“I must say, you have such pretty eyes.” The girl on the seat next to me said. Quite out of context really, for the small talk I’m used to.
My friends and family were always fascinated by my very bright blue eyes. This compliment was nothing new to me, although this was the first one I heard it coming from a stranger. I wanted to thank her, but was flattered to the point I forgot I was chewing on that cheap airplane food.
Our conversation followed flirtatious, and while it might sound cliché, this woman was the most beautiful I have ever seen. Admittedly, I tend to think about a future with someone way too quick. I came to the realization that I didn’t have a chance with her as she told me she had a transfer flight to her home country. Long distance relationships just aren’t really my thing.
The plane landed and I was back home from a long business trip. I hugged her goodbye and wished her good look with the rest of her journey. At last it occurred to me we didn’t ask each others names. Iris. I felt butterflies as I heard her soothing voice speak out her name. However, it looked like the vibrancy of her stunning eyes seemed to lessen as she accepted the parting of our ways.
My journey wasn’t over yet, I still had to drive a solid 2 hours to home from the airport. Humming along with the music on the radio, I finally took the exit of the highway that led to my hometown. My daydreaming was interrupted by the breaking news.
“……have reports of a fatal airplane crash due to failed takeoff at…”
My eyes widened, I turned up the volume dial to listen to the news. There weren’t many details known as it just happened. Thinking about Iris made my body shiver heavily.
I stepped out of my vehicle to rush into my house. Sloppily opening my suitcase to grab my laptop, I sat down at the table and booted it up. I opened my browser to look up news about the accident that happened at the airport.
The headlines screamed at me from the screen, each word sinking into my gut like lead.
“Tragic Plane Crash Claims Dozens of Lives – Eyewitnesses Describe Horror.”
I scrolled through the article, my heart racing, searching for any mention of Iris. There it was, her name among the list of passengers. The world around me blurred as I read the details of the crash, the devastation, and the lives lost.
My phone buzzed with a text from a friend asking if I had heard about the accident. I replied with a heavy heart, confirming the dreadful news. But in the midst of my grief, I couldn’t shake off the eerie thought that Iris had complimented my eyes just before boarding that damn plane.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. The reflection staring back at me seemed…strangely altered. The once radiant blue of my eyes appeared dulledIt sent a shiver down my spine, a subtle unease that I tried to brush aside. My mind, already overwhelmed by the tragic news of Iris’s demise, refused to dwell on the weird change in my own eyes. I chalked it up to fatigue, stress, or whatever.
Days passed and the weight of loss pressed upon me. In an attempt to find some distraction, I met up with a close friend at a local café. As we sipped on our drinks, I couldn’t help but glance around the room, meeting the eyes of strangers. With each unintentional eye contact, I felt a chill run down my spine.
Suddenly, Oliver’s gaze met mine, and I saw a subtle change in his expression. The vibrant hues of his eyes seemed to dull, just like Iris’s had before the crash. Panic surged through me, but I dismissed it as a trick of the light or my weary mind playing more tricks.
We left the café, my mind clouded with worry. I insisted on driving him home, unable to shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. The whole journey was tense, with silence hanging in the air. Then, it happened.
The sounds…the sudden impact…the world spun as our car collided with another and crashed its way into the forest around the road. Oliver didn’t survive. I sat there, dazed and broken, staring at my friend’s lifeless body.
As I looked into his now vacant eyes, a sinking realization gripped me. His entire iris was gone, leaving only the haunting thin black spot of his pupils. The same unnerving void in Iris’s eyes before it all happened.
I stumbled out of the wreckage, the dread intensifying as I caught my reflection in the shattered car window. There is only a very slight hint of color left in the places where my irises once were.
I’m writing this in a desperate attempt to document the inexplicable, to warn anyone… if it would still matter. I’m hearing something rustling in the bushes, searching for me. I hope it’s help. So scared, so many questions of what will happen. At the same time, I can see it in my eyes.