Iris

It’s just another lonely night. I lay awake at an unreasonable time reading a book I’ve read one too many times. I’m sitting by the fireplace, warm and cozy, listening to the rain. The first rain of the season mind you. All of a sudden there was a knock at my door. I’ve  never heard a knock so polite. It’s as if the sound itself didn’t want to cause any trouble by just merely existing. At first I was hesitant to open the door. I was afraid my late husband may have come back to haunt me after his recent death but I finally mustered up the courage and opened the door. There was no ghost like I thought there would be. I was about to close the door when I heard someone clear their throat. I looked down to find a small human. A child. This child. A small boy. Was covered in mud and his clothes and hair were completely soaked. Now, I’ve never been one to invite strangers into my house but I was not raised to leave cold children outside to catch a cold. “Are you okay?” I asked the boy

 “I can’t remember.” he mumbled in response.

 “Come in sweetheart you’ll catch a cold if you stand out here any longer.” I said although I wasn't quite sure if he didn’t already have one. I laid a towel down while I ran him a warm bath. After I shepherded him into the bathroom as if he were a young lamb I retrieved some new clothes for him. One good thing my husband had left me was the hope of a child. He wanted so deeply to have children but it never worked out in our favor. Thanks to him I’ve got plenty of little boys' clothes in the spare closet. I quietly knocked on the bathroom door to which the boy resided. “I have dry clothes for you. I'm going to leave them here, if you wouldn’t mind joining me in the living room when you’re done I’ll have a nice cup of tea ready for you.” I said to the bathroom door. I continued to go about my night as if there wasn’t a new presence in my house. Soon, it became hard to pretend that he wasn’t there, especially when he sat right in front of me. He sat in the big leather armchair that used to belong to the biggest burden in my life. The boy didn’t speak, he just sat and drank tea that had grown cold waiting for him. At last I decided the silence was too much to bear. “If you don’t mind me asking, where have you come from?” I asked

“I was but a measly seed in the ground. Now I’ve grown into a boy and mother nature had directed me here.” he said calmly

“Mother nature?”

“Yes, she told me that you’d need the company on this day and by the looks of it you need the help around the house as well.” 

I glanced at all my piled up dishes and the stacks of books that are beginning to make my floor disappear. It’s true I could use the help and I most definitely need the company. Is it normal for plant boys to show up when you need them. I live nowhere close to civilization, I've got no idea how to care for a boy. 

“Why would you like to stay here” I asked

“Some people are meant to meet. Just like you and I are destined to be having this very conversation. As a mere sapling I never understood the meaning of loneliness until mother nature pulled me from my place in the ground and sent me on my way. My lady, I simply wish to feel wanted again.”  

The sheer honesty of the plant boy caught me off guard. Everything he had said made my heart feel full. I couldn’t help but jump out of my seat and pull him up along with me. We laughed and danced as if we’d known each other for eons. 

The next morning, I awoke with a purpose. The plant boy who’s name was Iris rose with the sun just as I have been doing my entire life. Iris helped me collect eggs from the hens along with milk from the cows. After breakfast I showed him all of my favorite books and we both read accompanied by a fresh pot of tea. We would start our morning together and enjoy peaceful (sometimes restless) nights together. We would take walks in the fields together when the sun weather felt perfect and when winters grew cold we stayed tucked away with books, bread and tea.I had never felt such joy being around someone. But one day Iris convinced me to go and visit the village. I had always been scared they would all think I was peculiar but all the merchants were very warm and welcoming. I even made a few friends who invited me to a book club the next day. Iris was happy because he finally felt he had fulfilled the quest he originally intended to complete. The quest that had started on that rainy night we had met. So, that night when we arrived home it was just like any other night. I didn’t suspect a thing. I regret letting my excitement get in the way of the reason why I was happy in the first place. When I awoke that morning I put on my best dress and went to go meet my new friends in the village. I hadn’t even given Iris a second though until I got home that night and made a pot of tea. Tonight would be the first rain of the season and it would be three years since Iris came into my life but instead of reading books next to the fire and laughing about our favorite jokes. I cried myself to sleep and didn’t wake until late noon when I decided I needed to feed the hens. And when I stepped outside there were Iris’s muddy shoes and the sun which he loved so very much and just like he had sprouted from the ground so many years ago a new hope sprouted in my soul. The hope for new beginnings. I couldn’t help but feel like this is why Iris had come along in the first place. And now as I breathe in the fresh smell of rain I recover all the memories we shared and the thought that he was out there with the same memories was enough to make me smile.