Every story begins differently.

A vast majority of them would probably begin with a descriptive paragraph of their surrounding. It could be a repetitive beeping sound of the alarm clock that would be either thrown towards the wall or shut off for another ten minutes or the peaceful greeting of a morning dew sun complemented with the soft- almost fragile singing from the song sparrows that built a nest in the tree near your window.

Did you know that birds sing in the morning to mark their territory or to attract mates?

Probably not.

You probably don't need to read how the main character would get up from their bed hastily- rushing through their entire apartment or room that they've slept the night before, (whether the space belonged to them or not) to begin their day.

Nine times out of ten you would ignore how scattered their morning thoughts are as they pushed through the people from their favorite local coffee shop hoping to get a shot of that bitter taste of reality that it's just another day of wishing that they could make it by the end of the day.

So yes, let's skip that part.

Matter of fact, let's start from the very end of the story.

"And where do you think you're going, missy?" A tall woman with an hourglass figure stops another woman with a similar physique from leaving what seems like a holding room for important people.

"Into a bigger space where I can walk a bit freer." The tone in her voice gave a hint of irritation.

"The event is about to begin."

"Beginning to take longer than it seems that is." She says followed by her rhythmic tapping against the oak wood floors. "Look, I doubt the important people are even here. All I need is just a hint of fresh air because apparently, they've managed to fix everything but the air-conditioning."

"They had air-conditioning at that time?"

"Of course not, 1 out of every 400 households had it and even if they were loaded, it would be just a bit too expensive." She lets out an exaggerated sigh before crossing her arms, facing the woman with long black locks mixed with silver-shade highlights. "Look, I love you but I will bite you if you don't let me walk out on that door."

The woman looks at the other woman wandering around on the other side of the room, marveling at the sight of the paintings. "Just give her the freedom."

"Fine, but at least turn on your phone tracker."

"You make it sound like I wouldn't answer your phone call."

"That's because you really wouldn't." She turns on the application on the latter's phone and then turns to look at her own to see if it's functioning. "Alright, all set."

"Thanks, mom." She turns to the other woman who was still fascinated by the paintings. "Bye, mommy."

The door slams with a force leaving two women all alone inside the room filled with priceless artwork. "Can you explain to me how in the world we're the same age as hers?"

"Last time I remember that's what her birth certificate says."

"Ha ha, think you're funny do you?" The woman with highlights collapsed herself onto the lavish sofa. "This is the first time she's here since it happened. It's natural for me to look out for her."

The brunette follows her and takes the vacant seat. She fixes the fringes that were disarranged from all the huffing the latter made. "Minnie, looking out for her is okay. Watching her every move like a security camera is a different thing."

"Miyeon you saw her."

"I did, and I see her now too. I can tell that she's okay now." Miyeon interlocks her hand with her lover. "So can you please relax because I don't need to be fixing those fringes every five minutes." She smiles. "Or maybe I don't need to, because I don't have to glare at every person who could potentially be attracted to you later on."

A warm chuckle escapes Minnie's lips as she looks at Miyeon who was actually considering the options with heart eyes. "Silly."

"Now you're smiling too? I really have to keep my guard up huh?" She joins in the brief laughter that faded after a few seconds. "Where do you think she'll go?"

"Hopefully within these walls. But I know walking around would suffocate her as much as staying in this room, so she might go out and get a quick caffeine dose and head back."

"You sure about that?"

That question made Minnie snicker. "With her, the possible situations are infinite."

Our main character is found at the very end of the street, just two blocks away from her previous location. She looks at the rustic signage "The Steam Room Co." Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and her eyes sparkle as she lets out a soft hum.

The soft sound of the wind chime by the door alerted the staff that a new face has come in. Lisa relaxed easier to find the place wasn't as crowded as she thought it would be. She looked at her worn-out but reliable gold-plated Swiss wristwatch. It was still past three, a perfect time to take a quick sip of her favorite-

"Flat white." She answers the cashier's question about her order for today. "And a Caramel slice please."

She settled at the corner spot, having a picturesque view of  Albert Park Lake. For once, Lisa could feel at ease- seeing as the new owner decided to keep the original structure of the space. Her eyes wandered from the rustic-industrial lights to the walls that had a fair share of cracks, marveling how they've managed to keep the original paint. The exposed beams and the hardwood floors definitely bring back the memories.

Memories. That's really all left that is.

"I'm already here, where the hell are you, you bludger."

