Lost in the Wilderness - The Forest of Evergreen Book 1

by Teresa May B. Bandiola

  “As beautiful as you, honey!” Elizabeth returned, from her cavernous inner thoughts, and quickly presented Nadine with an adoring smile, to make her feel valued, too.

  “Of course!” Philippe synchronized, feeling he needed to resurrect the mood, too.

  They were done with eating, when they heard the doorbell.

  Philippe volunteered to open it and rose from his seat. Opening the door, he was surprised to see a strange guy dressed in his finest. It was Jericho. He missed Sophia so much that he finally had the nerve to go and introduce himself to her parents, to her family.

  “Good evening, Dr. Vabueretti!” Jericho appeared timid yet strong-minded.

  “Yes?” Philippe eyed him, from head to toe.

  “I’m Dr. Jericho Leivinhyde and I’m here for... Sophia.” Jericho straightened up and offered his trembling hand, for a hand shake.

  Philippe was taken aback at why a doctor wanted to see his daughter, especially at that hour. He accepted Jericho’s hand shake, and noticed a bouquet of red roses behind his back. Consequently, he welcomed him inside the house.

  Elizabeth, curious about the strange male voice, followed, and saw Jericho.

  “Honey, this is Dr. Jericho Leivinhyde and he wished to see our daughter Sophia.”

  Hearing his name, Elizabeth instantly pulled back, but Jericho greeted her in the most polite manner. Still shocked, Elizabeth decided to act hospitable and clueless. But she was surprised to learn that Jericho was actually a doctor. All she knew, from her mother-in-law, was that he was underprivileged.

  Accordingly, Philippe offered Jericho a seat.

  Jericho Leivinhyde, Elizabeth pondered over his name as she watched Jericho take a seat. Then, she faced him again.

  “So, Dr. Leivinhyde…” Philippe initially spoke and gawked at him, wondering, again, why a doctor wanted to see his daughter.

  Elizabeth’s next impulse was to try to offer Jericho something to drink, but she was so disturbed, that she confronted him right away.

  “So, Jericho, what do you want from my daughter?” Elizabeth’s eyes examined him penetratingly, and it just melted Jericho down, like a dying candle.

  Jericho? Philippe heavily wondered, and finally registered, in his mind, that he was the Jericho who Elizabeth was pertaining to. But… how could he be… for he was much older than Sophia? And so, Philippe scrutinized Jericho piercingly, and with this face that turned cold.

  For a full minute, there was an uncomfortable silence.

  Before long, Jericho cleared his throat to break the quietness that was causing him too much burden.

  “I’m hoping to see Sophia. I couldn’t contact her for days, now, and I’m already worried for her,” he explained, with a massive fear in his heart. “I also came here, hoping to explain some things to you,” he continued, still ill-at-ease.

  “How old are you, Dr. Leivinhyde?” Philippe interrogated. His face turned even colder.

  Jericho swiftly thought of how he was going to answer, them, as he decided to go for honesty. “I’m... twenty-one, Dr. Vabueretti,” he said, with his head bowed down.

  To their utmost shock, Philippe’s and Elizabeth’s mouths absolutely hung wide open.

  “Twenty one?” they asked themselves, unbelieving.

  Jericho faced them again, and even managed a trembling smile that almost split his face from ear to ear. Then, he repeated, “Yes, sir. I’m twenty-one.”

  “Before I go to Sophia, I want to know about you, Dr. Leivinhyde.” Elizabeth swallowed her wish to remain distant.

  “What do you want to know, Atty. Vabueretti?” Jericho respectfully asked, his face halfway between pleasure and tension.

  Elizabeth was, again, surprised. How come he knew my profession? “Everything about you,” Elizabeth carried on, pretending she knew nothing about him.

  Jericho looked down again and camouflaged his nervousness by trying to pull out a lively grin. Then, he began telling them that he was from Forest Green and that he used to go to the same school with Sophia.

  “Oh, really?” Philippe was exceptionally intrigued.

