Time and Again

[83] Blacklisted

Isabel paused for a few seconds. She swallowed a big lump in her throat before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Yes, he was engaged with Chailai."

"There you are. I was asking you these questions because someone made a complain against you."

"Why would that person complain against me? What are the violations I did against him or to this country?"

"That's a good question, madam. Remember, you are a foreigner in this country. If any Thai citizen in this country felt like you are a threat to their security, they have a right to block you from entering this country. However, we will investigate the case first before we are going to block your entry."

"I know who filed a complain against me. I'd like to let you know that I didn't do anything wrong to her. In fact, she was the one who harassed me. She paid three police officers to arrest me without any warrant of arrest when we were about to cross the Cambodian-Thai border. If you are going to check my record now, you will find that I don't have any criminal offense against your country and your fellowmen."

"I understand your situation madam. However, for security reasons, I cannot approve your entry."

"Do I look like a criminal or a terrorist to you?! Why are you so threatened with my entry? You can frisk me to make sure that I don't have any prohibited drugs or bomb attached in my body. I am not a suicide bomber nor a drug pusher but just a desperate lover. Please just let me pass the security check so that I can see the love of my life once again and I assure you I will not do anything that will destroy your country or harm your countrymen. I just wanted to see my boyfriend. That's all. Please."

"You definitely don't look like a criminal nor a terrorist to me. I'm sorry Juliet but I cannot let you pass in our security check. I understand how desperate you are, but we cannot risk our job. Our families depend on us. I hope you will also understand."

"Ok, fine. If you will not let me pass, I will stay here until you will get tired of seeing me here."

Come on, you have to go back to your country or else."

"Or else, what? I will never go back to my country not unless I will see Ken."

"You have to go back to your country or else we will be forced to drag you inside the airplane and bring you back to your country."

"Oh really? I dare you if you can. That is a violation against human rights. I'll make sure that everything you do to me will be recorded. I will upload the video in social media so that the entire world will see on how cruel you are to innocent foreigners like me."

"You don't have to do that."

"I'm not bluffing. In fact, I took a video of our conversation earlier to make sure that nothing will be amiss."

"How did you take a video on our conversation? I didn't see you holding your phone or a camcorder while we are talking to each other."

"I can't hardly believe it that there are some millennials who are still outdated with the modern technology. I have a mini digital spy camera hidden somewhere in my body. I always have it handy in case of emergency."

"That's very cool. Where did you buy it?"

"I will give you one mini digital spy camera as a gift if you let me pass the security check."

"I'd love to help you fulfill your purpose in coming to our country. But I must do my job as a security personnel. I cannot afford to lost my job. I have lots of hungry mouths to feed. We all have different purposes in life. You see. Your purpose is different from mine that's why we are opposing each other. We don't meet halfway."

"I know. But I'm not the type of person who easily gives up. I can go back to my country if that's what you want. You don't have to drag me outside your country. However, I will still upload the video that I have recorded with regards to our conversation. I cannot let it pass. I know that you are just doing your job. And you are right when you said that we have different purposes in life; that's why we never meet halfway. I will go back to my country now. I will no longer prolong your agony. I'm sorry for giving you a tough time. Thank you and goodbye."

"Good Lord! It's very difficult to deal with such a stubborn, hard-headed bitch like you."

"Watch your mouth. You are so disrespectful."

"I don't care about your mini spy camera anymore. I already had enough. You're already getting on my nerves."

"I'm sorry for being a bitch. I also apologize for giving you a tough time. I swear to God, I don't have any intention to ruin your career. I am just desperate to see my lover boy. If you don't mind me asking, have you ever been in love before? I don't know if you're married or not but since you mentioned earlier that you have a family that depends on you, I assume you are already married. If you found the one who made you fall in love head over heels, you will understand how I feel."

The arrival supervisor was speechless. She reminisced the time during her college days. Just like Isabel, she fell madly in love with her college sweetheart. They started out as friends since they shared a common interest which was scuba diving. It didn't take long for them to escalate their friendship into a blossoming romance. It was due to the constant pushing and teasing of their friends and fellow scuba divers that triggered their love affair. But their relationship didn't last longer than they expected. Her boyfriend died of plane crash. His body was no longer found but deep inside her, she still hoped that her first love would come back alive. She didn't care if she's already married with 2 children. She just wanted to see him. But the chances of her boyfriend surviving the plane crash was very thin. It had been 10 years since he was gone missing. They never found his body. If he's alive somewhere, where could he have been? But if he's already dead as what everybody assumed, she's pretty sure that he was waiting for her in heaven. Maybe it's the only way that they would be reunited once again.

"Hello? Are you still with me?"

"I was thinking if you have your boyfriend's phone number or if you know any of his social media account like FaceBook, Twitter, or Instagram."

"I no longer have my boyfriend's phone number because he already changed his number since the day he came back in Thailand. I also don't know any of his social media account since I don't have FaceBook, Twitter, or Instagram."

"How dare you criticize me about my naivety when it comes to the latest technology when you are the one who's obviously outdated. Are you still using Friendster? Come on. You must step up. All your friends are using FaceBook, Twitter, or Instagram now. I bet you don't have any followers since you're already left behind."

"Is there any way that we can reach out my boyfriend aside from calling him or using the social media?"

"I don't know. There are millions of people in Thailand. It's very difficult for us to find your lover without any contact information. You were so tenacious to see your boyfriend, but you don't know how to reach him."

"I know exactly where he lives."

"How sure are you that he is still there when you reach his house?"

"I was in his house a few days ago. He couldn't have gone that far."

"You are so stupid to come to this country unprepared. Did you make a plan first before embarking to this journey?"

"I didn't expect that I will be detained. If only you had let me pass, I could have been in the arms of my lover now."

"If I were you, you better go back to your country. What are you going to do here? You cannot even call your boyfriend and tell him that you're here. How can you see him?"

"I don't care what will happen to me here in Thailand. I will wait here until I will see my boyfriend once again. You can leave me here to rot. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Alright, if that's what you want. You can stay here as long as you want. We will no longer force you to go back to your country. But we must stick to our security protocol. We must detain you whether you like it or not. If you get bored in staying here, you are free to go back to your country anytime you want."

"I will stay here until I will be reunited with my lover."

"Alright, I will just leave you there. I will go back to my work now. I still have a lot of work to do and a lot of problematic passengers to attend to. I hope you will find your boyfriend."

"Thank you for attending to me."

"You're welcome."