Between Generations

Chapter 43

"We'll be here."

Lise clasped Alix's hand, and let go. She braced herself on the arms of the chair, and hoisted herself to a standing position.

Weeks of rehab had paid off. Her back was better, but it wasn't exactly the best either. It complained as she took several steps toward the woman, the soft grass crunching underneath her yellow converses, now faded and grimy.

Lise stepped out into the sunlight from under the trees. She stared into the woman's bright blue eyes as she hobbled in small steps, trying not to strain her back. Lise's hands were folded nervously across her stomach, trying to settle the butterflies that were raging inside there.

Marinette gasped.

"Mariposa?"

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When the nurse came into Adrien and Marinette's room and said, "Your daughter is waiting for you outside," Marinette could scarcely believe it.

Their daughter had been kept safe all these years. Kim and Alix had kept their promise, truthfully, and faithfully.

They had won. They defeated Master Fu, the Dark Collector.

Adrien turned his head, smiling at his wife. She knew that he was still in pain. The morphine would be wearing off and he'd need another dose soon for his chest wounds, covered underneath tight white bandages.

"Go get her," he whispered. Marinette reached for his hand across the gap between their beds, and clasped it. "Go get her for us. We've waited long enough."

Marinette nodded, tears in her eyes.

Were we dreaming? Could I have possibly felt so happy, uplifted, relieved?

Marinette hurried downstairs. Thankfully, she no longer needed an IV drip, so she could hurry down the stairs without anything holding her back from her.

My Mariposa. My butterfly.

Marinette hurried past the nurses at the entrance and ran out into the bright sunlight. The bright blue sky startled and almost blinded her, but it was wonderful, truly a sweet moment.

Then she saw her.

Immediately, Marinette was confused. There, shadowed by the large oak in the hospital park, was a young girl in a wheelchair with two adults sitting on the bench beside her. They were deep in conversation, but it ceased as soon as they noticed her in the doorway.

It was the girl, the girl in the yellow converses who helped them save Paris. The girl who had gone back in time and reconciled her and her husband, way back in 2016. My friend from another time.

What was she doing here?

Suddenly, realization struck her.

The two people sitting on the bench next to Lise. The bright pink hair on the woman and the dark hair with blond highlights on the man with a massive build.

Kim and Alix! But then that means...

Marinette's breath caught.

The girl stood up from her wheelchair, and started hobbling toward the steps. She had on a neon sky blue lounge cardigan, a white v-neck shirt, and hot pink leggings with a matching beanie. The proper clothes for recovering. Marinette stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to breathe.

When she stepped into the sunlight, Marinette's heart stopped.

It was her.

My Mariposa.

Lise's blond hair had been too stringy and drenched for Marinette to notice in the dark storm that day she met her after awakening. She hadn't recognized Adrien's bright, silky blond hair from his teenage years.

Or his bright green eyes in her.

She was the exact image of Adrien.

But her face wasn't quite the same. It was more heart-shaped, and her cheeks were rounder than Adrien's, with a hint of a natural red blush. Her eyes weren't like Adrien's almond shape, instead, they were more curved at the edges. Her skin was fairer, and had a shade of pink like a newborn kitten's nose. Her eyebrows were thin and dark, nearly identical to Marinette's despite her bright blonde hair.

She looks like me.

Marinette gasped. "Mariposa?"

Lise's eyebrows were raised in worry, her chest expanded as if she were holding her breath. Her mouth was open a little, almost like the moment when she was falling down from the Eiffel tower.

Her hair stuck out in different directions from her head in a messy cut, one side that reached her shoulders, and the other a few inches shorter. Patches were missing behind her ears. The rest was covered by the beanie.

She's so much skinnier than I remember.

Marinette started to descend the stairs. She took her time with each step, one at a time, her eyes never leaving her daughter's.

Lise's hair was lit up like a halo.

As Marinette crept closer to her, Lise, wide-eyed, seemed to be unsure if she should walk towards her as well.

Marinette reached out her hand to the girl's cheek.

She looks so nervous, so worried.

Her cheek was so soft. Images flashed in Marinette's mind of a baby's soft cheeks before she was given away.

"It's you. I don't believe it. Mariposa," she breathed, cupping her hands on her daughter's face, her eyes brimming with tears. "You look just like your father."

Lise's lips trembled. Her shoulders dropped, all tension gone. Marinette pulled her into a hug. She squeezed her back, exhaling with relief.

When they broke apart, Marinette held her at arm's length. Her shoulders were thin and bony in her hands. "I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry for giving you away."

Tears trickled down Lise's cheeks. "I forgive you. I understand. I know why you had to do it."

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, and pulled close again, breathing in her. "We'll never have to worry about that ever again. Ever. We're together now. We'll be okay now."

She felt her nod. Marinette rested a hand on Lise's head, feeling her messy hair between her fingers.

Fifteen years. Has it really been that long?

But I found her. My Mariposa.

"Will you come upstairs?" she whispered into her blond hair. "Your father is anxious to meet you."

She nodded immediately. They broke apart again, and Marinette grasped Lise's soft pale fingers and guided her up the steps.

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