  “Well, uh…” Jericho slowed down to choose the best words to say, his body language already speaking louder than what he was about to tell. “She was in grade school and—”

  “You were in high school,” Elizabeth interfered, not allowing Jericho to finish talking. Her disapproval at their untimely, childish dalliance suddenly registered in her eyes. And Jericho sensed it.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I hope you don’t mind, Dr. Leivinhyde, but I think Sophia is already sleeping.” Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow, at him.

  Jericho’s face displayed sudden disappointment, but he survived, to act as if it was fine with him. He came to realize that Elizabeth simply did not like him for her daughter.

  “May I ask you, then, to give this to Sophia?” Jericho struggled with himself, as he left the bouquet of flowers on the glass table, before them.

  “Yes, we will.” Elizabeth bestowed him a fake smile, and Jericho just felt it.

  Jericho stood up and thanked them again.

  Accompanying him to the door, Philippe flung a grin. “You’re welcome.”

  Jericho battled against his dismay. They don’t like you. His negative thoughts conquered him as he initiated a step back into his car. But I want to see her. I miss her so much, yet I couldn’t see her. Still, he was resolute, thinking of endless ways to see Sophia. Again.

  “I can’t believe he’s a doctor,” Elizabeth told Philippe as she made her way to throw the bouquet of flowers into the trash can.

  “So, is it him? The one you were suspecting?”

  “Yes, Phil. And I don’t like him. His family background is no-good.”

  Chapter 23

  Hold On

  Sophia dove into the kitchen and saw her dad relaxing, with a steaming cup of coffee latte.

  “Good morning, sunshine! How’s your sleep?” Philippe took a partial sip of it and watched his daughter open the fridge.

  “Dad…?”

  “Hmm…” Philippe murmured while resting the cup on the kitchen table. Afterwards, he looked at her again, discerning an admission of guilt in his daughter’s voice. His eyes appeared poignant, as he waited for Sophia to go on with her sentence.

  “I am really sorry,” Sophia stated with bowed head.

  “About what, honey?” Philippe intended to act dumb.

  “About everything, Dad. I know I caused you some trouble.”

  Philippe endured watching her make an apology. He could almost hear the howling in his daughter’s voice.

  “Dad, I—” Sophia’s voice unexpectedly faltered.

  “Come here.” Now, Philippe opened his arms to receive her into his shoulders. “Let’s just get your memory back, okay?” he incorporated with a hoarse voice.

  Coincidentally, Elizabeth saw them and intruded. She just came from the grocery store, with Alex and Nadine.

  “Honey, I need to talk to you.” Elizabeth held up Sophia, and plunked the grocery bags down, on the table.

  Sophia agreed by nodding, unable to look at her mom straight.

  “Jericho came here last night,” Elizabeth said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Mom?” Sophia’s eyes immediately dilated.

  “I didn’t know he’s a doctor.” Elizabeth avoided Sophia’s thwarted stare and allowed her breath in a hiss. “Sophia, honey, you’re sixteen. At least for him, he already has a profession but you... you need to finish your schooling first. Besides, you’re still in high school.” Elizabeth now began to reprimand.

  Sophia was brought to a standstill, looking straight at the floor. She did not want to argue anymore, with her mom.

  But Elizabeth continued.

  “Sophia, you are too young for this. You don’t know what love is. Please, don’t be carried away. You’re just a teenager!” Elizabeth stressed. “As your mother… yes, I understand your teenage affection. I’ve been your age once, but Sophia, I’m tellin
g you... one day, you’ll wake up and realize... that everything you felt was all a huge mistake,” Elizabeth said it straight. “Believe me, whatever it is that you’re feeling for him, is nothing but hormones!”

  Sophia looked at her mom as if she wanted to answer her back, but then she chose to remain silent.

  “I want you to stay away from him, Sophia!” Elizabeth’s tone turned even more serious.

  Hearing these words, Sophia shifted her eyes even more, downwards, wrestling with the dragons in her mind.

  Then, there was a flash of stillness. They both realized… Philippe had observed them.

  About a minute after, a word finally came out of Sophia. “Mom…?”

  “Yes?”

  “You know that this is not my first time to be in a relationship.”

  “Yes, I am fully aware of that. But please, not with him.”

  “Why are you so harsh when it comes to him? I thought grandma is the only one who doesn’t like him!” Now Sophia distanced herself from her mother.

