October 13, 2004 had started my normal work routine but soon I noticed that something was a way different. Normally Bebeth used to come online and we chatted for a while, where she asked me how to do this and that and we just talked about general things. As she was not online at all made me I wondered what happened and a little bit nervous.
It was a shocking scenario as I came home, maybe a way earlier than usual: She was inside the living room, but she had a couple of photos placed around her and she was crying desperately. When I sat beside to comfort her she couldn't say nothing but "Let me go home... please let me go home..."
It was impossible to calm her down, so I decided to phone Elena for help. Her telephonic advise seemed to pacify her a bit again, but still she was crying which really broke my heart. 
What had happened to my wife, whom I knew as being rather brave and independent? It seemed to be a very serious situation for our relationship and today I know, it was the beginning of the end already.
The last dinner we had together was fried chicken which she had prepared for us. It was one of the very few meals that was ok with her, as she couldn't really get used to German cuisine, yet. While she was inside the kitchen I had already started searching for available flights into the Philippines for fulfilling her wish to see her family again. She had told me that she had just missed her mom's birthday and this was the reason why she was in such a bad condition, now.
This evening we received lots of phone calls from Lanie Bebeth's new best friend in Siegen and also Elena phoned me again. She told me that Bebeth was insisting in going home "for a while" and that there wouldn't be any possibility to change her mind again. The best idea would be her staying with her Filipina friends in Siegen so she could have some distraction while waiting for her flight home.
Surely it was a shock... The wedding just took place 2.5 weeks ago and my wife preferred to stay together with her friends rather than being with me, hmm. 
What have I done wrong that derailed our marriage life and caused my wife's irrational attitude? But I thought that maybe it was a temporary problem only and that more patience and understanding was needed for her to adjust to her new life, so I agreed with her going to Siegen, again, and having some kind of vacation in Surigao with her family.
The next day we drove about 90km to Mannheim by car heading to the railway station. As I wanted her to have some final impressions of Germany, I had chosen a detour partially along the picturesque river Neckar passing the city of Heidelberg, which is famous for its historical buildings and a huge castle above on a hill. A sad mood was over us though so Bebeth probably didn't notice much of the beauty of the landscapes. Her friend Nelva had agreed to fetch Bebeth in Cologne, so I brought Bebeth to the correct train and we said good-bye. It was the last time that I noticed her wearing my ring... 
It wasn't really easy to get a flight into the Philippines in such a short time, but I managed. It was a roundtrip ticket for a 6 week vacation, which could be an appropriate period for Bebeth to recover then we would continue our future plans. Somehow it was scary to think about her simply going away without telling me what she was up to. Whenever asked, she only stated that she needed more time to consider about what she really wanted...
"What she really wanted..." - why didn't she think about it *before* marrying me?