Fiction

---

PREVIOUSLY IN THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD REVISITED...

Stephanie finds her sister, Elizabeth, in the Andes and invites her to come with her and the rest of the group on their journey to find the cities of gold. Elizabeth has a crush on Matthew, who doesn't realize it and accidentally hurts her feelings. In her pain, Elizabeth decides to take off in the airplane.

AND NOW, THE CONCLUSION OF WELCOME ELIZABETH...

Ben, Stephanie, and Matthew had been walking in the forest for a few hours searching for Elizabeth. They could not find any trace of her. "Where could she have gone?" Stephanie asked. "And why would she just take off like this? She doesn't know how to fly a plane, and she doesn't know this area any better than we do. What if she got lost? What if she's hurt? What if the plane crashed?"

Ben put his arm around her. "I'm sure she's all right," he said, trying to be reassuring. "We'll find her. I'm sure she's okay." Then he turned to Matthew. "Do you know what I suggest? I suggest we all stand here right now and pray that Elizabeth is safe before we continue our search."

Stephanie and Matthew agreed, and the three teenagers held hands, bowed their heads, and closed their eyes. "Lord Jesus, we come before You and ask that You keep Elizabeth safe, wherever she is, and that You watch over us as we search for her. Amen," Ben prayed.

"Amen," Stephanie and Matthew said.

"Come on, everybody, let's keep looking," Ben said. Stephanie and Matthew followed him as they continued walking through the forest.

Meanwhile, back at the site where they had their picnic, Lionel and Alexis noticed that all of the kids were gone. They became worried, and Lionel texted Stephanie. "Where are you guys?" he asked. "Are you all okay?"

Stephanie texted him back and said, "We're fine, Lionel. We're sorry we hurried off the way we did, but Elizabeth has taken the plane, apparently to run away. We're looking for her."

Lionel and Alexis were alarmed. "Why did she run away?" Lionel texted back.

"Matthew accidentally hurt her feelings," Stephanie texted him. "There was a little misunderstanding, and she's gone. We felt there was no time to lose because of the danger she might be in. That's why we didn't wait for you. We're very sorry."

"It's all right, honey," Lionel texted her back. "Tell us where you are."

"About ten miles or so from where we last saw you," Stephanie answered. "We've headed in the direction where they say El Dorado is, since that's apparently the direction Elizabeth flew in."

"Thanks, Steph," Lionel texted. "We'll be there as soon as we can. We'll catch up with you as soon as possible."

Elizabeth flew for hours and hours until it was so dark and late she decided to call it a night and rest. She found a large city and laid down on a step near one of the buildings, where she fell asleep.

Ben, Stephanie, and Matthew were still out walking. Lionel and Alexis had not yet caught up to them. Stephanie was getting very worried, because there was still no sign of her sister, and it was so late and dark. What if something had happened to her? Stephanie leaned her head on Ben's shoulder and started to cry. "Oh, Ben, it's so dark out here! What if something happened to Elizabeth in this darkness? What if a wild animal got her? What if someone kidnapped her? What if--"

Ben embraced her and said, "I'm sure she's all right, Stephanie." He kissed her forehead.

Matthew groaned. "Stephanie's right! What if something did happen to her? It's all my fault for hurting her feelings!"

Ben and Stephanie went up to him and patted his shoulders. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Matthew. Everybody hurts people's feelings at times, even accidentally."

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "And I never knew Elizabeth would even think to do something like this."

Ben looked ahead of them at a large city, not realizing it was El Dorado. "Let's ask someone in this city if they've seen her," he suggested.

They went into the city and found an elderly woman, the only one in the city who was awake. "Excuse me, but we're looking for her sister," Matthew said, pointing at Stephanie. He told the woman what Elizabeth looked like.

"I have seen her," the woman answered. "She is all right. She is asleep on one of the steps of the buildings here. I thought it best not to wake her, as I might frighten her because I don't know her. I'll lead you to her an hour before dawn. In the meantime, you must be tired. Why don't you come into my house and get some sleep?"

The kids agreed that was a good idea. They thanked her and spent the night at her house. In the very early morning hours, the woman awoke them and led them to Elizabeth and the airplane. Stephanie ran to Elizabeth and shook her awake, thanking Jesus for keeping her safe. Elizabeth threw her arms around Stephanie.

"Elizabeth, we're so glad you're all right!" Stephanie cried. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? How could you do this?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I'm sorry, Stephanie."

Matthew came up and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, Elizabeth. I do like you, but as a friend. But I think you're a really neat person."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thanks, Matthew," she said. Next she received a hug from Ben. Lionel and Alexis arrived at that very moment, and they hugged Elizabeth and the rest of the kids.

TO FOLLOW...

Ben and Stephanie use their bracelets to open up the doors to a building in the city of gold. Mistaking them and their friends for intruders who want to rob the cities, the inhabitants of the city capture the whole group. Will they escape? Find out in the next episode of THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD REVISITED.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE