioned in her letters?"
"No dear, he left long ago, according to Carla, he hasn't been around since her son turned five."
"I see. At least now I know not to ask. Did she mention anything else?"
"Well she has a lovely flower shop and she sells homemade herbal remedies. The pictures she's sent me from the shop have always been lovely. Lately, business has been booming for her, weddings, birthdays, poor dear has so much work she doesn't know what to do with herself."
"That's good. Maybe we could help her then."
"That's my good boy." Levi's grandmother smiled and him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before taking a sip of her coffee, her husband had finished his and decided to keep busy by reading the newspaper.
"Now boarding Group A for terminal G twelve, flight destination, JFK Airport, New York."
"That's us I suppose, let's go." Levi's grandfather put away his newspaper before grabbing his pass and carry on, the others following suit and walking up to the forming line.
The trio takes their seats in the plane and settles in, Levi putting in headphones after the safety instructions and other information was provided to them and trying his best to relax, despite his nerves screaming at him to leave the aircraft immediately.
"Please make sure to keep your seatbelts buckled until the icon light is turned off, we will be departing in a few moments. Thank you for flying with us."
Levi peered over at his grandparents, who already seemed to be talking animatedly about what New York may be like, how different the food would be, what kind of people they would meet and how wonderful of an adventure this would be. Levi shook his head and stared out the window at the runway.
'I had no one to say goodbye to. It's weird that that bothers me now. Most people would be sad that they're leaving their friends behind, but I don't have that.' Levi stares blankly at the runway as it began to blur, the plane moving faster and faster until he felt the metal contraption they were sitting in lift off of the ground, soaring higher, his ears popping at the pressure created by the sudden lift.
He starts to drift off sometime after accepting a small water bottle from a flight attendant, sleeping soundly, forgetting that he was headed towards another country.
"Rivaille, sweetheart? We're here! We need to exit the plane." Levi's grandmother called out to him as she retrieved her carry on from the overhead compartment.
Levi groaned and woke up slowly, feeling disoriented by his surroundings before quickly getting out of his seat to help his grandmother retrieve their belongings.
"I slept through everything?" Levi asked, surprised that he had been capable of resting so much in an unfamiliar space.
"Yes dear, now let's exit so that these attendants can get some rest, poor things look like they're going to drop." His grandmother rushed out of the plane and thanked the attendants, the others following her example.
Levi and his grandparents wandered out of the gate terminal they arrived in and into a large expanse of the airport, shops, and food stands littered the area, some brands that Levi had never seen before.
"How do we know where to go?" Levi mumbled, sleep still clinging to him as he yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Baggage claim is what Carla said we need to find." His grandmother peering down at a book in her hands before looking up at a sign hanging above. "It's this way!"
She led them down the hall and down two flights of escalators before they finally arrived.
"Suitcase carousel." Levi joked, looking over at his grandfather, who chuckled a bit before pointing out that their bags were coming down the belt. Levi walked over and grabbed their bags before rolling them over and watching his grandmother pull out a small flip phone, dialing a number he thought must have been a mistake, as it was so different from what was dialed in France.
"Hello Carla, we have arrived!" His grandmother exclaimed, her accent heavy. Levi was impressed by his grandmother's ability to speak English, despite it being such a small amount.
After a few excited chatters were exchanged they were asked to stay put whilst Carla and her children came to retrieve them.
"Marie! Oh, how wonderful it is to meet you in person." A young woman with soft, long brown hair and bright green eyes smiled brightly and hugged Levi's grandmother. Levi looked on in amazement, 'This can't be Carla, she's way too young to have kids my age. She looks like she's barely five years older than me!'
"Oh! And you must be Pierre, your wife has told me so much about you." Carla gave Levi's grandfather a warm smile before hugging him and turning to Levi. "And You're Marie's pride and joy, Levi. Aren't you?"
Levi smiled and gave Carla a small wave, not sure of what she had just said but hoping it was something along the lines of a greeting.
"Rivaille has difficulty with English, he knows very little. I'm sure he will learn, he is a smart boy." Marie explained, Carla nodding with excitement.
"I'm sure Eren and Mikasa would be happy to help him learn the language, they've had to learn it rather quickly themselves!" Carla offered, directing the trio's attention to the quiet teens who stood a bit further back, a nod came from the black haired girl that Levi assumed was Mikasa, and a wide smile and energetic wave came from the boy, the spitting image of his mother.
After a few words were exchanged between the two groups they walked to Carla's van together, Marie marveling at the beautiful art that adorned the outside of the vehicle, flowers of various colors and shapes with a rose petal containing 'Carla's Flowers' in cursive on the driver's side door.
"Look at how beautiful this is Rivaille, imagine how wonderful it would be to make paint here in America? You'll have so many new things to inspire you!" Marie looked at Levi with a wide smile, her excitement filling the air.
"Yes grandmother, I'm sure I'll find plenty of reasons to paint." Levi agreed.
He noticed the boy's eyes light up when he had responded to his grandmother as if he had been excited to hear him speak.
'This should be interesting.' Levi smiled at the boy he assumed was Eren and watched him grow red in the face before he turned and responded to something his sister had said in English. 'I wish I understood more, it would be nice if I was just pretending I only know French.' Levi clicked his tongue and finished putting his suitcase in the back of the van before helping his grandparents into the van, his grandmother opting to sit in the front seat to speak to Carla.
"Eren, he won't be able to understand that, wait to ask until we teach him more English." Mikasa scolded Eren and sat down in the van a distance away from Levi, leaving space in between them. Eren sulked and sat in between the two older teens, crossing his arms and grumbling. Levi smirked at his behavior before turning his attention to the window, watching the building reduce in number and trees begin to take their place.
"I thought New York was more like Paris, a city. Why are there this many trees?" Levi asked his grandmother.
"New York is a state, my love, it's more than just a city, just like Paris is not the whole of France." Marie explained, looking around and asking Carla a few questions before continuing to marvel at the passing scenery.
The trees were now interrupted by small towns and villages, the occasional vineyard because more frequent as they traveled further. The car stopping in what looked to be a lively town with brick shops and beautifully decorated homes.
"Welcome to our little town in New York. I hope you will all come to love it as much as we do." Carla announced, pulling into the driveway of a light green house with dark wood trim, a beautiful landscape of flowers adorning the front yard of the home.
I don't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't this.'
