Looking For Angels | JENLISA

Prologue: Even Angels Fall

A panel of cherry blossoms lined the winded pathway by the western outskirts of Gyeonju. Petals of enchanting bliss enraptured the quiescent space as it softly cascaded down to where a girl sat on a park bench. Falling, the shapes of heavenly blush whirled around in small spirals as the spring breeze danced with them to an exultant ballad. 

Zephyrs filled with the scent of distant memories embraced the girl and brought her to a sense of endless wistfulness. With the sun's euphoric rays seeping through the foliage of the trees, the radiating warmth of the serenading sunlight sent a smile to scamper across her lips.

Lisa was brought here again, always in this very place, always during early evening, and always at a specific day; trying to look for angels.

A blithe giggle chimed from her left, and she gently swayed her head to the direction of the spirited laugh. Smiling, Lisa watched as a little girl pedaled her way across the cemented path with her pink bicycle. Hair swaying alongside the early evening breeze, Lisa couldn't help but to reminisce to that particular day when she first met her...

"I'm Jennie, what's your name?" a little girl greeted with a warm smile. She had short-length hair that wrapped around her soft features, so that from afar, could easily be mistaken as the top of a mandu.

Jennie had seated herself on a flamboyant bicycle, painted in her favorite color – pink.

Fidgeting with her fingers, Lisa looked down at the patch of verdant grass below her. She wasn't accustomed to talking to people, and it made her anxious, really, really anxious. Shifting from playing with her fingers to gripping the hem of her overly sized shirt, she mumbled "L-li... Lisa". There was nothing the seven-year-old girl wanted to do, but to run and hide in a corner. She didn't know what she was experiencing at that moment, but if she had, she would say that she was having an anxiety attack; one of many that occurred when she had acquired anxiety disorder.

"Lisa?" Jennie asked with a perturbed look, "I don't like your name."

All it took was for her to say that she didn't like her name, to immediately cause a surge of overwhelming panic within the girl. Huffing out short bursts of air, Lisa couldn't contain the emotion flooding within her, and so, the repressed anxiety exploded in a set of tempestuous tears.

Upon seeing the girl cry, Jennie unmounted on her bicycle and quickly scurried over to Lisa. "I'm sorry, I like your name, it's just hard for me to say. Mommy told me I have this lip, no, not lip, what was it again? Liiiisssstttt....liiiissssss.......liiiisssspp. That's right, a lisp!" she explained with a finger pointed to the blue sky covered in large cumulus clouds.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Lisa wailed as she frantically wiped off the endless tears that continuously drenched her rosy cheeks.

"Lili, don't cry!" Jennie pleaded while her hands desperately tried to console the girl by patting her on the back. Her frantic appeals were futile to Lisa who was immensely enraptured in her anxiety, and because of it, she too cried hysterically. "Uwaaaaahh!" Jennie wailed as tears flooded her vision.

The two girls stood there beside an empty bench, during a quiet spring evening: crying.

That was the start of their friendship, the start of their story together, and the start of something truly beautiful. It was then, that Lisa began her quest to look for angels.

---

"Why are we doing this again?" Jennie asked as she peeked her head over the wooden fence that separated Mr. Lee's plot of land with the rest of the town. 

Mr. Lee was quite an eccentric old man, not much was known about him but that he lived alone, was cranky most of the time, and ultimately, was not fond of little children trespassing in his land.

"I told you Jen, we're on a quest!" Lisa replied as she propped her chin up and brought her hands to her waist – it was the posture of any superhero.

"Looking for angels, right?" Jennie mused with a light giggle before getting on top of her best friend's shoulders. Lisa had become quite intrigued by the aspect of looking for angels ever since her mother told her that when you find one, you could ask for any wish you like, and it'll come true. 

From then on, her and Jennie had been on an endless quest to look for an angel, in hopes of finally getting their wish fulfilled.

A wish that meant the world to the both of them–that Jennie wasn't sick anymore.

"Of course," she affirmed nonchalantly before lifting her up towards the top of the fence, using the momentum to prop Jennie to the other side.

The two girls, now being divided by a wooden wall, called out to each other from behind their respective sides.

"But why in Mr. Lee's plot of land?" Jennie asked followed by an amused chuckle, though it didn't last long as her laughter soon converted into a wave of coughing fits.

"Because Mr. Lee is a meanie butt, and we all know he needs the most help out of all of us. We also know God sends angels to help people, so maybe God sent an angel to help him change his meanie butt ways," She simply answered before climbing over to the other side where her best friend was waiting.

"And plus, his backyard is humongous! We'll for sure find one here," Jennie chimed with utter awe as her eyes glazed over the wide horizon that was plotted with numerous deciduous trees.

"Like I told you Nini; You, me, we'll find one someday, and when we do, we'll finally get that wish fulfilled." Lisa said with a warm smile, "You'll be okay, I promise," Holding her best friend's hand, she dragged her across the field to continue their endless quest.

To look for angels

Breathing in the scent of the evening air, Lisa smiled. It was a smile unlike any other. A smile of understanding, of acceptance. A smile devoid of her best friend's lingering laughter, their many talks out by the playground, and their well-spent memories together, yet still, it was a smile that spoke volumes.

Their quest was finally over.

"Lili, you know, when I'm in heaven and become an angel, I'll ask God if I can come visit you because then you won't have to look no more; that wish, our wish, it's yours."