ephemeral | Jenlisa [COMPLETED]

Chapter 18

"What in the world are they doing?" Lisa asked Somi, as she handed her sister a mug of tea and then sat down next to her on the top step of the front porch of Thistle Drive.

Her sister sat with her knees tugged up – she had lanky legs, like Lisa herself – without her legs resting against her torso, given the slight growth of her stomach. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she stared out at town square.

Somi shared the blanket with her, and Lisa gratefully pulled it over her shoulders. She'd easily forgotten that it did get chilly down here by mid- December. Or maybe it was just that she'd acclimated back to it – those formative memories she had stored up that had been released in bits and pieces in the last few months had proven to her that there was a lot more of Sacheon in her mind than she'd consciously thought.

She and Somi tilted their heads to the right as they watched a small group of people attempt pull a giant rattle shaped pinata over a tree branch to hang it up.

"I think it's going to be a surprise baby shower for me, this evening. But a surprise that is set up in public, right in front of both my business and my brother's house, outdoors in the middle of December," Somi commented thoughtfully, before she broke down into laughter.

Lisa joined her as they watched the pinata fall back to the ground. "They mean well."

Somi nodded in sage agreement, and it was only then that Lisa considered her own words. For all the feelings she might have had in the past on Sacheon, they did mean well.

She cracked another grin as she watched them scramble to grab the rope after throwing it over a branch. "I mean, you'd think someone would bring a ladder."

"Common sense is a lot less common than you think," Somi said, shaking her head as she let it fall onto Lisa's shoulder.

They did this a lot in their youth; sat on the steps of the porch just to watch what was going on in town. Sometimes when Lisa was babysitting her sister, they'd sit out here to have dinner. She'd taught Somi how to play five card stud – much to their father's chagrin, as Somi had been nine and they'd been betting on cookies – right in this very spot.

She leaned her head against the top of Somi's and breathed out a sigh.

After a beat, she opened her mouth to comment on the giant sign that was being hung up, that did indeed confirm it was a baby shower for Somi, before her sister whispered, "I'm going to miss you, when you leave in a couple weeks. More, this time, than usual."

It hadn't been what she'd been expecting, and even though Somi would often offhandedly comment things like Miss you! on their calls, it didn't feel like this. This landed heavily in her stomach, and she frowned with it as she pulled back a bit to look at her.

"I'll be back," she said as she looked at the side of Somi's face.

Somi sighed and sat up straighter and stared out into the town as she spoke, "I mean, you're always back, at some point." She blew out a deep breath before she looked at Lisa. "But this trip was – it's different."

Lisa stared at her sister for a few long moments, nodding slowly. It was different, during this trip. Her time here was different this time in a big way; even if she hadn't taken time to think about it, it was impossible to ignore.

And weirdly, she hadn't taken the time to think about it.

Lisa was a thinker whenever she traveled – which was constantly. In order to write and share her experiences with people, she had to think about them. To really ruminate on what was happening in her life, what she was seeing, doing, eating, the people she was doing it with.