Olifina: Love And Trouble

1. Stubborn Taxi Driver

The cafeteria was abuzz with indistinct chatter from the customers, the sound of trays, cups and plates clinking against each other and every other thing that portrays how Uncle Casey's cafeteria was full of activity. His daughter, my cousin, Melisanda, continued to rant on and on about our friend, Javiera, and his usual way of pranking her.

Instinctively, I started to drum on the table with my fingers as my worries clouded my reasoning again. It had been like that ever since Dad mysteriously skipped town weeks before. He had not contacted anyone ever since.

I kept staring at my phone on the table. Melisanda stood in front of me, one hand on her left hip and the other flailing around in the air as she continued to complain.

I was calling Dad for the hundredth time that day and he wasn't picking. Two days before, he picked up my call for the second time since he left. He sounded all tensed and panting as if he was on the run. I shook my head trying to wipe off the disturbing memory.

"Hey!" Mel slammed her hand on the table. My heart almost fell out of my chest. "You're thinking about him again. Rufina, you've been distracted all week. Remember you almost poured hot oil on yourself yesterday because you were absent-minded."

I continued to stare at Mel who now sat opposite me, looking all concerned and full of pity.

I was going to skip town too, just that mine would not be as mysterious as Dad's. My plan was crazy but I couldn't help it. I knew they would all think I had gone in search of him ( which was the truth I had not told them yet for fear of their opposition).

After my morning shift, I took a beeline to the house. I walked up to Dad's room to check if I could get anything useful for my trip. Honestly, wasn't sure of what I was looking for. I searched the whole room without any specific goal and tired out quickly. I sat on the bed with a sigh.

What exactly am I to find? A letter? A voice note? I needed clues, desperately! I bent down and looked under the bed. There were a couple of papers underneath.  My hands weren't long enough to reach them so I grabbed a ruler from Dad's desk and used it to push out the papers. They were all scrambled. All three of them. The first was empty, the second was a cancelled list of hotel names, and the last was a roughly written address. Could these be possible clues? I brought out my phone and looked them up on the internet.

Jackpot! The names of the hotels which had been cancelled were located in Tepoztlan. Sadly, the address didn't match any results on the internet. It only led to a mountain. What exactly was I supposed to do with that? Although I remembered once when I FaceTimed Dad. The background looked like he was on a mountain. I was sure of it.

It's possible that Dad was on a call and had to scribble down the address as his caller described it to him.

That was too much for a 20-year-old girl to handle. But I was strong. I was a strong girl as Dad always told me. Damn! Why did he have to leave? Our life there wasn't the best but at least it was peaceful. What trouble was he into this time? I just hoped it didn't have anything to do with those drug dealers. I warned him countless times to not do business with those guys.

Last time he was to deliver a certain package for them. He said something about them owing him. And I couldn't involve the police until was sure he was not into anything illegal. That's why I had to go in search of him myself. He was the only one I had, I couldn't bear to lose him.

Hopefully, I will not be staying long in Tepoztlan. I would find Dad in a good state and we would both return home safely.

After making sure the house was set for me to leave, I walked quickly into the kitchen. There was a pen by the calendar on the wall. I took it and marked two dates- September 19th and October 2nd, the day my dad left and today, the day I left.