Supernatural Tales - Book I

Chapter 30

(Unedited)

Iris was momentarily dazed by the bright light...

"Tulip?" She called out at once, desperate to see her daughter at last, and opened her eyes once she was sure she could only to find herself in a beautiful grassland.

"Tulip? Where are you?" She called for her again, aching to see the face she had missed more than anything else, and, at last, she received an answer but something was unusual.

"Maman." A voice had replied meekly, the timidness of it so very palpable, and Iris had turned around at once, dying to see her little girl, only to find herself getting breathless at once.

It was a woman she had never met before...

Iris could not recall how many times she had traveled back and forth in eternity and worlds and timelines just to catch a glimpse of her daughter or to capture a moment another version of her was having with the daughter that she had lost. But she could tell that there was only one thing that had been the same and remained unchanged in all of those instances and that was her undying love for her Tulip. It was that same feeling of eternal bursting love taking over her being that made Iris realize that the anxious woman standing before her was indeed her Tulip; an older-looking version of her daughter. This was the first time in all her long, long, life that Iris had seen her daughter so grown up and the impact of it was so strong that her knees gave in. But Tulip was there and she had grabbed her weakened mother, at once, to ease her fall, and held her back as she clung to her while weeping softly.

When Iris moved back to cup Tulip's face, she found her crying too...

"Tulip. My sweet girl. You... You are so grown up." Iris had whispered thickly, her heart so full of love for her girl, and Tulip had chuckled through her tears before hugging her again; stronger than before.

"I love you so much, Maman. More than anything." Tulip kissed her mother's shoulder, holding her as strongly as she could, and Iris pulled away only to kiss her all over her face before raking her yearning eyes all over her youthful face.

"I love you too, my sweet girl. Maman's heart... You are so beautiful. You always have been." Iris kissed her daughter's forehead, her eyes warm and her smile soft, and Tulip blushed beautifully before ducking her head; shy.

"I have two most beautiful women as my mothers so..." Tulip trailed off, grabbing her mother's hands, and Iris smiled lovingly as she kissed her white hair; just like hers.

"You are too kind, Maman's love. The only thing you got from me was the whiteness of your hair. You are your mother's daughter at the core with her eyes and her features. You look just like my Nia." Iris had spoken her mate's name softly, barely above a whisper, and Tulip had beamed at her mother before wrapping her arms around her neck lovingly.

"I may look like Mom, but I am your daughter, Maman. I have always been. And I can not tell you enough how happy I am to finally see you again." Tulip mumbled as she rested her chin on her shoulder, and Iris had smiled brightly as she kissed the side of her head; holding her beautiful daughter delicately.

"I am happy to finally be with you too, my heart. I have been waiting for... For far too long. But now that I am here and I have done whatever was needed of me, I can finally rest... I saved our family and I prevented the war that threatened to destroy our worlds and now that death and my well-earned peace has found me, I can finally be with my beloved daughter forever." Iris was at peace, at last, having done whatever she believed was needed of her, and Tulip moved away when she heard her; a frown on her beautiful face.

Iris smiled at the fact that she looked just like her mate...

"Maman, you shouldn't say things like that. You... You were meant for and deserve so much more than just saving the worlds or serving the people who didn't even know you or protecting our family... You deserve everything, Maman. You deserve happiness and love and support and... And you deserve to let yourself be loved, Maman. You deserve it all." Tulip sounded sad and pained when she spoke and Iris hated that she pulled her daughter back in her arms; kissing the crown of her head to ease her.