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“Miss Daltry told me a man is coming to see me tomorrow. What if he is a doctor wanting to examine me and take me away to a hospital far away? If not that, I fear I will be sent to the workhouse. What will the women there think of me when they see me? I am so very frightened. I wish you could tell me that everything will be fine.”
Rhys understood the dilemma Iris faced. Her extreme peculiarity had caused her nothing but grief from the moment she was born, according to her. Unlike anyone he had ever met, the one outstanding feature she had was her smile. Nothing else mattered to him.
They had only known each other for a little more than a year after he had been brought to this orphanage by his father. After the outbreak of war, his father, a physician, was conscripted to leave to tend to the wounded British soldiers on the Western Front in France. With his mother having died of influenza when he was two, and having no other family members, his father was forced to bring him here with the promise to return for him once the war ended. Shortly after arriving, he met her one sleepless night when wandering the hallways.
They had grown to be friends in a matter of days. Both would sneak away from their rooms after dark to meet. He would read to her during the autumn and winter months from books taken from a small library on the top floor. Blustery spring nights found them hiding in closets, as Iris was frightened of the wind. Their favorite summer place was up on the roof—the perfect spot to stargaze and watch the moon. Both offered wishes to shooting stars, though none so far had come true. Noticing the fear in her tone, he believed she faced a nightmare, having no escape.
“This may be the last time we see each other,” he heard her say. “I wanted to thank you for being my one and only friend. I do not believe I would have survived much longer without you. Though both of us are only ten years old, I feel such a deep bond with you, more than just friendship. I know how foolish I sound in saying this, but I believe with all my heart that I love you… and… that I always will. Not a day will go by when I do not think of you.”
Rhys felt her hand caress his cheek. Desperate to speak to her, all he could manage was the subtle shift of his head. His heart beat faster when her lips pressed to his for a sweet kiss.
“Goodbye, my one true love,” she mumbled faintly. He heard two of her steps in walking away and then nothing more.
Goodbye, Iris, he thought, his heart breaking. I love you, too.
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