Chapter 3
A Visit to Forest Green
The glorious sunbeams streamed through the thin white curtains of Sophia’s bedroom.
With a heavy head, Sophia jumped up from bed and went straight to the bathroom to wash her face. She harked back; later today, they would be heading to Forest Green. She breathed in deeply and sprinted to the kitchen to make herself a cup of brewed coffee. She knew it would help her get rid of the alcohol residues.
“Sophia, honey, do you know where your brother is? I think he did not come home last night,” Elizabeth, seated on the kitchen table, asked her daughter as she entered the kitchen.
“We separated when the prom was over, Mom. He was with Zarah and... Giovanni brought me home.”
“Oh, Alex…” Elizabeth flung a heavy sigh and went through her cell phone again. “He knows we’re going to Forest Green today!” she grumbled and immediately lowered down her voice.
Feeling very much dehydrated, Sophia brought out a bottle of distilled water from the fridge and gulped it gracefully, slipping the name Forest Green out of her mind. She was about to grab a cup when her mother spoke again.
“I’ve been trying to reach him for the thousandth time, now,” Elizabeth said worryingly.
“Well, he will be here, Mom.” Sophia acted lethargic.
Alex had just arrived when Sophia saw him through the kitchen windowpane.
“Here he comes, Mom! I told you,” Sophia murmured, still in a haze.
Now, Elizabeth made a move to meet her son.
Sophia followed her.
“Alex, where have you been? I’ve been calling you!” Elizabeth’s tone was mixed with worry and anger, as she reached him to the doorway.
“I’m sorry, Mom. My cell phone got low last night. I forgot to charge it.” Alex scratched his head innocently and placed his coat on the chaise lounge.
“Okay, you are forgiven for that! Join your sister for breakfast.” Elizabeth’s aggravation immediately subsided.
Eavesdropping, Sophia butted in. “So, that’s it, Mom? Aren’t you going to ground him or something? He did not come home last night. But if I were to do that, you would ground me for, like a month,” she stressed, and at a reckless pace, went back to the kitchen.
“Because you are a girl, Sophia. There’s a difference between you and your brother.” Elizabeth struggled, to chase her.
Sophia bent her head and filled a cup with steaming coffee, while plopping her mother’s words inside her mind.
“Sophia, honey, don’t get it the wrong way,” Elizabeth implored and grabbed Sophia’s chin to face her. “I worry less, for him…”
Faking a smile, Sophia looked at her mother. “Okay...”
“Good.”
Now, Sophia sat down and quickly disregarded her mother’s unjust treatment to them.
“And Sophia...” Elizabeth wanted to say more.
“Mom...”
“Start packing for Forest Green, all right?” Elizabeth demanded with an evident compulsion.
“Later, Mom. I’ll just finish my cup.” Sophia pressed her forehead like she was suffering from a headache, and Elizabeth knew it was hangover.
“How’s your prom?” Elizabeth took a detour first before interrogating her.
“It was great, Mom.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Sophia shook her head negatively and rubbed her cup to avoid her mother’s stare. She knew her mother’s style of questioning very well. Next, she took a slow sip of the coffee.
Noticing how her daughter avoided her, Elizabeth now began to spill out her main concern. “Did you drink a lot last night?”
Sophia got tongue-tied. Her mother was right and she couldn’t say no. She wished to explain her actions but nothing came out, when she opened her mouth.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, already knowing what Sophia was about to say. “You know, Daniella really was a bad influence on you. I’m glad she’s no longer attending your school,” she said in a judgmental manner.
“Please, don’t talk of her that way. She was a good friend,” Sophia defended her old friend.
“Good friend? Does a good friend invite you to the most dangerous clubs in the city and convince you to cut classes?” Elizabeth’s voice suddenly raised.
Sophia stared wordlessly. They were back to the same old arguments again. Hence, she decided to shut up.
“You know, we had a problem about your drinking alcohol before, right?” Now, Elizabeth’s voice turned low.
“I’m sorry, Mom. It won’t happen again,” Sophia immediately apologized, but her eyes rolled away from her mother’s confronting gaze.
Soon after, Elizabeth left her and went upstairs to start packing for Forest Green.
