The city's skyline blurred behind the car windows as Iris sat in the passenger seat, Zara quiet beside her. After what happened yesterday,no one said anything Iris didn't tell Sean and Zara and neither did the both of them tell Iris .The atmosphere felt tense and awkward.
Iris spaced out ,trying to connect the dots of what happened last night .Her fingers twitched ,like the air had been too thick last night.The only thing she remembered was going to the bathroom. On her way ,she stopped for a while and then that nerve- racking experience ,she doesn't know how she found herself in bed or even changed that experience was too real to be a dream.The emotions she felt were too raw ,for it to be a dream.
Sean had offered to drop them off before heading to his own apartment. Iris's apartment came into view, she lived alone as long as she could remember .It wasn't rebellion.It was survival. Living alone meant control ,no eyes watching,no expectations to choke under,no responsibilities she didn't want nor spotlight.
She dragged her suitcase and Zara helped with her purse .Her apartment was at the top floor ,where the view of the city was nice.Iris stopped ,she had forgotten her phone so she opened the door for Zara ,then left her there .Zara wandered around a little bit,taking in the chandlier in the living room the huge flat screen,the walls painted pale blue the open kitchen the sofa ,the tall man who had only a towel wrapped around him .Zara eyed him up and down,a blush crept up her face .
"You're back soon." he said .Zara confused just stared at him ,said nothing.
"Like what you see ?"he added,as he approached her and hugged her getting her clothes wet .He didn't let go and she didn't shove him.
"What do you think you're doing,"he heard Iris say ,she stood there frozen , looking at him and where his hands were .He let go quickly and looked at Zara before looking back at Iris .
"I see two of you ,"he said stepping away from Zara still looking back and forth between the two women."What are you doing here Kai?"She closed the door behind her exhausted .
"I still pay rent her ,and we still share the lease. Remember?"
"What happened to your other apartment?"Iris asked feeling her temple already throbbing,she held back what she was feeling right then ,she couldn't explode right before Zara ,it wasn't appropriate.
"Let me do you one better,why are there two of you ? You didn't tell me you have a twin."Kai still looked confused,he knew her , everything about her ,so who was the person in front of him?
"How about you put something on first,"Iris said stretching her legs ,and starting to roll her suitcase,he wanted to shut him up or better kick him out ,she didn't want to deal with him right now.Kai still hadn't moved.She sighed and stopped, gripping her suitcase tight ."Kai ,Zara ,Zara, Kai .Now I hope you're using the guest room ."He nodded.Iris called out to Zara and they went to her room.
Inside, warm lights flickered across familiar furniture. Iris jumped on her bed immediately.A wave of exhaustion washed over her ."The bathrooms that way ,there are fresh towels in the cabinet over there,"she pointed out "and fresh clothes over there ."She pointed again.
Zara stepped out ,steam curling behind her like smoke .Her skin flushed from the heat ,towel wrapped high on her chest,another twisted on her dump hair.She didn't speak just moved barefoot toward the cabinet Iris had pointed, and the she turned ,back exposed .Calm.Vulnerable.
Iris blinked looked between Zara's shoulder blades , just above the spine ,was something carved into her skin. Not ink. Not decorative. It looked like a scar but beautifully shaped.
A closed lotus, petals curved downward like they were hiding something sacred.At its center, a sharp, geometric shield a triangle, jagged and firm.
Around it, thin scar lines, faded but unmistakable. Carved. Not tattooed.
Iris sat up , didn't breathe,heart thumping .What the hell...?
The room felt colder,heavier.She couldn't look away,she traced the carved image with her eyes,it looked familiar but she couldn't place where she saw it ,but she didn't ask Zara about it ,she figured she won't have remembered it and maybe she shouldn't have started at it for too long ,since sleep didn't come to her easily no matter how she turned and when she finally did, the dream came.
She saw a stone room lit by firelight and two young women, nearly identical, their faces covered in ash and grief. One knelt behind the other, a blade in her hand.
She whispered something Iris couldn't understand then slowly pressed the blade into her back, dragging it with painful precision.
The same mark.
The closed lotus. The shield. The scars.
She didn't cry. When it was done, she took the blade and did the same to the other one.
Their breaths were ragged. Bloody but their eyes… they burned with defiance.
"We will not forget," she whispered, her voice echoing as if through time.
"No matter what he did. No matter who he made us become."Iris woke with a gasp.
Pain screamed across her back ,she reached behind, hand trembling. No blood. No wound.
Only skin.
Only memory.
She sat upright in bed, tears stinging her eyes , and in a sudden wave of emotion, grabbed her pillow and slammed it against the mattress. Once. Twice. Over and over.
"What is happening to me?" she muttered, breathless, before looking at Zara's peaceful face.