“How could you promise something like that?”
“Trust me.” I look over her shoulder to see Kai standing in my driveway, waiting for us. “We will find Truman. Tonight.”
I go back inside and grab the first sweatshirt I see, then hustle back to her side, locking my front door behind me.
“I got to see you shirtless, and I didn’t even have to ask. What a treat,” she quietly jokes.
Even in her darkest moments, she can muster a smile. She is not even close to fragile—she’sunbreakable.
Kai leads the way, not that Iris needs to know that. We walk in silence, toward the woods. Eventually, we enter the forest, venturing deeper and deeper into the dark together. Normally, I would try to take her mind off of whatever she was struggling with, but this time, something tells me she should process this on her own. Kai walks in step with us.
“There’s no need to worry,” Kai assures, knowing I can’t respond aloud right now. “Truman is just fine. It’s all going to be okay.”
In response, I grab hold of her hand. “He’ll be okay, Iris.”
Instead of letting go, we continue to hold each other’s hand. I notice there isn’t any music playing—I can’t tell if the silence is a good or bad thing at the moment, but I decide she should have complete control over her current environment.
“This is big,” Kai says with wonder. “She’s trusting youandaccepting silence—for now, that is.” As if on cue, she pulls outher airpods. Screw it, I’m proud of her for walking in silence for as long as she did. She likely walked in silence the entire way to my home, which is no small feat.
Twenty-Three
Iris
When I got home from the bar, my senses tingled. Immediately, I knew something was off. My front door was open, similar to the way it had been when maintenance was over. I slowly crept inside to see a maintenance technician had indeed stopped by—he had left some on my kitchen counter. I imagined it must have been for the request I submitted pertaining to a couple of the new floorboards peeling upward. Our maintenance team is available 24/7, and they felt terrible about the flood. However, when I called out for Truman, he didn’t answer. I searched every room, looked under every piece of furniture in my apartment, and even checked the balcony.Truman wasn’t home. A wave of panic engulfed me, but I refused to cry.
Instead, I marched outside as quickly as possible and began searching throughout my complex, shouting his name like a mad woman. I glanced under every car, peered around every bush, and even gazed upward at the trees surrounding the complex. It was roughly 11:30 at night, arguably not a safe hour for a woman to walk around alone, but I couldn’t care less. I needed to find him. I would find him.
I wandered through the town, cautious not to miss a single trash can and crouching to search under dumpsters in eerily quiet alleys. Never once stopping, not even to turn on my music. I ran into other strays, my hope diminishing with every failure. Eventually, I found myself in a local neighborhood, still looking everywhere imaginable while calling out his name frantically. I began losing momentum but refused to give up. Before I knew it, I was outside his home. I didn’t realize I had even walked to Jasper’s home until I arrived. Despite not knowing him for long, my soul told me to trust him. I followed my intuition.
He opened his door shirtless, making me forget why I even showed up on his doorstep in the first place for a moment. I always could tell Jasper was fit, butwow.I didn’t expect him to be so jaw-dropping. For a second, I even found myself intimidated by how sculpted he was. He leaned his head down, frantically scanned my eyes, and asked what was wrong, snapping me out of my hypnosis. I can’t even remember what I said. It was all a blur. In a matter of no time at all, he got ready and accompanied me on my mission to find little Truman, which brings me to this moment.
As we walk through the forest, the quiet draws nearer and nearer, calling out to me. After several minutes, I can’t handle the lingering silence any longer, so in typical Iris fashion, I play some music. We continue to walk together, hand-in-hand,letting the rhythm of the music carry us forward with the moon’s subtle glow lighting the way. Eventually, I hear rushing water from a nearby stream. While walking up a hill consumed by fallen leaves, I notice a small figure curled up on a large mossy stone next to the creek. I break out of Jasper’s grasp, running toward the little orange blob. As I inch closer, I see that he’s lying still, and my heart races.
Please, please, please be okay, Truman. I can’t lose you, too.
I slow down just inches away, careful not to spook him. I brush his fur, waking him up. He lazily opens his eyes, stretching his arms while maintaining eye contact with me.
“So, let me get this straight.” I scoop him up carefully, assessing him. “I wander the streets looking for you in distress all night long only to find you lounging peacefully by the creekside as if you don’t have a care in the world?” I tighten my hold on him, embracing him harder. “I’m so happy you’re okay, little guy.”
Jasper stands by my side and reaches out to pet Truman. “Don’t scare your mom like that again, okay?” Truman responds with a soft purr. Earlier tonight, I was petrified I’d never hear his purr again. A tear escapes accidentally.
“Thank you so much.” I look at Jasper, shivering from the frigid air. “How could you have known exactly where to find him?”
“Let’s just call it a sixth sense.” He smirks, wrapping his arm around my neck. “Let’s head back; it’s too cold out here.”
As we walk along the dirt path back to his home, I soak in these moments with Truman. My feelings of anxiety slowly dissipate, dissolving into thrills. As a child, I prided myself on being a hopeless romantic. Consequently, I used to love dating, but I didn’t get close to my partners often—I wanted to wait for theone, whatever that really meant. After Kai passed, though, I lost my motivation to find someone. I have been questioning if loveis worth the risk of loss ever since. We approach Jasper’s front porch, moonlight beaming overhead. “Your support meant the world to me tonight, Jasper. Thanks so much again.” I begin the trek back to my apartment.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He steps in front of Truman and me, halting us. “You’ve had a long night; why don’t you stay at my place? Just for tonight?”
Just for tonight.Sounds familiar. Oddly comforting, even.
“Usually, I’d fight you on the offer, but you’re right—it’s been a long night. Do you really not mind?”
“Not one bit.”
“Okay. Just for tonight.” I reach out a free hand to shake his, to which amusement floods his expression as he shakes my hand sarcastically.
“Now, let’s get you warmed up.” He leads me in, navigating me to his cozy couch. As soon as we step inside, he hastily walks over to the fireplace, kindling a fire. Then, he pulls out an extra woven blanket from his linen closet, wrapping me tightly. After efficiently tucking me in, he sits beside me. We turn on his TV, settling on a murder mystery movie. I lean back, settling into the couch, breathing slowly.
