Slowly, she spun away from the bed, leaving Philippe snoring out of exhaustion, and went downstairs to the dining room. There, her parents were taking good care of Alex and Nadine after they had gone out, hunting for Sophia in Forest Green.
“Good morning!” Randy, her father, greeted, as his gray hair glimmered with the sun’s rays entering the windowpane. His smile was refreshing, though he had blackish lips, a sign of a heavy tobacco smoker.
“Oh, hi! Honey, come and join us with breakfast!” her mother, Emily broke in, even more welcoming, as she offered her a seat and a cup of freshly brewed black coffee.
Despite her drained condition, Elizabeth managed a cheerful face. She felt recharged when Nadine ran to hug her, hastily, as though now was the last time.
“I miss you, Mom. You were away for far too long.” Nadine’s pining voice directly stung Elizabeth’s heart as she clung firmly on her mother’s sagging shoulders. “And where’s Sophie?” She glanced around, eyes in all directions, just to spot her missing sister. “And daddy, too?”
Nadine’s series of questions added coal to Elizabeth’s burning chest. If only she could upload everything to her daughter’s young mind and make her understand, she would, without a shred of hesitation. But patting her daughter’s hair was all that she could do.
“Sweetie, Sophie and daddy are still in bed, all right?” Elizabeth tried to make up for Nadine’s enthusiasm and met her large blue eyes, which were clueless about what was happening to the family lately. If only Elizabeth could tell her more.
“At this hour?” Disappointment crossed Nadine’s face, and every eye in the room witnessed it.
Across the silence, the adults passed messages through their eyes. If it was that easy, they would let Nadine know. Let her know about her older sister’s act of running away—away with Jericho to Forest Green.
Elizabeth then heaved a heavy sigh, and temporarily avoided to mention the fact that Sophia went missing for two nights at the forest with Jericho—the guy that disgusted her and Grandma Lucy the most, and the guy they thought to be the greatest menace in Sophia’s life.
And this, Elizabeth found hard to accept, to believe that something else happened between the two. It was disturbing, but how Elizabeth wished she could ignore the fear flaring inside of her!
A second passed and Philippe joined them for breakfast, rubbing his eyes, as though he was still deprived of sleep. Clearing his vision, he greeted everyone, especially his in-laws. Then before he could find a seat, he noticed Sophia’s absence. “Where is Sophie?” he asked, perturbed.
“He’s still in bed, Dad,” answered Nadine as she rushed to give her father a warm embrace, too. “I miss you, Daddy!” She expressed grinning, trying to wash away her displeasure.
“I miss you too, sweetheart!” Philippe imparted kisses on her cheeks and tickled her. “How’s my little pumpkin while I was away, huh?”
Nadine chortled more loudly as Philippe examined her harder.
“And you’ve gained weight? I bet grandpa and grandma cooked a lot for you.” Philippe had some more fun and flexed some muscles to carry his daughter.
“Oh, yes. Especially chicken meals.” Emily joined in, grinning at Nadine.
“And soon she’ll have wings if she keeps on eating more chicken,” Randy supplemented and winked at Nadine gamely.
At once, a blast of laughs dispersed through the entire dining room, as Nadine lingered to be the center of everyone’s universe.
That nightfall, Sophia’s longing for Jericho heightened, but she was pulled back by her memories with Abanir. She knew Abanir had saved her life, and not just once… and his kiss placed her heart in a maze.
She reached out for her sketch pad and pencil and started outlining. Bit by bit, she came up with Abanir’s face—those eyes, so splendid, that she remembered them changing colors. And that voice of his, singing by the falling water, took away her cluttered thoughts, for a moment.
Her remembering cracked to pieces when her cell phone rang. It was Zarah, wishing to talk to her, after she had heard everything from Alex.
At arm’s length, Sophia held her cell phone, but a part of her was pulling her back. She was uncertain if she was with her sanity to talk to anybody.
Another ring—and she finally pressed answer.
