Free Lost in the Wilderness - The Forest of Evergreen Book 1 by Teresa May B. Bandiola

intentionally placed there to scare anyone who visited the lake house. Then, she remembered the first time she laid her eyes on it; it scared her a lot. She opened the main bedroom across the living area and noticed the same old bed and design of furnishings. Later, she went upstairs. All were the same. One by one, she opened the three bedrooms including the guest room. Sighing, she went to the balcony, and everything from the past came back to her all at once. It always felt like the lake house was forever a home to her. She took a deep and long breath, and busied herself with a view of the lake, just below the wide and green mountains. Although it was almost lunch-time, the rays of the sun felt like it was still dawn. Gasping for another lungful of fresh air, she noticed that her family was already preparing a table outside, a few meters away from the lake water. They wished to have a lunch there, to be under the glowing bright sky, shot with gold.
    Going back downstairs to join her family, Sophia’s mind began to be filled with exclusive things about Jericho. The lake reminded her so much of him. She used to play and swim there with him. It was him who taught her how to swim, how to catch some fish, and how to stay longer in water.
    “Sophia, do you still remember the times when we used to come here?” Grandma Lucy asked her granddaughter as she approached her at the lake bank.
    Sophia quickly grasped for some air. “Yes, Grandma! Very clearly. It seems like it was only yesterday when we were here,” replied Sophia, as her eyes were set on the lake. She already programmed herself to never mention Jericho’s name whenever her grandma was around. She knew that once she uttered his name, an explosion would happen.
    “Um, excuse me for a while.” Grandma Lucy left her, to help Philippe and Elizabeth with the table.
    A full minute passed, and Bea approached her.  
    “Remember the old days, Sophia? You used to play here around when you were just a little girl. You tried to climb the trees, you wanted to swim, you wanted to catch some fish... but your grandma never permitted you.” Bea elbowed Sophia.
    “Yes, Auntie Bea! None of them escaped my memory. I remember them so well. It is funny though that I learned them all here with Jericho but grandma never knew about it...” Sophia, all of a sudden, realized that it was a slip of tongue.
    “Ah, Jericho! Yes, that boy. Oh, poor boy! I remember him. You were too young for that puppy love, Sophia. But he’s still in town just in case you’re wondering. I heard he already got married!” Bea detailed.
    “Really, Auntie Bea? He’s now… married?” Sophia confirmed, with a depressed voice.
    “Of course, I’m kidding! He’s a doctor now, a new doctor actually! And he’s in town. He works at the town’s only hospital,” Bea delivered, bright and breezy. She was very much eager to know what would be Sophia’s next reaction.
    Sophia was shocked, a little bit confused of how she was going to react. Jericho was only five years ahead of him. Why would he become a doctor that fast?
    “Really? A doctor? But... he’s too young to be a doctor,” Sophia pondered heavily.
    “That’s what I asked too at first. You know, Jericho is a genius. Maybe, he got accelerated,” Bea illuminated, with a shrugging of shoulders.
    Sophia paused, running things in her mind, as Bea directed her own black eyes at her.
    “When we were passing by the Belfast Street yesterday, I noticed that Jericho’s house was not there anymore. I wanna know what happened,” Sophia spoke again.
    “Actually… here is one thing that you should know. He’s rich now, Sophia.”
    “Really? How come? I mean, since when?” Sophia continued to get puzzled.
    “You really missed a lot of things here, ever since you left.” Bea’s voice waned. “You know Mount Kalban, the one that we passed by earlier? It’s his family’s and it was found out that there was gold there. Jericho’s grandfather sold it