Every Kind of Way

Runaways

Have you ever been so scared to lose someone that you thought about leaving everything behind? I did and I had to for her. The thought of being without Engfa even for one minute was too much for me to bare. Everything happened so fast, and I only had a moment to decide: Engfa or life without her.

It was the middle of the day when I received the call from my girlfriend. I could tell she was crying.

"Baby, what happened?"

"I had to leave. I will never go back there. I don't ever want to see her face again."

"Wait baby. Who are you talking about? What happened??"

"Grandmother knows." I almost dropped my phone.

"How?! We have been so careful!"

"She hired someone to keep an eye on us since mom and dad left." This is the worst thing that could have happened. Wait! Engfa said she left.

"Baby, where are you?"

"I'm leaving. I just called to let you know."

"Wait! Leaving?? Where are you going to go, baby?"

"I need to get out of Thailand before Grandmother can catch up to me and force me to marry a man."

"Baby, we are barely 18. Where would we go?"

"We?" I smiled.

"Oh, you thought you would leave me behind?"

"I can't ask you to come with me, Char. You can't just leave everything for me. Think about your future first."

"That's the thing I don't see a future without you in it so come home. We will talk to my parents, ok?" She hung up the phone and I stayed on the bed staring at the wall. A lot of thoughts went through my head. Should I do this? Is it too soon to be thinking about forever with someone? Will my parents approve?

The sound of the doorbell pulled me out of my thoughts. I ran downstairs and opened the door. I hugged Engfa as tightly as I could not wanting to let go. I called out to my parents as soon as I closed the door.

My mom looked between us and asked. "Sweetie? Is everything ok?" Dad looked concerned as well.

"Can we talk with you guys?"

"You're not pregnant, are you?" My dad joked. Engfa giggled, but her smile faltered.

"It's a bit more serious. Please sit down."

"Ok sweetie. You're scaring us. What happened?" I explained to Mom and Dad everything while I hugged Engfa. She kept her head down and didn't say much. Mom and Dad looked at each other knowing already that I wouldn't let Engfa leave all by herself. "I'm guessing you want to go with her."

I just nodded. Mom and Dad knew everything from the start. They didn't care that Engfa was a woman or about her title. As long as I was happy and cared for, they approved. Dad, like Engfa, hadn't said anything since I started talking.

"Let's make a deal. Both of you will finish high school. We will speak to the school so you can finish the courses online, Fa. You can stay here in the meantime. After you graduate, we will see what we can do if you still want to leave Thailand ok?" Engfa and I agreed with my dad's suggestion.

I still had some time before everything changed. On Monday, Dad called the school and arranged a meeting. Engfa's grandmother had already called them and stated she wouldn't pay a single cent for Fa's education and to no longer call her unless it was something related to Song or Sam. My dad invented something so the school would allow Engfa to continue online classes and that he was now her tutor. As long as the bill was paid, the school didn't care.