Chapter 6: The De Castro Family

The sound of planes was still distorting the shattering chatter of people hustling and bustling on the busy airport despite the lack of stars in a setting sky. 

The passengers are now moving from the exit as they had just arrived back to the Pearl of the Orient Seas, the Philippines. 

Every few minutes, planes are landing and taking off. Arrivals are announced, and parents breathe a sigh of relief when they learn that their children have returned safely.

It was a frantic scene as individuals gradually adjusted to the cacophony. Families after families are arriving one by one.

There are voices of people being annoyed after learning that the flight they had been waiting for for the last two hours had been delayed.

The sound of newborns wailing can be heard from the lounge, which is disturbing. Trolley lines are being moved to the store by workers. As they make their way to the departure lounge, tiny children attempt to assist the elders by pushing the trolleys holding their bags.

There are youthful men trying to scrub coffee stains off their shirts, as the cleaner weeps over his worst days and desires he didn't have to clean all the filth.

All this was happening while a young man in a red jacket, and black tank top was standing along a group of people waiting for their arriving families or acquaintances. He has a well-groomed hair brush to the side. And had this sort of devil-may-care outlook while he was busy making a phone call. At the same time the young ladies were a-dazzle with wander over his friendly smile. 

There he stands on the arrivals waiting for his parents to exit from the plane. He finally sighed in relief when he saw a familiar figure of a middle aged lady with her husband. 

It is no doubt that they are his parents for one of them have the same cerulean-colored eyes and the other had his defined cheekbones and Grecian nose. 

"Jaiden!" Both parents rushed towards their handsome boy. 

"Mom, Dad, How's the trip?" he said, grabbing both of them on the shoulders like they had been sworn brothers and sisters. 

They head outside looking for a place to eat. "Should we go to the usual?" his father asked while they searched for a taxi cab. 

"There is this new place just nearby, my friends told me they serve good lasagna and coffee," Jaiden suggested pointing to the west. 

His mother, Ms. Dorothy smiled at his two boys gleefully chatting. "Let's go there, then," she said as she assures that her boy had been growing well. 

They went to the place and the excitement from finally getting back together as a family after being separated for a year burst out of their faces. 

The small restaurant has some rustic feel to it, and the smell of wood and warm fireplace blends quite well to the chilling air. They easily got comfortable with the chairs as the menu arrived at the table. 

While patiently waiting, his dad Mr. De Castro, made glances at Dorothy pointing at Jaiden with his captivating cerulean-eyes. 

She immediately understood what her husband was pertaining to. And called the attention of Jaiden. 

"So, this girl, Caroline, if I recall... What's the matter with her?" His mother straightforwardly confronted him, it is not evident if she is worried or happy. It is probably more accurate that she is jealous that there is another girl who can make him smile like she can. 

"Anyway, I was more curious about how you described her on the phone," His father said, probably asking for a picture. 

Jaiden looked at both his parents, and handed his dad a picture on his phone. "Well, Mom, Dad... I really like this girl—" 

While his son was busy explaining, Mr. De Castro was showing his wife a picture of Caroline, as if he couldn't believe the beauty behind the young girl. Just in time the food had also arrived at their table, as the ambiance contributed to the spicy scene that is about to unfold.  

"— so I wanted you to meet her," he ended.

"Jaiden, she is more pretty than I imagined, well not more pretty than your Mom, of course and you said she is kind as well, probably less kind that your Mom," his dad is clearly being sarcastic but is cheering for her wife to lift her mood and approve of Jaiden's decision. 

His dad was winking at his son, as if he is proud of him for getting such a beautiful girlfriend. 

His mother sighed, "Ok, I approve for now but I need to meet her first. I won't let you get associated with a girl you just met online. She might be hiding something suspicious." 

"This face, hiding something suspicious, and besides I trust Jaiden knows what he is doing," his dad bantered, slicing the lasagna they ordered with a fork. 

"Tsk, looks can be deceiving, I would rather associate my son with a normal looking girl with a good heart than an extremely pretty but heartless girl," her mom reasoned. 

