Lost in the Wilderness - The Forest of Evergreen Book 1 (22 page)

“Sophia…?”

“Jericho…?” Finally, Sophia spoke again.

“Yes, Sophia?”

“You know I have amnesia, right?” Unsure, Sophia got up the courage to ask him.

“Yes, Sophia. I promise I will do my best to help you.” The way he delivered it, sort of rushed in, flooded through the four chambers of her heart, and extended beyond her spine.

Sophia managed to be grateful.

“Anything for you, Sophia.” Jericho made sure safe haven manifested in his voice. “I guess I have to say
good night
now!”

“Why?” Sophia asked, but she flushed the instant she realized she had made it obvious she wanted to prolong their conversation.

“I suppose you need to get some rest now,” Jericho carried on.

“No, I’m not that… tired.”
 

“Are you sure?”

Goodness, I can’t believe I just said that! A very cheap response! Oh, God!
Sophia squeezed her eyes shut, in shame, and immediately changed her mind. “You know what? You’re right! I should be resting now!”

Jericho smiled on his end of the line, feeling over the moon at Sophia’s obvious desire to talk to him, some more. At last, thank Heaven, he was slowly dragging, her back to him, and he couldn’t believe it was all happening now. His long wait was almost, finally over!

“So, is it
good night
now?” Jericho wanted to conclude before distractions and other things could stumble upon them.
 

“Um, yeah…” Sophia bit down on her lower lip, battling the discomfort of her stupid feedbacks.

But Jericho strove to tell her one important thing. “I love you…” he murmured in a soft, moving voice.

It was something that neutralized the acidity of her embarrassment. Those three words from him instantly went down into the core of her soul, and it took her about half a minute to make progress. By the time she realized she needed to give him a response, she whispered back her
good night
, and ended his call, smiling.

Chapter 21

Through It All

Elizabeth was brisk while she was preparing to do the laundry, the next morning. After cooking for breakfast, she went upstairs to get all of her children’s clothes.
 

A knock sounded at the Sophia’s door.

“Come in, Mom.”

“Hey.”

“Good morning, Mom!” In a flattering V-neck floral-print dress, Sophia presented her mother with a cheery face, as she reached for the door.

Elizabeth, returning the same facial expression, examined her. “You look great with that dress I bought you! I’m glad you’re finally wearing it!”

Sophia’s preliminary response was to smile and thank her mom, but she caught something in the last sentence, that made her wonder. “Haven’t I worn it before?” she asked, showing a map of tiny lines across her forehead.

Elizabeth was put to a sudden pause. They shouldn’t dwell on the issue of her finally wearing the dress, but she couldn’t help but recall the day when she gave it to Sophia. It was one of the thousand clothes she’d bought for her sixteenth birthday, to buy some
daughter
ly love and acceptance. But there was too much trouble during those days. Sophia was at the peak of her rebelliousness, against her. Heavens, she was quite unruly. There were no days that she would not come home free of mess. She was drawn to alcohol, and Elizabeth couldn’t resist putting the blame on Daniella—an overly-rebellious girl who dragged Sophia into a mob of foster-teenagers! But Sophia was different from them; she was definitely not a foster child. Elizabeth knew that and emphasized the point, hard, on Sophia but her daughter was, one way or another, disbelieving. (If only Elizabeth could tell her more.)
 

Pressing her eyes, Elizabeth was back to reality now. She went near Sophia and brightened up the atmosphere by changing the flow of their talk. “You’re early, by the way. You must be really excited for your class,” she said, after looking at Sophia’s alarm clock that had been clicking close to six thirty. The art class would usually start at eight and the building was just a twenty-minute drive away, but Sophia was clearly in an on-the-go mode.

 
Sophia tossed a chirp, “Yeah.” She nodded and began a move to put all her painting materials inside her bag. “By the way, Mom...”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to take a cab. Please, don’t bother driving for me.” Sophia dared to say, hoping to sway her mom.

“Why not?” Now, Elizabeth was the one showing puzzled lines across her face.

“Um, it would just exhaust you. Besides, I want to know more of the roads, on my own.” Sophia made sure her tone was infused with a confident quality.

“All right.”

“And Mom...” Sophia wanted to say more.

“Yes?”

“I have to go now. I promise, I won’t forget to grab a bite of sandwich later,” Sophia assured, while wearing her flat beige sandals, matching the imprinted flowers of her short dress.

In wonder, Elizabeth lingered, while observing her daughter. Something was odd. Yesterday, art class was dull for Sophia, but now, a sudden enthusiasm showed, and it just puzzled Elizabeth.

“Mom?”

Now, Elizabeth shook her head in hesitation. “All right. Be safe, then.” With a strained smile, she brought up her hands to touch Sophia’s shoulders, while trying to decode any mystery in her eyes.

Sophia suddenly blinked in haste but she had it all controlled, immediately, being able to shoot a look straight into her mother’s inquiring eyes. “I will, Mom. Bye now,” she mumbled, planted a kiss on her mother’s cheeks, then she left the house in one fell-swoop.

Arriving in class, Sophia was surprised by Jericho’s earlier appearance. And he was alone, so it placed Sophia into a sort-of-trap.

Jericho, displaying a euphoric impression, immediately stood up to meet her, and brought out the bouquet of red roses that he was hiding. Surely, the tips of his lips could almost touch his ears as he came forward and smiled. It was followed by a long and heartfelt kiss on her cheek.

Tomato-red, Sophia suddenly could not say a word. The heaven-scent of him just lavished her with amazement. And as his careful hands gently glided over her arm, they rashly sent electrical signals that ran through every part of her body.

She was rooted to the spot. Evidently, a graduated scale of tension was elevating, between them.

