Where Iris Bloom

Ch. 40 Rubble

"Are you sure about this?"  Viv asked her sister for the nth time while taking out the clothes from her backpack.

Kim rolled her eyes and put the clothes back in the bag. "How am I supposed to finish packing if you keep on taking my stuff out the bag!?" The younger woman hissed.

She knew that her sister wasn't fond nor opposed to the idea of her decision and she only wanted to keep her around.

"Isn't it enough that you go there for the weekends? I mean, are you sure you're gonna leave your life here?" Viv asked as she paced around the room following her sister every where.

"I trust you with the company and all of our business. Besides, it's your playground so I've got nothing to worry about, and you can go visit me there anytime." Kim replied as she packed her toiletries.

"Tell me, why'd you have to go there and for how long!?" Viv was getting frustrated and her separation anxiety was gradually gnawing at her.

She supports her sister to whatever endeavour she takes in life but this decision of hers was something she's not pleased about. The thought of driving for more than 9 hours just to see her is enough to irk her.

"Just because." Kim mumbled with finality.

"And where did you even discover that place?" Viv was determined to think of every rebuttal though she knows she can't do anything to stop her sister from doing what she wants.

"Remember that maintenance guy in the office? He's from there. He bravely came to me for some donations and the rest is history." Kim was never a good raconteur unless it was Iris who she'd be telling story about. The thought of the younger woman made her pause in her tracks.

It has been a year since they parted ways and the last thing she remembered was the autumn scent of the young doctor. She pretended to have fallen asleep and felt when Iris has walked out the room that day. She can't stand the sight of another love one walking away of her life but looking back to the things Iris had said to her, she had hold onto those words. Maybe it would have ended differently but all that's left to do was to keep the promise they both hang in their sleeves.

There was never a day she wouldn't think of the younger woman. She has kept her words and made herself better. She still sees her therapist whenever she feels overwhelmed with all the things in her life. She has also finally stopped visiting Becca and totally freed herself from the chains of her past. She often finds herself on her Nana's tomb where she feels the most peace she has ever found for the past months.

Just like all the episodes in her life, she has dealt with them alone and it's somewhat scary coz it was like the thought of having someone fighting along side with her is becoming more foreign. Her independence was something anyone could get easily intimidated with.

"And you're not gonna take a car with you?" Viv pulled her out from her deep reverie.

"I'm gonna take the bus. It's not ideal to bring a car in the mountains and besides, the main mode of transportation there is motorcycle which got me thinking," Viv literally saw the gears turning in her sister's head.

"Don't you dare buy a motorcycle! We're past that topic and it's still a no." Viv argued.

Then she remembered, "You can't be as reckless as this." Those words kept her far from any motorcycle dealership for the longest time.

"Chill! I won't." She replied resolutely, zipping her bag finally done packing.

"Are you really sure about this?" Viv and her never ending question.

"Viv, you've been asking me that for the past hour since you set foot inside my house." Kim chuckled.

Her sister sighed and plopped herself on the couch in the room, puffing air and finally giving up on stopping her sister.