Today is Sunday, May, 23rd, 2010 and it is now 1233 PM here in Cebu, Philippines.
To get from my last post, to this post: I landed in Manila and after catching my breath I had boarded a ferry south to Mindanao, a 1.5 day journey, as Jackie waited nervously for me to come pick her up after running away from home.
300 km into a 1200 km cruise I learned that her ex had tracked her down, narrowly missing her as she crept out a side exit and with the help of a friendly (or so we thought) stranger, made her way to a bus terminal, with very little money and having nowhere to go anyway...
I arrived, made my way to her and we had just grabbed each other with all the emotion one could possibly imagine.
So we quickly go and rent a decent room to get a day or two to rest from that tension. She was not really too keen on that idea, wanting to get off the island, post-haste so after resting for 4 hours, we went to Nasapit, a town right outside of Butuan that serves as its ferry port. Having nowhere to go, I decided that even though it could possibly cause major drama of its own, we would go to Cebu for a week or 2 in a posh beach resort I love ( Elsalvador [sic], on the border of Compostela and Danao, drama because of ex-wife Rizza).
It is basically an overnight ride but I rented us a fully private cabin, figuring we could use the privacy. Gawkers would be too much for her, and for me as well, with the current state of affairs.
Laying with her in my arms, I turned on my Sidekick to take care of some business emails, when I got an "Invite/Add-On" in my IM, from someone with Jackie's surname. Whoaaaaa....
I accepted, and was quickly informed that it was the eldest sister, the one who had created all this shit to begin with. Those that know me here on BL know that I have the utmost self discipline in conversation (and in most of my life). I can calmly discuss anything, even with spittle flying into my eyes from an insanely angry person. Hey, after all, I ran a "West Bank" Checkpoint in Israel hahahahaha...
She began very politely, highly civil. She told me how much the family was worried, it had been more than a week since Jackie left, and not a word. I assured her that Jackie was fine but that she was not willing to talk to her, or anyone for that matter though after a long while I truly hopes Jackie would feel differently. She asked me if I knew for sure whether-or-not Jackie was fine...
Rachamim: "Yes, I am 100% positive. After all, she's sleeping in my arms."
NOTE: Hahahahah, you could have heard a pin drop , as they say, even with it taking place in cyberspace.
Sister: "Jackie is with you?"
R: "Of course, she is fine. Please do not worry.
S: "We are all very worried. She left her SON and daughters and abandoned them...
NOTE: Notice the emphasis on the word "son" in that exchange? Jackie has 2 daughters, ages 5 and roughly 2. But son? Hmmmm..
Rachamim: "She left 2 notes, 1 for your parents, the 2nd for her girls, when they are older.
Sister: "What notes? There were no notes!"
R:" She said she is sure that she left them. Maybe your younger brother took them, maybe they fell off the table, who can say? In any event, she is leaving the girls for Muhammed (pseudonym of her ex) to take custody of.
S: "Sir (people in the Philippines, especially in the south, are extremely polite with the typical SE Asian obsession for "face," or image), she just abandoned her children. Her SON is only 11 months old!"
NOTE: By now, my heart is beating so heavy and I have total self control, but this is making me physically I'll. Still, I am very aware of what kind of head games might be trotted out to get me to abandon Jackie, so that she would have no choice but to return to them.
Still, I began getting irked..
Rachamim: Look, with all due respect, stop playing games. I didn't just meet your sister last week. I know she only has 2 kids and both are daughters. Now, do you have something else you wish to discuss.
S: "Sir, you just don't know what my sister did! She did not respect...!"
R: "NO!!! YOU and the rest of the family did not RESPECT!" Did you steal her phone? Her ID? Did you and everyone else try to force her to return to Muhammed (her ex)?"
S: " 'Return'? She never left him until she ran away with you!!!"
NOTE: Whoaaaaaaaaaaa
R: "Shame on you, telling such lies. She has been separated since being pregnant with Mariam (youngest daughter, born about 2 years ago).
S" "WHATTTTTTT? She has a son born in June, 2009! How she was separated and got pregnant????"
NOTE: This whole time Jackie is lying in my arms, and the room begin to spin for me...
I still can not get my mind around that. Where was a baby that was never crying, never in the background when we Cam to Cam? What about when I was there in December? August? August??????? If she had a baby in June...2 months old?
True, I hadn't seen her, before June, since 2008...but...
Damn my head was fucked up. See, I am trained to look for cues in interrogation, lapses, certain "tics." Cyberspace negates most of them but if a person types well and/or fast enough you can time their responses and this serves as a pertinent cue. Her response about the baby being born in June was virtually immediately, showing no premeditation. This is what sent me for a loop (she has also spat out his full name in the same "breath").
Sister: "So, how was Jackie 'separated'? They lived together, with their kids here in MY house."