Sophia reflected for a minute, and then, volunteered to wash the dishes that almost crammed the whole fraction of their sink.
Some images slowly wheeled into her vision, like Nadine who came to her and asked for help to pack for Forest Green.
Sophia was instantly persuaded, but she asked Nadine to wait first.
“Okay,” Nadine politely agreed, pulled out a chair, and watched Sophia wipe their wet silverware.
But something bothered her, and Sophia faced Nadine, then asked, “Can’t you pack your own things, Nadine?” She made sure she delivered these words without hurting her sister.
“I can but… I’m not really good at folding my clothes.” Nadine brought herself a peg down, which was unusual for her.
Raising an eyebrow, Sophia pondered at such unassuming nature from her erstwhile sister. “Wow! At least you humbled yourself this time.”
“Can you help me or not? Otherwise, I will ask mom to do it for me.”
“Of course, I’ll do it for you.” Sophia then appeared to tease and bent down to wobble her sister’s hair.
“Touch not my sacred hair, sistah!” Nadine clowned in an exaggerated way to play along with her.
Sophia giggled and after she finished the dishes, they swiftly went upstairs and packed for Forest Green.
As the shorter arm of clock pointed ten, the Vabuerettis were ready for Forest Green.
Alex and Nadine were incredibly raring to go, but for Sophia, there again were those recollections. Unhappy events of her childhood that deluged her memory as if in a storm surge. She never mentioned them to her family, not even to her grandmother. It was only Jericho who knew all of them. But the moment Jericho’s face reappeared in her mind, she quickly squeezed her eyes shut and stopped herself from thinking of him.
“Oh, God. Please, Jericho, get out of my mind,” Sophia whispered to herself.
“Sophia, are you okay? Honey, what’s wrong?” Elizabeth examined her as they were almost done putting their suitcases into the trunk. “Are you sick?” she kept on and on and placed her palm on Sophia’s forehead.
“This is nothing, Mom. I’m all right!” Sophia let some brightness appear in her face to cover up her emotions.
“I have some Tylenol with me. You might as well take one.”
“Mom, I’m fine,” Sophia insisted.
“All right.” Elizabeth gave Sophia another once-over and continued setting things in order.
But a moment ago, Nadine happened to hear Sophia whispering Jericho’s name.
“Who’s Jericho?” Nadine suddenly asked Sophia, like a kitten begging for food.
Surprised that she had whispered his name so clearly, Sophia’s mouth was completely paralyzed. She didn’t expect her sister to overhear. And she had no idea how she was going to answer her puerile sister. Because of it, she answered in tidbits.
“Oh, he’s a good friend.” Sophia attempted to stretch her lips sideways.
“A good friend? How come I never met him?”
“Because he’s not from Orlando, Nad.”
“So, where is he from?”
Sophia was tight-lipped again. She massaged her forehead and decided to speak the truth. “He’s from Forest Green.”
Nadine smiled, like wanting to start a wisecrack, and it made Sophia defensive.
“Look, he’s a good friend from Forest Green, okay?” Sophia stressed as Nadine finally laughed it out, guessing that he and her sister were once an item.
“Hey, stop it!” Sophia prodded Nadine, lightly.
Still, Nadine teasingly laughed.
Elizabeth was distracted and interfered, “What’s going on?”
“Mom, Sophie’s excited to see Jericho!” Nadine continued, putting forth a playful jest.
“Jericho? Who’s Jericho, Sophia?” Alex intervened too. He just overheard them while helping their father check the car’s condition.
“Um, her childhood sweetheart, perhaps.” Again, Nadine made fun of Sophia.
“Nadine, stop!” Sophia tickled her. Doing it to her sister usually helped to change the topic, but today, Sophia was wrong. It actually became a magnet that finally attracted their father’s attention.
“I did not know about that Jericho. You never mentioned him to us, Sophia.” Philippe joined the issue with a very serious aura.
“He’s a good friend, Dad.” Sophia was beginning to find the situation unbearable.
“Okay, so let’s just get inside the car, then.” Philippe, right away, was sidetracked by the flow of their talk, but Elizabeth’s wondering eyes were still focused on Sophia.