"Oh, I'm more than annoyed trust me. First, you had me waiting at the university and now, you're telling me to wait for you here. One more location change and I'll throw you out of the flat trust me."

"No more than fifteen minutes. And drinks are on you tonight."

She mentally thanked the woman's statements of impatience, stopping her from remembering everything again. She takes a quick look at the woman whose attention is on the chalkboard menu in front of her. Just a few seconds in silence she hears a familiar voice interrupting her attempt of regaining her composure.

"Sorry to interrupt but is this seat taken?"

She lifts her eyes to catch sight of the person standing in front of her. Her black hair cascaded just below her chest in a disarrayed manner that somehow matched her glowing skin that was white as powdered packet sugar would look. Her lips moved at a quicker pace, indicating that she was probably explaining how shitty her day is going and she would just like to take a breather in the vacant seat in front of her.

The taller woman should probably listen to what this person's talking about. She really should but all she could do was give the latter a dazed look while trying to keep it together. The breathlessness and the heavy feeling she feels inside while looking at the eyes that she had seen before.

The same hair that she brushed her hands in as she hugged her one last time. The same eyes that shed tears as she screamed her heart out for her. The same woman who helped her back then.

"You're probably with someone. I'm just going to leave."

"I'm not." manages to reply. "S-sorry I was thinking of something." The woman focused her daze with her ink-black orbs. The so-called stranger picks up a few table napkins and then hands them to her. "Why?"

"You're crying." Her voice was apologetic.

"Oh." She touched her damped left cheek before turning her gaze at the woman. "I didn't even know." A hoarse yet uptight laugh escaped from her lips.

"If you want I can leave."

"No, no, no. Please don't." Lisa briefly closed her eyes to take a breath and calm her muddied thoughts. . "Feel free to take a seat."

"O...kay."

The drag on the first letter could tell her reactions in the past five minutes as she noticed the latter was scanning around the area, probably wishing that she would be anywhere but here.

"Sorry. I'm not really good at holding a conversation." The visible reddening of her ears didn't go unnoticed.

"Not much of a people person?" Lisa lets out a warm smile. "It's okay, I am kind of good at these situations so I'll pretend this never happened." The stranger takes the seat, lips pursed into a thin line as the silence slowly envelopes them. "This is the part where you actually say something back."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Well..." A wrinkled eyebrow appears on her forehead, thinking about what should they talk about. "You're probably wondering why I suddenly burst into tears."

The younger woman (she assumes) lowered her head to signal that she agreed. "It's not like I'm a celebrity to bring you to tears... Also, not every day I get to meet someone and their initial reaction is to cry you know."

The latter arched one lip followed by a genuine chuckle. One of the few she had for a while. "True."

"So why did you cry?" She questions. "And I'm just asking because this involves me."

"You uh-" She clears her throat as her fingers continue to drum against the wooden table. "You reminded me of someone."

"Well, I hope there's not much of a resemblance because I identify myself as a unique individual."

"No, of course not. But your personality is spot on." She breaks her vision and turns back to the lake. The woman wasn't really much of a fan of lying. Then again, she just really couldn't tell the truth.

"You two fell apart?"

"Something like that. She moved countries and had a different path to take." She lied again.

"Must've been a hard pill to swallow."

"One of the hardest if I am being honest." Lisa mumbles whilst she breaks her caramel slice into smaller pieces in a dragging manner.

"I'm not really a nosy person but I've got fifteen minutes to spare if you'd like." She indirectly offers. "My friend that I bitched on earlier would probably take more than fifteen minutes because somehow she never takes my threats seriously. So..." She raises her shoulders to encourage Lisa to start.

"You'd probably think I'm crazy."

"Wait until you meet my ex." She sneers. "Hope you're not homophobic."

"Ah no, love wins here my friend."

Hearing that from Lisa made her feel giddy. "So did you guys fall out because you fell in love with her?"

 "Can I ask you something?"

"Everything else but my financials is a green light."

"What are your thoughts about time-traveling?"

She tilts her head to the side with knitted eyebrows. "About what?"

"Time-traveling." She repeats. "Do you think it's possible?"

"Huh." She huffs out. "Not trying to be a smart-ass but we are time-traveling now. We are moving forward one second per one second."

"I'm talking about traveling through years ahead or before you."

She wags her index finger in front of her. "You're basically violating the second law of relativity."

