“I am Iris, you’re safe here.”
Sophia is not really convinced. “Where’s David?” she asks.
“David?” says Iris. Her tone goes up a pitch, slightly. “I don’t know who David is,” she replies. “But I know someone else. Someone who is waiting…” Iris clasps her hands and a slight, thin, smile appears on her lips. “… upstairs.” An expectant looks now shows on the lady’s face. As if this is a crucial moment, perhaps. A moment of acceptance maybe.
Sophia briefly casts her eyes up the staircase, and then back to Iris. Sophia then walks up the carpeted staircase on her own and comes to a landing. She looks into a bedroom. There is a little girl there, sitting on a bed.
Sophia walks over to the bed, holds her hand out to the girl, touches her face, and strokes her hair, and then kisses her softly on her forehead. She picks the little girl up from the bed and tightly holds her in her arms. It is an emotional moment and Sophia cries with relief. “Lisa!” she sobs, while tightening her grip on the child. “Let me look at you.” Sophia gazes, deeply, into the girl’s eyes. Lisa grins, shyly and warmly, in return. Sophia spins the girl round in her arms with delight. Downstairs, the old lady is listening, but not smiling.
