Iris's POV
Sleep refused to come easily that night.
It was strange.
I had spent years thinking that silence was what I needed the most. A quiet room. A quiet bed. A quiet life where nobody disturbed anybody.
But now that I finally had it,
something felt wrong.
---
Maybe because this room was unfamiliar.
Or maybe…
because I wasn't alone anymore.
---
I turned to my side again, staring at the faint moonlight spreading across the new bedroom walls. The ceiling looked different. The corners looked different. Even the air felt different somehow.
I slowly sat up with a sigh.
"Why can't I sleep…"
My voice was barely a whisper.
---
The room was dim except for the pale light coming from the window.
Without thinking much, I got off the bed and walked toward it quietly.
This window faced the front gate.
The old house's window had been different.
That one faced his room and his living room.
---
My fingers lightly touched the edge of the curtain.
For a moment, memories I could not fully grasp flickered somewhere in the back of my head.
And suddenly—
that little girl's voice crossed my mind again.
"Strings of familiar hearts…"
My brows furrowed instantly.
A sharp pain pierced through my head.
I inhaled sharply and immediately pressed my hand against my temple.
Not again.
It had been quite a while since it hurt like this.
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to suppress even the slightest sound.
He might hear.
The walls were not that thick.
I slowly walked back toward the bed while clutching my head, each step becoming heavier than before.
The pain spread strangely fast.
My vision blurred slightly.
I barely reached the mattress before sitting down weakly.
"Ah…"
And then,
Everything went blank.
---
When I opened my eyes again, sunlight was already spilling across the room.
I blinked once.
Twice.
Then immediately sat up.
"WHAT?!"
The clock showed 7:02 AM.
"I'm late again?!"
I jumped out of bed so fast that the blanket almost fell along with me.
And then,
I froze.
The room.
Right.
I shifted yesterday.
I quickly rushed toward the attached washroom, nearly slipping midway before somehow stabilizing myself.
Cold water hit my skin as I hurried through the shower, mentally calculating how much time I had left.
Very little.
Too little.
---
Today was technically my last proper day at school as a student.
After this,
farewell.
Then preparation leave.
Three whole months for competitive exams and finals.
And after that…
school life would just end.
The thought felt strangely heavy.
Too heavy for a morning this rushed.
I quickly wore my uniform, tied my hair while walking out of the room, and grabbed my bag.
The moment I stepped outside,
I stopped.
Kaizer was standing near the table, packing his school bag calmly.
Thank God.
I wasn't that late.
---
He glanced toward me.
"You woke up."
I just nodded my head. Why does it sound so sarcastic?!
---
I checked my purse quickly.
Enough money for the bus.
Good.
---
"I'll go by bus today," I said while adjusting my bag properly. "Cycling will take too long."
Kaizer nodded once.
"You're taking the bus too?"
I looked at him.
"Yess."
Right at that moment, my phone started vibrating.
Anya.
I picked it up immediately.
Before I could even speak,
"Iris! Did you see the time?!"
I moved the phone slightly away from my ear.
"I just woke up…"
"Exactly my point!"
I sighed while walking alongside Kaizer toward the bus stop.
"I shifted yesterday, okay? My body is protesting."
"That body of yours is always protesting."
---
Kaizer let out a small chuckle beside me.
I glanced at him briefly before continuing.
"I'm already on the way."
"You better be," Anya huffed dramatically. "And eat something this time."
"Yes, mother."
"I'm hanging up."
And she actually did.
Kaizer's POV
The morning breeze felt cooler than usual as we walked toward the bus stop.
She was still holding her phone after Anya's call while muttering under her breath about how she was "not even that late."
"She scolds you every morning?" I asked.
She nodded casually.
"She likes checking on me."
Something about that sentence felt oddly nice.
Before I could respond though,
movement near the road caught Iris's attention.
Her eyes widened instantly.
"The bus—"
I looked up.
Right.
Our bus was already leaving.
"KAIZER!"
Before I could even properly react,
she grabbed my hand.
Warm fingers suddenly clutched my wrist as she started pulling me forward.
"Run fast!"
For one second,
I genuinely forgot to move.
My eyes dropped toward our hands.
Her grip was tight.
Hurried.
Natural.
As if she didn't even realize what she had done.
And suddenly,
something flashed across my mind.
A memory.
Blurred sunlight.
Tiny footsteps.
