Not Into Her

XL - The Return Of The Prodigal Son

Sixteen hours later, I was blinded by the rays of the sun from the window of the airplane where I was heading to Philippines. I looked at my right and saw Alessa looking at the bright sun shining at us. The boys are looking at the window and saw the beautiful islands of the Philippines. I looked at the window and noticed the plane is now descending to the runway of NAIA Terminal 3.

When we got to the airport, I Alessa and the boys stood up and took our handheld baggage from the upper compartments before going out of the airplane. When we got out, we walked down the escalator, walked to the cashier down the escalator and bought five tickets to Davao City. After buying, I walked to the chair where Alessa and the boys sitting and smiled.

"The flight to Davao is at ten in the morning." I said at them. I looked at my wrist watch and noticed it's almost ten. "That's fifty minutes from now."

We got our baggage checked on the next flight to Davao and I'm excited to see what changes built in my own hometown. So when the lady on the speakerphone announced the boarding of Flight 189 heading for Davao City, I immediately stood up and we head to the terminal gate. We went inside the airplane and sat on our assigned seats and, when all passengers were inside the plane, the pilot immediately took the plane off the ground.

Like the flight going to Manila, I'm also sitting at the window. I looked at the clouds floating in the air and the birds are like flying in a low meadow. And I can't believe that I'm going home for the first time after twenty-three years. What happened to the city nowadays? I sometimes asked myself. How's Dad and Sister Christine? How's the school so far?

An hour later, the plane reached Davao International Airport. It located at Bo. Buhangin, Davao City, not in Sasa, Davao City. I wondered what happened to the Old Airport in Brgy. Sasa nowadays and what incident or anything happened for the Airport Management relocated the airport at Buhangin. It's a spacious place and very near to nature.

When the airplane reached the airport, I, Alessa and the boys immediately took our handheld baggage and head out of the airplane. When we got to the airport floor, I noticed the airport is more spacious than the old airport in Brgy. Sasa. And also huge, too. The ceiling is higher, the window are now automated, and the entrance door is now in glass and also automated. And the air-conditioning unit at each corners of the airport are producing cool air to lessen up the heat around the building.

We walked to the Baggage Claim Area where four conveyor belts are rolling around with the baggage of the flight. When we reached the Baggage Claim Area, we saw that the conveyor belts aren't moving and, when all passengers are in the Baggage Claim Area, the belts are moving. A few seconds later, baggage of different types and sizes rolled with the conveyor belts for the owners can pull their baggage away from the conveyor belt and head to their different locations around Davao City.

We took our baggage from the conveyor belt and immediately head out of the airport. We hailed a taxi, put our baggage on the taxi's back trunk, walked inside the taxi and I leaned my head to driver, saying the destination is Marco Polo Hotel in Roxas Avenue. The driver drove us to the said destination I said. When we got to the hotel, we immediately took our baggage from the trunk and head inside the hotel.

I reserved four hotel rooms; a twin-bed room for me and Alessa, and three single-bed rooms for the three. We head to our hotel rooms and we took a rest for a while. It's noon when I woke up and moved myself up. I took a great bath, wore my black suit and black pants, and head back to the bed. I woke Alessa up and smiled at her. Alessa looked at me and saw me on my black suit.

"Where are you going, Dad?" she asked.

"I'm going to my old house here in Davao." I replied. "And I still remembered where it is."