Lost in the Wilderness - The Forest of Evergreen Book 1 (3 page)

Chapter 1

The Vabuerettis

Sophia Vabueretti opened her eyes to a stormy morning. It was giving her goose bumps and she quickly fumbled around, reaching for her blanket. It might have fallen from her bed during her sleep. She wondered if she was already awake or still trapped in a dream as the broken oak tree branches at their backyard fell angrily onto the rooftop of their renovated Hispanic house.
 

In a blast, it raged on and on as if the sounds could break every corner, and it truly frightened her.

She peeped through her windows. Outside, the streets were empty of people, and not even the truck of Mr. Salvador that was often parked along the wide street in front of them was around. She sighed for a moment, absorbed by the singing wind and rushing splash of heavy rain upon the windows, when she heard the careful knock of her mother.

“Sophia, honey, it’s past nine already. I know your classes are suspended but don’t sleep that long,” her mother pleaded in a soft voice.

Despite her languor precipitated by the cold weather, Sophia pushed herself to open the door. Rubbing her eyes, she was surprised when her mother handed her a sealed white envelope, a good sign that it wasn’t opened yet.

“I was supposed to give it to you last night but you were in a hurry to meet Giovanni,” Elizabeth shared, anticipating for her daughter’s response: excitement, perhaps. But it turned out wrong when Sophia’s head remained up in the clouds.

 
“Uh, aren’t you going to open it already?” Elizabeth resurrected the mood, giving the impression that she already knew what was inside.

At last, Sophia showed some movements. “Um… maybe later, Mom,” she smiled and quickly slid it behind her back, feeling much better if she’d open it in her mother’s absence.

“All right.” Elizabeth returned a wider smile. “Alex and Nadine are already downstairs. Don’t skip breakfast, okay?” she concluded and then left.
 

Closing the door, Sophia shifted her full attention to the elegant envelope and saw that it was from the National Art Institute. A couple of months ago, she wrote and sent them a sample of her artwork, hoping that she would qualify for the institution’s annual painting contest—a stepping stone for her, as she always thought of pursuing an art career. That painting contest was Orlando City’s most prestigious one and it filled her dreams, that someday, she would be recognized for her passion.

Bit by bit, she opened the envelope, excited to know if she was qualified, but at some point, fearful of rejection. Then, she unfolded the white linen paper and started to read, bursting with hope.
 

“Oh, I can’t believe it!” she nearly screamed. To leap for joy was an impulse. Then she hurried downstairs to tell everyone.

“Whoa! What’s with the excitement?” Alex, her older brother, asked when he happened to see her running down the wooden stairs.

“Hey, guess what?” Sophia approached him at the dining room.

“What, Sophie?” Nadine, their youngest, who was then seated beside Alex on the oval dining table piped in.

“Hey you guys, I’m qualified for the contest!”
 

“Really? Well, that’s good news!” commended Alex, with a pair of light brown eyes reflecting the twinkling chandelier overhead. “I’m glad something just brightened up my morning.”

“Yup, in spite of the dark shadows outside!” Nadine shot in dramatically, attempting some witticism for Sophia.

“Thanks!” Sophia grinned. “Oh! By the way, where are mom and dad? I thought they’re here by now.” She then glanced around.

Usually, the Vabuerettis would start breakfast all together except this morning. Elizabeth was busy doing their avalanche of laundry piled since the thunderstorm and Philippe was away somewhere, doing some other things while on-leave from work.

“Mom’s at the laundry room.” Alex scratched at his jaw and nudged Nadine who was vigorously slicing her blueberry pancake. “Hey, do you know where dad is?”

With an eyebrow lifted up, Nadine sent him a cynical look. “I think he’s at the front porch,” she replied mumbling.

To distract the thunder strikes emerging between her siblings, Sophia intruded, “Maybe they’ll join us later,” making sure she didn’t sound disappointed. Then she sat down opposite Nadine and met the childish eyes of her eleven-year-old sister, so much like the ocean-blue eyes of their mother’s. In fact, the two of them were the doppelgangers of Elizabeth, except for Sophia’s deep dimples on each side of her face and shallow cleft chin, all of that from her father’s genes.

Watching Sophia blankly spread strawberry jam on a pair of toasted bread, Nadine reminded her that there were too many carbs in it.

It made Sophia laugh modestly. “Well, thanks for reminding me but that does not really apply to me right now. I’m starving. I did not actually have my dinner last night.” Then she shifted the course of their talking by asking again of their father’s whereabouts.

“Maybe he went to work already.” Alex wrinkled his forehead.

“I told you, dad is at the front porch. He’s probably reading today’s newspaper there,” Nadine griped, now giving them a pointed look.
 

Their conversation went neither here nor there, when their father finally entered the room.

“Oh! Good morning there! So, you are all awake now, huh!” Philippe said distractedly as he passed by them and went straight to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

“Coffee, Dad?” Sophia immediately offered when her father was already half-hidden by the lustrous antique divider.
 

“Yes, honey. That would be nice.”

Sophia went to join her father in the kitchen, and filled a vintage German porcelain demitasse cup with a freshly brewed Turkish coffee from the coffee maker.

“Dad, where have you been?” Nadine, all of a sudden, called from the table.

“I was at the front porch.” Philippe made sure his voice was heard.

“See! I told you.” Nadine elbowed Alex.

“Fine! You won, Nad.”

Nadine cracked an insulting laugh, savoring such big-deal victory over her brother.

Scowling, Alex watched her and battled his annoyance.

“You know what, Dad? Sophie has qualified for the contest!” Nadine yelled again.

“That’s good, honey!” Philippe praised and approached Sophia who was now putting the cup on a matching saucer. Observing his daughter, Philippe assumed it a chance, a chance to further strengthen his fatherly love for her. Although Sophia was with them for almost four years now, it always felt like a huge gap that separated him from her.
 