“Ola!” Zarah’s piercing voice popped out. “Alex just called. He said you’re already home. So what’s up?” Zarah was obviously trying to make things light.
“Zarah...” Sophia’s voice was low and weak.
Feeling it, Zarah chose to act sensitive. She knew her best friend was in trouble, and she wondered why Sophia was silent about Jericho for so long. They were best friends, and Sophia could always talk to her about it—openly—that was why Zarah felt a bit of disappointment.
Yet, Sophia’s interests mattered more to Zarah, and she was very much willing to listen to whatever Sophia would tell her.
“You wanna talk about it?” Zarah attempted to unlock a fragile confession from Sophia.
“I don’t know… I can only wish to remember the good times and forget the things I refuse to remember. They are nothing but heartache.” Sophia’s reply was in an undertone. Then, a hushed howling echoed over the phone, and Zarah was at her finest to, at least, comfort her dearest friend. “I am really messed up right now, and I don’t know what to do.” Sophia couldn’t help but admit. She had to, or her heart would burst into flames and scatter like wildfire.
Zarah knew then that her friend was referring to the emotional misadventures that Sophia had been involved with, and at that moment, she could only think of one thing she’d always believed in. “It’s not love when you don’t feel some pain, Sophie,” she said and continued when nothing resounded at the end of the line. “Look, I wish I could go to your house today and cheer you up, but I’m out of town right now. I’m at my grandparents’,” she added cautiously. “It’s their golden wedding anniversary but I’ll…” she was saying when she heard the rasp of Sophia’s hushed weeping. “Don’t worry, I’ll drop by your house once I return to Orlando, okay?” Zarah was gallant in saying it, and Sophia could only thank her more but she eventually declined, realizing she would be too selfish if she’d ruin her best friend’s retreat, so she hindered herself from lamenting and dismissed the subject matter immediately. She’d done it to spare Zarah’s vacation.
“Hey, you know what? I heard Anne is throwing a party this Thursday night,” Zarah burst out. “Why don’t we go? I mean, you need to go out, Soph.”
The offer kicked Sophia in the head. Her best friend was right but she knew she was grounded, and without a doubt, her parents would be watching her every move. Now that her mess was still fresh, surely she would be jailed at home like a prisoner.
“You’re right. I need to go out but… Well, I’ll try.”
“No, don’t try. You must, and you’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” Zarah directed with a compelling quality, accompanied by a row of sarcastic laughs—her convincing style that worked most of the time.
It worked now, and they began their plot of excuse-and-escape.
Right after the call, Sophia sat down on her bed and reflected for a while. Then a hasty flashback of the night she was falling from the high cliff seemed to transport her back to the forest. The feeling was critical… but was soon wiped out when she remembered Abanir, how he had caught her and saved her. She remembered the flapping sounds of his gargantuan wings, too. They were heavenly. But the night they spent at the Harem Falls was even more heavenly. Magical.
As those memories came back, Sophia caught herself tracing her lips. Abanir was fast in kissing her by the lake, and it was a moment she couldn’t escape from. But then, there was a sudden, intense crumpling of her heart—the ache was different, this time.
Jericho.
Yes, Jericho, too, came into view. But his face was in torment. It made Sophia assume that he was, in fact, in real torment—in prison, pe
rhaps. Heavens, if she could travel back to Forest Green and go straight to the precinct to see him and tell him that she loved him, she would, against of Nature’s forces. But then again, there was an agreement with her Grandma Lucy: to go back to Orlando and forget Jericho.
She lifted her face up to the ceiling, and realized she was probably wrong in leaving Forest Green without reassuring herself that Jericho was released from jail. And right now, what she could only do was… to cling firmly to the hope: that her Grandma Lucy kept her word.
CHAPTER 2
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whEn it still endures
The breeze of dawn broke through Abanir’s face when he woke up from the same vibrant dream of Sophia. It was cold but it was Sophia’s face that kept him warm.
Clearing his vision, he found himself sitting at the bed of the nest where Sophia was treated by Shamante, their tribe’s healer.
