Ever since Iris has been brought to this manor when she was just seven, she instantly knew that she was the black sheep in her new found family. Her mother and step-sisters constantly harassed her and her father despised her. But still, she was grateful for having a roof above her head and a cold meal to eat. But one thing that she hated the most is being locked up in a place. Iris hated being restricted into doing anything. That is why she usually has a few tricks when sneaking out after being locked in her room.
Still standing on the ledge outside the window, Iris took a deep breath with her eyes closed as a cold breeze blew past her face. It's as if she was not outside just 40 minutes ago. Upon opening her eyes, Iris glanced at the ground with a relaxed look on her face. It's more than ten feet from the ground. With that, Iris could only smile upon seeing the height she was in. But Iris is not one to back out.
"Fuck them," Iris whispered as she jumped without hesitation.
But she did not land directly on the ground floor. Iris is reckless but not stupid. That kind of jump would surely injure her. Instead, Iris jumped on a big sturdy tree just 5 feet far from her window.
She successfully landed on one of its branches causing it to shake uncontrollably, some leaving falling to the green grass. Afterward, Iris just jumped one one branch to another as she slowly descended the ground with a satisfied expression.
"Easy peasy." She said to herself with a smug look on her face as she looked up at the window she just jumped on.
Though she doesn't usually show it, Iris is a pretty athletic person. With the miserable years she suffered from she learned to toughen up Most of the time, Iris would wonder what if she did not leave the orphanage she grew up in. Her mother must have left Iris there, away from her father, for a reason. But young Iris, after knowing that she has a father, instantly held his hand with hopeful eyes. Her father is not that hard on her. But ever since Iris set foot on the manor, her father slowly changed.
Still being cautious of the surroundings, Iris sneakily walked through that backyard. Their backyard is not that big but it has a fair share of hindrance. Sometimes she would roll and hide in the bushes as some night guards would wander and would suddenly flash their flashlights in her direction.
After what felt like a long hide and seek game, Iris finally arrived at her exit route where no one except her knew. With her hands placed on her hips, Iris then stared down at the big bush pressed on the brick wall that surrounds the manor.
"Ugh, my white pants are gonna get stained by this. But…oh well." Iris said to herself with an unbothered look on her face. She then started to crouch down and parted the bush to again get proper access to the hole on the wall, big enough for her to crawl into. Iris accidentally found this place when she was chasing a stray puppy that snuck in their yard. Since then, Iris has been using this secret hole to get in and out secretly of that house.
But before she could even crawl out, a dog suddenly emerged somewhere and upon detecting Iris, it suddenly barked uncontrollably causing Iris to freeze in her tracks. She swiftly looked at the guard dog with wide eyes as panic creeped to her face.
She then put a finger on her lips as she signaled the dog to stop making noises. "Shh! Why the heck are you here!?" Iris exclaimed with a low voice, wary that the dog will wake those sleeping people in the manor. But since the dog is not stopping, Iris has no choice but to grab the squeaky ball that was stored in her pant's front pocket and throw it in the dog's direction.
"Here! Catch boy!"She commanded as she threw the soft ball far enough for her to give time to crawl out the hole. It is a good thing that she always brought that ball in case she would encounter that dog. Just to be careful.
Upon seeing the giddy dog instantly run away as it fetched the ball, Iris went back with her business as she swiftly crawled out without difficulty out the hole. She then started to walk away from the wall, fearing that the dog might follow her out. As she walked deeper in the deserted forest on the back of the manor, Iris walked through its dense path as if she knew the area like the back of her hand. After a few minutes of walking, Iris finally arrived at the place she was meaning to go.
It was a lake that was surrounded by beautiful blooming flowers and glowing fireflies. It is also one of the safe places that she found when she was running away from home. Since then, whenever Iris was down, she would always visit the place and just sit and watch as the moonlight would shine the lake making it sparkle as small creatures would play on it. It was also a good place for her to pass time when she's in a bad mood or can't sleep.
Iris sat down on the usual place that she would usually sit as she once again gaze on the serene lake. Like she usually does. She just stared at it as she reminisced about the confrontation she had with his father. A lot of things were on her mind as she rested her chin on her knees while hugging her legs. She looked like a pitiful child as her blank expression converted into a melancholic one.
At times like this, she tends to remember the face of her mother that she accidentally saw in his father's office. Iris knew that her father truly loved her mother, but he chose his family over her mother. And when Iris' mother died after she was born, Iris' father would look at Iris as the one who killed his first love. The only reason that Iris was brought in the manor was to avoid rumors that he neglected his child. As a politician, that is a big no to him.
As she gazed on the calm lake, something then caught Iris eyes. She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes as she tried to get a better look at the floating thing on the lake. But she couldn't figure it out so she decided to get it. With her pants rolled above her knee, she decided to walk in the lake barefoot as she walked closer to the shining thing that was floating on the center of the lake. But before she could even grab the mysterious thing, Iris slipped which caused her to fall back in the water.
But the strange thing is that the lake suddenly became deeper as she fell in. It felt like she fell in a big ocean instead. Iris was panicking underwater upon finding herself struggling to swim after falling in this big amount of water from a shallow lake. If there's one thing Iris couldn't do it would be to float. At that moment, only one thing came into Iris mind as she stared at the moon above from underwater.
'Is this how I'm gonna die? Fine by me.'