“When will that be?” Philippe wanted to ask.

“Tenth of May, Dad.”

“So, that’s four months from now.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“I’m so proud of you, you know that?”

Sophia flung a chirp, “Thanks, Dad.”

“Really, I do.”

Witnessing the veiled affection in her father’s eyes, Sophia thanked him again and shifted her stare on the side.
 

And then, there was a moment of silence.

“I think I have to return now to my breakfast,” Sophia spoke low and went back to the dining table.

Agreeing, Philippe followed her and sat down at the center. His appearance was suddenly troubled, then he showered his children with an adoring smile and began indulging himself with coffee.

“I think we should celebrate for Sophie. Am I right, Dad?” Nadine revived their talking.

“Yes, of course!” Their father suddenly blinked, just as he felt the hotness of coffee flooded in his mouth. “That is actually a good idea, sweetie. I’m glad you thought of that.” Philippe’s tone echoed massive willingness as he took another sip.

“Celebrate? I did not win, yet, or something for us to celebrate already,” Sophia countered with puckered brow.

“Though you’ve not yet won, we’re going to celebrate,” Elizabeth, coming from the laundry room, interfered. Her sudden appearance caught everyone’s attention as she sat across Philippe and breathed heavily the second she landed on her chair, fatigued by early household chores. It was, after all, her choice not to hire house maids in spite of the family’s riches. It was also her choice to stop practicing law and instead become a full-time mom. Besides, money had never been a problem for they owned Christ the King Medical Center, the city’s largest, and Philippe was a well-known surgeon.

“Wow! What an overflowing confidence you have, Mom, to right away assume that Sophia will win the contest!” Alex cackled and so did Nadine.

Subdued by her timidity, Sophia at least managed to be grateful to her mom, providing a simple yet heartfelt smile.

Her bearing turned distant, as Elizabeth examined her children and arranged her speech in her mind. She had been practicing those words for days now and she already thought of the possible scenarios. Soon, an eye-to-eye with her husband drove her to finally utter the words to them.

“Oh, by the way, your father and I have something to tell you,” she announced in a guarded voice.

The three suddenly turned to look at their mother.

With those eyes upon her, Elizabeth held her breath and turned it into a whoosh of optimism. “This coming Friday, since it’s holiday, we will visit... Forest Green.” The manner of her talking obviously reflected cautiousness as the pounding of her heart began to envelop her. Holiday because it was Philipdomia’s one hundred sixteenth year of liberty.

The very instant Sophia heard it, she was tongue-tied. She didn’t know if she ought to feel glad about it. Forest Green was unsettling, a place of torment and sanctuary, ironically, but the former seemed to weigh much more heavily and that drove her to the edge of unhappiness.

“Forest Green! At last, we’re visiting Forest Green!” Nadine shouted with her excitement and jumped from her seat.

Intrigued by why they were going to visit Forest Green, Alex asked their parents.

“Well, it’s your grandma’s plea and she misses you a lot already. Plus, you never visited Forest Green, not even once in your life. So your mother and I decided to take you there.” Philippe was selective with his words, and he was referring particularly to Alex and Nadine, since Sophia grew up separately in Forest Green, with Grandma Lucy, Philippe’s mom. It was only on her thirteenth birthday when Philippe and Elizabeth took her to live with them in Orlando.

At the onset of her life with them, Sophia was entirely secluded and she was filled with notions of being deserted. But in the long run, she finally found her niche in the city and accepted things the way they were. Sadly though, there had been a lot of things missing in her life, and she did her part to fill them up, piece by piece.

“When will we return?” Alex asked again.

“Monday.”

“So, that means we’re going to be marked absent in school?”

“Not exactly. I already sent letters of excuse to your respective school principals,” answered Philippe and glanced surreptitiously at Elizabeth.

“Yes! We’re visiting Forest Green!” once more, Nadine shrieked. This time, with a livelier tone.

“Yes, honey! And grandma also has a lake house there, near a wide green forest! It would be perfect for a picnic,” Elizabeth said in a high-spirited tone, quite convincing now, even to Alex. However, Sophia’s abrupt hush caused Elizabeth some burden.
 

“Honey, hey?” Elizabeth put a hand on Sophia’s shoulder and attempted to catch her eye. “It’s Forest Green, aren’t you excited to see grandma?”

“I do, Mom! It’s just that... it’s been years since....” Sophia bowed down her head, with the intent of not finishing her sentence. On impulse, unwelcome flashbacks penetrated her mind, especially the day when she left Forest Green. Someone back there was squeezing her heart, for so long now.
 

At once, quietness settled the place, as if a horde of ghosts had passed by!

Elizabeth persisted in facing Sophia, eye-to-eye, to discern her daughter’s thoughts, but she suddenly understood it all, all so clearly and that shook her resolve.

To change the topic, Philippe announced that the storm would be gone the following day, and that classes would be resuming.

“In that case, the prom will not be postponed,” responded Alex, with a jolly voice to clear up the atmosphere. Although Alex was ten months ahead of Sophia, they happened to be both junior students of St. Thomas Academy, a Catholic school, and one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country. As for Nadine, she was a fifth grader in the same school.

In a little while, surprisingly, the sun was already starting to come into sight and the mists, everywhere, were already outshone by the sun’s glimmer.

Still seated on the elliptical table, Nadine finally had the guts to break the sickening silence. With a cup of Belgian hot chocolate in her right hand, she cheered, “This is for Sophie, for qualifying for the painting contest! Yehey!”

Bulging at the seams with surprise, the rest of them congratulated Sophia too, but Sophia reacted hesitantly. Nonetheless, such applause from Nadine went well and they finished their breakfast like nothing unpleasant happened.

Chapter 2