It had been days since he had often woken up that way, and every day of Sophia’s absence just made his heart grow fonder. He went back to the moment they had their first eye-to-eye and imagined Sophia was right in front of him—with this face so innocent yet so alluring.
Abanir was so wrapped up with memories. He didn’t even realize the sun had already climbed to the mountains, and he was still there, sitting on the same bed, his thoughts floating with the early breeze.
Then, he decided to visit the lake house—the first and last place where he saw Sophia. He refused to believe that there was still no sign of Sophia’s presence there.
Yet, his longing never waned, and anxiously reared stronger. Wilder. More powerful.
He stopped by the exact place where he landed Sophia, where he conveyed his affection to her through a steadfast kiss, even before he went back to Kravena to battle.
He remembered the scent of their first kiss. The kiss that strengthened and helped him to stand against the united enemy tribes.
Then Abanir looked at the lake house afresh, and couldn’t believe how he missed the human so much. He had never felt that way before: desiring so much for someone out of his reach.
He flew to Harem Falls and noticed that the plain kubot, where he spent the night with Sophia, was still there. He landed and sat on the fallen tree that he turned into a bench, and remembered how he offered Sophia something to eat. He walked farther and watched the falling water. There it resounded with the melody he had hummed before her, along with the flower of the dama-dama he gave to her (before Rabel rushed to them, relaying the presence of their enemies in their territory—which now began the great battle).
With a sigh, Abanir knew that the dama-dama flower slipped out of Sophia’s hand, when he brought her back to the lake house, for her safety. At that memory, he wished the fallen flower didn’t mean she’d already forgotten him.
How he missed the human so much! Looking up to the brightening sky, Abanir knew his beloved was with her fellow humans now, probably with her family, yet he couldn’t help but wonder if she ever felt the same thing for him, if she was thinking of him, too.
I miss you, Abanir spoke to himself and collected his fists tightly. Are you coming back?
In a blink of an eye, Rabel, from the sky, was coming to join him. As usual, Rabel was there looking for him.
“I knew you would be here,” Rabel told Abanir, his face showing fatigue and worry.
“Yes, Rabel. Join me with my rumination of the human you warned me of.”
“You really miss her, don’t you?”
Eyes down, Abanir nodded, “Yes, Rabel. I really do. I miss her but… she’s in her own, different world now. And I—I don’t know what to do.” His confession was overly touching.
“You’re right. She’s in her own, different world now. With all due respect, My Raha, you need to let go of her, now…” Rabel then offered his unsolicited opinion.
Abanir fell into silence. His hakaro’s feedback was too excruciating to handle. But he was right! He was just so achingly right! But it was killing Abanir!
“Let’s go back to the tribe now.” Abanir then put forward, yearning to escape the truth. He did not want to look weak. He had always been strong on anything. Hard on anything. But it was Sophia who made him soft and weak—and he admitted that there was something he couldn’t take control of: love.
Arriving at Kravena, Reyna Kaya saw them and reminded them of the upcoming thanksgiving, after their restoration from their enemies. But Reyna Kaya saw her son’s sorrow and went to ask him.
“My son, you were able to defeat the two tribes. So what depresses you?” She asked.
Abanir looked at his mother steadily, his eyes revealing pining.
“Is this because of the human?” Reyna Kaya drew closer. She felt she needed to bring out those finest and most comforting words of a mother.
Abanir did not speak. His silence merely meant yes to Reyna Kaya.
“My son, she is a world apart. I need you to understand that.” Reyna Kaya began telling. To make him understand. To wake him up to reality and truth. “I don’t want you to be hurt, My son. While it’s still early, I need you to forget that human. You have to.”
Those words tore at Abanir’s heart. He was flung upside down. “Mother, the thing is… it’s too late, already. I have fallen in love with that human and I can’t… I can’t just forget her. I just can’t.” Abanir bowed down his head, gripping his hands tighter and tighter—he had to, or else he’d explode at any moment. All he ever wanted were to fill his eyes with Sophia’s presence, fill his lungs with her scent, fill his mind with the sights of the night they spent at the Harem falls and the sounds of her laugh when he ascended with her into the air.
