Chapter 7: If Only Tears Could Bring You Back

After seeing her daughter collapsing, Marge started running to her, quickly followed by Bart and Homer. The rest of the crowd tried to follow, but Bart blocked them by spreading his hands in front of the breakwater.

"Sorry, no more entrances!" he said. "Besides, you couldn't even all fit in there."

"The kid's got a good point", Chief Wiggum said.

Bart turned around and ran at his family at the end of the breakwater. Marge was kneeling and holding Lisa's body on her lap. She gently stroke her green hair.

"Please, honey, wake up", she said quietly, with no response.

Homer's eyes were watering.

"Oh, my little girl", Homer said quietly. "You were really brave." He knelt besides Lisa.

Bart also knelt besides her sister. "You saved us all, Lis", he said. "That was so cool."

For a moment all the Simpsons just looked at Lisa's body.

"Is she still... you know... alive?" Bart asked quietly.

Marge brought her hand onto Lisa's chest. "She's still breathing, but barely."

Bart looked at Lisa's face and stroke her hair. While doing so, he noticed something.

"She's dry", Bart said. "Her skin is all dry."

"That must be due to her using her powers so much", Marge said.

Then they heard a noise. Lisa was moaning very weakly and quietly. Her eyes opened just a little. All the Simpsons came even closer to Lisa.

"Honey!" Marge said. "You made it! You saved us all!"

Lisa smiled feebly. "Thanks... mom..." she said so quietly that her voice was barely distinguishable from the splashing of the waves.

"You surely showed Mother Nature this time, Lis", Bart said.

Lisa smiled feebly again. Homer patted her cheek.

"Our little fish girl", Homer said quietly. "I love you so much."

"I... love... you... too... dad..." Lisa said weakly.

"We must get you in shape at once, Lisa", Marge said. "What can we do to you?"

"Pure... pure water..." Lisa whispered. "I need... pure... water... to... re... energize..."

"Okay, let's dump her into the ocean, quick!" Homer said and quickly stood up.

"No", Lisa whispered. "The wave... brought trash... water... not clean... enough..."

"Oh", Homer said with disappointed voice, and fell back to his knees.

"Lis, you must not die", Bart said, looking at Lisa's face encouragingly. "You've been through much harder spots than this."

"Sorry... Bart..." Lisa said weakly. "I think... I... can't... promise... you... that... now..."

"This is no time to be kidding!" Bart said clearly, shaking his head while his eyes were watering. "You're the toughest girl in Springfield! Well, maybe not with your body, but your mind is the strongest one I've ever met!"

"Thanks... Bart..." Lisa said quietly. Marge took a hold on her daughter's hand.

"Honey, I won't let you die!" she said. "You are one of my children, and my children are the most valuable things I've ever had or ever will have!"

Lisa smiled feebly once more. "Love you too... mom..." she said. "And Bart... and dad..." she added while looking at her father and brother.

Both Homer and Bart wiped away tears from their eyes.

"Bye... everybody..." Lisa said weakly. "And thanks... for everything."

Slowly Lisa's eyes closed. Marge touched her daughter's chest, and no longer felt her breathing or her heart thumping.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" she screamed. Her scream echoed all the way around the Springfield harbor.

"Guess she died now", Moe said back at the shore after hearing Marge screaming.

"She was a brave girl", Chief Wiggum said. He wiped away a tear. Many other ones were crying in the crowd as well.

Back at the breakwater, Marge was sobbing and crying more than she had ever done. Homer patted Marge on the back.

"Don't worry, honey", he said quietly. "She's gone to a better place now. Heaven or Fish Heaven, I don't know which. Or, maybe both."

Marge was still crying. Bart pulled Homer from his sleeve.

"Dad, eave-lay om-may one-alay, kay-oay?" Bart whispered into Homer's ear in Pig Latin.

"Sorry", Homer said sorrily.

Marge sniffed. "Oh, Lisa", she said. "My beloved daughter. I never thought I would be alive to see this day, and I never hoped for it, but... but now..."

