At the Airport

It was 2 am in the morning. Terminal 2 of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Airport was live with the hustle and bustle of people waiting outside the arrival gates. Waiting faces, eager eyes, keen ears and a sense of anxiety was the general picture out there. Amidst the chaos, stood a lean girl with a calm demeanor. 

She was perhaps amongst the first ones to arrive at the terminal for the flight which was scheduled to land at 2.30 am. The tiredness was visible in her body language, but her face reflected the eagerness of meeting someone. She was starting to be a bit restless as the time of the arrival drew closer. From frantic glances at her watch to the yearning stare at the arrival gate, the desperation started to grow with every passing minute. 

He had received a mail from a university in the US confirming his admission for the Master's course. He was ecstatic as he had always cherished the dream of going to the US for his masters. His entire family was happy too. Even she was!! The reality of not being able to see each other had not hit by then. But it did soon before he was about to leave. She did not mention this to him as she could see the glee on his face! She knew he had waited long for this dream to realize and she wanted to be a part of his happiness. Amidst a few tears and a very tight hug came the moment of departure.

The initial months went pretty smooth. The regular video calls pretty much covered up for the long distance. She helped him set up his house and also regularly kept a check on his studies. The birthday celebrations and special occasions were taken care of too by this mode of communication. She seemed to be at peace with herself with this kind of arrangement. Alas, this changed pretty soon.

He got a job in an IT Firm soon after he finished his studies. The corporate duties and the timings made him both busy as well as majorly unavailable for her. His busy schedules coupled with his own small circle of friends meant he had very less time for her. The WhatsApp chats soon took over the video calls. The frequency of the chats, albeit been rare now. She missed him a lot and had subtly conveyed the same to him. He had been apologetic but could not help it. "Hey!!! I am coming home for 3 weeks. See you soon." read the message from him. She was exuberant!!

It had been 6 years since he had left. It was 3 am. The flight had landed half an hour ago. She called him, but his number was switched off. She could see a few people coming out of the gates. She could see the family reunions. She could feel the happiness and the tears of joy that the people went through. She called him again. This time the phone went unanswered. "Where are you???? What is taking you so long??? Come out!!" she sent him a desperate message. Her eyes were stuck on the happy scenes at the arrival gates. The teary eyes, the smiling faces, the hugs and the hi-fi's!! She smiled. She looked at her phone to see if there had been any revert. None!!

"Where are you dude??" she texted again. Her desperation slowly turning into frustration now.

Beep Beep came an immediate reply - " Turn around Didi!!"