Blue [Chaelisa]

thirty three

"I never wanna grow up," she giggled, tugging the hat onto her head and making a funny face at him.

"It's a time capsule," Lisa said softly, brushing off the front of the lunchbox and glancing at Chaeyoung with a nervous look on her face. Chaeyoung suddenly realized where they were, glancing at the house behind them. Luckily, she hadn't seen any cars in the driveway.

"You grew up here?" she asked softly. Lisa nodded, following Chaeyoung's gaze to the house behind them.

"It feels different," Lisa whispered. "It feels empty."

"It is just a house now," the younger girl sighed. She looked down when she felt Chaeyoung's fingers slide between hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"It's not the same as it used to be, isn't it?" Chaeyoung asked. Lisa nodded softly. "I know the feeling," Chaeyoung laughed, scooting closer to Lisa and pointing to the lunchbox. "What is this?"

"A time capsule," Lisa gently undid the small clasp, glancing at Chaeyoung tentatively. "I do not remember what is inside."

"You don't have to if you don't..." Chaeyoung slowly trailed off when Lisa opened the lunchbox, studying the contents inside. She reached down, holding up a macaroni necklace and giggling softly.

"Oooooh," Lisa whispered, grabbing a small bottle of yellow nail polish and turning it around in her hands. She held it up to show it to Chaeyoung, who laughed quietly.

"Haven't changed as much as you thought?" she smiled softly. Lisa blushed, shrugging and turning her attention back to the small lunchbox.

"Oh..." the Thai girl's tone suddenly changed when she pulled what Chaeyoung believed to be a crumpled up ball of paper from the lunchbox. Upon further inspection, Chaeyoung realized it was a small origami bird.

"A bird?" Chaeyoung asked softly. Lisa quickly shook her head.

"Crane," Lisa corrected her, gently turning the figure around in her hands. "My dad used to make these. I remember." She carefully let Chaeyoung hold the bird, watching as the blonde girl studied it quietly.

"They must've been important to you if you kept one in there," Chaeyoung nodded, handing it back to Lisa. The Thai girl bit her lip and set it down.

"He used to throw away a lot of scrap papers. But I would save them and rip them into squares, I remember," Lisa nodded. "And then I would make him make cranes out of them. I had a lot," she smiled softly at the memory.

Before Chaeyoung could say anything else, Lisa pulled one last item out of the lunchbox. It was a piece of paper, which she slowly began unfolding. Chaeyoung watched as the Thai girl revealed a colorful drawing, holding it with shaky hands as the first tear spilled over her cheek.

"I..." Lisa shook her head, reaching out and running her fingers over the family portrait she had drawn. "This was important to me," she whispered, retracting her hand and looking over the drawing. "I lost it."

"I-I lost it, Rosie," Lisa shook her head, looking up at Chaeyoung and squeezing her eyes shut to try and stop the tears from falling. Chaeyoung put an arm around her girlfriend, pulling her close and allowing her to lay her head on her shoulder.

"Life can be like that sometimes," Chaeyoung sighed softly. "You win some, you lose some." She reached up and ran her fingertips up Lisa's arm. "Things change and people leave when you least expect them to. That's why you've got to be your own constant."

"My what?" Lisa asked softly, lifting her head slightly and looking at her girlfriend.

"Your own constant," Chaeyoung nodded. "You have to make sure you stay true to yourself even though everything around you is changing."