Yazen (Ponith) by Nicole Sloan Read Free Book Online

time though; no more bears,” Alex laughs. I agree with him that our last hiking trip was a disaster. 
    “I plan on leaving early Sunday morning . I’m going to read this journal that my grandpa gave me and get some supplies ready to take with me. Thanks, Alex, I really don’t want to go alone,” I tell him.
    “Anytime , man, that’s what friends are for,” he replies. He looks like he may go back to sleep. So I decide I’m going to go home to read the journal.
    “I’ll talk to you later … go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you up,” I say while leaving his bedroom and heading back down to the front door.
    I start to walk over to my bike and I decide to call Jenn as I ride my bike back home. I’m wondering if she’ll talk to me after I hung up on her last night. I pull out my cell phone and dial her number, and it starts to ring. It rings three times and then she finally answers, “Hello?”
    “Hey, Jenn. It’s me, Zac. How are you doing? ” I ask her, wondering if she’ll tell me more about her and Brad.
    “ I'm doing okay. Why are you calling me so early? Is everything okay?” she asks me.
    “ Oh dammit, I keep forgetting what time it is. My grandpa woke me up early today. I’m just calling to see if you want to go on a crazy adventure with Alex and I on Sunday?” I'm crossing my fingers, hoping she says yes.
    “What kind of adventure? Where are y ou going to?” she questions me. I panic because I know what I’m going to tell her is going to sound crazy. I hope she doesn’t take it the same way Alex did.
    “It’s kind of a weird story, but please hear me out. My grandpa gave me some old stuff that his grandfather gave to him and told me a story. He’s asking me to go on an adventure for him to some places that aren’t in our history books. We have to go on a hiking trip into Tongass National Forest and find something like a portal. He wants me to go there to learn about my family history. I know that sounds really off and like I made it up, but will you please go with us?” I ask her nicely.
    “ Huh? Are you still dreaming or something? Is this a prank call? I’m hanging up now,” she says.
    “ Wait Jenn!” I yell to her, hoping she doesn’t hang up.
    “ What do you want Zac? I’m going back to bed,” she says.
    “ I’m being serious. I’m not trying to joke with you or prank call you. Will you please go with us, just to make my grandpa happy? If we just walk around and waste the day, I will owe you an ice cream. Does that sound better?” I ask her.
    “ Eh, fine, I'll go. You said your grandpa told you about all this? I wonder if he is okay,” she trails off for a bit, “You know I’ll never pass down free ice cream but I’m worried about your grandpa,” she says.
    “Thanks, Jenn. I’m not sure what to say. It really means a lot to me,” I tell her. My plans for today come back to me and I’m reminded of what I have planned tonight. “I’m having my party tonight at five still; I’ll see you then?” I ask her.
    “Of course . I wouldn’t miss it for anything, but I do need to get some more sleep or I’ll be a walking zombie all day. See you later, okay?” she says. I wish her a good rest of the morning and she hangs up on me. I find myself really happy that she said yes.
    By the time I hang up the phone with her, I’m already on my street. I head back inside to my room and pull the journal out of the camping bag. It’s a very nice journal, old but still in serviceable condition. I try to be careful with it so I don’t damage it.
    When I first open the journal, there’s a map of the Tongass National Forest. In the middle, there’s a red X on the map where I’m assuming the portal is located. It looks like it’s surrounded by lots of trees in a thicker part of the forest and possibly has a small river near it. It’s about a four-hour hike to the portal from my house if I’m reading it right.
    I turn the page and see the word Ponith written on top. I