12 The Lake

At the back of such an opulent house was a lake. The lake connects to a river, and at a farther end, to the sea. One day, Evan, Yuri, Josh, and Suzy decided to fish. Across, a man, tall, gaunt, and who had a gentle face, was holding a rod. He seemed to enjoy fishing as every time he held the rod high, a fish was caught. The four friends curiously watched him do the same thing over and over. Later on, they tried to imitate him. The fish were plenty, to their amazement. They caught until it was twilight. They could see the man's face happy looking at them, watching them catch fish. When it got darker, they looked across, the man had left.

"We're lucky," Yuri was exuberant.

"Yes," Suzy was happy, too.

"We have a big catch," Evan said.

"That man we saw brought us luck," Josh said.

"But by dusk he was gone," frightened Evan.

"Ew!" Yuri was enjoying the conversation.

"A phantom…" said Suzy.

"A ghost!" Yuri joked. "Run."

Everybody ran towards the mansion. Josh carried the load of fish. They were laughing. Then, they were catching breath.

" I wish this day don't end," Yuri said.

"Me, too, I wish it doesn't end," Suzy said. "It's light and relaxing."

The presence of Isabella with Michael and Zen cut short their conversation.

"What have you got?"

"Look what we got," Josh was showing them their basket.

"Meowww."

"Zoraida would love to have some portions," said Suzy.

"Aarf, aarf."

"Jackson would love to have some portions, too," Josh said.

"Wow, we'll have fun tonight. There's so much for dinner." Isabella called Eleanor and Ellie to clean all the catch, keep some inside the refrigerator so Mr. and Mrs. See can taste what you got. They'll be happy to know that you can catch fish." She added, "We'll grill the rest."

"Hello baby Michael," Evan played with the baby.

Michael was pointing to a fish in the book.

"Yes, fish."

Then, he pointed to a dinosaur.

"Yes, a dinosaur. It's like a dragon. Look here… a dragon. They're both huge. They spit fire like this. He took a deep breath and exhaled a loud "Hahhh…" Evan imitated "a fire spitting dragon and catching their prey like this." He took Yuri by his neck and acted as if he ate and swallowed him whole; then, he made another big exhale. "Hahhh… I'm full."

The cherubic face with curled, rolling hair looked at him with curiosity and excitement, chuckling. He clapped his hands and jumped to his feet.

Josh's belly ached. Suzy laughed.

Isabella was smiling.

"Are you spending overnight here?" She was asking Yuri and Evan.

"Yes." Yuri answered. He's looking at Suzy.

"Call your mom and dad so they don't worry."