"And here we are." Maya exclaimed. "Gourd Lake!"
Phoenix looked at his environment, they arrived at a pretty lake with direct view towards the famous Gourd lake, which at this time, spring, was adorned with a green forest.
"Don't you like it?" Maya asked, supporting herself with a handrail with a view towards the lake.
"Yes…" Phoenix mumbled, but then he realized that he wasn't looking at the landscape, but at the girl. He shocked his head and looked towards the forest. "Yes, it is beautiful."
"Do you remember what happened here the last year, Nick?"
"Ahmm… no, something important?"
"Yes!" Maya exclaimed. "There was a murder in here, it was your first big case. It was Edgeworth's case, can you remember him?"
At the mention of the name, Phoenix began to tremble, not understanding why. It was a weird feeling, a mix of pain and happiness, a feeling of overcoming, but he couldn't remember why.
"That sounds familiar. Is he famous?"
"Well, he is pretty well known, at least between lawyers." Maya answered. "But above all that, he is one of your best friends. I called him when you had your accident, if he wasn't overseas he would have come to see you. He was worried, although he said he didn't know anyone that could take as much damage as you."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, exactly what it seems. I've seen you take whip slashes pretty well. You barely even cried."
"A w-whip?"
"It's a long story, maybe I should tell it from the beginning."
"I'm sick of this 'long stories'."
Maya laughed, and Phoenix began laughing with her, then he looked at the lake behind him.
"Alright, we are going to talk about all this, but I can't do it with my stomach empty. Can you give me some ice-cream?"
"Empty stomach? You just ate two hours ago! And almost the double as me!"
"Aw, come on Nick, I'm just growing up."
"I don't' think so." He sighed. "Fine, we take some ice-cream."
Maya smiled and guided Phoenix towards a food stand nearby. Phoenix asked for a simple cone, while Maya asked for a double. After that they walk near the edge of the lake.
"Larry, Edgeworth and you were friends since childhood. Edgeworth wanted to be a lawyer, but everything changed when his father was murdered…" Maya began.
Phoenix listened astonished at the story of the DL-6 case, But Maya skipped a part on purpose: The medium that channeled the spirit of Gregory Edgeworth. It was already difficult for him to believe the rest of the story so she preferred to explain that in other occasion.
"I defeated a prosecutor that remained unbeaten after forty years? And I was a newbie? "
"In short, yes. Although you wouldn't have managed to do it without my help."
"What did you do?"
"Get definitive evidence and cha… well, help you in the trial."
Phoenix stood there and looked at the sky, breathing heavily. Maya put a hand in his shoulder.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, is just that… is hard to believe everything that happened."
"Well, I have done a great job at hiding the most unbelievable." Maya mumbled to herself. "Nevertheless you always been incredible, you never got frightened no matter what happened, you always come out on top. That's why I always admired you."
Phoenix looked at her and saw the shine in her eyes, not knowing why, he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him. She was surprised and she stood still for a moment, but then she relaxed and put her head on his shoulder.
"What are you doing, Nick?" She asked softly.
"I don't know." He answered with honesty. "I wanted to thank for everything you've done for me."
"Don't be silly, I'm the one that should be thanking you. You have no idea everything that I owe you."
"You mean about the accident?"
"Oh, sure… they told you." She pulled away to look at him in the eyes. "I wanted to wait for you to remember it yourself. But, there's so much more. You can't even begin to imagine."
"Why did you wanted to wait for me to remember?"
"So I could slap you in the face." She smiled and then her expression got serious. "And then ask you why you had to do something so stupid."
"You think that saving your life was stupid?"
"Risking your life definitely was. You can't even imagine how I felt after that. What would have happened if you…? Because of me, you…? You…?"
This time it was here the one that hugged him, and Phoenix kindly returned the hug, trying to comfort her because she was starting to tremble. After a while, he couldn't tell if it were seconds or minutes, they pulled away; it was begging to rain.
"We should go back home." Phoenix commented, feeling that the moment was breaking.
Maya nodded in silence, she seemed embarrassed. The both of them rushed to the way home, no daring to say a single word.