THEIR STORY (JenLisa)

THE END

For K,

For I only have this to express what I failed to say.

M

~~~

Jennie and Lisa were once inseparable. Their love story was one that friends envied and strangers admired. They met during a swimming beginner's class of all places, Jennie’s laughter drawing Lisa in like a magnet as they both failed floating on their first day. From that moment, they became each other’s "person" and source of happiness.

But life has a way of turning bliss into sorrow. The joy in Lisa’s eyes dimmed as she lost her mother. The vibrant, spirited Lisa Jennie fell in love with faded away, replaced by a shell of a person consumed by grief.

Jennie and Lisa’s journey to an impending heartbreak wasn’t a silent one. It has been marked by nights of heated arguments and raw, unfiltered emotions.

One evening, Jennie found Lisa sitting on the balcony, staring into the distance with vacant eyes. The sight broke Jennie’s heart. She walked over and placed a hand on Lisa’s shoulder.

“Lisa, we need to talk,” Jennie began, her voice trembling with a mix of frustration and desperation.

Lisa turned, her expression blank. “What’s there to talk about, Jennie?”

Jennie’s eyes filled with tears. “Everything, Lisa. You’re slipping away from me, and I don’t know how to reach you anymore.”

Lisa stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. “You think I don’t know that? You think I don’t feel myself drifting away?”

Jennie’s voice rose, filled with pain. “But you’re not even trying, Lisa! You’ve shut me out completely. I’m here, trying to help you, but it’s like I don’t even exist to you anymore!”

Lisa’s face contorted with anger and sorrow. “You don’t understand what it’s like! You didn’t lose the most important person to you. You didn’t lose a part of yourself.”

Jennie stepped closer, her own anger bubbling to the surface. “No, I didn’t lose her, but I’m losing you! Do you think that’s easy for me? Do you think it doesn’t hurt to see you like this, to feel you pushing me away?”

Tears streamed down Lisa’s face as she shouted back, “I don’t know how to be myself anymore! I’m drowning, Jennie, and I don’t know how to come up for air!”

Jennie’s heart ached at the sight of Lisa’s anguish. She reached out, trying to pull Lisa into an embrace, but Lisa pushed her away.

“Don’t,” Lisa whispered, her voice breaking. “Don’t pretend like a hug is going to fix this. I’m broken, Jennie. Completely and utterly broken.”

Jennie’s hands trembled as she stepped back, her voice barely a whisper. “I don’t want to lose you, Lisa. I love you so much, but this…this is killing me too.”

Lisa sank to the floor, her body wracked with sobs. “I’m sorry, Jennie. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to make it stop.”

Jennie knelt beside her, tears streaming down her face. “Maybe we can’t fix this together right now. Maybe we need to find a way to heal on our own.”

Lisa looked up at Jennie, her eyes filled with a mix of sadness and resignation. “You’re right. As much as it hurts, you’re right.”

They spent the next few days in a tense, painful silence, the air thick with unspoken words and lingering sorrow. One night, as they lay in bed, Jennie reached out and took Lisa’s hand.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Jennie said softly. “I need to do this, for both of us.”

Lisa squeezed her hand, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I know. And I need to find myself again, without dragging you down with me.”

The next morning, Jennie packed her bags, her heart heavy with grief and hope. As she stood at the door, she turned to Lisa one last time.

“I love you, Lisa. I always will.”

Lisa nodded, her voice choked with emotion. “I love you too, Jennie. Maybe one day, we’ll find our way back to each other. But for now, we need this.”

Jennie left, the door closing softly behind her. As she walked away, she felt the weight of their broken love pressing down on her, but also a glimmer of hope that they both might find the strength to heal and perhaps, one day, find their way back to each other.

Hopefully, one day.