Quintessential 1
Iris couldn’t ignore these nightmares any longer. She had to do something about it.
Iris, the oldest quint by five whole minutes, hated being treated like a baby, so she ran away from home 3 years ago. Leaving behind her 4 other siblings broke her heart, but she couldn’t handle her mom any longer. She’s been living deep in the forest of her family’s island paradise, Pentessence, by herself, well sort of. But now something was calling her back to the one place she never intended to return, home. Soon the quints would be becoming teenagers, which meant more responsibilities and big changes, but in the Trevino family it also meant learning the family secret. Iris had more than enough on her mind, but she needed to go. She had to find out the truth. What will she find when she gets there? Are her nightmares really true? There was only one way to find out. Will Iris find the answers she seeks or will the journey just be a dreaded walk down memory lane?
Prologue
“Iris.”
“Iris, where are you?” Dad frantically searched all of the trails and areas he knew that Iris was familiar with. Ever since moving to this protected island paradise 3 years ago, Iris Trevino had loved roaming around exploring the beach or the forest with Kai and Dad. She learned quickly and was like a sponge for learning new information.
“Iris, come back here please.” Dad pleaded, the urgency in his voice increasing with each passing minute.
“Iris, where are you?”
“Erik, how could you let her out of your sight? You know she won’t be able to find her way back or protect herself with her disability.” Mom snapped.
“Don’t worry Eira, we’ll find her. She couldn’t have gotten that far away.”
“Iris Ruby Trevino, you get your butt back here right this minute.” Mom’s voice was getting louder and more frustrated. This was just like her precocious daughter. She was always wandering off and one of these days it was going to get her in trouble, real bad trouble. What was she going to do with her?
Iris heard leaves rustling and a little squeak like a mouse. Her curiosity led her off the trail she knew and out of range of hearing her parents. She followed the sound trying to figure out what it was. She was sure that the noise was heading toward the ocean and she knew the area well. She kept searching for the answer to the noise. After walking a little ways, she would stop and listen before continuing on.
“Come here little mousie, I won’t hurt you.” Iris whispered to the little creature. There was no response. Eventually she stopped and could no longer hear the noise. She realized she had gone farther than she thought. She could hear the roaring ocean waves, but they were farther away than she thought.
“Mommy, Daddy, Kai, anybody?” Iris cried out. There was no answer, so Iris began to get worried.
“Hello, is there anybody there? Please, anybody, help me.” Iris, a 3 year old, was lost somewhere in the forest by the oceanside. She didn’t know what to do, and she was beginning to panic. What if no one found her? What if she was lost forever? The light was fading and it would soon be dark. She knew her parents and siblings would be worried and searching for her, but she didn’t know where she was or how to get back. She sat down on a big rock by some small pond or something and started to cry. After a few minutes, she stopped and took short gasping breaths. Finally, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“I need help to find my way back home. Can someone out there help?” Iris thought. She felt something land on her shoulder, so she opened her eyes and let out a scream.
“AAAAA, I can see. How can I see?” Iris was hollering and freaking out.
“Iris, don’t be scared.”
“Who said that? Where are you at?”
“I did,” cawed the eagle on her shoulder. “Let’s get you back home, okay?” They turned toward the beautiful sunset of vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows like a blazing fire being put out by the sparkling blue ocean.
“Oooh, pretty.” Iris gushed, “How can I see it? What did you do?”
“Another time, my dear. We should really get you home.”
“Kay. Thanks my friend.” Iris began walking back down the trail the same way she had come. The eagle gave her directions to help her get back home. When she got closer to home, she heard someone calling her name.
“Iris, can you hear me? Where are you?” It was Dad and his voice was strained and scared.
“She has always been the curious mischievous one,” mother complained, “I knew this was going to happen. I knew she was going to get lost. Where could she be?”
“Don’t worry Mommy. Daddy and I teach Iris about plants and animals. She be okay,” Kai tried to reassure his Mom.
“Iris, where are you?”
“Over here,” came a small innocent reply. As soon as she replied, the eagle flew away and Iris was once again in the dark. Mom, Dad, and Kai found her standing by the willow tree that was blowing in the breeze.
“Oh, thank god Iris. Where have you been?” Dad breathed a sigh of relief.
“I heard squeaking and I followed it. I was trying to catch it. I think it was a mouse.”
“You scared us half to death. We thought something bad had happened to you. You have got to stop running off like that.”
“I’m sorry mommy, I’m okay. I was sort of lost for a few minutes, but guess what? I sat down on a rock and I asked for something to help me. Then you know what happened? An eagle came and showed me the way home.You know what else mommy, he even made me see. I seen the ocean and the beautiful sunset was red, yellow and orange. It was so pretty mommy. It was almost like magic.”
“Stop talking such nonsense, Iris. You are making no sense. You probably just fell asleep and were dreaming.”
“No mommy, it really happened.”
“I believe you, Ris.” Iris smiled at Kai. He was always so good to her.
“That’s enough. Let’s go home.”