"We should take this and let grandma see."
inside the car, Jennie brought the two marriage certificates together and gave them to Lisa.
Lisa woodenly held onto the marriage certificates, after sometime passed, she heavily nodded her head a few times.
Thirty seconds, at most thirty minutes, and her brother already answered to this woman.
On the whole journey, she paid attention to the two people's interaction, Jisoo's heart suddenly felt upset, they were born from the same parents and grew up together as close brothers, is she still not comparable to one outsider? Furthermore, how can Lisa be this close with this woman called Jennie, while at normal times, whenever she wanted to touch her, Lisa would always subconsciously avoid her?
"Turn to the left." At this time, Lisa suddenly spoke.
"What?" Jisoo was a bit sensitive to her little brother's voice.
"Turn to the left." Lisa repeated her words again one more time.
"Lisa's meaning is, we should have turn to the left at that intersection." Jennie explained.
Jisoo was slightly dumbfounded, then she awkwardly found out that she already took a wrong road. Hence, she could only pretended as if nothing happened and turned around at the next intersection as she continued to hear Jennie and her brother's unhindered chat at the back.
"Lisa, you remember the road that we took before ah."
"Remember."
"When did you remember it?"
"On the way."
It's really good, every answer would only take at most 10 seconds.
The three person very quickly returned to the hospital, Grandma Manoban was still fast asleep, so everybody had to keep watch inside the ward room to wait until Grandma Manoban wake up again. Around 5 p.m, Grandma Manoban finally awaken, Jennie hurriedly pulled on Lisa over as they together delivered their marriage certificates to Grandma Manoban.
"Grandma, take a look."
Grandma Manoban's eyes shined immediately as she sat up filled with vigour, she took the bright red marriage certificates with her trembling hands.
She slowly and carefully looked at the couple's picture, the official seal, their names and the certificate date, not letting anything slip past her olden eyes.
After she finished looking at it, she pulled Lisa and Jennie's hands, told them a lot of wishes and heartfelt words. After saying those few words, she also started to tell them how they first met when they were still small.
Grandma Manoban said so many, many words, as if she didn't recognize any tiredness in her body, all until the colour of the sky gradually dimmed, she finally slept slowly, peacefully, without waking up ever again.
Grandma Manoban passed away serenely, the corners of her mouth curved in a gentle smile.
They had already been prepared to face this matter earlier on, so Manoban family's member's mood was still stable, and also, dying of old age was a natural course of life, it can still be counted as they sending out somebody who lived to a ripe old age. The funeral's affairs were swiftly managed but still honourable, and so, no more than several days later, Grandma Manoban already laid to rest in the coffin beside Grandpa Manoban's.
There were a lot of guests that came when it's time to give condolences, but there were only several Manoban family's members standing by at the funeral today.
After the relatives in the cemetery all walked out, mother Manoban, Go Eun, looked at her small son who was standing still in front of the tombstone alone, she quietly called Jennie to her side.
"Auntie." Normally, after processing the certificate, she should change to call her 'Mother', but Jennie hasn't adapted yet, luckily Go Eun clearly didn't mind it.
"Jennieya, Auntie wants to thank you, thank you for realizing Lisa's grandma's wish, letting her walk away with a peaceful heart." Go Eun thanked her, and Father Manoban who was at the side nodded her head full of gratefulness.
"This is what I should do." Grandma Manoban treated her nicely when she was still small, and since she now already decided to be married to Lisa, then doing this kind of thing was naturally just what she's supposed to do.
"Right now grandma already passed away, what do you plan in the future?"
"Ah?" Jennie was a bit startled.
"That day Grandma talked a sentence to Lisa inside the ward, she said that she hasn't see her marriage yet. After that, Lisa vanished so quickly before bringing you back." Saying this, Go Eun can't help but turned her head and gazed at her small son that was still standing in front of the grave, "Lisa was brought up by her grandma from when he's still a child, so her feeling is particularly good towards old people. However, Lisa's circumstances is special, although we hope that she could have a companion, but we won't insist this on her like what her grandmother did."
"Auntie, what you mean is...?" Jennie somewhat understood.
"We want to ask you, this marriage happened, is it because you wanted to help realizing Grandma's dying wish, or is it because you really want to be married with Lisa?" Go Eun didn't speak in a round-about way anymore, she wanted to talked about this matter with Jennie beforehand, but because of the matters that she had to attend to were too many these past few days, she can only found this time to ask her.
"Actually, I'm not really sure myself." Jennie answer made father and mother Manoban shocked, even Jisoo who was standing slightly afar tilted her head and looked over.
Jennie who had just gone through rebirth, felt happy after she survived a disaster but reversing the time made her brain a bit chaotic. After she passed several days here, she was absolutely determined that she had a rebirth, but she still felt that she was in some kind of a lucid dream.
If there should be any reason compelling Jennie to answer Lisa's proposal, then it should be none other than Lisa bringing that thick and heavy medical record, along with those densely packed notes that made her heart moved.
And so, when she ran out from the door and heard Lisa's proposal once again, she impulsively agreed.
Even going as far as taking certificates, Jennie didn't care much about that. Since she only got four years to live, then how could she mind this one marriage certificate?
"Uncle, Auntie, although this decision was made impulsively, please be rest assured, I will take good care of Lisa." Jennie's character was resolute, once she set her mind on something, she would carry it out until the end.
"What you're saying is, you still intend to keep your marriage with Lisa?"
"En." Jennie nodded her head with a smile.
Go Eun was rather astonished as she looked face to face with her husband, finally, as if they made a decision, they said, "That's great, then we should make an appointment with your parents, the two parties should meet ah."
Parents? Jennie's smiling face broke down in an instant.