"Not if a negative mass is present in the equation."

"Yeah that would be awesome but it only exists in space."

"What if you have a vast amount of energy?" The woman counters. "Studies prove that possessing a vast amount of energy that could help you generate in a faster speed towards a certain direction?"

"Where would you even get that amount of energy?" Her voice shows just how she's in disbelief of this conversation.

"Solar." She spoke like it was the only answer present. "Climate change did lead to several breakthroughs after all."

The latter fixes her coffee-toned cardigan and leans back as she considers the possibilities. "Okay, so you're saying that you can travel through time with the help of the sun."

"That sums about it."

"And you're certain this is possible because..?"

The stranger in front doesn't say anything and she watched how the woman's eyes almost squinting to try to figure out where this conversation was going with dilated pupils and frequent blinking."Shut your pie hole are you-"

"I could understand you better if you uncover your mouth."

"You're that person aren't you? The first person who successfully traveled through time."

"To be publicly announced. Archives show there have been several attempts made over the years."

"And you're a woman." Her eyes brightened the more she fixed her gaze on her. "We love female Fatale. You tell them, girl."

She fanned herself trying to settle down her flushed face. "Thanks."

"How come I haven't seen your photos online?"

"I was getting treatment and rehabilitation for the past few months and as you can see... there's nothing really amazing about me."

"Except for the fact that you made the impossible possible." Her are-you-freaking-stupid tone made her smile. "So, why'd you do it?"

"For two reasons. First I had to and second because I was a drunk person who wasn't able to get her ex." She replied.

Hearing that made her entire face beam. "Great! I'm all in for those lesbian melodramatic stories."

"I don't tell my stories to strangers."

"In that case my name is Yeri."

"Nice to meet you Yeri. My name's Lisa, and this is my story."

__________________________________

"Minnie! Get your ass down here right now."

"If you let your eyes function for once you would realize that I am busy here!"

"This is a life or death situation!"

"I think I'm more suitable to say that!"

"Just come down here please!"

The taller woman huffs out a big sigh as she uses what seems like her last amount of strength to pound the last piece of screw-in, before typing whatnot's in her computer. After a few more typing and mumbling a silent prayer the machine rumbled and brought the woman to her knees.

"Whew." She whispers as she looks at the progress from her monitor. "I guess I still have it in me."

"NICHA!"

"Alright, alright! I'm heading down!" She cleans her station, just like how she always does before heading down to cater to whatever it is her friend is ultimately concerned with.  Minnie saw Lisa with two pieces of different clothing styles one on each hand. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What? I needed your opinion on what should I wear for tomorrow."

"Nope." She throws her hands up, gesturing that she was not having this conversation with her best friend.

"Oh come on! This is a life or death! Well... kind of!"

"And you wanted my opinion? Seriously?"

"It's not only that, we need to read over our lines again."

"Lisa, the more we practice the more I forget things."

"We need to make this perfect. We only have one shot at making this work and wow the audience, especially Jihyo and Mina's fathers who- by the way was forced by their daughters because they were forced by their college friends." She ends it with her index fingers moving back and forth between them.

Minnie rubs the back of her neck and grabs the script from her best friend. "But make it quick, we still need to have dinner with Miyeon."

__________________________________

"How do I look?" Minnie asked Lisa for the fifth time of the night as she straightened her turtle neck.

"If I was Miyeon I would definitely push you into the wall and just get on with it." She spoke without thought which obviously lead to regret as Minnie looked at her with horror. "Please tell me you've noticed the sarcasm."

Minnie fixes her posture as they approached the venue for tonight's dinner. "I take things with her seriously."

"Yeah everything but her obviously liking towards you."

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me Lisa."

"You do realize that she's only waiting for you to say it right?"

"And I am waiting for the right time." She retorts. "It's not like she's just some girl I want to test waters with. Miyeon is the girl I actually see myself with when I'm being acknowledged as the employee of the month or when I'm losing motivation to even wake up in the morning."

"Minnie." The owner stops in her tracks to exchange glances with her. "You do realize NASA doesn't have an employee of the month acknowledgments right?"

"Ha ha ha, just get in will ya?"

Lisa's ears were greeted by an ear-piercing scream from the television the moment she steps inside the pub. Her eyes were glued to the screen for the time being as she looks at the rock concert of a local band. Her observation ends with a wince at the sight of the lead singer jumping toward the crowd.

"You look like you're in pain."

