Flash From The Past | JENLISA

XXXX (FINAL CHAPTER)

She smiled softly, looking out across the rippling water, breathing in and filling her lungs with the crisp autumn air that was currently teasing at the hem of her dress, the fabric tickling halfway up her shins. The breeze quietly rustled the recently turned leaves above her, a vision of deep reds and oranges, creating such a warm and beautiful feeling that perfectly contrasted with the slight chill enveloping her. She finally exhaled slowly, feeling every ounce of tension leave her limbs, and smiled harder.

Not that there's much to be tense about today.

It had been over a year since the accident. Over a year since she'd woken up, missing the most important person in her life. And almost a year to the day from that turning point, when she'd realized that she wanted to try. That she didn't want to lose Lisa, the girl who was so quickly stealing her heart, and she was going to fight with everything she had to keep her.

And it had been a fight. It had been a challenge. At times, it was a seemingly unwinnable battle. But somehow, they'd figured it out. They'd worked together through the struggle, and in the end, it had paid off. They'd found their way back to each other.

And it's so amazing.

But what was even more amazing was that she'd been able to watch herself fall in love with Lisa twice. She got to fall head over heels for this incredible girl, and then slowly remember what it felt like to fall for her all those years ago. It was an incredibly unique experience, and one that she didn't take for granted.

As of yet, Jennie hadn't remembered everything, but that cold January day in the park nine months earlier had been the breakthrough, and the previously unknown slowly began seeping back into her mind, one recollection at a time.

Some of the memories that had resurfaced were so sharp and clear, it was almost as if she could reach out and touch them. She could smell what was surrounding her at that moment and hear the small noises that echoed in the distance. She could still taste some of the kisses that Lisa had left against her lips and feel the softness of Lisa's skin against her fingertips.

Then, there were times when things faded in and out. Some of the memories were hazy or blurred. There were gaps here and there. One minute, she'd be standing outside a restaurant, lips pressed to Lisa's after a celebratory night, and the next it was days or weeks later. There may be a fuzzy snippet of something small here or there in between, but nothing concrete.

And then... the rest of their time together was still missing.

She knew she could be upset and feel cheated that not everything had returned as of yet, but the fact that she'd been able to get anything at all left her smiling every single time something new surfaced. Looking back, she guessed that she had about half of the seven years that she'd lost, give or take a few percentage points. It wasn't perfect, but then again, what she and Lisa had was never perfect. It was just real. It was just them. And regardless of what had returned to her, she treasured every single memory, in one way or another.

All the romantic moments, sweet gestures, and super sexy times were wonderful. And, of course, all the moments in between, exciting or mundane. But getting back some of that time wasn't without its drawbacks.

She'd remembered some of the bad stuff too. Like the night a few months after she'd started at the Seoul Times, coming home excited about another high-profile article that she'd been assigned, and wanting to share the news with Lisa, only to find Lisa sitting at their kitchen table, upset at having lost another photography job (her third that year). And after the older girl had lashed out that night, her failures were only further exacerbated by Jennie's successes, the argument had left Lisa sleeping on the couch for three nights and Jennie had cried herself to sleep every one of them. That memory hadn't been a pleasant one to suddenly regain. Nor was the one that occurred after she'd gotten stuck at the Daily, again, and had completely forgotten about the very amazing and romantic night that Lisa had planned for them. The resulting fight about the fact that Jennie was spending far too much time at work, and had been neglecting everything else in her life for months, including her girlfriend, had been a hard pill to swallow, even if it was true. But they were her memories, just the same.