"I'm going to the Philippines." Nat broke the news to his family during dinner. The table was silent.

"No, you're not." Nat's father sounded displeased. The duo knew the reason behind the reaction...the Philippines was where they lost everything.

"Kevin, why don't we listen to what Nat has to say first? I'm sure he has a good reason." Nat gave a grateful nod to his mom, stepmom to be exact. It was true that the bystanders were always more objective.

"I don't see any reason for him to go. If it's for leisure, there are many other options. Don't even try to use work as an excuse either." The older man didn't give Nat a chance to explain himself before he slammed his utensils down and stormed off.

"I knew he'd react like this." Nat sighed and looked at the two women left at the dining table with him. Beside his stepmom was his (step)sister, Karine.

"Don't worry too much about your dad, I'll talk to him later." The older lady patted Nat on the shoulder before heading upstairs.

"I don't understand why Daddy gets all uptight whenever he hears about the Philippines. Like what's wrong with the country...I think it's a beautiful place. Isn't it, Nat?" The innocent 15 year-old looked at her older brother eagerly.

"I don't know...I can't remember anything about the country. It's like my memory didn't exist before I moved here. Every single time I ask Dad about it, he gets all riled up so I just stopped asking." Nat shrugged as he pushed out his chair and trudged back to his room upstairs.

"Am I making the wrong decision?" Nat smiled wistfully as he looked at the soundly sleeping figure in his dark room. He pressed a soft forehead kiss to her forehead and brushed a handful of stray hair away from her face. Nat sighed again as leaned back onto his chair and opened his computer to confirm his trip to the Philippines.

~

"You're seriously leaving when Daddy isn't here? Are you crazy? What if he finds out and flies there to drag you back?" Karine's jaw dropped when she saw a 4 huge luggage at the front door a few days later. Nat was packed and ready to go.

"Trust me. Dad hates the fact that I'm going but he hates going to the Philippines even more. He'll never fly over. Plus, you're going to be a sweetheart and stop him for me, aren't you?" Nat ruffled Karine's hair and chuckled.

"Mum, you're allowing this?" Karine starred at her mother, who was preparing to drive Nat to the airport.

"Your brother is 32. And I don't see anything wrong with it either. You're free to come along if you like, you won't be seeing Nat for a while." Alice ushered her grumbling daughter out of the door as Nat was busy loading the luggage in the car.

"I'm coming along only because I'll miss Jamie." Karine turned her attention to the little girl in her mom's hands. Karine couldn't bear to see her favourite niece leave.

"This is a dangerous stunt, Nat. Like it wouldn't have been that bad if you left alone, but bringing Jamie along is like asking for war. Daddy's going to fly into a rage tonight." Karine rolled her eyes as she played with Jamie in the backseat. The cherubic 4 year-old was excited to be out on a trip.

"Jamie, aren't you going to miss me?" Karine broke out into a sad expression as she saw the Airport up ahead.

"Jamie's going on an adventure with Daddy! We're going to take a spaceship and fly! YAY!" The 4 year-old rambled excitedly, making the entire car smile at her cuteness.

"Are you sure about this, Nat? I know I said that I'll support you, but this involves Jamie too..." Alice was waiting with Nat as he checked in. Karine was waiting at a visible spot nearby with Jamie.

"I honestly don't know...I thought I had stopped searching but something in my heart keeps calling me to Philippines. It's like someone's waiting for me there. I don't want to ignore it this time..." Nat let out a long breath. Alice pulled him into a hug and patted him on the back.

"If there's someone calling you, go. Don't live with regrets. I'll also be on your side, son." Nat returned the hug. Alice wasn't his birth mother but the last 20 years they had spent together was enough for Nat to see that Alice loved him as much as she loved Karine. And he appreciated it a lot.

"Kiss grandma and Karine goodbye, Princess..." Nat carried Jamie as she gave flying kisses to Alice and Karine from behind the glass panels of the departure hall. After a long round of waving, Jamie couldn't be more excited to get onto one of those gigantic metal tubes she'd seen around the airport.

~

"I'm really sorry but I don't speak Filipino..." Nat gave the air stewardess an apologetic smile after she had spoken a long train of the foreign language to him.

"I apologise Sir, I assumed you were Filipino..." The air stewardess was frantic but Nat laughed and assured her that it was okay...he was indeed half Filipino.

"Jamie, shall we watch something other than Frozen?" Nat turned his attention to his daughter beside him. He had lost count on how many times he'd watched the movie with Jamie.

"Daddy...are we going to find mummy in the Philippines?" Jamie was chewing on a piece of bread when she dropped a bomb on Nat. Nat's eyes widened in shock...he never once mentioned anything about Jamie's mother to her.

"Princess, who told you that?" Nat tried to sound calm, albeit his anxious hands movements giving him away. Now that Jamie had opened the can of worms, he couldn't hide from it any further.

"Grandma and Karine were talking yesterday! Grandma said that my mummy was in the Philippines and you're bringing me to find her! Are we really seeing Mummy? Can we see Mummy please?" Jamie had threw her fist in the air, excited to see the Mummy that she never had growing up.

"Do you miss Mummy?" Nat held his breath as he waited for Jamie's reply.

"I don't know...Daddy, how do I miss someone I've never seen?" Jamie's excitement had suddenly deflated as she processed the fact that she'd never even seen her mother. The word Mummy was just a concept that she'd seen from the way her grandmother interacted with Karine and Nat...and whenever the mothers of her kindergarten friends interacted with their children. She didn't know what having a Mummy was supposedly to mean.

Nat's heart broke at his daughter's words. He unbuckled Jamie and embraced the teary-eyed girl, trying to stop himself from crying out of guilt as well. Nat had managed to distract Jamie for the rest of the flight but he remained conflicted at Jamie's words. Maybe I should stop being selfish...for Jamie's sake.

~

"I'm back, Philippines..." Nat stood at the entrance of the airport holding a sleeping Jamie. Manila wasn't the same as it was 28 years ago, not that Nat actually remembered.

"salamat po?" Taking over the keys of the car from the rental car employee, Nat muttered without any confidence in his language abilities. The obviously younger employee laughed as he returned the word of thanks.

"Enjoy your trip of the Philippines, sir. Our country is a beautiful place...you'll be surprised by what you experience here." Nat smiled as the employee took his leave. He buckled the still asleep Jamie into her car seat and took his seat.