The Oasis and The Island

Chapter 9 - Twelve Hours Or So

Lisa returned to her apartment. She paced around the kitchen and the living room. She took a random book from a shelf and tried to read. She knew it was worthless but she tried anyway. Questions burned in her head. 'Why? Why, Jennie? What went wrong? Did she regret it? It wasn't good for her? It didn't seem like. So, why?'

Her mind was going in circles and she was tired of all that questions. She looked at her watch, it was 3 in afternoon. Jennie wouldn't be home for hours. So she just left and wanders to the streets, without a specific direction. Even though her mind was not paying attention to her path, her legs were taking her to a familiar destination. She looked at the old For Sale sign and kicked it to the ground. Nobody would buy that house anyway. Nobody did in the last 15 years. She went to the back yard and grabbed the hidden key under a rock. She opened the door and walked up stairs, landing in the dusty sheets of her former bed. That place was a symbol of safety. It always felt like that since she was born. It was the place she ran away when she lived in foster homes. Her social worker always knew where to find Lisa when she disappeared from another family. It's been a while since the last time she went to sleep in there.

She looked at the plastic yellow stars glued on the ceiling. The star always brought comfort to her, even when they were fake. It reminded her how our problems and ourselves can be so insignificant in comparison to the great universe around us. But it didn't make any less of her pain. Why it was always so hard for her to understand other people feelings? She had no doubt about her own. Why human nature got to be so complicated?

The hours awake took a toll on her. Her eyes lids were heavy, even though her mind was racing with thought after thought. Eventually she felt to a unsettle sleep.

-----

Jennie sat down on her desk, a brown paper bag settled by her computer. In the next hour, she ran all kinds of scenarios on her mind. She would go home and tell Lisa it was a silly mistake on her part. Or maybe she could say it was a late April fools' prank? That does not sound so bad. No, it was the worst idea ever, of course. What about the truth? Her hormones were turning her into a pervert. Was that too bad? She didn't know. Embarrassing? Yes. True? Kind of. Reason to find a new place? Probably.

But what was the alternative? A momentary lapse of sanity? It worked for creepers. Why should it not work for her? She was not a creeper, right. Or was she?

Jisoo came to her desk, looking with curious eyes to her paper bag.

"So, Lisa found you?" She asked with a casual tone.

"Yes." Jennie totally forgot about her lunch. She was not really hungry, but could not let her tiny human to starve.

"What about the florist, I mean the flowers, any progress?" She asked in the same tone. Luckily Jennie didn't see the panic in her eyes mentioning the florist.

"Wildflowers." Jennie answered like before, not eager to get in any further detail.

"Nice."

"Yes." Jennie nodded.

"Are you not going to eat?" She asked looking the paper bag again.

"Right." Jennie grabbed the paper and stood up, heading to the break corner.

She placed the bag over the counter, when she unfolded the top she saw her name written down in a beautiful cursive calligraphy. Jennie. She opened a bright smile, feeling warmth in her heart.

-----

Lisa woke up sneezing. It was dark, but she knew where she was. 'Why did I sleep in this disgusting bed?' She took her phone from her pocket to turn on it light, when she realized it was 8 in the night. Fuck. She brushed the dust from her limbs and took her way back to home. She was afraid Jennie would had gone to bed and dismissed their talk. She really wanted to talk to her. She needed to talk to her. So she just ran.