  “Because he is not right for you! As simple as that!”

  “What do you know about what is right, Mom? I may have amnesia but I know I love him.” Sophia was unbending. “I went over my diaries and I read everything about him, and about my life in Forest Green.” Sophia squeezed her eyes shut. “Mom, I was unhappy when I was in Forest Green! But Jericho… he was the only one I had, back there, who cared for me.”

  “What are you saying, Sophia? So, you mean to say that your grandma never cared for you? Not even Bea?” Elizabeth shouted, her eyes fully wide opened and voice continually rising. “I can’t believe he has already poisoned your innocent young mind!”

  “Mom, I read everything and my life was miserable there! I was desperate! You can never imagine how desperate I was, how devastated my pathetic little life was because you were not there... but Jericho... he was always there for me...” Sophia fought back the tears that started to blind her eyes.

  Philippe and Elizabeth fell quiet. They were roughly distressed with the words they heard from their daughter, particularly regarding her desolation during her stay in Forest Green. Elizabeth, in fact, felt so low, now, when she realized she had probably made a mistake in leaving Sophia, to grow up, at Forest Green, away from her. Oh, Heavens! If only she could turn back time! But then... she was back, again, to her problem with Jericho!

  “No, Sophia! No! Stop it! I’m your mother and you must obey me!” Elizabeth tried to assert herself, for the last time.

  “Mother? Obey you? For what I know, a mother does not abandon her child. Not even temporarily. You’ll never understand!” Sophia countered, and left them crossly.

  Philippe’s first impulse was to chase after her and stop her, but he thought Sophia might need some space, at the moment.

  “Let her go!” Elizabeth declared. “I can’t believe she just spoke to me that way, and in front of you!”

  With mixed emotions, Sophia hurried outside the front porch, and then her emotions got the better of her. Struggling to hold back her unwanted tears, she left the house and headed... nowhere.

  It happened that Jericho was observing, a few meters away from their house, when he suddenly saw Sophia leaving, in a bad mood. He let Sophia saunter away, until she was far enough. Then, he followed her, guardedly.

  Sophia was walking blankly when she noticed a sluggish car behind her. She turned around and discovered that it was Jericho’s.

  Jericho, at once, got out of his car and ran towards her. He became disheartened the moment he saw those tears streaming down her face. Unwavering, however, he dashed to comfort her.

  “Hey… what happened?”

  Sophia sent a message of I’m-not-okay through her reddened eyes.

  A step closer, Jericho volunteered to wipe her tears.

  “What happened?” he repeated, his nerves exposed.

  “Jericho…” finally, Sophia spoke, but it was very low and heart-wrenching.

  “Sophia…?”

  “Jericho, please take me away from here,” Sophia begged, her tone shredding him into pieces.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  Sobbing, she reached out for his arms and put her face on his muscular shoulder.

  Jericho openly welcomed her in his arms, and hoped she would find them warm enough to surround her with all the comfort she needed.

  “Anywhere, Jericho. Please, just take me away from here,” Sophia begged, still under his zealous embrace.

  Absorbing the depth of her cries, Jericho was persuaded.

  “Okay,” he spoke low, too, and slowly released her, still volunteering to wipe away her tears that continued to fall past her trembling lips.

  Immediately, Jericho opened his car and assisted her. Not prolonging the agony of her situation, he made haste to bring the engine back to life. He didn’t know where to take her, but he just drove on and on, feeling desperate himself. He could not think of a place where she could be soothed.

  Sophia’s quietness bothered Jericho, but he was battling with himself regarding where to take her, and how to bring her anguish to an end.

  After half an hour of silently driving, Jericho was thrown into bewilderment, when Sophia said she wanted to go to Forest Green to clear everything— and to be with him.

  Jericho, shocked and instantly worn out, disagreed, saying that her family would only look for her. Plus, her Grandma Lucy was in Forest Green.

  Sophia insisted through and through, until Jericho could no longer afford to say no.

  “Please, Jericho... I want to know everything back there.” Sophia’s plea sounded like the wild waves tossing him back to the seashore.

