“smile!”

you laugh, exasperated. “lizzie—“

“i said smile!” she orders, voice firm with a smile as she holds up the digital camera.

you smile brightly, just for her. ten years ago, you could’ve only imagined lizzie being like this. here and happy. she takes her medication, and although she’s not completely healed, she’s healing.

sure, there’s still some nights where she doesn’t sleep. days where she can’t get out of bed, and bipolar episodes that come back when she leasts expects it, but she has you and her medication. she’s living the life now that she could’ve only dreamed off back then.

and you were doing great, too. the two of you had saved money, and decided to go travelling across europe. so far, you had been to france, spain, and germany, driving around in rented cars, grabbing bus rides and sometimes even planes whenever you can.

the next stop was switzerland, and you had stopped on the route to take pictures at the mountain. lizzie is adamant on getting you to pose near the cliff side, like proper tourists, and the smile she flashes is worth the embarrassment of taking the photos.

“okay, your turn.” you order. “just not too close to the ledge, hm?” you take the digital camera, holding it up.

through the lenses, you can see her. her blonde hair is flowing in the wind, eyes bright as she smiles, with teeth, arms in the air. you hesitate before taking the picture, taking a moment to just watch her.

and then you snap it.