FIC: The Things We Hold Dear (SGU)
Title: The Things We Hold Dear
Rating: G, Gen
Category:Character Study - Lisa Park
Word Count:~550
Summary:Looking back, Lisa still can't figure out how her normally prim and proper Korean grandmother grew to love that particular story so much.
A/N: This was supposed to be my entry for the recentfemme_fic ficathon, but it came up short. Prompt: Lisa is an avid reader. How'd she get to be that way?
I'm posting it here anyhow because shena8 made the lovely graphic below for the original idea I had, and I just couldn't let it go to waste.
Click Here for full version.
People talk about the things they miss about home all the time; the people they wish they could be with, or the things they would have brought along had they known this was a one way trip. As each week passes though, they start letting go. A little bit at a time.
There are things that Lisa misses, but she's felt their absence for much longer than the months they've been gone…
"And they roared their terrible roars… " Grandmother paused while four year-old Lisa threw back her head and let out her most forceful of growls. The orange tabby curled up on the afghan at the foot of the bed merely opened one eyelid in deference to the noise, then went back to sleep with an exaggerated sigh.
"… and gnashed their terrible teeth… "
Lisa pulled her lips back and snarled.
"… and rolled their terrible eyes… "
Lisa rolled her eyes so far back that she almost fell over, and Grandmother had to grab her before she toppled off the bed. The book fell to the floor with a thud, startling the cat.
Grandmother retrieved the book and turned the page. "And showed their terrible claws." The cat, once again indifferent, started grooming herself - sucking and chewing her front paw, digits extended, showing off a set of not-so-terrible claws of her own. Lisa wiggled closer to Grandmother on the bed.
"Then Max said- "
"Wash up for bed." Lisa's father stood in the doorway of Grandmother's room.
"That's not what he said," Lisa frowned and ducked under Grandmother's arm.
"You're father is right," Grandmother said. She brushed the bangs out of Lisa's eyes. "It's time to get ready for bed." She looked up at where Lisa's father was standing, arms crossed, waiting. "We shall read the last few pages quietly, and then it's off to bed."
Grandmother's room was at the back of the house, and once they heard Lisa's father's footsteps fade into the noise of the television show that Eric had playing too loud, Lisa slipped the bedroom door shut, then climbed back into Grandmother's bed. They did finish the story quietly, though the telling was no less animated than before.
Looking back, Lisa still can't figure out how her normally prim and proper Korean grandmother grew to love that particular story so much. She guesses that maybe it's one of those things she won't understand until she has a child of her own. Except, as far as she can tell, Where the Wild Things Are is not in Destiny's database - not that she expected it would be. Of the few people she's asked, none of them remember reading that particular book when they were young. She feels homesick for the first time in weeks.
When her shift ends, Lisa stops by Stores for a few sheets of paper. Back in her quarters, she sits quietly for a few minutes, and in her mind's eye, she sees the mint-colored paint and the lace-veiled garden door of her grandmother's old room. Her throat tightens for a moment; she hasn't thought of Grandmother's room in years. She blows out a slow breath, puts her pen to the sheet of paper, and begins… "One night, Max made mischief of one kind… and another… "
There are some things she refuses to let go of.
.end
Rating: G, Gen
Category:Character Study - Lisa Park
Word Count:~550
Summary:Looking back, Lisa still can't figure out how her normally prim and proper Korean grandmother grew to love that particular story so much.
A/N: This was supposed to be my entry for the recentfemme_fic ficathon, but it came up short. Prompt: Lisa is an avid reader. How'd she get to be that way?
I'm posting it here anyhow because shena8 made the lovely graphic below for the original idea I had, and I just couldn't let it go to waste.
Click Here for full version.
People talk about the things they miss about home all the time; the people they wish they could be with, or the things they would have brought along had they known this was a one way trip. As each week passes though, they start letting go. A little bit at a time.
There are things that Lisa misses, but she's felt their absence for much longer than the months they've been gone…
"And they roared their terrible roars… " Grandmother paused while four year-old Lisa threw back her head and let out her most forceful of growls. The orange tabby curled up on the afghan at the foot of the bed merely opened one eyelid in deference to the noise, then went back to sleep with an exaggerated sigh.
"… and gnashed their terrible teeth… "
Lisa pulled her lips back and snarled.
"… and rolled their terrible eyes… "
Lisa rolled her eyes so far back that she almost fell over, and Grandmother had to grab her before she toppled off the bed. The book fell to the floor with a thud, startling the cat.
Grandmother retrieved the book and turned the page. "And showed their terrible claws." The cat, once again indifferent, started grooming herself - sucking and chewing her front paw, digits extended, showing off a set of not-so-terrible claws of her own. Lisa wiggled closer to Grandmother on the bed.
"Then Max said- "
"Wash up for bed." Lisa's father stood in the doorway of Grandmother's room.
"That's not what he said," Lisa frowned and ducked under Grandmother's arm.
"You're father is right," Grandmother said. She brushed the bangs out of Lisa's eyes. "It's time to get ready for bed." She looked up at where Lisa's father was standing, arms crossed, waiting. "We shall read the last few pages quietly, and then it's off to bed."
Grandmother's room was at the back of the house, and once they heard Lisa's father's footsteps fade into the noise of the television show that Eric had playing too loud, Lisa slipped the bedroom door shut, then climbed back into Grandmother's bed. They did finish the story quietly, though the telling was no less animated than before.
Looking back, Lisa still can't figure out how her normally prim and proper Korean grandmother grew to love that particular story so much. She guesses that maybe it's one of those things she won't understand until she has a child of her own. Except, as far as she can tell, Where the Wild Things Are is not in Destiny's database - not that she expected it would be. Of the few people she's asked, none of them remember reading that particular book when they were young. She feels homesick for the first time in weeks.
When her shift ends, Lisa stops by Stores for a few sheets of paper. Back in her quarters, she sits quietly for a few minutes, and in her mind's eye, she sees the mint-colored paint and the lace-veiled garden door of her grandmother's old room. Her throat tightens for a moment; she hasn't thought of Grandmother's room in years. She blows out a slow breath, puts her pen to the sheet of paper, and begins… "One night, Max made mischief of one kind… and another… "
There are some things she refuses to let go of.
.end