"You don't have to worry about her personality. She is the kindest girl I've ever met. You can say I was more attracted to her personality than her face. She is pretty as well and that is a bonus. Nonetheless, I like her," Jaiden announced, placing the beverages to the side of their plates. 

"Ok, if you say so," her mom replied, erasing her worries, as she took a sip of her pineapple juice. 

The family had a joyous dinner and went home afterwards. 

Jaiden's phone rang and a notification appeared on his profile. He noticed it was from Caroline, excited he quickly viewed the contents. It was a picture of a well-written message. 

He glanced at the first word of the letter and felt more and more uneasy as he finally grasped what the message was all about. 

His excited expression became dead. His face has no sign of emotion like time had stopped for a moment. He cannot move. He doesn't want to move. Like he is trying to go back in time, and forgot what he just witnessed. 

Arriving home, he ran with desperation towards the door. His parents got worried about the quick change of emotion in their son and wondered. 

"Is his stomach not well?" Mr. De Castro asked. "Perhaps it was the pasta?" 

"I don't think so," Ms. Dorothy replied.

"I think he is just tired," she added, despite knowing there really is something wrong since she saw him reading a message earlier before he became devastated. 

* * *

"Is this what I think it is?"

Those are the words that plagued his mind after reading the letter. He must have been dreaming. Fear and anger dominated his emotions. It is more frightening that his gentle expression had turned into a wicked one. His devilish looks are contributing to his harsh stares. 

He rushed to his room after clearing his thoughts. There might have been something going on with Caroline. After all she won't just send a picture of a break-up letter just like that. 

He opened his laptop, and logged in on his account. After a few scrolls he found out that Caroline's account already disappeared on the platform. 

"WHY?"

He has this hushed tone to his voice like he is frustrated on something unknown. 

That is the first question that entered his mind, and for what reason did Caroline's account have been deleted. Looking for some clues, there are no hints that tell him that the account had been forcefully deleted. The only conclusion is that she must have deleted it herself. 

Probably someone was harassing her online that she decided to quit. That is logical. It might have been the reason. 

"But why does she send me a break-up message," he does not question the validity of the message, he just doesn't know the reason. 

"Is it because I told her to meet my parents, she probably became pressured, but if so she must have told him first that she can't, then I could postpone it until she is ready." 

"I don't really know what I should do. But I know I must do something."

"Better yet, I must find her and ask her myself."

He looked for clues where he can find her, anything will do as long as it will reach her. 

He is panicking already and his mind cannot think straight. He thought of the only place she always mentioned in their chat. Her part-time job at the convenience store. 

He might find her there. Without thinking, he grabbed the handles of his bicycle, and tried to head out. 

Her mother noticed him rushing outside and she felt the need to stop him. 

"Jaiden, where are you planning to go?" she raised her voice a little, since she was frustrated with how her son was acting. 

"I'm going to find Caroline, something must have happened to her... I need to know," he snapped almost as if he's crying. 

His dad also joined the fray, "Do you where she is, I could use a car and find her if it's urgent." 

Jaiden's expression is deeply dispirited. 

Seeing him like that, they know he knows nothing about the girl as expected. People online can only either surprise or disappoint you. 

"Let's sleep for the night, then we will continue this for tomorrow. Maybe by then she will call you, if not then we could look for her whereabouts," his dad made the right call, hinting at the fact that he finished law school before becoming a businessman. 

He made an assured look to his son, on the other hand, his mother agreed with her husband so she didn't impose her opinions no matter how baffled she was. 

Jaiden finally calmed down, discerning his own foolishness. 

"Right, then I should look for other clues... All I know is that she has a part time job in a convenience store somewhere near the capital." 

"Then she is closer than we think, that is good news," his dad comforted, massaging his shoulders to calm his nerves. 

"Let's all go to bed," her mother added, an evident worry showing on her face. Her arms were crossed together for quite a while now, hinting how anxious she was. 

They head to bed for the night, Jaiden cannot sleep and softly looks at the photo on the screen. He engraved Caroline's break-up letter in his head, verbatim. And he somehow understands that Caroline perhaps is trying to succeed in something before meeting him.

He dreamed for that fact to be true, after all, it only means that Caroline thinks she is not worthy of him yet, when in fact he is the one not worthy of her.