Shoot! She was too preoccupied this period, she stole her residence registration booklet and registered her marriage with Lisa without telling her parents ah.
"What's wrong?" Go Eun saw Jennie's expression not right, so she asked with concern.
"That, nothing." Jennie awkwardly said, "Meeting each other would have to wait for another two days, my marriage ah, I had no time to tell my parents..."
"You still haven't talked about this with your family?" Father Manoban muttered to herself in a moment, then she said to her wife, "Go Eun, prepare some presents, we should go and pay a visit."
"Alright." Go Eun immediately nodded her head and agreed.
"There's no need, no need." Jennie was a bit flustered, her parents still didn't know about this matter ah, if Lisa's parents pay them a visit directly like this, her parents would be frightened to death, "Uncle, Auntie, please let me go back and call my parents first, then we can arrange a time to meet, alright?"
"We should be the one to take the initiative and drop a visit regarding this matter." Gong Yo Manoban said, if not for the sake of satisfying his own mother's wish, Jennie also couldn't just tell her parents that she's already married with his own son.
"There's really no need, how about... I go with Lisa and talk with my parents? After all, this marriage is our own matter."
Gong Yo Manoban crumpled his brows, normally when two people got married, Lisa as the son in law, going to Kim family was certainly an appropriate thing, however his own son had a special circumstances, going or not going would still be a bad thing, the more Gong Yo Manoban thought, the more he became restless.
"Just let Jennie bring Lisa." Go Eun suddenly persuaded her husband, "the one who will live together in the future was them, we should believe in them."
"But..."
"Just let them try first, if it's still not good, then we can go later."
"Then, alright." Father Manoban pondered for a while then nodded her head in agreement.
Go Eun patted her husband's arm in appeasement, turning her head, she looked towards Lisa while talking to Jennie, "Seemed like Lisa will stay here for a while, we... give her in your care."
Although she's still not reassured, but since she already made up her mind to receive Jennie, then there's no harm to try and give Lisa to her.
"En." Jennie agreed.
"Let's go." Father Manoban called on his eldest son and pulled his wife, then turned back and walked to outside of the graveyard.
Jisoo hesitated for a while, then finally she chose to leave with her parents. But when she walked beside Jennie, she briefly said, "We leave a car for you guys."
"En, thanks." Jennie said a short gratitude, then walked slowly towards Lisa.
Jisoo subconsciously turned her head, looking at her sister in law who already gotten her parents approval, walking step by step until she arrived at her younger brother's side, then pat her shoulder so naturally.
But her younger brother didn't avoid her touch even for a little bit.
Jisoo had a complicated expression on her face, looked like her brother really like this girl called Jennie, but can this girl like her brother forever? Or will it be like her ex-wife, saying tolerant words towards Lisa before marriage, then ultimately...
Jisoo's face became dark, trying hard not to let herself wallow in these bad memories. After sighing a heavy breath, Jisoo forced herself to leave. she walked quickly to the front, straight until she sat down on the car, her brows were still frowning all the way.
"What happened?" Go Eun found out that something's not right with her eldest son.
"Mom, how long do you think Jennie would be able to be together with brother?" Jisoo directly asked, inside the depth of her heart, she couldn't believe Jennie would accompany Lisa forever.
"No matter how long, there will always be us beside Lisa." Go Eun said.
"But..."
"Jisoo, although Lisa has autism, but she still has her own opinion and her own thinking, we ought to let her experience life herself. Didn't professor Wang already said that if Lisa would act on her own, it indicates that her recovery turned all the better?" Gong Yo Manoban said, "We should be supporting her."
They all were afraid of Lisa getting hurt, nevertheless, they can't limit her life just because of this reason.
"That's right." Go Eun nodded her head in approval with her husband's words.
"How can you guys easily let her in?" Jisoo couldn't understand, although her younger brother has autism, but in their eyes, not just everyone deserved her precious brother.
"If it's other people, we wouldn't be this quick in admitting them, but Jennie is different, she's someone who your grandmother approved of. In this world, there's no one who loves Lisa as much as your grandmother." Go Eun said.
Jisoo became silent.
...
Inside the cemetery, there were only two people left at this moment, Jennie and Lisa. From when Grandma Manoban passed away until the funeral rites were done, Lisa who didn't let out a single word, suddenly decided to talk at this moment.
"Grandma won't come back anymore." Lisa declared, showing her clear understanding of what death was.
"We can still come back and see her ah." Jennie consoled her.
"If one died, there's nothing left of them." Still in a declarative tone, her stiff words made people didn't know how to answer her.
"Are you feeling sad?" Jennie asked.
That's right, she was asking her this, because it was truly difficult to fathom her feeling just from her expression and tone. Jennie couldn't be sure if Lisa was feeling hurt and sad right now.
"Here... something is strange here." Lisa used her hand to press on her own chest, she still couldn't grasp how to convey this difficult feeling. He's aware that everyone's lifespan is limited, she can clearly accept the fact that her grandma had already departed from this world, however, he's incapable to comprehend the peculiarity in her heart when she knew that she can't see her grandma anymore.
"You're feeling sad." Jennie told her.
"Sad... what should I do?" Lisa's face was smeared with confusion and helplessness.
"You need a hug." Jennie came closer, giving Lisa a warm and tight embrace.
For Lisa, hugging was a strange contact between limbs, she felt very conflicted to be in contact with other' limbs, except for the people that she approved of, other person's touch will make her felt anxious, so embracing was something impossible for her. However, she liked Jennie, liked the comfort and warmth that she felt when she hugged her.
She can't describe what this relieve and warmth that she felt was.
Author's NOTE:
Jisoo: It's obvious that my brother got herself a wife, but how come I feel like I'm marrying my sister off instead?