“All right!” Nadine soured out of her eagerness and entered the car ecstatically.
Feeling a bit of awkwardness, Sophia sat at the back seat near the window. Right next to her was Nadine while on the other side was Alex. As for Elizabeth, she joined her husband in front.
The family was now geared up. They whispered some prayers for their safety on the road, and Philippe started the car.
Alex, on the double, tuned in to his iPhone and swept himself off his feet with music, while Sophia sustained a reply to each of Giovanni’s text.
As for Nadine, she waited with bated breath to reach Forest Green in an instant.
They had already left the city and were on their way. Then, Nadine began to get bored and complained that the place was too far.
“Oh! Sweetie, get busy appreciating the view of big billboards, okay?” Elizabeth suggested, noticing how Nadine exhaled noisily, from the back.
“Sure, Mom.” Nadine peeked at Alex and Sophia who were full of activities to entertain themselves.
Elizabeth observed Nadine through the rearview mirror. “Oh, poor sweetie!” Because of this, she asked Alex and Sophia to include her in their busy worlds.
Alex got his own back by purposely paying no heed of Nadine. He simply didn’t want to get preoccupied by his sister’s silly behavior.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes to Sophia and by her gape, she asked her to amuse Nadine so as to help her lose the boredom.
“All right!” Sophia muttered, understanding exactly her mother’s message. “Hey! Do you want a Facebook account?” She initiated offering to Nadine.
“Sure but—”
“You’re too young to use it?” Sophia continued Nadine’s sentence.
“Exactly!”
“Well, Facebook doesn’t know you’re a total baby! We might as well assume that you’re already suited for this.”
“Wow! That’s clever.” Astounded by it, Nadine immediately asked her to make an account through her iPad.
Sophia almost laughed at Nadine’s enthusiasm yet she decided to shut up.
Together, they made an account, which took them half an hour to finish, because Nadine wanted her profile to be perfect and intriguing.
The driving kept on until lunch time. Their hunger got them to pull over and eat.
Philippe found a small restaurant yet it appeared very engaging to the senses.
“I can feel my stomach whirling like mad!” Alex roared while their father found a way to park their car.
“Yeah, me too.” Sophia was on the same line.
Finally, Philippe stopped the engine.
They got out quickly, with enough enthusiasm to enter the restaurant, and at long last, got the chance to jam-pack their vinegar-like stomachs with plenty of food.
Just seated on a table for five, Philippe called the attention of the waiters. “What is your blockbuster cuisine here?” he asked, without checking the menu, while his whole family watched him order.
The waiter, in a whip, offered every jewel of their resto’s crown of cuisines, and Philippe ordered whatever was on the top list.
The moment they had their last mouthful, they returned to the car and drove again for Forest Green.
In the long hours of sitting inaudible at the back, Sophia’s mixed emotions gradually engulfed her. She put on her earphones and hoped to amuse herself with a Jason Mraz song, but the bag of nerves she always had for Forest Green troubled her again and again. In the course of it, her mind continually raced and bore the tame face of a young boy in the spurt of adolescence, deeply and widely smiling at her. It was Jericho, and the torture of her heart carried on.
Sophia’s lengthy silence clearly piqued Nadine who was at her best, to revivify herself from boredom.
“Hey!” Nadine elbowed her, stimulating her to get up from her self-absorbed position of stupor.
Still, Sophia showed no signs of attentiveness, and so Nadine pulled off her earphones and said, “Aren’t you supposed to feel excited? Duh, it’s Forest Green,” with her eyes rolled up and her hands laid across her chest.
Sophia bit down on her lower lip and risked a fleeting look downwards, also avoiding her brother’s shifted look at her. “I am, of course!” she answered, to put off her dilemma.
“Your voice doesn’t agree with what you just said, Sophie,” Nadine challenged her.
Visibly flabbergasted, Sophia let Nadine’s gaze run over her and swallowed her amazement at her sister’s wit. To think of a rescue, she began tickling her, probably the best way to end such police-like interrogation.
Nadine finally got all of Sophia’s attention and they travelled down the road singing Mary Had a Little Lamb. Nadine was singing, of course, at the top of her voice.