It was crushing Reyna Kaya, and she was now desperate to find ways to make her son realize that this desire for the human was venomous. Not just to him, but also to his family and race. She needed to make Abanir focus on the tribe, especially now that they have to be vigilant against the surprises of enemies.
Reyna Kaya decided to be more considerate then, and thought that perhaps, in the succeeding days, her son would finally wake up and realize that he was just not for the human world, and nor was she fit for his Vangkekan world.
CHAPTER 3
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the party
“Good Lord! So it’s true. You look like her.”
That shudder, cold as sandstone and shrill as a dagger, was heard by Sophia when she went to the fridge for a bottle of water. She’d never been downstairs since their return from Forest Green, and Nadine became her own personal aide, providing her all the things she needed, including food and refreshments. This was the only time she went down.
Looking delicate as a wren’s egg, Sophia turned to look at the owner of the voice and didn’t recognize the woman in her late sixties, with her mom. She must be a relative because of the resemblance this woman shared with Elizabeth.
The old woman slowly approached her. “Sophia…” she said, examining her closer and harder. It was Emily. The last time she saw her long-lost granddaughter was the day she was born (for there were too many unsettled issues back then, between the two sides—Sophia’s maternal-paternal grandparents).
Emily cried oceans. Rage, despair, self-pity—all were tidal waves breaking inside of her. There was this ache to clench Sophia in her arms and would never ever let her go but then, she remembered her daughter Francheska. She wished Francheska was there, too, to witness the marvelous reunion, but it suddenly occurred to her that she was asking for the impossible. Francheska had been out of sight for many, many years now, and those seventeen years of absence had always felt like a lifetime, not just to her but to everyone who knew the family scandal.
Sophia froze, trying to recognize the old woman again. Who is she? She kept asking herself.
“Mom
, she doesn’t remember you. She has amnesia, remember?” Elizabeth slipped in to rescue her daughter from her own self-examination.
“Yes, of course,” answered Emily while studying Sophia even harder, then she touched Sophia’s face, clasped her hands and gave her the warmest hugs.
Child-like, Sophia returned the same kind of scrutiny and accepted the old woman’s approaching embrace.
There was a long moment of body-hugging and trying-to-figure-it-out.
“I shouldn’t have let them take you… That was my greatest mistake. I’m so, so sorry,” Emily whispered into her granddaughter’s ears and tightened her hug.
Sophia felt the rush of her grandma’s apologies and fell into a deeper stream of confusion. Who is she exactly?! What is she talking about?!
“I’m Grandma Emily,” Emily, at last, revealed, her whisper even softer now, tinged with boundless regrets and sorrows. “The very person who’s been missing you for many, many years…” Another torrent of tears ran down her face, then a tall man surprisingly over-shadowed them.
“So, that’s Sophia now?” His voice came behind Elizabeth. It was Randy, who just went out for a drink with Philippe. “I can’t believe you’re all grown up!” He was ecstatic but definitely not as expressive as Emily. “Come here, and I’ll give you a warm hug, too!”
A flat face was all that Sophia could provide him. She had absolutely no idea of who he was. But by the looks of him, she already had a hint he might be her grandpa.
“Dad, she doesn’t remember you,” Elizabeth said, overwhelmed by the series of unexpected turn of events.
“Oh, yes! Of course, dear.” Randy affirmed and joined Emily in encircling their long-lost granddaughter.
And then, there was a more detailed introduction, followed by an early dinner for Sophia—in fact, it was her meal for the entire day.
*****
For the first time ever, Sophia couldn’t wait for the first day of her senior year. It would be much easier to go on with the motions of life in Orlando than to think of what she left behind in Forest Green.
The Forest of Evergreen: Found in the Wilderness Page 2