My bare feet soaked up the cold off the freezing the concrete. My finger dragged along the dusty metal bed rail. A little boy slept soundly against a small girl holding a pink bunny plush. The quilt lays over them as I stare.
"Iris?" asked a voice. "Iris, can I sleep with you?" I rolled over, my eyes already open.
"Liam?" I called into the dark air.
"Yes, it's me Iris. Can I sleep with you?" I dug under the quilt flipping it over as Liam sat on the edge of the bed. "Sure. Are you scared?"
Liam's small body squirmed under the cover curling up next to my body.
"I had a nightmare." I nodded, closing my eyes. Liam turned over, as I could hear him sniffle. My finger reached for his back as my one of my eyes opened. At first I made a triangle with my finger, but scribble it out. Frustrated I just close my eyes and start to count sheep. "What was that?" asked Liam softly.
"Somethin' stupid," I answered, turning to gaze at the towering ceiling.
"It didn't feel stupid to me. What were drawing?"
"A," I tried to think of the right words. "A scriangle?"
"What's a scriangle?"
"What I drew on your back." I closed off the consation, feeling miserable
"How did you draw the scriangle?"
"Like this." I swept up Liam's arm, taking his palm and drawing a triangle, then scribbling it out like I had before. Liam took my palm and drew a scriangle in the center with his finger. I smiled into the dark and somehow knew Liam was smiling too.
Small dew drops enhanced the window at the far corner of the room. It was a octagonal room, the windows lining three of the walls. I tore my eyes from the children, slowly backing away to the windows. Through the way I came in, my fingers fiddled with the lock on the window. 3-15-17 The lock broke open, collapsing in my hand. The dust arose as the window creaked open. My feet clenched the shingles on the roof, the wind whipping my hair around. The corn field shuttered, rippling like the ocean. Horses stomped wildly grinding dirt into the ground. I watched the children, thinking of Liam.
The horse didn't stop. Stampeding towards me, my heart was racing. I closed my eyes.
"What are you doing?" asked a voice. I peeled open one eye.
"Huh?" Liam his boot heel into the horse's saddle hopping down.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I mean-huh?" The brow,n tall, gallant horse bent down teething on my hair. I burst into laughter as Liam pried open the horse's mouth letting the hair fall back with the rest.
"Sorry about Winnipeg, he's uncontrollable" he said flustered as his cheeks turn red. I wanted to tell him it was okay, but my throat was full of laughter, I hadn't felt before. Laughing didn't happen in an orphanage that often. His shoulders relaxed, as he began laughing, too. Our laughter, as anyone's, had an end. And end that included walking Winnipeg back to her stable with rest of the horses and their riders trailing behind us.
"I would love to ride one day," I commented as Liam pushed the horse back in to stable.
"You ought to cut your hair if you do." A smile broke across his face. Taking his hand, I leapt from the stable door, I was sitting on, walking hand in hand with Liam.
I slid off the shingles landing hard against the courtyard tile. I reached behind the herb planter finding the satchel of gardening tools. I found what I was looking for. Carefully I placed blade in my hair, slicing it through my hair. Little swindles of hair danced to the ground. I alined the blade again, swiping the hair off my head. Over and over again, I grazed the blades over my hair, sobbing; the tear splattering across my face.
"Liam!" screamed ruefully into the wind, as I sank to my knees. Tiny wisps of hair arose from their spot, circling around me. The sounds of footsteps charging for me, a body encasing me. "Liam, I want you here," I whispered
"It's okay," whispered the Elouise. "It's okay to cry. To feel sad. To feel unloved." Elouise crouched down, covering me with a sweater. I felt Elouise look towards the large doors of the orphanage. "Iris we have to go, you can cry but we have to go." Elouise left my side, her footsteps getting farther and farther away from me. But she returned.
"Iris!" she hissed. "Iris we have to go!" My head lifted, my eye opening slowly as tears ha glued them shut. "Iris!" Elouise was standing on the second step of a latter. "Iris!" she repeated. "Iris Tempres Lin, get yourself up here right now!" screamed Elouise stomping her foot against wood latter. My feet trembled as I hovered to my feet; stumbling to Elouise, pulling the sweater tightly around me. "Up. The. Latter. Now." she demanded through clenched teeth. I took a deep breath followed Elouise up the latter