Weird.

The situation I was living in that moment was nothing more but weird, and completely unexpected for me.

Anyone living under my circumstances would have expected to meet the same person you had met for the last time, or a least a similar version of them. Because I understand everyone changes and matures, but not so radically!

I had this whole encounter-slash-reunion planned thoroughly. My idea was to greet her in my calmest way possible and resist the following days as best as I could. But now my whole ground has been moved, not only because of her change of person, but because I was certainly not prepared for this type of encounter. Here you have me, standing in the middle of my parents' living room while hugging this lady who's said to be my cousin; but who in my eyes is a complete stranger now.

I think everyone would be feeling the same way as I am.

“Look at you two! You must have missed each other a lot after all these years” I heard my mother's voice coming from the kitchen and towards Jieun and I.

It was the best excuse I could find to separate from my cousin's grasp once and for all.

As I separated from her, I looked at my parents and greeted them as usual. We then stood in a circle in complete silence while staring at each other in an awkward manner, at least it was awkward for me...

“Well... come in to the dinning room, I prepared tea and some pastries to eat” My mother interrupted the silence and excitedly guided us to the dinning room. But I had some things to talk with her before.

Just when we where about to go through the door towards the next room, I grabbed my mother's arm and guided her towards the kitchen in a swift movement as I closed the door behind myself.

She looked at me in a surprised way but I quickly started to talk before she could say a thing.

“Look, I know it was a strange thing to bring you here without any explanation, but my reasons are worth of it”

Her expression now changed into an intrigued one, she laid her back against the counter and crossed her arms.

“Go on” She simply said.

“Am I the only person here that has noticed something different in Jieun? Because neither you or dad have shown any sign of concern like I have” I stated as I rested my hands on my hips.

My mother quickly grabbed my arm shushed me.

“Don't talk so loud for god's sake Suzy, of course we noticed it, but what did you expect us to do? It's not any of our business and neither it is yours, so I would like it if you don't bring this subject anymore” She whispered a little too loudly for my taste.

Nothing was left to say after that, so we simply went to the dinning room and joined Jieun and my father, who was awkwardly sitting in front of her without knowing what to say.

“Well, let's eat everyone” My mother nervously said in an attempt to break the tension that had been formed. Of course no one was going to bring up the subject of Jieun's change, but we were all thinking of it, so it clearly made it an uncomfortable situation to be in.

After filling my stomach with some croissants and more delicacies, accompanied with a sweet raspberry tea -brought by my mother's exquisite tastes- I excused myself from the dinning room and left towards my old bed room, so I could rest and clear my head up a little bit.

The room was exactly the same as I had left it before leaving the house, it was neater, yes, but other than that, it was the same old bedroom I used to spend hours at. Decorated with cheesy posters and more silly teenager objects. Nostalgia was clearly spread all over its walls.

I stepped in and laid down on my small, single bed covered with floral printed sheets and blankets, as I rubbed my temples and exhaled a good amount of air in the middle of the silence.

Steps were suddenly heard, approaching my doorstep. When the sound ceased, I slowly opened my eyes and looked to my side out of curiosity, only to find Jieun, arms crossed and staring at me.

Without further ado, she came inside and took a seat at the edge of my bed, while staring at the floor.

“Aren't you going to ask me about my change?” She uttered at last.

The question surely did break any past tension, but it certainly didn't change the fact that the distance I felt towards her was still there.

I took a seat next to her and thought about my answer with care.

“I feel like doing so... but for a reason, I feel like I shouldn't” I replied at last.

After hearing my words, she snorted and nodded her head a couple of times.

“That's nice, you're still the same girl after all Suzy, the same girl...”

The same girl, those words echoed through my mind, what a lovely thing to say, to be honest, I wish I was any different.

“I guess I couldn't say the same thing of you Jieun” I now turned my head and observed the serious expression washed on her face.

After snorting once more, but this time in a more of a mocking way, Jieun got up and slowly made her way towards the door.

“Oh Suzy” She turned around and looked at me. “I have never felt so genuine with myself in my life” And afterwards, let out a little smirk and left.

That smirk, how could I forget that typical mischievous smile? It certainly gave me the reassurance that this fretful lady is indeed, my cousin Jieun.

This issue is not over however,  Jieun.

~

After having that little yet unexpected talk with my cousin, I decided to stay on my bedroom and enjoy the peace that was in it.