As a result, Alex and their parents joined them.
It took them four more stop-overs until they were, at long last, on a thirty-minute drive down to Forest Green.
When they were, by this time, entering the town, Sophia noticed no notable improvements. Because their Grandma Lucy’s house was the last one, the largest and the one located on the top of the hill, they continued to pass by many houses. Sophia was on tenterhooks to see Jericho’s house, but such a David disappeared from among the blocks of Goliath houses.
Where’s his house? Sophia pondered heavily. What happened? Now, these thoughts about him completely drowned her, dragged her back into the lake of their young affection.
They were almost at their grandma’s when Sophia saw the mango tree. With a blink of an eye, countless reminiscences collected in her mind. She could tell a million stories, with that tree. She used to climb it with Jericho’s help and play there, with him. She even, almost fell down from it. Viewing those images, she was entirely buried in her seat. There appeared those laughters and adventures she had those days with him. Then, an unwelcome teardrop streamed down her face, and Alex saw it.
“Sophie, are you all right?” Alex asked her carefully.
It took a little while before Sophia shook her head to clear her mind. She remained motionless as her hair fell down and covered her entire face.
Feeling a sudden weight in his chest, Alex then shifted his look at the surroundings. Old Spanish houses, green paddocks, commercial enterprises, and various bystanders were all that he could see.
“Okay, here we are!” Elizabeth announced as a historic Spanish manor finally came into view.
“That might be Grandma Lucy at the front porch. She’s already waiting for us,” alleged Nadine merrily, despite her lassitude at the long trip.
Grandma Lucy, seated on a wooden rocking chair at the veranda, was electrified to see a vehicle coming, and she already surmised that it was them.
The very second Philippe stopped the car, Nadine breathlessly jumped out and ran to cuddle her grandma.
“Oh, I am supposing you are Nadine now.” Grandma Lucy warmly received Nadine. “You have changed a lot, my dear.”
“Yes, Grandma, it’s me,” Nadine reacted, exuberantly.
Glee scattered further in the air when Philippe, Elizabeth, and Alex joined them, except for Sophia, and Grandma Lucy patiently waited for her.
Sophia, little by little, slid out of the car. She did not know what to feel at that very moment. But in the face of it, she directed her footsteps to her grandmother and to her surprise, Grandma Lucy swiftly squeezed her, as if like their last time.
“I missed you, Sophia! You’re all grown up and you’ve turned into a very fine lady.” Grandma Lucy squashed her more and more, her smile accompanied with tears.
Staggered at where she was standing, Sophia managed to hug her grandma back, while wrestling with the dragons in her thoughts. She had suffered, as a child, from her grandmother’s previous harshness.
“Mom, this is Alex now.” Philippe recapped his mother of Alex.
“Oh! Alex, you now look exactly like your grandpa.”
Alex nodded agreeably. He was thrilled to see his grandmother again after she visited Sophia in Orlando three years ago. Then, he opened his arms to hug Grandma Lucy, too, and Nadine briskly joined them.
“You don’t know how happy I am to see you all here. Come! Let’s get to the house. Bea and I prepared dinner,” Grandma Lucy welcomed them again, in higher spirits, as she led them to the dining room.
Sophia remembered Bea, their tireless housekeeper, who had always served the Vabuerettis. Sophia used to call her, Auntie Bea. She was widowed alongside Grandma Lucy, when their husbands did not return anymore from their scientific quest through the mountains. Some townspeople believed that they were killed by the strange creatures in the dark forest, but Grandma Lucy and Bea were not convinced. (Both widows reasoned out that hunting animals had proved danger to their spouses, after all.) Although the legend diminished through time, some were still influenced by its veracity.
Elpidio Vabueretti, Grandma Lucy’s beloved husband, was a well-renowned physician and botanist while Eduardo, Bea’s husband, was his ever-loyal assistant.