To be continued...
(Edited for spelling)
To get from my last post, to this post: I landed in Manila and after catching my breath I had boarded a ferry south to Mindanao, a 1.5 day journey, as Jackie waited nervously for me to come pick her up after running away from home.
300 km into a 1200 km cruise I learned that her ex had tracked her down, narrowly missing her as she crept out a side exit and with the help of a friendly (or so we thought) stranger, made her way to a bus terminal, with very little money and having nowhere to go anyway...
I arrived, made my way to her and we had just grabbed each other with all the emotion one could possibly imagine.
So we quickly go and rent a decent room to get a day or two to rest from that tension. She was not really too keen on that idea, wanting to get off the island, post-haste so after resting for 4 hours, we went to Nasapit, a town right outside of Butuan that serves as its ferry port. Having nowhere to go, I decided that even though it could possibly cause major drama of its own, we would go to Cebu for a week or 2 in a posh beach resort I love ( Elsalvador [sic], on the border of Compostela and Danao, drama because of ex-wife Rizza).
It is basically an overnight ride but I rented us a fully private cabin, figuring we could use the privacy. Gawkers would be too much for her, and for me as well, with the current state of affairs.
Laying with her in my arms, I turned on my Sidekick to take care of some business emails, when I got an "Invite/Add-On" in my IM, from someone with Jackie's surname. Whoaaaaa....
I accepted, and was quickly informed that it was the eldest sister, the one who had created all this shit to begin with. Those that know me here on BL know that I have the utmost self discipline in conversation (and in most of my life). I can calmly discuss anything, even with spittle flying into my eyes from an insanely angry person. Hey, after all, I ran a "West Bank" Checkpoint in Israel hahahahaha...
She began very politely, highly civil. She told me how much the family was worried, it had been more than a week since Jackie left, and not a word. I assured her that Jackie was fine but that she was not willing to talk to her, or anyone for that matter though after a long while I truly hopes Jackie would feel differently. She asked me if I knew for sure whether-or-not Jackie was fine...
Rachamim: "Yes, I am 100% positive. After all, she's sleeping in my arms."
NOTE: Hahahahah, you could have heard a pin drop , as they say, even with it taking place in cyberspace.
Sister: "Jackie is with you?"
R: "Of course, she is fine. Please do not worry.
S: "We are all very worried. She left her SON and daughters and abandoned them...
NOTE: Notice the emphasis on the word "son" in that exchange? Jackie has 2 daughters, ages 5 and roughly 2. But son? Hmmmm..
Rachamim: "She left 2 notes, 1 for your parents, the 2nd for her girls, when they are older.
Sister: "What notes? There were no notes!"
R:" She said she is sure that she left them. Maybe your younger brother took them, maybe they fell off the table, who can say? In any event, she is leaving the girls for Muhammed (pseudonym of her ex) to take custody of.
S: "Sir (people in the Philippines, especially in the south, are extremely polite with the typical SE Asian obsession for "face," or image), she just abandoned her children. Her SON is only 11 months old!"
NOTE: By now, my heart is beating so heavy and I have total self control, but this is making me physically I'll. Still, I am very aware of what kind of head games might be trotted out to get me to abandon Jackie, so that she would have no choice but to return to them.
Still, I began getting irked..
Rachamim: Look, with all due respect, stop playing games. I didn't just meet your sister last week. I know she only has 2 kids and both are daughters. Now, do you have something else you wish to discuss.
S: "Sir, you just don't know what my sister did! She did not respect...!"
R: "NO!!! YOU and the rest of the family did not RESPECT!" Did you steal her phone? Her ID? Did you and everyone else try to force her to return to Muhammed (her ex)?"
S: " 'Return'? She never left him until she ran away with you!!!"
NOTE: Whoaaaaaaaaaaa
R: "Shame on you, telling such lies. She has been separated since being pregnant with Mariam (youngest daughter, born about 2 years ago).
S" "WHATTTTTTT? She has a son born in June, 2009! How she was separated and got pregnant????"
NOTE: This whole time Jackie is lying in my arms, and the room begin to spin for me...
I still can not get my mind around that. Where was a baby that was never crying, never in the background when we Cam to Cam? What about when I was there in December? August? August??????? If she had a baby in June...2 months old?
True, I hadn't seen her, before June, since 2008...but...
Damn my head was fucked up. See, I am trained to look for cues in interrogation, lapses, certain "tics." Cyberspace negates most of them but if a person types well and/or fast enough you can time their responses and this serves as a pertinent cue. Her response about the baby being born in June was virtually immediately, showing no premeditation. This is what sent me for a loop (she has also spat out his full name in the same "breath").
Sister: "So, how was Jackie 'separated'? They lived together, with their kids here in MY house."
To be continued...
(Edited for spelling)