Paper Hearts | Winrina

December Third

December 3, 2018

...

I ran as fast as I could, chasing after my cat that was running away after she had almost been hit by a car. "I'm not made for running." I muttered underneath my panting breath. A loud meow released from my cat's mouth before she climbed up a tree. "You've got to be kidding me." I said out of disbelief. I tried to catch my breath. Running in cold weather wasn't for the weak. My ears felt like they were frozen and I could barely feel my face. Plus I had a runny nose which wasn't the best for me.

I looked up at the tree, seeing my cat peacefully laying on a top branch. Normally what people would do was climb up the tree with no problem. But the only problem was that I was deadly afraid of heights so I never once climbed a tree when I was younger.

"Come on, autumn. Come down, I'm right here." I spoke, reaching out to my cat who just side eyes me, not moving a muscle. Hours pasted by and autumn still didn't climb down. In fact she seemed pretty comfortable laying on the branch. On the other hand I was not comfortable at all. I felt like I could become Elsa at this point.

"Do you need help?" A voice suddenly spoke beside me. I quickly turned to see the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on. She looked like a goddess that came down from heaven. I almost lost myself in her eyes that were extremely dangerous. Silence filled the air between us, i was completely speechless. How could someone be so beautiful?

"Hello?" The girl spoke again, waving a hesitant hand in front of me.

I immediately snapped out of my daydreams and looked back up at my cat who seemed to be asleep. It was unbelievably cold outside, how could she be sleeping? "Sorry.." I mumbled before pointing to my black cat, "my cat is stuck up there.. I would climb the tree but I'm afraid of heights." I say, slightly feeling embarrassed for not being brave.

Without a word the girl simply climbed the tree, gripping on the wood so easily. She gently lifted autumn off of the branch. I was surprised that autumn didn't wake up at all during this. The gorgeous girl then came back down from the tree, petting autumn gently. "Thank you so much," I sigh in relief before gently taking autumn from her. "It's no problem," she says with a beautiful smile.

"Perhaps could I get your name?" I asked, wanting to know what my hero's name was.

"Karina. Karina Yu. And what's yours?" Karina asked. The name suited her perfectly, it was just as pretty as her.

"Winter Kim.." I say as I admired her. I then dug into my pocket, remembering that I had something, "take this for a thanks" I say with a smile, handing a white paper heart to her.

December 3, 2025

"You know, you kinda look like autumn with black hair." Winter says as she watched Karina dry her hair in the mirror. Karina paused for a moment before continuing to blow dry Winter's damp hair. "I thought we wouldn't speak about her anymore," Karina says with a small smile.

"It's hard. If it weren't for her I wouldn't have met you." Winter says, her eyes never leaving Karina in the mirror. On a cold December morning it didn't feel like the right topic to talk about. Knowing that Autumn had unfortunately passed away a year after they had met. Even though Autumn wasn't here anymore, Karina had bought a sweater for Minjeong that had a black cat on it. She would wear it every December 3rd and every September 4th because that was when Autumn had passed.

"I would have found you eventually," Karina says, placing a small peck on Winter's cheek. Once Karina was done blow drying Winter's hair, she gently brushed it, her hair following with the brush smoothly, admiring her beautiful lover.

Ding

"The cookies are done!" Winter squealed with excitement, tapping her feet repeatedly as she sat in the chair. Karina chuckled, setting down the brush on the counter before picking Winter's light figure and entering the kitchen.

Winter then jumped out of Karina's arms with joy, grabbing the mitten's from the table. "Can I take them out?" Winter asked with pure excitement in her eyes. "Of course you can." Karina replied with a adoring smile.

Winter slipped on the mittens, opening the oven slowly. The steam came out of the over quickly, Karina immediately blocked the steam that almost got in Winter's eyes. Winter grabbed the tray with the mittens, removing the cookies out of the oven as she placed the tray on the stove.

The cookies were perfectly done with red hearts in the middle. "They look amazing," Karina says before looking at her girlfriend who seemed ready to taste the cookies. Karina then grabbed one cookie and gave it to Winter. "You get one too! I want us to try together."

At first Karina was hesitant, looking at the cookies worryingly. She then agreed, grabbing the smallest cookie on the tray. The smell of the steam and the warmth of the hotness on Karina's fingers made her feel slightly dizzy but she chose to ignore it. "Taste!" Winter suddenly yelled before taking a big bite out of her cookie, Karina hesitantly following right after.

The taste of the cookies were not surprisingly tasteless. Ever since the month had started she couldn't find the appetite to eat anything. If she did eat something it would just taste like plain, just a plain.

On the other hand, Winter seemed to be enjoying the taste, "Is it good?" Karina asked with an chuckle, a small bite out of her cookie while Winter's was almost finished. She nodded happily, her eyes showing her enjoyment. "It's delicious!" Winter squealed, finishing her cookie. Without a word Karina took two more cookies and set it on a paper plate, handing it to Winter without asking.

"Thank you," Winter says before she took a cookie from the plate and munched on it. "Did you not like it?" Winter asked, seeing Karina's not even half done cookie. "No, it's good. I'm not hungry right now." Karina says with a half smile, her eyes focusing on Winter's presence. A small hum released out of Winter's mouth as she continued to chew the cookie.

"Have you told Aeri about us?" Winter asked so suddenly making Karina smile softly at the feeling that they were actually together. Part of it didn't still feel real.

"Straight away. She wasn't as surprised though," Karina says earning a small giggle from her lover. "Neither was ningning, she said we were made to be together." Winter says with a smile. Karina nodded in agreement, "and she is right. I only want to spend my whole life with you. Even my dying days." Karina then placed an gentle hand on her girlfriend's hand.
"If you were to die I'd die with you." Winter replied. Karina shook her head softly, "I would want you to live for me." The black haired girl says.

"Oh, Karina. I couldn't imagine life on earth without you." She looked at the one who was oddly seriously pale. "Let's stop talking about this, okay? We have plenty of time left." Winter spoke once again, the woman in front of her cracking a small half smile. "You're right. We do." Karina says, creasing Winter's soft hands.

"Happy anniversary, love." A small peck on Karina's nose was placed.

"Happy anniversary my paper heart girl," Karina spoke softy, still holding Winter's small hands. This feeling was too comfortable to let go of. Would they really have enough time to spend years together? Karina kept overthinking it, the closeness of their relationship was just right. She never wanted it to end, she couldn't bare the thought of it. She would really spend her dying days with Winter even if she was in pain.

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Authors note: Thank you for reading this chapter, hope you enjoyed.