Sophia decided to put her luggage first, upstairs, while the rest went straight to the dining room. She noticed a step on the staircase, made up of narra, with its unfaded, waxy appearance. The arrangement of wooden furnitures at the aisle of the second floor was obviously re-designed. But the portraits of their lineage were still displayed at the walls; no noteworthy changes were seen; yet plainly, there was no evidence of dust. The old painted portrait of her ancestor, Giancarlo Ruy Vabueretti, brought her to a stop. It seemed like he was Alex’s exact carbon copy. She took a closer look at his face and remembered the stories of her grandma: that he was of Italian, Spanish, German, and Dutch descent, and that he was one of the explorers that King Charles I of Spain sent, to sail the Pacific, after Juan Sebastián Elcano’s successful return to Spain from the Spice Islands via the ship, Victoria. From Mexico, an anticipated wild storm hit Vabueretti’s ship and swayed it off into the western Pacific Ocean. It was how the Great Archipelago of Philipdomia was discovered. In addition, he became the first gobernadorcillo (a town mayor) of Quiῆo, Forest Green’s former name, when he married a beautiful native woman.
Quiῆo was changed to Forest Green when the Americans finally took over the country. It was, somehow, named Forest Green because every view of the town just looked amazingly green, like the forest.
Sophia walked towards her old room and twisted the doorknob. It was already loose. Gradually, she pushed the door, noticing the smell of old furnishings. It was as if the room was never used, for years. She looked around, and her belongings, as she left them, were still there. Her bed was still the same but this time, designed with fine white curtains. She took a look at her wooden desk beside her bed; there she still found the framed photo of her childhood. She opened its drawers. They were empty and it disheartened her. Her notebooks and the artworks she left were all gone!
After a few minutes of acclimatizing herself again with the old atmosphere, she paced towards the balcony, perceiving the scent of burgeoning flowers of their ample garden. Far away, she could see the glimmering lights of small houses. She sighed for a moment; she put a smile on her face, but knew that it was a fake smile—like the moon, hidden by the dark shadows of the sky.
“Sophia, your grandma wants you downstairs for dinner,” hollered Bea as she knocked on the door.
Sophia heard it and took a peek, then opened it for her.
“Why is there a frown on your face?” Bea asked, detecting Sophia’s furrowed forehead.
Grasping for a lungful of air served as Sophia’s initial answer. Then, she pushed herself to give Bea, at least, a nippy smile. “Nothing, Auntie Bea. I’m just tired. It’s been a long trip.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yup! I’m fine, Auntie Bea. Thanks!” Sophia was obviously forced to say these words, as she stepped out of the room.
“Okay,” Bea half-smiled.
Sophia smiled back, wanting to be at her best, to refresh the old connection she used to share with Bea. Then, she initiated a walk.
Bea went after her and noticed how Sophia changed a lot—physically. Watching her carefully walk down the wooden staircase so as not to create a noise, she remembered the lonely girl always running through it.
“There you are!” Grandma Lucy looked ecstatically at Sophia.
“Okay, let’s eat already!” demanded Alex as he clapped his hands once and rubbed them, fixing his eyes on the table that was loaded with a variety of cuisines.
“All right! Let’s dig in!” Philippe agreed as he began serving himself.
Sophia watched them in motion. She was not starving at that time. All she ever wanted was to be in her room—alone. She lingered, gawking at them, and noticed that her grandma had not aged that much.
Although in her mid-seventies, still, Grandma Lucy was able to preserve her white and radiant complexion and thick brunette hair, although some gray hair strands stood up in a cloud around it. Plus, her face had only few of the laugh lines and zero saggy eyelids. To sum it all up, Grandma Lucy’s natural half-American and half-Philipdomian physique was still there.
“Sweetie, are you not hungry?” Grandma Lucy saw Sophia’s distant gawk at everyone.
“I’m… I’m just tired, Grandma,” Sophia answered, but in a split second, realized that she must not act that way in front of the food. Her grandma always told her to pay respect to any meal by not refusing it. By some means, she managed to take a nibble of them but she noticed that her grandma gazed from time to time. There was still that persistent feeling that she must be careful with her every move, everytime her grandma was around. Nonetheless, she endured eating with them, not saying anything until she and Grandma Lucy were the only ones left on the table.
With a mysterious smile, Grandma Lucy kicked off the dialogue by asking if Sophia had a boyfriend.
Sophia said yes by nodding, with a fixed look at her half-emptied plate.
“That’s good, sweetie. What’s his name?”
