Iris, holding herself to the tree with all her strength, shakes from fear, her heart wanting to leave her body.


    Frigid winds increased in speed, shaking the leaves and leaving Iris to hug the tree with all her strength to maintain her heat while trying not to fall; however, the coldness was too much for her to hold on, leading her to fall face-first into the ground.


    Thump!


    Iris created a shield to relieve the damage, which did aid in the damage her body would have sustained, only causing a small nosebleed.


    Iris stood up, her body wobbling from one side to the other, doing its best to find a place to rest and protect itself from the frigid winds.


    My head hurts; why can’t I have a break?! I truly miss my parents. A strong wind raised her hair, showing her the true beauty of nature.


    The crimson flower fell from her hair. She picks it up, looking at it with a tender and nostalgic gaze.


    Mom, Dad. I am trying my best to be here, but everything is going up against me… Looking up at the crescent moon, she gave a small smile. “I truly miss you.”


    Iris'' wobbly walking gradually straightened up as her lightheadedness improved every minute. The frigid winds penetrate her small silk dress; shivering and hugging herself, she sees a large tree with a hole at its center.


    Iris'' face brightened up; the hole appeared to be a blessing by the gods to help her. She tearfully shivered her way into the hole, sitting down as she sensed her body regaining its heat suspiciously fast.


    Iris looks to her left, seeing a fox and a unicorn, each on their corner, trying their best to hide and not to disturb the other one.


    “...”


    Blankly staring at each other, they unofficially agreed to stay here for the rest of the night without attacking each other, all to preserve energy to survive against the mysterious creature.


    Iris'' heart calmed seeing the animals resting, peeking outside the hole to see any potential dangers. Seeing no soul outside, she gave in, positioning herself in a fetal position and falling into deep sleep.


    …


    Tap, tap, tap.


    Iris annoyingly woke up to the feeling of something constantly tapping her at a fast tempo.


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    “I want to sleep more.” Iris grumpily stated, “I don’t want to go to school!”


    Tap! Tap! Tap.


    The speed of the taping only increases, reaching Iris''s breaking point. “Mom, I don’t want to go to school!!” Iris swiftly sat down, pushing the unicorn.


    Neigh!


    Iris''s blurry eyes slowly but surely regained focus until the once-blurry image of the unicorn became more lively.


    Iris, locking eyes with the unicorn, instantly realized what the unicorn wanted. She stood up and left the hole, following the unicorn that also left the hole.


    “I am hungry!” Her stomach growled as she looked at the sleeping fox inside the hole, her mouth salivating, but eventually, she decided to get away to try and find the apple tree.


    With her spirits at a normal level, her first goal is to find food and to find a hiding spot to survive the next night. The threat of the creature sent a shiver down her spine the more she thought about it.


    “I need to escape this forest. I need to find another angel or human.” Iris muttered as she climbed the tree.


    Reaching the top of the tree, she raises her clenched fist proudly. “See Aunt Lily! Me climbing your trees actually benefited me!” She lowered her hand. “I hope that you are doing better than me.” Sensing tears rolling down her cheeks, she wiped them away, looking down, seeing a unicorn eating.


    Iris''s face turned to a sinister smile as her primal instincts kicked in. In a swift motion, she let herself fall onto the unicorn''s back while trying to hold all seven apples close to her.


    “Yay!!”


    Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!


    With the unicorn violently shaking, Iris grabbed its neck until the unicorn raised its leg, flinging Iris. Now on the ground, the unicorn ran to Iris, looking at her with disdain as it stepped on her.


    Iris, seeing the first leg nearly touching her, created a small shield to protect herself. Each step hurt her, but she persisted. Its silver horn tip stood out the most, shining beautifully with the sun.


    The stomping lasted a few minutes until the unicorn felt its vengeance was complete. Leaving Iris lying down, her body hurting but with so much joy.


    She sat up, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “I am sorry, Mom, but I think that unicorn has to die. I hope you forgive me for killing your favorite animals.” Her face turned from a bright smile to a simple smile. “How are you going to punish me?” With her heart aching, she stood up, taking a deep breath and smelling the different smells around her.


    Iris sees an apple resting beside her, grabs it, and devours the apple, leaving it with only the seeds remaining. She scavenged for more apples, her face in deep sadness as her apples were squished by the unicorn.


    “I am going to kill you!!” Her screams caused many birds in neighboring trees to fly away.


    Arriving at the river and seeing the animals all drinking water, she felt calmer, drinking water beside them as she covered herself with a tree branch on her head. Her plan was successful as none of the animals acknowledged her as a threat.


    The rest of her day remained stagnant as she searched for a place to hide and stole as many apples as her small hands could carry. With night approaching, she found a hiding spot.


    Night arrived; she carefully positioned herself to not expose herself but with a decent vision of the exterior of the tree she was hiding.


    The fog appeared once again; with more preparation, she felt safe.


    Thump


    A dazzling woman with purple hair covering her face fell beside her. Iris'' body tenses; her mind rises to decide to help or leave her alone.


    The woman looked back at Iris, her butterfly-shaped pupils shining in the moonlight. Light purple butterfly design on top of her eyebrows. Her soft voice whispered, “Please,” her hands trembling as she reached out to the shaking Iris. The faint smell of mountain mint wafted from her, a strange contrast to the powdery and metallic smell in the air.


    Phwwwwwht


    The sinister whistle rumbled the tree, Iris trembling as she looked at the woman whispering to her and back at her hiding spot. The words of the woman and the creature echo through her.


    I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!


    “There you are.”