"I would be if I was one of those five people." Minnie averts her gaze to the screen and waits for Lisa to start explaining. "You need a number of people who will equally handle the singer's weight but I guess the dude forgot to calculate the number of people attending and just dove right in."

"And you know that because?"

"Physics duh?"

"Do you only have physics in your mind?"

"Do you only have Miyeon in your mind?"

"What did you say?" A soft voice accompanied by raised eyebrows breaks the dialogue between the two.

"Miyeon!" Lisa calls out in a feeble voice. "I thought you were coming late."

"Schedule ended earlier than planned. And besides, I want to be with you guys before the big launch!"

Speaking of launch, she decided to launch herself at the two but Lisa already saw it beforehand so she steps aside, allowing Miyeon to completely fall towards Minnie who absolutely caught her with zero struggles.

"Dude why did you step aside?"

"Physics." She responds in relation to their talk earlier. "See, falling and catching can be as simple as that. Now can we order dinner?"

Dinner between the three was typical. By typical, it meant Minnie listened and watched Miyeon who animatedly narrated what happened to her today whilst trying her best to suppress a smile out of adoration and the brunette would only give her entire attention to Minnie who didn't seem to mind and even loved it.

And despite being non-existent neither in Miyeon nor Minnie's world, Lisa enjoyed observing how obvious the attraction between the two was. It wasn't offensive on her part but rather amusing at how many years have already passed and yet the elephant in the room hasn't been addressed.

She downs the final remains of her cocktail, her fifth of the night perhaps. Her eyes went through the guests that were in the pub, mostly people who were enjoying last night's football game, even though the local team lost. She moves her gaze at the menu a few feet away from their table, already in the process of ordering her sixth drink for the night.

The pub's door opened and the person who entered got everyone to stop whatever it was they were doing for a few seconds. Ninety-nine percent glanced- Lisa, on the other hand- stared. And it wasn't the kind of gaze that's identical to seeing your dream girl for the first time. No.

It's the stare you give to your dream girl who broke up with you years ago because it wasn't working out after 3 years of a relationship.

Lisa stumbled a few steps back, luckily Minnie caught her in time before she completely lost her balance. "Are you drunk already?" Her best friend teased.

"Minnie." The shake in her voice alerted the latter that there was something wrong. "Just let me hold onto you for a few more minutes alright?"

"Why what's- oh shit." Minnie calls out the moment she realized the pub's newest visitor.

Despite the support she got, her legs were still trembling. It also didn't help how she instantly got cold and it directly hit her to the core. The more she stared- the heavier it got and all Lisa want was to avert her eyes somewhere else.

But everything was albeit all too late for that, especially when a pair of Chestnut shade eyes were already looking back at her.

__________________________________

"I didn't expect to see you here."

Lisa doesn't give out an immediate reply as she thought about the situation she was in. She may look fine on the outside but the inside was similar to an amusement park on a weekend. It was congested, messy and a turmoil of emotions.

It all started with Miyeon- who despite knowing the past between the two of them decided to call over the woman she's been trying to forget to have a short catch-up session. Talk about not being able to read a room right?

To make matters worse, Minnie horribly acted that she wasn't feeling well so she mentioned having a quick drug store errand and of course- dragged Miyeon away, leaving the two of them in very awkward and uncomfortable silence. For Lisa that is.

"Lisa?"

"Huh?" She turns to look at the woman who offered her a warm smile. "Sorry I was just thinking of something."

"So you still zone out in uncomfortable situations?"

"Yes, No- well, sometimes depends on the person and the atmosphere but I'm not saying that I'm uncomfortable-"

"It's alright, don't sweat it." The latter says as she takes a sip of her gin and tonic. "So, what's up with you? Miyeon did somehow mention that you guys were finally launching something that would get you your dream job."

"I'm hoping this is enough to convince them." Silence wraps them around like how the other woman crosses her arms to keep the warmth. "Washington's too cold for you now?"

"Well, I'm not really a fan of the cold weather."

"That's why you moved to LA." Lisa questions. "You still live there?"

"Yup." She answers with a popping sound.

Lisa remembers everything like it was just yesterday.

The first meeting happened after bumping into each other during freshman orientation. After a few more unexpected meet-ups and constantly meeting at the library, Lisa would wake up two hours before her first class to get that pancakes from Henny's which the woman loves.

