Rainbow Irises

• Hayley Korocz, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2020

There are many things that I regret in my life. Some were choices, others were ones that could have lead me down a more sunshine and daisies path, but I suppose that doesn’t matter anymore. I mean, bloodied, bruised and leant up against a tree that smelt weirdly of caramel, I knew, today was not a good day for me.

The rain was deafening and the thunder only added to it. It was the kind of day that you sat at home under a mountain of blankets and watched Netflix with the curtains open just so you could glance at the rain now and then.

Unfortunately, Isla was not one of those lucky people.

Instead of a mountain of blankets, she wore a black winter fur jacket that had started to feel like the pyjamas you wore in the pool at swimming lessons twenty minutes ago. And instead of curtains and windows, she got the dark alleys of downtown Manhattan and the curtains of fog that loomed around the large glassy puddles on the ground.

She didn’t mind though. This was the way she liked it. No responsibilities, no people to look after and no loose ends. She was living a steady life as well, her job seeming like the cherry on top. Well, a cherry that may or may not look like a bomb to other people.

It wasn’t the finest job, mercenary work, but it paid well. Although it made people cross to the other side of the street just to avoid her, which was oddly flattering.

But that didn’t matter at the moment.

Edward Callahan did.

It was the man she had been following through the torrential rain since 3rd street. He was the head of a drug cartel in Mexico here on loan for the Manhattan Triad. He had so much blood stained on his metaphorical hands, she could almost see it through her literal prescription lenses. She had noticed he also looked slightly ruffled as she had begun following him, but put that down to the very much illegal fight scene he had going as a sideshow. His leg limped as he turned the street corner, heading towards the national park. She continued to follow but slowed as she noticed his limp disappear.

That was when he turned around and decided to address her. With a lovely and quite pointy knife. She ducked, aiming a hit to his face.

He caught her fist, he slammed the knife into Isla’s stomach.

“Ow.” She seethed, pulling it out and returning the favour, his grin immediately dropping. Both their bodies fell to the floor, Isla falling against a tree. She gasped for air, glancing at his unmoving body and then down to her wound. Blood caked her shirt, but the wound had already started to heal. She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. It took a while, but her eyes slowly reopened, now the same shade that Callahan’s once were.

“I win, Callahan.” She gasped, completely healed.