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"Mummy! Look at all the cherry blossoms!"
Lisa's lips curve up into a smile as she watches the young girl squeal with delight and drag her mother across the grass to look at the flowers. She had been sitting here for hours, simply watching... observing. But, out of all she had seen today, that little girl made her smile the most.
The park surrounding her was by no means at all a new sight. She had been coming here for years. At least once a week for 7 years, she had come here with the love of her life. But, more recently she had been failing to do so. Still, she still knew this place like the back of her hand.
She was glad she had listened to Jisoo. This was the best thing she had done for months.
She was happier.
This particular park in Seoul was nothing like the others. Lisa and Chae had wandered all around the city to find a place where they could just enjoy each others company and walk around together. It had similar features to the others but it was the memories that made it so different.
It was filled with miniature gardens that in unison completed the park as a whole and was mostly populated by the elderly that had retired and wished for a more quiet life. It was filled with trees, habitats to thousands of birds, so many different types of flowers that had the ability to bloom all year round, and little ponds filled with beautiful Koi carp.
Sometimes there is music. Every now and then someone brings a little speaker and plays calming tunes for their own yoga sessions but the music gets carried across the area. Lisa prefers the days where it is silent though, her thoughts able to swim freely.
Lisa sat, her fingers running along the wooden carvings into the bench below her. So many little inscriptions written by people she will never know. But, in the corner just above the metal lining sat her favourite little etchings.
Lisa
+
Chaeyoung
This bench had definitely been exposed to the elements and seasons for many years, Lisa had suspicions that it could be nearly as old as she was. Its bright and fresh over coat had since withered away and it was definitely due for a top up. The other benches had been repainted various colours multiple times.
Over the last 7 years Lisa and Chaeyoung had grown quite friendly with the man who looks after the park and does the weekly maintenance. He always made sure to only over it with a clear coating, telling the girls whenever he saw them that he would never paint over their 'memories'. Now that Chae was gone and Lisa didn't have her to make new memories with on their bench, Lisa was forever grateful to that man for never painting over their old ones.
Her fingers danced over the engravings in the wood, tracing the letters delicately. She felt the light wind tousle her hair, it was cool and refreshing against her skin and she let her eyes fall onto the sun beginning to dip below the surface.
As she looked around, she thought about how she had always considered this as 'their bench' but now she also wondered how many people had sat in this very spot and what their emotions were. Were they young? Old? In love? Broken?
These thoughts took her on her own journey back to when her and Chae were sitting here as only kids, still wondering what the future might hold. Or when they were sitting here as confused teenagers, searching for meaning but at the same time discovering who they were and what they wanted to be. Or when they were young adults, figuring out their new lives together. Never did Lisa imagine that they would never sit here as newlyweds, still in their honeymoon phase. Or as an elderly couple, still as in love as the day they met.
Instead Lisa was here alone, remembering the most beautiful person she had ever laid eyes on. And for some damn unknown reason... she felt kind of okay with that. Sure, it still ripped her up from the inside, but she knew that neither her nor Chae could ever regret anything. She would never take back what they had shared together.
In a contrast to her earlier behaviours, she was cherishing her moments, rather than wishing them away.
Lisa stood, peacefully gazing upon the acres and acres of beauty that was crossed by pathways placed perfectly under the rows of trees. She watched the slight breeze rustle the leaves in the trees around her, making them fall to the ground, one by one.
The late afternoon air was warm, beams of sunlight shining from the setting sun glowing across her skin. Her clear, clean, smooth skin. She had picked up her skincare routine again, morning and night, cleansing herself best she could.
She inhales, taking in the smell of spring along with the freshly cut grass. Her ears picking up so many sounds around her, the laughter of children, the sophisticated chatter of the elderly, and every now and then the light yapping of a puppy.
Her head tilted back, the underside of her chin, jawline and neck becoming exposed to the air. Lisa closed her eyes and sighed, taking one last look at the bench behind her before fixing her jacket and stepping out onto the path.
Thinking to herself that tomorrow she might like to bring a book.
