“Mom, why am I so weird?”

I looked up at the blue sky; the wind was blowing right to my face, as if they were caressing my cheeks. Mom’s fingers were running through my chestnut hair, the same color as hers. It felt so cozy to be able to lie on the grass, resting my head on Mom’s lap. It had been a long time since both of us went out to the park like this.

“What do you mean by weird, dear? You are so beautiful, in and out.” She said softly as she planted a kiss on my forehead.

Feeling not satisfied, I sat up straight and looked into her eyes. “No, the kids at school keep telling me that I’m weird. I can’t even play with them because I’m scared to touch them.” Mom eyes hardened but she managed to cover it up with a smile. “Even my name is weird, mom.” I sighed.

“Your name is the beautiful thing I ever heard. Aeris. You want to know how I got that name for you?”

She my head softly as I nodded. Searching for the answer in her eyes, full with curiosity.

“Okay,” She cleared , “When I was pregnant to you, I was very lost. Your father left us, you know that right?” She stared into my eyes as I nodded again.

“ I met a very old woman as I was walking down the street home. The old woman was selling flowers. And one of it caught my eyes, and it was Iris.”

“Iris? There’s a flower with that name?”

Mom chuckled. Her voice was as light as the wind blowing through her hair. “Of course, dear. You know, there’s also a story behind it. Wanna hear it?”

I nodded, sitting straight up, focusing on her words.

“Long time ago, there’s a Goddess named Iris. She was really kind and loves to help others. She loved to help the human on Earth to deliver their messages and prayers to the God in heaven. To deliver the messages from Earth to heaven, she would travel along the rainbows. She also helped to the human who died, from Earth to heaven, guiding them to their final destination.”

“Did she help Daddy too?”

“Of course my dear,” a bitter smile appear on Mom’s face. “But then, one day, Iris did something that is forbidden for a goddess, which is to fall in love with a human. She fall in love with a man, and appear before the man, acting as if she was a human too. The man, falling for Iris’s beauty, proposed her to marry him. Iris was very happy. But, there’s something that she didn’t know.”

“What is it Mom?”

I was too absorbed into her story, making me to do something that I had avoided. I touched her hand. I should never do that, because, whenever I touched someone hands, I will see something weird. As if a vision appeared before my eyes. The reality was gone and the vision was the only thing I could saw.

As soon as I touched her hands, my vision blackened. The green grass, the blue sky, the dried leaves blew by the wind, Mom’s