But that peace, to my misfortune, was somehow meant to be broken.

Like in any average house, some malfunctions are bound to exist. Unfortunately for me, this was one of those times where yet another malfunction had emerged to interrupt my peace. The electricity in the kitchen was never installed properly, which is why, by now, we are more than accustomed to the light bulbs breaking at the most unexpected occasions.

I was placidly resting on my bed when the sound of glass breaking made me suspect that something had happened downstairs.

The shouts of my mother saying “Suzy! go get a light bulb from the attic!” were more than assuring of what had happened.

Obliged and less than contented about the situation, I got up from my bed, walked out of my room, and climbed the narrow stairs that lead me to the dirty and dusty basement.

I hadn't probably gone to that part of the house ever since I was about eighteen years old, and no wonder why, the fact that spiders and dark and narrow spaces were some of the things I dreaded the most, and the fact that all of those things integrated the room, increased my desire of escaping that place as soon as possible, indeed.

The whole environment made it more than difficult for me to find the light bulbs, without any lantern or light source at all to help me, I had to fend for my sense of touch, hoping not to touch anything too revolting.

After feeling a dozen cobwebs with my fingers -and I don't exaggerate- I had more than enough of that place. I was ready to leave without the darned light bulbs and buy some at the nearest shop instead, when suddenly, my hand touched something that was undeniably not a cobweb... or a light bulb whatsoever.

The texture was soft, my guess was that I was touching a velvet fabric, but there was something more... this wasn't just a fabric.

Experiencing the feeling of being blind, I took the object in my hands and realized that this was a book, but what kind of book would be lined with velvet on the outside?

I doubted for a moment if what I was going to do was correct, but then, the curiosity was far too big and I had already formulated too many questions inside of my head regarding the existence of this book. So in the end, I hid the book inside of my sweater and took the decision of taking it with me. It wouldn't exactly be stealing since I had found it in my house, besides, I was going to return it once I'd paid a good look at it.

Just when I was about to leave without any light bulbs, I unexpectedly came upon a box full of them on the floor. I scolded myself for not finding them before, with the box being at such an obvious place, yet I didn't put more thought into it and took the light bulbs with me, feeling more than accomplished.

After I smoothly delivered the box with the bulbs to my mother and got to my bedroom without any suspicion coming from anyone, I proceeded to take a seat at my desk and take a look at the mysterious book, once and for all.

I caressed the velvet fabric first, it was pink yet I believe it used to be a more vibrant shade in the past, but got worn-out because of the passage of time. Still, it remained incredibly soft.

Afterwards, I finally opened the book and found a very beautiful writing on the first page, made by hand in italics. I ran my index finger over the letters as it simply read “life is like a spring”. I think that more than a book, this must've been someone's diary...

The second page was very damaged to my surprise, it was very difficult, or impossible I might say, to read what was written in it, it seemed as if it was burned in certain places on purpose. I found this same problem on the rest of the pages, some things could be read, but it was very confusing and impossible to understand when not a single sentence was complete.

Because the book was so damaged and unreadable, I was willing to give up on it and return it to the attic where I had found it. I wouldn't lie if I said I was disappointed. I had browsed through every single page and reached the end without accomplishing anything. But just when I was about to close the book, a little fold in the corner caught my attention.

I carefully observed it and realized there was one more page at the end that was glued against the inner cover of the book.

With extreme care and determination, I slowly started to separate the paper from the inner cover, trying my best not to break it.

Once I could peel the paper and see what was hidden in it, I realized this wasn't an ordinary book with an irrelevant content.

The content of the whole book still remained a mystery to me, but this page was intact, and it made me question a lot of things.

The page contained an old picture of a young couple which seemed strangely familiar, judging the fact I don't recall meeting them in my life. Though I must say, she was extremely beautiful, and he was very handsome as well. They must have truly loved each other, you could see it in their eyes.

But as I contemplated the picture in my hands with complete awe and intrigue, and as my fingers traced the couple's facial features, a question lingered through my mind.

Who where they?

And then, as an act of magic, a sudden opaque yet crucial memory appeared, hidden in the depths of my brain.

Now I know.

I'm afraid I can no longer return this book.

A/N: Hello there! Are you liking what you are reading? I hope so ^-^ P.S.: I have a Tumblr in case you also have one, go check it out if you want: blackjackpride.tumblr.com , also, I hope you enjoy your 2014! Much love from BlackjackPride <3