Lisa knew that she was the endgame. She knew that seeing the latter's face first thing in the morning, and being with her for the light-years to come was something she had already considered and embraced.

It was the summer before senior year when Lisa got dumped. After being two hours late without prior notice, the woman didn't even let her finish explaining and threw it out in the open. When Lisa asked for patience, all response she got was a voice that sounded broken, tired, and unappreciated.

That didn't stop her from chasing her for an entire year. Lisa was certain that they would get back together and even boasted it to Minnie. But when the woman asked for assurance from the aspiring NASA employee, she once again got stood up at their favorite restaurant because Lisa was too engrossed with finishing her final project.

But seeing her again after three years wasn't unexpected. Lisa- regardless of being factual and realistic ninety-nine percent of the time believed in the one percent that this meeting was a message from the universe. It was up to her to unwrap the context.

She was certain that this was her chance to try and work things out with-

"Jennie." She mentions the latter's name with a low tone, changing the light atmosphere between them. "It's nice to see you again. You look good."

"Thank you." She says with a smile that reaches her eyes.

"Are you available this weekend? Maybe we could grab breakfast at Henny's, they still make-"

"I can't. I'm attending a farewell and bachelorette party." She answers.

"Did your best friend decide to-"

"I'm getting married." She blurts out just like how she delivered the breakup news before. "I'm just handing out invitations for family and some college friends. After the wedding, I'll be moving to Spain. Barcelona specifically."

"That's kind of far from here. Don't you think?"

"It's what Jisoo wanted."

"Jisoo? Is that your new best friend?"

"No silly! Jisoo is the woman I'm getting married to." Lisa watched as Jennie's lips move arched just by the mention of her new lover's name. "I also told her that it was crazy and far from home but then she said the home is where I am." A light laugh escapes from her.

"That's cheesy."

"And cliché too!" She adds. "But Jisoo isn't someone who's really vocal about what she feels so hearing that made me burst into tears. Did you know..."

As much as Lisa would've wanted to listen to what Jennie was continued on telling but all she could pay attention to were her constricted lungs, the slowing down of her heartbeat, and the time that seemed to be slowing down.

A mixture of disbelief, guilt, and regret consumed her. She saw brief flashbacks, wondering how in the world did they end up being the couple everyone assumed would be the first to get married to here.

"So yeah, that's how she ends up convincing me to just pack my bags and head to a different place." Jennie ends her little, one-sided story-telling trying to catch her breath. "Sorry if I ramble too much, you probably don't care for the most part but you-"

"You ramble when you get excited." Lisa croaks out as she tries to relax her stiff posture. "I see some things haven't changed." A dry laugh followed as she fought the urge to cry and stopped to look more pathetic than she already is.

"Lisa..." The soothing tone from Jennie just made her feel even more pathetic.

"I'm happy for you."

Of course, she wasn't. Jennie getting married to someone else wasn't the plan. It was supposed to be them. Lisa and Jennie. Not Jennie and Jisoo.

But every dream has a price. And this is what Lisa had to pay the piper.

"Honestly, a part of me was hoping to see you when I decided to come and visit." She rubs the skin on her hands as she clears her throat.

"Why?"

"To see how you've been, I don't know- have a chat like we're having now. Anything but just a few minutes with you." Jennie bites her lower lip. "You played a big role in my life and I know things didn't end the way we originally planned, and I know how much you love your plans..." She tucked the disheveled piece of hair behind her ear.

"I wanted you to know that I'm sorry if I dumped it all on you back then. I loved you too much that when things started to fall apart I got scared and failed to see that we were meant to continue on different paths."

"Now I understand that we fell apart not because you were too focused on your dreams, but for the reason that our time being in each others' lives needed to end. That not all people could stay even if we wanted them to."

"As Jisoo said to me, People are like books. Some are your non-negotiable and must keep forever, some you'd like to revisit once in a while and some- you have to learn to let go. You can't expect to learn something new if you keep the same collection. It didn't make sense then, but seeing you now does."

Jennie pats her back lightly before leaning in to hug her for what it felt like the last time in a long time. "I want you to know that I'm okay now. So you can let go of that guilt and move forward. You deserve it too."

__________________________________

"Lisa for Pete's sake carry some of your own weight." Miyeon grunts as she throws the drunk head on the couch who grunted at the poor landing.

"That hurts!"

"I am handling two drunk heads and I don't do gym membership." But then she goes placing Minnie as soft as she could right next to the woman who was throwing glares at her.

