Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Acwell is at the airport waiting to board his flight. He is feeling a mixture of sadness and happiness. He is happy that soon he will see his wife and son. He even sends a message to Kamiah telling her that he shall quickly send the documents for their divorce. But he did not tell her that what he meant is he is traveling to LA to see them.

He is sad that he will not see his daughter. Catrina had been trying to call him, but he could not seem to find the reason to talk to her. Acwell even wished if there was a way to communicate with Amara without going through his mother. But now that she is still young, there is no way. And by the time she grows up, Amara might probably hate him for not being there for her.

Acwell sends Catrina a message asking for a video of Amara. Catrina, who had been waiting for his reply, gladly did. He was teary-eyed when he saw a video of Amara playing and saying, daddy.

"I will miss you, my princess," Acwell whispered.

Then, he heard an announcement that his flight was already boarding. Before he went inside the plane, Acwell sent a message to Catrina.

"I am leaving now. I know you will take good care of Amara, and I am grateful for that. Please kiss her for me, and when you have forgiven me, tell her that I love her. I hope one day we will talk without blaming and bickering. My flight is already boarding. Goodbye!"

Catrina called me immediately the moment she read my message. He has placed his phone on silent mode so he won't have to hear it ring. And when the plane was taxiing, Acwell switched it off. He spends the whole flight either sleeping or watching movies.

After almost 17 hours of flying, Acwell arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. He did not take long there because he was a dual citizen; he held an American passport. And when he stepped out of the airport, he found a taxi right away.

Acwell arrived at the hotel feeling jet logged. He decided that he will not visit Kamiah tonight because he wanted to get proper food and sleep.

He opened his cellphone, and he received a bunch of messages from Catrina.

"Acwell, what do you mean by that? Are you stupid to leave your daughter for a wife who doesn't even want you? Come back here and show your face to Amara. Don't abandon her again!"

"Where the hell are you? Why are you not answering your phone? Get in here, Acwell. I am warning you, or else you won't see your daughter."

"Acwell, damn you! You always choose to hurt us. I hate you!"

"Acwell, please. I tried calling you, and I couldn't reach you. Why do you always choose to abandon us? Come back to Amara."

There were like ten other messages and some with videos of his daughter. Looking at his daughter made me feel hurt.

"I am really sorry, my princess," Acwell whispered.

He replied to Catrina's messages telling her that he had arrived at his destination.

"Where are you? In the Philippines?"

"No."

"Where are you, then?"

Acwell did not tell her where he was. He doesn't want her to follow him. For now, Catrina and Amara should stay in Dubai. When everything settled, then they could come whenever they wanted to.

"Acwell, where would your wife go other than the Philippines? Was she hired for a new job somewhere?"

He did not respond to her. The conversation will go on because Catrina doesn't fail to form questions. She is smart, which makes her demanding and annoying.

Kamiah also replied to his last message to her, and she just said okay. Acwell is feeling excited to see her and Kai. He imagined how the meeting would go, but because of exhaustion, he fell asleep.

It was 07:00 PM when he was awakened. Acwell did not expect that being on a long-haul flight could make him so tired. Or maybe he think it was because he did not get proper sleep the day before his flight. He was feeling too excited and, at the same time, so sad. The feeling was so intense that he kept waking up.

Acwell searched online if there is a nearby restaurant at the hotel that is not expensive. He found a 24-hour diner which is a 10-minute walk or one subway station away. He decided to go for a walk even though it's not really safe to walk alone during the night in a place you are unfamiliar with. But he still wanted to try, so; he just brought $50 with me. Acwell said he will only have dinner and do the groceries the next day.

The walk was a great exercise. Anyone who does it will surely lose weight. He was sweating, and luckily he brought a small towel with him.

I went inside and sat in a corner away from most of the customers. A waitress named Hazel came to ask for my order.

"Good evening, gentleman! What can I get you tonight?" Hazel said.

"Can I please have one cheeseburger and a soda? Thank you," Acwell said.

"Sure! You know you remind me of a toddler that I know. He looks like you," Hazel said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Anyway, let me get you your order."

Five minutes after, Hazel came back with Acwell's food.

"Enjoy your meal," Hazel said with a smile.

"Thank you," Acwell replied.

Acwell's thoughts went to Kai while he was eating. He wondered if he and Kamiah had been to this diner before. Most likely, they did because it's close to the address that Kamiah had given him.

After an hour, he took the subway to head back to his hotel room. Once he arrived, he unpacked some of his clothes. He will be staying at the hotel for a week. And then, he searched online for the job vacancy. He applied almost everywhere he could find. And he hoped he will get a response soon.