Iris is beautiful. Not only that, but she is lucky enough to be blessed with the rarest type of beauty. She has a certain captivating allure. She crawls into your head and fills your thoughts until you fixate upon her with an almost inhuman level of obsession. She isn't just pretty, but enchanting, bewitching. She is like something out of a dream. She is something out of my dreams. Of course, she's spent an equal measure of time in my nightmares.

~

Dear reader, have you ever broken your world? Have you ever stumbled upon something so completely apart from what you accept to be true that you are forced to rethink your entire existence? I did today, and I still sit reeling from the shock.

The day started out innocent enough. Iris and I had been spending every afternoon possible together in the forest. I think I did well to fulfill my promise of bringing her "someplace interesting." I've introduced her to all of my usual haunts, and she showed me a couple of little hideaways she found near her own land. For those days, everything was wonderful. Even Iris's own dark side seemed to melt away. We lived in the haze of girlish summer romance. I should have known it wouldn't last.

Between the two of us, we found the courage to do what neither of us had dared to do alone. We decided to venture deeper, into the heart of the forest. A part of me wanted to leave the heart untouched for the sake of retaining the sanctity and purity of my childhood fantasies. The bigger part, however, wanted to see what was out there. I had no more need for fairy legends when I bore my own enchantress on my arm.

The day started out simply enough. I watched my baby brother while my mom ran early morning errands. Iris and I met up at noon and raided the local convenience store. she had brought sandwiches with her, so we bought cookies and lemonade to make it a feast. We stopped back at my house for a blanket, then had a picnic in my favorite sunny clearing. I laid in her hap and she braided my hair. We were happy, at peace. Even the occasional spark of darkness in Iris' gaze couldn't faze me that time.

Eventually, we grew tired of just laying and relaxing, so we packed up out stuff and wandered off into the trees. It only took about ten minutes to reach the fallen tree that marked my usual radius of wandering. We talked it over for a minute and came to a swift agreement. We would press forward.

For a couple minutes, we just wandered through the forest. The trees were growing closer and closer together with a sudden rapidity. It was almost as though they were hiding something.

As we walked, I noticed Iris growing more and more on edge. Just as I was about to ask her what was wrong, she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side.

"Lizza," she whispered, "do you hear something."

"We're in a forest. I'd be a lot more worried if we couldn't hear anything."

"Maybe you're right but," she glanced around before continuing, "I swear I can hear something climbing around above us." I looked up at the thick canopy above us. Little light filtered between the leaves where we were, and it was all too easy to imagine some strange creature stalking us. Still, I felt like it was my job to reassure her.

"I'll keep an ear out, but I don't think there's anything." Iris nodded and smiled.

"You're probably right. I'm just a little paranoid I guess. I didn't think the forest got this thick." She sighed and let go of my arm. We continued on, and i couldn't help smiling despite myself when her fingers interlaced with mine.

~

I think holding hands is the most important part of a relationship. People make such a big deal out of sex and kissing and all the rest, but that stuff has too much extra societal value around it to really matter. I think that the most important thing you can do with anyone is hold their hand. It's so innocent and pure, but also sort of soul bearing. This applies for anything really. Holding hands is just as important with friendship as it is with romance. In my mind, the concept of a best friend is very much linked with the concept of that sort of casual affection. I've never had a best friend, and I haven't held hands with anyone since I was a little kid. I think Iris might be my best friend as well as my girlfriend. I'd feel bad saying that, but I think I might be her best friend too. He hand feels like it isn't held very much.

~

I wish Iris and I could've spent the whole afternoon just wandering and holding hands like that, but, of course, nothing ever goes that well. All too soon, there was a sudden and very loud burst of rustling above us. I tensed and Iris huddled against me. In that moment, looking back, she was the most innocent I've ever seen her.

The rustling continued for at least a full minute, coming from all over the canopy above us. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. There was a muffled, heavy thump behind us. Keeping a firm hold on each other's hands, Iris and I turned to face whatever had landed behind us.