Milk & Honey | liskook short stories

1: Flower [pt. 1]

AU: Lisa Manoban has every reason not to believe in love. However, her view of life and love changes when she meets her classmate Jeon Jungkook.

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"Mom, what is being in love like?"

"Love? Hmm, I think love is like a flower. It's delicate and important to take care of or else it will begin to wither. If we do not take care of a flower then the petals will begin to fall off. One by one, the petals will detach from the flower and shrivel up, eventually dying. Love will be no more, just like a flower that isn't taken care of. That's what I think."

"Like a flower, huh? Then, when I fall in love, I will make sure to take care of my flower, so it can grow and live for a long time."
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The sound of rain drops and thunder engulfed Lisa's bedroom. She covered her ears with her hands and her eyes were closed as she tried to control her breathing while sitting in her bedroom closet.

"1..2..3.." Lisa continued to count until she reached 50. Panic attacks scared Lisa. It was the only time she does not have control over herself; her mind or her emotional state. She listened to the rain while trying to slow down her breathing down as she counted to 50. Lisa needed to distract herself from the ongoing commotion occurring outside of her bedroom.

"I am unhappy! It has been 20 years but I am tired! I am just not in love with you anymore." Lisa heard her father say. She heard how tired her father sounded. As much as she did not want to admit it she knew her dad was not in love with her mom anymore.

Lisa knew this day would come. The constant bickering and quarrels between her parents have been going on for years now. However, lately her father has been packing bags and leaving their home on random nights just to get away from her mother.

To get away from you.

Lisa shook her head pushing her negative thoughts out. Her panic attack started to fade and she did not want her thoughts to consume her mind anymore.

Normally, being a negative person with pessimistic thoughts was a part of Lisa that she hates the most about herself. As much as she wants to be positive, she cannot. The blonde is not a little girl anymore: she is no longer naive and she realized life can disappoint you even if you are happiest person ever. The world is not colorful like people make it seem to be like. Her world feels like it is in black and white. She cannot tell the difference between what makes her smile anymore.

The sound of glass breaking brings Lisa back to reality. Her eyes opened wide as she hears her mother wailing.

"How could you do this to me? I love you." Lisa felt her throat closing up again. The words of her mother sounded so heartbroken, but Lisa knew it was not enough. Her father was tired of her mother, of them.

Now, Lisa felt like she could not breathe. Counting to 50 was not helping and enclosing herself in a small closet was starting to make her feel trapped. She wraps her hands around her throat, feeling like someone was choking her. The function of trying to breathe regularly again was failing miserably. Lisa felt her body starting to shake. She felt confined in this small closet and in her own body.

"I'm sorry. I will talk to Lisa later. I cannot be here anymore. We are getting a divorce." Lisa heard her front door open and close. It has been a few minutes but her mother continued to shed tears. Murmuring to herself and wondering why she could not save her marriage. Lisa wanted to comfort her, but at the moment she could not even take care of herself. Currently, it felt like mother nature was crying for Lisa and her mother. Then in a split second everything hit Lisa at once. She realized her father was gone and will never come back again.