"Hello! A heartbroken individual here! The least you could do is be gentle."

"And who's fault is it? Remember it was you who hoped that this was some melodramatic movie."

"I could blame you. It was you who called her attention."

"She was already staring back at you."

"I could've just waved back and went on."

"Okay fine, but it's been three years already, I thought you've already moved past that pain in your life."

Lisa repositions herself properly onto the couch. "I really thought that I had a chance with her." She scoffs and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I couldn't believe she even quoted her lover's as her farewell message."

"She did?"

"This Jisoo told her that people are like books, some you get to keep forever and some you have to let go because you can't learn if you don't make room for new books."

"Hate to break it to you but I kind of agree with her."

"Jennie already apologized for blaming it all on me and told me not to feel guilty but here I am feeling exactly the opposite."

"You blamed yourself all this time so to be actually free from it feels odd."

"I love her Miyeon."

"You're just saying that because you saw her again."

"No, I think I still do."

"Lisa, that's a bottle of tequila talking."
"Fuck it was supposed to be us."

"But it's not okay? Let it go. Jennie's already happy with her life. There's no point of bringing yourself more pain by pushing your narrative that it's you two who should end up together."

Miyeon retreats to the kitchen, fetching them some water. Lisa was about to get some shut-eye but felt her best friend's hold on her. "And here I thought you were asleep."

"You know... if you-" She halts her speech because of a hiccup. "If you love her so much why don't you-"

"No, she's right. I never should've-"

"Why don't you time travel to get her back?"

"That's crazy."

"Is it?" She questions, allowing Lisa to second guess her statement. "Not everyone has a functioning time machine sitting in their garage."

"We've spent all our lives building this machine for tomorrow."

"Whether you use it now or tomorrow does it make any difference?" Her dull eyes bore into her then averted her gaze on the window fronting the couch. "But hey, maybe I'm just talking crazy right?"

Before Lisa could even formulate a proper and well-thought counter, Miyeon reappears back with a glass of water in hand. "I freed your beasts to litter outside. They should be back after 30 minutes."

"Thanks."

"Alright, I'll go and take care of this drunk head. Can you handle yourself?"

"Sure."

As Miyeon's dragging steps and momentarily grunting faded into the background, Lisa thought about what her best friend suggested. Between the two of them, Minnie had a more realistic approach to things. Sure Lisa was blunt and frankly most of the time, but that's because her patience matches her bob hairstyle.

Minnie on the other hand takes time on things. Often times Lisa would playfully blame the delay of the project because Minnie was more rational in decision-making. So to hear that impulsive suggestion got Lisa seriously thinking.

She should brush it off really. Tomorrow's the big day and they can't risk anything. The possibilities of failing are endless.

But desperate times do call for desperate measures.

"Fuck it, let's do this."

Lisa jumps on her seat and rushed through their garage. She looked through the data and analytics and verified that everything was all set for tomorrow. All she had to prepare was Miyeon's phone that's used for her daily vlog and placed it to an angle where the entire space could be seen.

It only took a few moments for Miyeon's followers to come in and greet her only to be confused after seeing Lisa's forehead through the screen followed by multiple comments questioning her appearance rather than their followed artist.

"What's the thing behind you?" She repeats the comment. "Well this is Minnie and I's project. It's a special device that allows you to revisit certain time periods."

"Like a time machine?" She reads. "Something like that."

"Why'd you build it?"

"We're planning to land a job on NASA and help the study of tracing how stuff really worked back then, just helping to understand our history as humans."

"How does it work?"

"It has two functions. The observation mode is where you go back to the time and any kind of actions or decisions won't affect the course of time. The second is kind of tricky that's why it's on BETA mode, that's the alteration. Obviously the opposite of the other one where you get to fully experience everything from talking to people and creating memories with them."

"That seems too good to be true."

"Yeah, that's why it's still in BETA mode. No guarantees are shown, but progress has been showing so hopefully when we land a job in NASA, they would help us improve this baby."

"What's the point of this invention really?"

"I'm just recording my safety. I'm planning to do a time jump now because I'm trying to make things right." Lisa purses her lips together. "Hopefully I get to make it right."

Lisa's eyebrows knitted as the majority mocked her for being a clout-chaser and being too unreal. Comments flooded in and mentioned how she was kind of daring to say all these things when it was obvious how much of a liar she was. The hurtful jokes start to come in which Lisa's nose just flared and that's where she decided to prove everyone wrong. She stands up from crouching and types in all the information needed on the computer.

