The Iris And The Rose
By
Joan Nicholes
Copyright 2004
Synopsis
At 27, Rose Elizabeth McKenna had unhappy memories of her childhood. Her parents had divorced
when she was two. She could not remember her father at all. Her mother was constantly drunk, classified as schizophrenic and
delusional by all the psychiatric doctors at the local hospital.
On a dark and stormy night, Rose receives a phone call from a mysterious woman named Iris stating
that her mother had been hospitalized due to a drug overdose.
Rose rushes to the hospital in the blinding rain. On her way there she encounters an even more
mysterious woman standing in the middle of the road with long brown hair and eyes that are hauntingly familiar to her. When
her brakes will not work, she hits the girl killing her instantly.
When Rose awakens in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital no one believes her story about
the woman. There was no body found at the accident. What adds more doubt and confusion about her story is that her mother
had never been hospitalized and the hospital has no record of anyone by the name of Iris being employed by them.
Later that night when the halls are dark and quiet, Rose once again sees the presence of the
girl standing outside her glass-enclosed room. She becomes hysterical, screaming. When the nurses arrive they see nothing
of the figure of the girl Rose claims to see.
Concerned about her mental health, the nurses heavily sedate Rose, per doctors orders, and call
in the psychiatric doctor from Winterpark Sanitarium. He declares rose incompetent and starts making arrangements to have
her admitted to the sanitarium.
Rose’s mother is opposed to this saying the sanitarium is an evil place and that death
prevails upon anyone who enters there. The mysterious girl helps Rose to escape the confines of the hospital and Rose’s
mother is later arrested for aiding in her disappearance.
An all out search ensues. The authorities declare Rose as unstable and dangerous. She must go
into hiding to protect herself. The only person who can help her is Raven Daniels, a handsome and equally mysterious private
investigator.
At this point no one can be trusted. Not even Raven Daniels who on more than one occasion declares
his skepticism about Rose’s innocence. But the more he is with Rose, the more he falls in love with her. The more he
loves her, the more he begins to believe her.
He realizes now, that he is her only means of survival.
