“So.. are you an introvert?” Tom asks as the two of them sit on the couch in front of the fireplace. The night is getting deeper and the temperature is getting lower.
“Introverts like quiet spaces. I like quiet people, Wilfred.” Iris said as she quietly sipped on her black coffee. Tom shots her a stare and sighs.
“It’s William.” He corrects her. He bet she doesn’t even care that she got his name all wrong. “Where are you from? You’re not English, are you?” He asks again.
“Nope.” She simply answers. Tom could sense that she’s not the type to talk but, he really couldn’t stand the silence in this house. It’s going to make him mad.
“Are you from Asia?” He asks again. He scans her. She has a pale yellowish complexion and it’s not normal for English people to look like that so she’s clearly not English. Her nose is not so tall or long, just right.. She does not look like she was born for the weather here in these lakes.
“I am half Asian, half German. If that answers your question.” She says again.
“So you lived in Germany?” He asks again, she looks at him and smiles at him that makes him nervous. Her smile is peculiar, it was almost scaring him. Or was it her intention? To scare him until he does not speak at all? But there’s something that freaks him out, he doesn’t know if it’s her midnight black eyes or her smile. She’s just different.
“So you’re English.” she says. “You’re quite an iss-ue in my silent living.” She says, mocking his accent. She laughs, God. Was it the fact that she was always scowling that made her smiles and laugh so beautiful or was it just him? This place is making him mad.
“S-sorry.. But do you not know me?”
“I don’t know people.” she says.
“You’re very hostile, do you know that? Did somebody tell you that already?” He tells her.
“And you’re very trusting. What if I am a witch and I could eat you or make you an offering” she says and looks at him again. “ You could have died and no one will ever know.”
“Everyone will look for me if I die.” Tom says proudly. She was not able to say anything but she smiled. She envies him. If she dies, no one will even bat an eye. “You’re smiling weirdly.”
“You’re staring at me.” she says. He blushes and she notices it. “Cute. What are you, a teenager?”
“Not every woman could look men in the eyes.” Tom says. “You’re weird.”
“Or maybe I just don’t have anything to fear.” she shrugs. “When you lose your fears, you become bold and aimless.
“So why did you choose to reside beside these lakes? It’s cold out here, freezing and.. Silent.” Tom says. Iris grins, her smile never leaving her face. Something about her tingles Tom. Curiosity, that’s what envelops him now. He was dying to know what makes her stay in this place, alone and vulnerable. It’s not a normal thing for a normal person to do.. So it’s tickling his mind, making him ask such questions to the lady even if the reason could be personal.
“To die.” She says, still smiling. Tom was taken aback. It could be a metaphor, right? She’s not serious about that, isn’t she?
“Tell me those words were allegorical.” Tom pleads.
“No!” She looks away, eyes shifting to the furnace.. “I mean yes, it could be figurative but not really. I came here to write an elegy.. Or some sort.” she says, chuckling to herself. “But isn’t it beautiful, poetic and extravagant? To die in the silent sides of a freezing lake in winter time. It would become a great novel for litterateurs.”
“Elegy? Were you dying?” Tom asks worriedly.
“I didn’t say it was for me!” She lies. “But.. when I was younger, I was asked to write an elegy for a parent of mine and that piece.. I might tell you it's crap so.. I wanted to do better next time. Let’s just say I’m practicing.”
“Who practices for writing an elegy?” Tom unbelievably asks. “Weren’t that meant to be written with your own feelings?”
“That’s.. That’s the point! I’m deranged.” she laughs to herself. “That moment when I was asked to write an elegy for.. That person.. I felt numb. I knew something was wrong with me when I saw her lying on the floor with.. Dumb shit and.. I didn't even cry.”
Tom’s eyes widened with her confession. So something was really wrong with her. “The ability of feeling strong emotions left my body a long time ago and I was just.. Instantly cruel and fearless.”
“You were traumatized!” Tom exclaims. “Did you try to reach out to doctors or psychologists?”
“I don’t like to talk to others, let alone to trust them.” She says, deep and quiet. Somehow, Tom’s heart clenched for the lady. She was wounded but no one came to her aid. She was alone for so long and she embraced the loneliness like a partner instead of trying to shoo it away.
“But you were talking to me about this, why?” Tom asks, she looks at him and smiles again.. And just like her smiles a while ago, it did not even bother reaching her eyes.
“Because I’ve been fascinated by bubbles and I like the imagery behind it’s structure.” she says.
“To me you’re like a bubble.. I see you now.” she says, moving closer to him and poking his arms, “but when I poke you like this, you will disappear just like how you’ll leave tomorrow and never come back.”
Tom stares at her as her eyes blink a couple of times before her head hangs low and she collapses on his arms. He immediately catches her and sighs. She was fast asleep.
“The coffee you were drinking..” he huffs to himself and stares at the packet or sleeping pills that he thought she dissolved in her coffee. “..is it for your insomnia?”
