THE PROMISE YOU MADE|| {Levi x Furlan x OC Fem}

37. Life keeps going on

The days passed by and became weeks, and weeks became months quickly. Little Furlan was growing day to day and Ella seemed to have found her new purpose in life. Nina was still around to help whenever she needed it however, she did not live in the house anymore. She had come back to her job in the Survey Corps Headquarters. Levi also would visit whenever he could and checked on both mother and son, ensuring they were not lacking anything. Her relationship with Levi had not changed that much since he confessed his feelings that long ago. He was still as distant as he had always been however, she knew he cared and, that was enough. She missed him when he was not able to visit for long periods, in the end, he was the only person she had left from her previous life in the Underground nonetheless, she had never told him. Things were already difficult and she did not want to make things more complicated, besides she knew that he was now a busy man.

Life in the quiet village couldn't be better for Ella and her child. Since she gave birth to little Furlan, her neighbours, especially the old women who had helped Ella give birth, were always willing to help with anything she needed. Their relationship improved and helped Ella to get used to her new life much quicker. Nonetheless, there was no day that she did not think about her past life and what she lost along the way. Furlan was still present in her mind every day and every night. Since she found that ring inside the envelope he had left for her, she had never taken it off. Every day she wondered how her life would have been if they would be still around. They would have gotten married and they would be raising their child together. Isabel would probably love to play with the little one. If only...  Although she always tried to enjoy the present, many nights before falling asleep, she could not stop thinking about what answers she would have to give to little Furlan when he would start asking questions about his past, about his father. For that, many years would need to pass by, but she was getting stressed already.

On a beautiful summer day, Ella was doing some chores in the garden early in the morning when the galloping of a horse interrupted her from her task. She tried sharpening her eyes to discover the identity of the visitor. She dropped the shovel in shock when she realised that Levi was back after months since they had seen each other last. She had received letters from him to inform her about every time he was sent off to an expedition, and therefore she was always worried about him, never knowing if that time would have been the last time they saw each other, but he was always back, and so far, he had kept his promise. The soldier stopped the horse next to the woman and approached her calmly. Ella, however, was very relieved to see him and ran towards her friend with tears of joy in her eyes. Ella hugged Levi intensely and surprisingly, the man returned her hug, placing his hand on the back of her head.

"You came back." She murmured.

"I promised you that I would always come back to take care of you two." He replied. "How is your son?"

Ella left her tasks unfinished and invited the soldier home to see Furlan One of the old women from the village was watching the baby while Ella worked outside.  The old woman was very weak to work outside but she was more than able to look after a sleeping baby.

"Thank you, Grace. I'll look after him now." She informed her kindly, inviting the woman to leave. Levi stood by the cot where Furlan was and looked at the baby with an unfamiliar expression that Ella could not identify. Affection? Love? Pride?

"He has gotten big since the last time you saw him." She explained. The soldier did not say anything back. Ella left both of them in the room and went downstairs to prepare some tea for her visit. Minutes later, Levi joined her in the living room.

"So, how are things going in here? Are you happy?" He asked from the other side of the room. Ella smiled tenderly at his question. Although the answer could be a bit ambiguous depending on the day, she knew what Levi wanted to hear, and that day she was very happy.