Ronnie, an O.F.W. civil engineer that
work for an American company In Thailand, had just received his first
pay
check and was excited to tell his wife about it. To earn a fat sum
of American dollars was a dream come true to the
couple who''d been
married for almost six years. It was 1990, the height of Filipino
overseas workers migration, when the couple thought of trying their
luck abroad. They loaned from a bank and from close relatives who were
just too thrilled to see the couple make something out of their lives.
Both came from very modest, lower middle class families and had been
childhood sweethearts since they were fifteen. When Christia gave birth
to her only son Poalo, the husband Ronnie thought of earning more money
so that the couple could prepare sending Poalo to a good private school
when the time comes. The first trip that Ronnie made was in Dubai,
where he worked for a very appreciative Arab boss, who gave him extra
cash incentives just so he could send more money to his family back
home. After two years, he was recommended to a Thai entrepreneur who
needed a civil engineer for a specific project in Bangkok, Thailand.
Coming highly recommended, the Thai entrepreneur even doubled his
salary. Ronnie could not pass up an opportunity to earn more cash,
hence, he accepted the job. The couple and their son Poalo, who was
then about five years old and studying in a Quezon City elementary
school,celebrated the eve of Ronnie''s departure by going to the movies
and having dinner at home. Christia prepared all that there was to
prepare to make the despedida party worthwhile. After going to the
movies, the family arrived home and had dinner as planned. It was a
wonderful night for the couple, as well as Poalo who spent most of his
time on his father''s lap. After Poalo went to bed, Ronnie and Christia
talked for almost five hours until finally they both went to rest.
"
Promise me you''ll come back to us.." Christia said as if having a
foreboding of what was to come. "Chrissi, babe, of course," Ronnie
replied with more than the usual tenderness while softly caressing his
wife''s cheeks. "I will miss you..." Christia, out of the blue, made a
promise: "On the day you come back to us, I promise a bouquet of roses,
the same white ones I gave you during my birthday, will be waiting for
you on the table..." It has been a flattering gesture of Christia to
give Ronnie flowers during special occasions. They kissed that evening
and promise to love each other more. For almost two years, Ronnie
worked hard to provide more than enough of his salary to his family. He
wrote and made letters to Christia and his son Poalo almost every other
day. Christia, on the other hand, never missed an opportunity to give
her reply or send pictures through email. However, during the first
week of the last three months before his his furlough, Ronnie noticed
that Christia had missed writing back. He was to busy to notice at
first since he was in the thick of finishing a multi million dollar
project in Bangkok. A friend a co-worker who was also a Filipino told
him the company''s email server had been down and offline due to repairs
for the past so many days. However, Christia should have written and
sent her letters through regular mail, Ronnie thought. He hasn''t
received a letter or mail for the last four days. When the sever was
finally fixed, Ronnie received an email from his neighbor in Quezon
City, saying that his wife and kid met a tragic incident a few days
ago. Their house burned down due to faulty electrical wiring, killing
Christia and Poalo who were trapped within. He almost fainted; the news
was more than he could bear. However, he saw another email in his
inbox- from his wife Christia- sent a day after the aforementioned
tragedy. The email message read: <Ronnie, please come home... I miss
you so much...Christia>. A faint photo of Christia and Poalo smiling
while sittih in the living room was attached to the
message.