“Um, Giovanni.”
“Oh, a charming name.”
A forced smile was seen from Sophia. She excused herself and went upstairs.
Watching her granddaughter’s back, Grandma Lucy was overcome with guilt. She realized, too late, she had been too punitive to Sophia, many years ago.
Sophia locked herself in her room, wishing to be relieved of all the raging emotions that she wanted to end. They had been pulling her down for a very long time now. Then, she noticed the silence of her cell phone.
There was no signal and Giovanni might be calling her by now.
And so, she went back to the balcony for a better reception. Then and there, she tried her best to clear her mind.
The sky over the mountains was peaceful, but she was immensely troubled by the burning memory of her yesterdays with Jericho.
It was already getting late that night and Sophia was still at the terrace, in-and-out looking for a signal. It was becoming windy and it seemed like it was going to rain. She went for a steam bath when a ring of her cell phone finally seized her awareness.
At last, a signal popped in, and she loped for her cell phone.
“Hi, babe! I’ve been trying to reach you for about a hundred times now! I miss you! How’s your trip? I hope you’re enjoying your stay there!” Giovanni talked in an uninterrupted way. He was obviously excited.
“I—I’m fine. The signal here is difficult. I—I’m really sorry.” Sophia did not know what to answer first.
“It’s all right now. At last, I’ve heard from you.”
A sigh echoed from Giovanni, and Sophia barely knew what to say now.
“I hope you come back soon, babe. I am really missing you right now,” Giovanni expressed sincerely, and that added more fuel to Sophia’s burning chest.
“It’s just three days, Gio.”
“I know, but...”
Another sigh echoed again from Giovanni. This time, a louder one.
“I’ll call you again tomorrow. I understand you must be exhausted,” Giovanni continued, frustrated.
“Um, no! Please, keep talking. I miss you too.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Sophia attempted to enliven her tone and closed the windows that were opened by the harsh wind.
“Babe, it’s pretty obvious that you’re tired. I can tell it through your voice. Please, get some rest now.” Giovanni’s manner of talking was really earnest to her.
“Thanks!” Sophia responded with relief. “How understanding of you.”
“I hope you have a signal tomorrow. I’ll sleep now and I wish to dream of you.” Giovanni managed to conclude it, sweetly.
After the call, Sophia went back to the shower room, when at a flash of second, she remembered the night when Jericho climbed the terrace, to see her. She was so scared then, that Grandma Lucy might see them.
Having it all at the back of her mind, made her heart feel like it would burst from her chest. She turned off the shower and wished for more air. And then, she remembered all of Jericho’s efforts, especially during her down times. He was always there to rescue her from loneliness or depression.
Sophia had no friends back then. People were afraid to touch her. She was a Vabueretti, one of the untouchables of the town; rich, influential, and dangerous. They were the original settlers. But Jericho had all the guts to see her, to be with her! He was such a boy of compassion and the very person Sophia needed during those days.
Sophia’s thoughts of Jericho were disturbed when Nadine knocked heavily on the door.
“Sophie, hurry up, I need to pee!” Nadine pleaded with a sound of jumping.
Sophia hurried and right away opened it, wondering why her sister did not use her own.
The wind blew stronger and the heavy rain started to fall.
Nadine was scared of sleeping alone in her spacious bedroom and begged Sophia to sleep with her.
Touched by her sister’s unusual plea, Sophia granted it, but Nadine asked for another favor.
“Sophie, please read me some stories.” Again, Nadine appeared like a kitten begging, and it was difficult to resist. And so, Sophia thought of a story, a fable, the one that her Aunt Bea used to tell her always. Gazing through the high ceiling, she began to tell the story of Jack the Boastful Deer and Joe the Meek Snail.
Once upon a time, by the riverbank of Far Away Land, Jack the Boastful Deer challenged his friend, Joe the Meek Snail, who between them could reach the end of the river faster.
Joe knew that he would lose the challenge but in spite of his smallness and sluggishness, he accepted it.
The day of their competition came and Jack checked on Joe if he was ready.
“Joe, my friend, are you all set?” yelled Jack as he stood by the riverbank.
Without delay, he heard a response coming from