  Drawing for more breaths, Jericho declined, “Sophia, we will go back there, but not now. And your parents would be looking for you.” He had gone through the most tormenting place, when he faced her parents, once, and he wanted to tell her that, about last night.

  “Please, Jericho. I beg of you. Take me there. We grew up there, together, and... we had each other there. Why can’t you understand that?”

  With these words, Jericho was put to a sudden halt, and he looked at her steadily. Like a falling drop of water, he fell into those compelling ocean-blue eyes of hers.

  Speared and controlled by her gaze, Jericho took a U-turn, and suddenly drove for Forest Green.

  Philippe was trying not to turn into a blazing fire, with his worry for Sophia. “Eliz, I don’t think I should overreact this way, but I’m really worried for our daughter,” Philippe confessed to Elizabeth, right after the minor argument.

  “Okay, I’ll look for her.” Elizabeth initiated a walk, and went to the front yard to look for her daughter. To her disappointment, there was no Sophia there. She went over to their covered car park, but Sophia was also not there.

  “I don’t see her at all.” Elizabeth walked over to Philippe, as she went back inside the house.

  “I’ll call Zarah’s parents. Perhaps, she’s there.” Philippe tried to relieve his growing tension, before grasping the telephone.

  “Alex, have you seen Sophia?” Elizabeth yelled, for her son to hear, from his room upstairs.

  “No, Mom but... I’ll check her room,” Alex yelled back. He went out of his room and headed for Sophia’s.

  “Where are you, Sophia?” Elizabeth asked silently, bothered by the immense doubts suddenly looming in her head.

  “Mom, she’s not in her room,” Alex shouted again, now in a hurry to join his parents and search.

  “They’re not answering their phone,” Philippe told Elizabeth.

  “Maybe, Zarah and her parents are still in Europe,” Elizabeth said.

  “No, Mom. Zarah and her parents are already back here, ”Alex meddled.

  “Then, where is she?” Philippe was now openly worrying.

  “Maybe, she just went somewhere, where she could free her mind.” Alex attempted to be optimistic.

  “I don’t know, but I’m worried already,” Elizabeth poured out, massaging her chest, t
hat felt truly weighty.

  “I think I should go to the security guards to check on the CCTVs,” Philippe said quickly. He suddenly looked so tired.

  “That’s a good idea, Dad!” Alex approved.

  “Honey, I’ll come with you!” Elizabeth looked hassled, too.

  “Okay! And Alex, look after Nadine!” Philippe ordered.

  “Yes, Dad!”

  Philippe and Elizabeth arrived at the security headquarter, and requested the guards to look over the video footages.

  They were accommodated immediately.

  Soon, one of security guards who was familiar with Sophia, recalled that in a video of two hours ago, he saw her walking around the park.

  Quickly, Philippe and Elizabeth gawked at the video and confirmed that it was their daughter. They continued watching it until it showed a car in slow motion, which approached Sophia. They were thrown into a pit when Jericho came into sight.

  “What!” Elizabeth, in a blast, reacted in fury. Her hatred of him worsened exponentially. “That guy again!”

  “Where do you think he took her?” Philippe moderately asked her, so as not to create a scene.

  “I don’t know but I have this dreadful feeling.” Elizabeth struggled to allay herself from another bout of worrying.

  “Excuse me, Atty. Vabueretti. If you don’t mind... we can trace the car,” Mr. Hilling, the head of security, said. At least, something could be done to lessen Elizabeth’s heavy load.

  “Yes, Mr. Hilling. Will you?”

  “Right away, attorney!” Mr. Hilling called his contacts, the city security officers, and asked them to trace a Prius car with a plate number of EMC 513.

  Straight away, they were informed that the car left the city about an hour ago, heading to Orstia, the province where Forest Green is located.

  Elizabeth was greatly terrified.

  Did they elope? she cried silently, and Philippe tried to prevent her from collapsing.

  Elizabeth, though seemingly turning blank and weakened, managed to whisper something to her husband. “Let’s stop them. Please.”

  On the double, Philippe thanked the security guards and dragged Elizabeth back to the car. He contacted Grandma Lucy, so she could keep an eye peeled, for Sophia, in Forest Green.