Time and Again

[75] Run, Run, and Away

Isabel woke up at 5:00 in the morning. She wanted to wake up early so that she could prepare their food for breakfast. She cooked bacon, pancake, and cheese omelet. She set the food and coffee on the bed table. 

“Good morning, my love. I hope you’ll like the food I prepared for you. I will not only love the food but also the talented and beautiful person who prepared this for me.”

Ken kissed Isabel’s forehead. 

“Thank you.”

Ken and Isabel shared the food on the bed table.

“What are we going to do now?” Isabel opened up first.

“I’m thinking of going out from Cambodia. We’ll visit some beautiful places first like the temple of Angkor Wat. We will go back to the Philippines from Cambodia. We are going to marry in Sr. San Isidro Labrador church. Then we’ll live in the tree house just like the old times. Maybe I’ll work as a farmer or fisherman to help ends meet. I’ll do anything just to be with you my love even if it means giving up my good life here in Thailand.”

Isabel couldn’t hold back the tears.

“Oh my love. This is very like the old times. The only difference between you and Emile is that you have different status in life. I was the rich girl and Emile was the poor man. I was also engage to a rich man before. Unfortunately I don’t love him. I only loved Emile. We runaway together. We married secretly. But we didn’t stay together for long. He died before he got a chance to see our baby.”  

“Oh my! What if it will happen again?”

“I don’t know what I will do if I lost you again. Maybe I’ll die of a broken heart.”

“I don’t want that to happen. I want you to die a happy and a contented woman. Who can stop death except God? It’s the only thing that we cannot avoid.”

“I wanted to cherish every moment with you as if it’s the last day of our lives.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ken and Isabel checked out from Cozy Bangkok Place Hostel. They took a taxi in going to Hua Lamphong Train Station. He bought two tickets from Hua Lamphong Train Station. They took the train trip at 5:55 AM in going to Aranyaprathet. 

Thai police officers went inside the train. They checked every passenger. Isabel felt scared. She was afraid that they might take her illegally and accuse her of crimes she didn’t commit. She held Ken’s arms tightly.

“Don’t be scared my love. I’m here for you. Police officers check the passengers from time to time to make sure that there are no Cambodians who have illegally entered Thailand.” Ken assured Isabel.  

One of the police officers approached Ken and Isabel.

“Can I see your identification?” One of the police officers approached Ken and Isabel in Thai.

“Show them your passport, love.”

Isabel took her passport out from her bag and showed it to the police officers. Ken also showed his passport as proof of identification that he was a Thai citizen. The police officers checked their passports and returned it back to them.

Ken and Isabel arrived at Aranyaprathet Train Station. They took a tuktuk (a three-wheeled vehicle that is designed for transportation of people over short distances). They paid 60 baht in going to Thailand-Cambodia border. The motorbike dropped them near the covered walkway. They headed to the left side of Thailand immigration. They took a Thailand Immigration Departure Card and filled out the form. They lined up at the Foreigners Lane and waited until it’s their turn. The Thai immigration officers removed their Thailand Immigration form attached to their passport and stamped their passport for exit to Thailand. They got out of the office and followed the paved walkway until they saw the legendary Cambodian Arch (Friendship Bridge).

“Excuse me ma’am, sir.” Someone called in Thai.

Ken did not pay attention to someone who called them. He was thinking that they were just scammers who would offer their assistance for a fee. He didn’t need their assistance so he walked straight without looking back. He held Isabel’s hand to make sure that she would not be separated from him and get lost in the crowd.

“Excuse me. Are you Ms. Maria Isabel Zobel?”

Isabel turned her head when she heard someone calling her complete name even though she didn’t understand the language he’s speaking. She was speechless when she saw three police officers and one beautiful woman. She had no idea what they wanted from her. She looked at Ken for interpretation.

“Chailai? What are you doing here? What do you want from her?” Ken asked in Thai.

He was surprised to see his fiancée. 

Chailai was as beautiful as her name suggests. She was beautiful from head to foot. She had long and curly eyelashes that made her round eyes tantalizing. She had skin like porcelain. She had slender body. She was the perfect match for Isabel when it comes to beauty. Even if they were both beautiful, Ken was never confuse in choosing between the two of them. He chose Isabel not because she was his wife in his past life but because she was beautiful inside out.    
“You are under arrest madam for bringing a fake passport.” 

The three police officers pulled Isabel from Ken’s grasp.

“You don’t have any evidence that proves that she is bringing a fake passport.”

Ken tried to remove the hands of the police officers from Isabel’s arms.

“You better go with us to the Bureau of Immigration so that we can deport you back in the Philippines safely.”

“Who gave you this order?! You don’t have any right to arrest and deport her back to her country. Her passport is real. She got it from the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines. If her passport is fake, the immigration officer shouldn’t have allowed her to enter our country.”

Ken was outraged. 

“Just go with us, madam so that you will not be hurt. We are going to bring you back to your country safely.” 

The two police officers grabbed Isabel’s arms and forced her to go with them. Ken was on the verge of anger. He punched the cheek of one of the police officers. Each of the two police officers held his arms. The police officer who got hit by the cheek punched Ken’s stomach thrice. 

Isabel couldn’t take anymore with what they did to Ken. She remembered the time when she woke up early in the morning and was horrified to see Emile being punched by his father’s men. She stood sideward between Ken and the police officer who was punching him. She raised her hands sideways to stop him from punching him.

“Stop it, please!”

Isabel knelt down.

“Please don’t hurt him. I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt him. I will go back to my country.”

The two police officers dropped Ken on the ground. They grabbed Isabel’s arms. She didn’t resist. She went with them. 

Chailai knelt on the ground and helped Ken get up. For the first time, Isabel was jealous. She wondered if Emile was also jealous when Carlos Miguel tried to take her away from him. 

Isabel wanted to slap Chailai’s face and tell her that Ken belongs only to her but she couldn’t do it. She was powerless against the strong hold of the two big police officers. She swore to herself that she would come back in Thailand and they would be reunited again. She was not sent to the embassy as what they’d told her. Instead they escorted her to the Departure Area. One of the police officers shoved the boarding pass into her hand. She didn’t want to accept the boarding pass. She wanted to look for Ken and take him back.