Jericho’s eyes lingered as he looked at her, trying to figure out any message in her eyes. There was something new in her. A better glow. And there was no denying that she was falling into his charm. Again.
 

An hour seemed to go by. Finally, Sophia managed a not-too-obvious, delighted smile. “Thanks for the flowers. They’re lovely.”

“You’re welcome. Please, take a seat,” Jericho answered, in high spirit, spellbound, as he brought himself closer to her. It was still early morning but her face was already showing him what could possibly be the… fireworks of the coming night.
 

The moment he got his self-control back, Jericho sat down beside her. “You look really pretty,” he praised, as his smile continued to widen.

It made Sophia flush more and more. “Thanks.” She exerted a lot of effort not to look too excited.

Yet again, Jericho was lost in thought. He just sat there, facing her as if he was swimming in her aquatic eyes.

But such gape of him passed more tension on Sophia. She attempted to shift her look on the other side, but she knew he was still looking at her. She could tell it through the corners of her eyes.

Their taciturn situation was too much to handle, as they waited for each other to go on with their dialogue. A long wait ensued!

When they finally pulled through, Sophia asked why their classmates were not yet around.

It was a hard punch in the stomach for Jericho. He appeared to think hard, so that now, Sophia had to hypothesize about his gestures. He cleared his throat and began explaining that he did something.

“What did you do?” Sophia queried.

Detecting the concentrated curiosity in her stare, Jericho moistened his lips and began spilling the beans. “Yesterday, I...” Jericho’s tongue was sliding back. It seemed like sighing was the best opening for his vindication.
 

But Sophia seriously waited.

Then finally, Jericho found the words to say. “Yesterday, I decided to sponsor an art exhibit at the National Museum, and I asked Ms. Bun if she could host it...”

“Then?”

“She said yes and… I volunteered to tell our classmates about it.” Jericho slowed down, noticing the gradual pulling of her face. “That means... they will not be here today,” he tried to tell more.

“You told them without telling me?” Sophia’s face became completely screwed up. Surely, an ache was felt by her but Jericho was reasonably equipped to clarify more of his side.

“Please don’t get me wrong, Sophia. I did it to be alone here with you, with no one else around.”

Now, Sophia avoided his gaze.

Struggling to give more details, Jericho witnessed the pits of her frown. “I just want the two of us here. Besides, Ms. Bun would notice. She’s a good friend of your mom, remember?” His voice resonated with more worry, as he looked like he would be joining the world’s toughest tournament.

Nonetheless, it sounded pretty convincing to Sophia, so that straightaway, her scowl was changed into a plodding grin. She tried to bestow him an approving nod and remained silent again, contemplating the things that he just said.

Afterwards, Jericho had the guts to ask her for more favors. “Can we go somewhere else?”

Sophia’s first impulse was to say no, but Jericho’s tone and begging face motivated her to agree.

Ecstatic with something more than the effect of methamphetamine, Jericho leaned closer to her. “Thank you,” he spoke softly, as his lips were out an inch away from hers, now.

The same pleasure was felt by her, and so, they left the building together.

“Where are you taking me?” Sophia asked, as they walked towards Jericho’s glacier-white Toyota Prius, across the street.

“You’ll see. Trust me on this, Sophia,” Jericho winked and opened his car for her. “You’ll love it.”

“Thank you,” Sophia flashed a shy grin.

“My pleasure!”

Then, Jericho jumped to the driver’s seat, to join her.

Along the way, Sophia appeared blank, as if a thousand things raced in her mind, while Jericho quietly observed her. She wondered if it was right for her to agree to his offer, as she summoned up all her mother’s reminders. She continued weighing things as they passed by the busy boulevards and avenues of the city.

Clinging to the shreds of his wishes, Jericho attempted to break the awkward silence that was sickening him. He straightened his backbone and risked crawling his fingers, to reach Sophia’s edgy hands.

Sophia plainly felt it, the passing of unspoken comfort as he tightened his grip on her hand. Then, she swung her gaze towards him, capturing the grandeur of his stylized sideburns and blond highlights, that complimented his thick tousled hair.

And while he was melting from her stare, Jericho looked at her, too, with excruciating fondness. It was so intimate that Sophia immediately hurled her gaze, back to the other side.

Jericho broadened his grin and kept driving until they finally arrived at their destination. It was a romantic garden—a perfect place for a dating couple.
 

When the shadows of beautiful flowering trees fell over her face, Sophia rolled the window down to feel the cool breeze. Gentle was the wind that bestowed her with a dreamland scent, something that was so refreshing and relaxing.
 

Jericho settled his eyes on her again even as he struggled to focus on his driving. He pictured the same anticipation he had with her, many years ago, back at the lake house where they were always secretly playing.
 

Once he parked the car, he pleaded with her to stay put, for he would like to open the door for her.

Sophia felt how Jericho treated her like a princess, and it was very agonizing already. But by some means, she was heartily moved by it.

It always mattered to Jericho to provide her with all his love and tenderness.

A table for two was there, waiting to be occupied by them.
 

Gallantly, Jericho took hold of Sophia’s hands, looked straight at her, and said, “I can no longer wait for tonight, to ask you for a date.”
 

Sophia stood stock-still, beneath the undisguised love in his eyes. It felt like all her blood piled up on her cheeks, and she barely knew what to say, any longer, to compensate for his affection. A sincere smile was all that she could provide, in return.
 

At that exact moment, everything that Jericho did for her could be summed up as chivalrous ways.

They continued their walk to the table, their fingers slowly creeping into each other’s, as their heartbeats drummed in their ears.
 

Since the garden was near an ocean cliff, the magnificent deep waters beneath the bright blue sky was well-appreciated by Sophia. For a while, she submerged herself into all of it.