A much smaller hand holding mine tightly while dragging me somewhere.
> "Come fast, Dumbo!"
A little girl laughing brightly while turning back toward me.
> "We'll miss it!"
My breath paused slightly.
The memory vanished almost immediately.
But the feeling stayed.
Warm.
Familiar.
My eyes shifted toward Iris again.
Wind pushed strands of her hair across her face while she continued pulling me forward without letting go once.
And for some reason,
a faint smirk appeared on my lips.
"…Right."
The next second, my fingers moved around her hand properly.
Firmly.
Then instead of letting her drag me,
I pulled her forward instead.
"Wait—!"
I started running faster.
Much faster than her.
She almost stumbled from the sudden speed before matching my pace beside me.
The morning wind rushed past us while our footsteps echoed loudly against the pavement. People near the stop turned toward us while the bus conductor impatiently shouted from the entrance.
"Fast! Fast!"
"We're coming!" Iris shouted back breathlessly.
I stepped onto the bus first before immediately pulling her up behind me just before the door fully closed.
The moment we entered,
both of us stopped for a second, breathing heavily.
And only then did I realize,
I was still holding her hand.
My eyes slowly lowered toward it again.
Her fingers still rested against mine.
Neither of us moved immediately.
For one strange second,
everything else around me became quieter.
The noisy students.
The conductor shouting.
The moving bus.
Everything.
Then Iris suddenly looked up.
Our eyes met.
And both of us immediately looked away at the exact same time before quietly letting go.
"…We made it," she muttered softly.
"Yes," I replied.
My voice sounded calmer than I actually felt.
There was only one empty seat left near the window.
A two-seater.
Usually,
whenever we sat together, I left a small space between us unconsciously.
Not enough for others to notice.
Just enough for me to notice.
This time though,
after sitting beside her, I didn't move away.
Maybe because the seat was too small.
Or maybe because,
my hand still felt warm.
Our shoulders brushed lightly every few seconds whenever the bus moved.
And strangely,
neither of us shifted away.
I quietly glanced toward the window.
But my mind was still stuck on that memory.
That little hand.
That voice.
And the strange familiarity I could never fully explain.
Iris's POV
Neither of us spoke for a while.
The bus moved forward slowly as morning sunlight passed through the windows.
And somehow,
the silence didn't feel awkward.
Not fully.
Only dangerous.
In a very quiet way.
---
At school, we separated near the corridor after a small goodbye.
The day itself passed quickly after that.
I had an oral test during one of the periods.
The teacher kept asking question after question, and I answered each one calmly, though my mind drifted elsewhere multiple times.
Mostly toward a certain hand-holding incident.
Which I absolutely refused to think about.
---
By lunch break, Anya immediately appeared beside my desk dramatically.
"Freedom is near."
"You're acting like we survived prison."
"We did."
I laughed quietly before the two of us headed toward the cafeteria where Lux and Kaizer already sat waiting.
Lux immediately pointed dramatically toward us.
"The senior citizens arrive."
"Shut up," Anya replied instantly.
After sitting down, I finally informed them,
"Me and Anya are leaving early today."
Lux blinked.
"Why?"
"All seniors got dispersal early," Anya explained while stealing fries from his plate.
Lux looked personally betrayed.
---
We soon bid our goodbyes as we walked outside the school gate after lunch.
---
After parting ways with Anya, I finally reached home.
Or well,
almost.
Out of habit, I walked toward the old house gate first.
My fingers almost touched it before realization hit me.
Right.
Not mine anymore.
I turned toward Kaizer's house instead.
He had given me the spare key yesterday.
But when I reached the gate,
I froze.
It was already open.
---
My grip around my bag tightened.
Who would come here?
Kaizer was still at school.
Carefully, I pulled out the tiny knife attached to my nail cutter.
Not very threatening.
But emotionally supportive.
I slowly stepped inside the hall.
The TV was running.
Which honestly made the entire situation even more suspicious.
Whoever breaks into someone's house and watches television so comfortably?
My grip tightened slightly around the tiny knife attached to the nail cutter.
Then I finally walked into the living room,
and pointed it forward immediately.
"Don't move."
The man sitting on the sofa looked up.
He had a snack packet in one hand.
And absolutely zero guilt on his face.
"…Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
My voice stayed calm.
Cold.
Controlled.
"Who are you?"
The stranger looked at me for a second before slowly placing the snack packet down.
