𝗗𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀🧷

No Shoes...or Socks

She had the look of someone who'd lost everything. Sitting on the curb, her back to her torched home, a mylar blanket wrapped around her form tightly.She couldn't help but look off into space, as if the crisp house would magically rebuild itself up behind her, and her family would walk out of it safely, ready to embrace her, warm smiles on their faces.

unlike her.

Her dad would have on his reading classes, a book in his hand, and her mom would have cookie dough on her nose..Her little sister would waddle out with her coloring book, and her brother would be right behind her with his arms out.. ready to catch her if she wobbled over too much.

"Iris?" a mellow voice called out.

Gazing up to the side, Iris met eyes briefly with a darker older woman, dressed in a black pants suit,her hair in long grey box braids...a smile sweet on her young features. She smelled of peppermint, or maybe Iris was imagining the scent...She couldn't even tell. Her mother used to smell of peppermint.

"Mom." Iris muttered, finally turning to the house, her breath now caught in her throat as the blaze illuminated her caramel skin.

"Come with me sweetheart." The older woman helped her up, leading her into the back seat of a shiny black car.

The fire had caused a commotion, neighbors gathering behind the police tape, focused breathlessly at the scene. Murmurs had begun to rise, more passers by beginning to gather at the scene.

The woman placed a thicker blanket on top of Iris, making sure she was buckled in snugly before closing the door, muffling the outside conversation..She got into the drivers seat, a manila envelope tucked comfily under her right arm.

She tossed her purse and the envelope into the passenger seat, buckling herself in and starting the car. She seemed to take a breath before turning to the back seat with a grin.

"I'm Amanda Hawthorne, you can call me Mrs. Hawthorne..or Amanda, whatever you're comfortable with." she spoke, her voice soft and warm.

she received nothing from Iris in the backseat.

"What are you thinking Iris?" Amanda asked, her grip on the steering wheel relaxing as Iris finally met her gaze from the rear view mirror. The drive began.

"Will i ever see my mommy again?" Iris asked weakly, as if she hadn't had a drink of water in decades.

Amanda paused, turning her gaze to the road for a moment.

"You might see her in your dreams..in drawings..in old photos and videos..even in certain animals and objects." she was dejecting. Iris could clearly tell. She was 9, but she wasn't an idiot.

"Like a cat?" Iris questioned, tilting her head to the side in confusion, earning a nod from Amanda.

"Like a cat...how do you feel Iris?" She continued, peering at the rear view mirror to see Iris using a small finger to write on the foggy precipitation that had gathered on the window.

"Sleepy. Where are we going?" Iris asked, stopping what she was doing and straining her neck to peer towards the long highway road ahead.

"You have an aunt, Vivienne Henderson, in Maine..she's waiting for you. Have you met her before?" Amanda asked curiously. Anything was better than an awkwardly silent car ride.

Iris looked at her feet for a second, was she wearing shoes. No, she wasn't even wearing any. Just socks.

"Yeah. I met her at my uncles wedding. I was the flower girl." Iris tucked her legs into the blanket absentmindedly.

"And what did you think of her?"

"She was really nice. She said my dress was Beautiful. Then she gave me a candy apple." Iris rested her head against the cool window, eyes fluttering as she tried to keep herself awake.

Amanda hummed, noticing how the young girl was drifting sleepily.

The car ride was now silent, 2 more hours to go, when Amanda's phone rang in her purse.

Casting a quick glance at the rear view mirror, she quickly dug into her purse, retrieving her phone.

Iris's eyes fluttered open groggily.

"Hello?" Amanda muttered.

"Hi Mandy!! Are you almost here?" A chirpy voice on the other end asked.

"Yeah-ish.." Amanda droned off, her voice almost a whisper

"Is something wrong?" The voice inquired.

"A little. I expected her to be sad.. but she doesn't seem to be..it's nice but it's also worrying. I thought she'd be shattered after losing her family..not just her mother..everyone." 

the person on the other end was silent for a moment.
"I mean, she's a kid. A few of my clients are, and sometimes they don't realize how important a situation is until a little later on..or they block it out traumatically.." they stated knowingly.

The silence was thick, almost suffocating before the voice spoke up again.

"Get here safely okay? Let me know when you're close , i'm almost done preparing, alright?"

"Alright."

*dial tone*

Iris let her gaze fall to her lap again, closing her eyes again, as long as they suspected she was a sweet little traumatized girl, her actions were already behind her.