She couldn't carry on, but broke into more tears. She couldn't hold herself up, and fell onto her daughter's lifeless body, crying her sorrow into the night. Bart and Homer just kept wiping tears from their eyes and said nothing.

What Marge didn't notice, was that when she was crying, tears from her eyes dripped onto Lisa.

Pure, watery tears.

Marge was tired from all the crying and sobbing, but still she kept going on. She couldn't find any other ways to express the departure of her dear daughter.

Or maybe it wasn't a departure after all.

For unnoticed by anyone around, slowly Lisa started breathing again, and her heart started pounding again. At first, both of those noises were covered by Marge's sobbing, until a quiet voice spoke.

"Mom?"

Marge jolted up, so surprised that she even stopped sobbing and crying.

"Did you hear that?" she said. "I heard Lisa's voice!"

"You're probably just hallucinating, honey", Homer said.

"I don't think so, dad", Bart said. "Look!" He pointed as Lisa's face.

The scales on Lisa's face were returning to normal. Just a moment ago, they had been dry and losing their color, but now they were returning back to their moist and bright green state.

All the Simpsons gasped.

"Could... could this mean...?" Homer gasped.

"Yes", said Lisa's voice. "It does."

All the Simpsons jolted. As they kept looking at Lisa's face, they saw how her eyes slowly started opening. Homer, Bart, and Marge all held their breaths as Lisa slowly sat up on her mother's lap, and then turned to look at her mother. She smiled.

"Hi, mom", she said.

At first, only tears were coming out of Marge's eyes and her lips were trembling. Then, she threw her arms over her daughter, and hugged her.

"OH, LISA!"

Marge was still crying, but now her tears of sorrow were away, and now there were only tears of relief and joy.

Lisa smiled and hugged her mother back.

"You're back!" Marge said. Her voice was thick due to all the crying, and she sniffed loudly before going on. "You're truly back! I thought I had lost you forever!"

"How in the freaking world were you able to come back?!" Bart asked.

"It was all thanks to mom", Lisa said. "I felt like I was sinking into a deep, dark abyss. But then, I saw a blink of light, and heard tears dripping onto something. By every drip I heard, I rose closer and closer to the surface, where the light became brighter and brighter, and then... well, then I was back here."

"Are you saying...?" Marge asked.

"That's right", Lisa said softly. "Your tears were the pure and clean water that was needed to bring me back."

Marge smiled and hugged her daughter even tighter.

"Sounds almost like some kind of a fairy tale", Bart said. "Tears bringing back to life..."

"Actually, I wasn't quite dead", Lisa said. "But I was really hanging over the edge, I'll admit you that."

"Well, all that matters is that you are safe!" Marge said.

"You and the whole town!" Homer said.

"Oh, that reminds me..." Bart said, turned towards the shore, and called, "She's alive!"

The crowd started cheering loudly.

"I knew she would make it!" Groundskeeper Willie called.

"Long live Aqua-Lisa!" Moe shouted.

"Three hoorays for Aqua-Lisa!" Principal Skinner called.

And so the whole crowd called together:

"Hip hip HOORAY! Hip hip HOORAY! Hip hip HOORAY!"

"Do you hear that, Lisa?" Bart asked. "You're a hero."

Lisa smiled. "Thanks, Bart", she said. She waved her finger. "Come over here, bro. Let's have a big hug."

What Bart didn't notice was that when waving her finger, Lisa separated a small ball of water from the sea, and levitated it behind Bart's head. When Bart was getting closer to Lisa, she said, "Look, behind you!" As Bart turned around, Lisa pulled her finger back, sending the ball of water splashing over Bart's face.

"Oh yeah?" Bart spluttered. He went down of the edge of the breakwater, took some wet seaweed from the rocks, and threw it at Lisa's face.

Lisa wiped the seaweed off her face. "You shall pay for that", she said playfully, stood up, and leaped into the water, splashing some water over Bart. Then she came up, squirted some more water from her mouth at him, and giggled.

"Aren't our kids just adorable, Homie?" Marge asked, beaming.

"For once, Marge", Homer said, smiling too, "I agree with you in something."