"I think I should ask that first."
"You're inside my house."
One of his eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Your house?"
I didn't lower the knife.
"Yes."
For a moment, both of us simply stared at each other.
Then he leaned back slightly against the sofa.
"…Interesting."
"What is?"
"You threatened someone with a nail cutter knife before even confirming their identity."
"It was enough to make you stop moving."
"That is true."
His calmness somehow irritated me more than panic would have.
Then finally he spoke again.
"You're Iris?"
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"…How do you know my name?"
Instead of answering immediately, he reached toward the table and picked up his phone.
For one second I almost raised the knife again.
But then he simply unlocked the screen and showed me a photograph.
A younger version of him.
And beside him,
little Kaizer.
Tiny.
Soft-faced.
Quiet-looking even as a child.
For one brief second, my entire attention shifted toward the picture.
He looked…
adorable.
Before I could accidentally keep staring, I quickly looked away and composed my expression again.
"…You're Kaizer's relative?"
"Rian, his elder brother."
He extended his hand slightly in greeting before glancing toward the knife still in mine.
"…Should I be concerned about that thing?"
I quietly lowered it.
"Depends on your behavior."
That earned the faintest amused smile from him.
"Kaizer never mentioned he had a brother."
"We're half brothers," he replied casually. "Different mothers."
"Oh."
That explained certain differences in appearance.
Though now that I looked carefully,
the resemblance was definitely there.
Especially in the eyes.
Rian observed me for a moment before speaking again.
"So you're the girl living here now."
I nodded slightly.
His gaze briefly moved toward the spare keys in my hand before back toward me again.
Then calmly,
"I'll admit something."
"What?"
"I understand why Kaizer sounded unusually serious on call now."
I frowned slightly.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"That he trusted you enough to hand over keys to this house." He paused slightly. "Which is rare."
Something about the way he said it made me unexpectedly quiet.
Then suddenly he leaned back again.
"Though you do seem slightly dangerous."
"I thought strangers entering houses unannounced were considered dangerous too."
"Fair point."
Finally,
a quieter kind of silence settled between them.
Not awkward.
Just cautious.
Then Rian slowly pushed the snack bowl slightly toward me.
"Peace offering?"
I looked at it.
Then at him.
"…Only because they seem tasty." I said as I extended my hand to take one. I am foody. I actually am.
"That is the most honest response I've heard today."
I sat on the opposite side of the sofa.
The atmosphere became strangely normal after that.
A while later, I heard a sound near the front door. He might be back.
"…What happened here?" Kaizer asked glancing at the two of us.
Rian grinned immediately.
"Your girlfriend almost killed me."
I choked violently.
"Cough! Cough!"
Kaizer quickly came near me.
"Are you ok?"
Then turned towards his brother.
"Brother, can you not joke around!!"
"Ok ok."
I inhaled lightly. My cheeks were already warming up. Girlfriend?!
---
Soon our attention turned towards the TV. The news was exactly something which can grab anyone's attention.
23 people from our town disappeared out of a sudden in less than a week and the cause, still unknown.
"Isn't it strange? How can people disappear? That too without any visible sign." Rian said, clearly confused.
I frowned, so did Kaizer as we both agreed to him.
"Anyways, I am leaving. Take care."
Kaizer went out to close the door as Rian left the house.
And when he returned, an unknown silence returned with him.
Kaizer was unusually interested in that news. I suddenly remembered something. I went to my room, and took out a old journal from it, grandma's journal.
"Uhm...my grandma used to study about things like mind reading.." I said as I walked out of my room. "I thought, you might be interested in reading her journal."
He stared at the heavy thing in my hand, then took it from my hand and placed it on the table.
"It looks interesting." He said as he cleaned the dust on it.
He looked around the journal curiously, while I looked at him.
---
I never imagined that I would be here, living in his house and be so close to him. I still sometimes get the urge to pinch myself incase I am still dreaming.
I never ever understood this pull, I felt towards him.
I quietly looked away and walked inside my room towards the wall hanging.
I instinctively took out a paper and wrote,
"I had never imagined that one day you will meet me like this..and flowers will bloom all across the path."
After that I attached it to the hanging.
Then I walked out again, he looked up at me and asked.
"Where have you been?"
"I just remembered an important work."
"Ok"
And then we just sat quietly watching the TV, sometimes talking in between while I enjoyed this sweet unimaginable reality.