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Bandar Seri Begawan - He sat there deeply bewildered. It all had been a shocking experience. But what could he do but sit and wait. Is this a bad dream, or worst still, a terrifying nightmare? Perhaps so.

But, no, this was for real.

And what an utter fool he had been all along.

He was blinded by love or what he thought was love and, indeed, had fallen victim of his own vanity. Alas, now, he was paying the price of his folly.

In misery he looked at the swirling crowd around him. They seemed so happy greeting relatives and seeing friends off. But for him there was no one to meet.

Yes, he was abandoned well and truly. And as the distressing thought gradually dawned upon him he was plunged into the deepest trauma. What shall he do? What? What? And what indeed, I le could hardly think.

He was left forsaken in this place, this busy airport, his belongings gone and much of his money as well.

By the by, he emerged painfully from his stupor and began to take stock of the unfortunate situation.

He considered several options. One was to call the Brunei Embassy in Jakarta.

But after thinking it over he decided against it. Too much bother, too much publicity.

The other opt ion and one he least favoured was to call hack home for help. He had been given a rousing send off at the Brunei Airport just a few hours ago. It was such a joyous occasion. Be was going with his bride-to-be to prepare for the happy event.

"I love you so much, Bapa," his young lover told him esthetically while in the plane, her eyes brimming with passion and longing. "I just cannot wait for the day."

The man was happy beyond words. How she adored him. He was her lord and master.

He was a recently retired civil servant and the day he reached his 55th birthday he collected his gratuity and his pension money and left the service for a well-earned rest.

And that was the day his friend introduced him to this little lass from Jakarta. The rest is history. That giddy height of romance he found himself in was full of unexpected delights. Days, the hours, the minutes and seconds whirled by in quick succession as love found wings in full night.

It was not long after that a day was fixed. It was to take place in her country. The man would divorce his current wife and leave with his new found object of endearment and live in her hometown happily ever after. Or so he was led to believe.

But first he would mortgage his house, collect his entire pension, other money and his savings and send it to her hometown to buy a comfortable property and, remember, live happily together thereafter,

Just send all the proceeds to her brother and he would take care of everything she told him.

Pot-bellied and balding, the middle-aged man was convinced that he had found a way to paradise at last.

So now having done all that and made all the financial arrangements, he and his beloved were soon winging their way towards pure bliss.

"My dearest one, I do not want to tire you with the details when we arrive. Just sit and take a rest at the airport and my brother and others will do everything. I will fetch you when all is done," she cooed ever so sweetly into his ear.

And so he waited thinking how much she cared for him and how kind and considerate a person she was. And he waited.

And waited. Seconds, minutes and hours passed. Still there was no sign of her or her brother.

Flights came and went. The huge airport filled and emptied itself and tilled again. Where was she?

There was no sign of her. Did she leave him and had gone away without saying a word? Maybe there was some terrible mistake.

But the worst was confirmed when he checked with the airport officials. His bags had been collected. There was nothing left. Everyone was gone.

He felt dizzy at that moment and it was hard to think straight. And there he sat pondering what to do. The woman and her clan had clearly bolted.

Now he thought of the many alternatives. And the shame of it all was if people came to know. He would be a laughing stock.

So he would not call his relatives or friends to send him a ticket. He had foolishly bought a one-way ticket. His girl had told him that since he would be staying for a long time with her he would not need a return ticket.

So now he was without a ticket, without baggage and with very little money. He then examined his purse again in desperation. Ah, there, the credit card. Well that would do.

But he had to spend a night at the airport because the following flight home was in the evening the next day. And he, like many other stranded travellers, spent his time spread out on the airport carpet. It was a long night, needless to say.

Stories like this are common in Brunei. It seems there are some foreign women out and about to scalp gullible Bruneian retirees whom they think are fair game.

But be forewarned. I am told this is a true story. Remember, there is no fool like an old fool.

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