She rushes to get into the pod-like machine as the countdown started from thirty. Lisa peeks through her watch, which was her indicator and her only means of communicating the present time.

2018. The University of Washington.

This was the time when Jennie was giving her a chance to make things right. Hopefully despite being four years late in realizing things she would be able to do so. Fingers crossed that is.She looks at the cellular phone which was sting moving rapidly probably filled with nasty comments but paid it no mind. She cannot wait for their shocked faces after proving that this machine is not just fueled by a great amount of energy stored in their solar panels but filled with their blood, sweat, and tears. Jokes on you, she thought out loud with a smirk.

But Lisa's life wasn't her life without a pinch of unexpected, plot-twister, and horrifying events.

As she saw the countdown move to the final ten seconds, she could hear the faint sounds of multiple footsteps coming toward the garage. Too many and too fast to count it as human steps. The moment she lift her eyes to see who could possibly be on the premises, her eyes widened in horror as the chaos starts to unfold before her.

A few feet away from her were her four cats and a dog all looking at her momentarily before dashing towards the control panel of the machine and carelessly moving their paws left and right. Her entire being was frozen for a moment before her survival instincts kick in and started to look for the emergency exit from her watch.

But everything was all too late because all Lisa saw from the watch's dashboard was the number zero before a bright flash appears and greets her direct in the eyes.

Lisa- with her eyes deeply shut trails her hands onto the sides of the machine, hoping that she'd get a hold of the goggles inside the pod. She quickly puts it to cover her eyes yet decided to keep them close for the time being in fear of seeing something she's not prepared to witness.

The blinding lights were followed by Lisa's insides going through the mayhem. Almost identical to riding a roller coaster except that you had to stay there and ride the entire thing ten times more. The longer she stayed in for the ride, the more worried she got that her pets may have decided to send her to a year and a place far than she could've imagined.

 The thoughts alongside her stomach ache just heightened her desire to throw up.

Suddenly she felt like she was pulled in an abrupt manner with so much force that all she could let out was a prolonged gasp before the bright lights disappear and she could feel herself falling with each passing second comes in with an increasing speed.

Then she could feel the cold and concrete ground and her mouth formed into an 'o' form without any form of sound coming out as the ache spread around her body like a wildfire like she jumped off from the seventh floor and landed back first. (assuming she didn't die from the fall.

As if that wasn't enough torment, she had to stand up by force and vomit, mumbling a mental prayer that she didn't end up somewhere public.

Lisa eventually opens her eyes in order to adjust to her surroundings and a sigh of relief escaped from her lips when she saw that she was luckily transported to a public bathroom and threw up on a toilet. But of course, her relief was quickly replaced by anxiety as multiple questions flooded through her mind.

Where am I? What time is it? Am I safe? What-

"Oi! Open up will ya? You've been in the dunny for too long!" A voice from the other side screams. "Come on mate! I need to take a piss!"

Dunny? Mate? Is she somewhere in Europe? London perhaps?

Another series of slamming against the wooden door made Lisa jumpy. "Open the door or I'll call the coppers on ya you freaking bugger!"

Lisa finally flushes the toilet and opens the door, only to be greeted by a very annoyed woman in her 30s. All Lisa noticed (except her evident desire to punch her in the face) was her manner of dressing.

Padded shoulders, Puffed sleeves, and sturdy-thick pumps. The woman's headpiece which consisted of a huge flower matched with crochet definitely caught her by surprise.

"What on Earth are you staring for?"

"S-s-sorry I-"

The woman's nose scrunched. "A Yank."

"What do you mean-"

"Oh move over, I don't have time to chit-chat with you of all people." She rudely pushes Lisa to the side.

"Wait!" Lisa stops her once more, and she swears the woman was already having red flashes from anger. "It'll just be quick but can I ask where am I or what year it is?"

The woman ogled at her as she came from a different dimension. (Well technically is the truth) "It's the coldie innit? Or is it the constant bumps from the ferry trip that you went coo-coo?"

"Uh... the coldie I guess?"

"That explains why." She covers her nose in an attempt to lessen the pungent smell of Lisa's puke filling her nose.

"So... about my question earlier..?"

"Welcome to 1942 Melbourne you arse." She ends her insult with a slam on Lisa's face.

- Henlo :> it's good to be back :D