What a Poor Pharmacist Vol. 2

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

The Incredible Lady Is Back!

...finally. =)

***

4:02pm.

the minutes ticked by, as the stereo blasted music right into his ears. yet he was fully conscious and aware. on his watch: he was late.

after getting off the metro at the airport station, he chanced upon the first panel showing the arrival details. shocked to see that her flight had already touched down.

immediately, he gave chase. legs of human muscle pounded down the halls of the metro station, up the escalators and to the airport shuttle waiting area.

impatiently those legs paced up and down, up and down. the furious music didn't help to calm his nerves. after what seemed an eternity, the shuttle arrived. a simple journey. but he was already behind time.

finally found his way to the arrival area. there's not a soul coming out from customs yet. whew. a bold idea crept up in his mind - he would hide behind one of the pillars and spring a surprise for her.

so he did. the minutes continued to pass by like the many people around him, transient. time and again he peeked at the luggage collecting area. no sign, no sign of her. nor her friends.

"what happened?" he asked. it's ok, there's probably a delay, as often as it happens. give them more time.

he waited until all the passengers on the plane have been at the baggage collecting area. as the baggage on the conveyor belt dwindled, to a point where there was only a few unclaimed baggage left, he still waited. and then, he still waited until those leftover baggage were gone.

4:50pm. still no sign of her. is she still angry? he thought that this might have been a cruel joke, played by some supernatural being. or a misjudgement on his side - she might be on the wrong flight.

he had checked the arrival times online the day before and there were 3 flights altogether departing from the same city. any 3 of them could be it, but he had a hunch it was the budget airline - the one scheduled to arrive at 3:45 pm.

It's already been one hour. He tried getting her on her handphone, but to no avail. Tried to confirm her flight details with her relatives, but it was pointless. Desperation was written all over his face - something clearly was not right. And if she was on this flight, and had not been out yet, even when all the baggage has been claimed, where could she be?

he racked his head for answers. maybe another flight? maybe someone did a bomb hoax and the flight is delayed and they're checking passengers one by one, body check and all? maybe something happened in Customs?

maybe.. she's still angry at me? the thought nagged constantly in his head.

5:10 pm. he gave up. he went to the other side of the airport to wait for the next flight. took the shuttle, defeated, dejected. wondering what had happened. he couldn't have been wrong about the flight details. and yet, here he was, not trusting his own judgment.

5:41pm. the second plane from the same city she was scheduled to departure from arrived. many families around the waiting area. many happy faces meeting relieved faces. many hugs.

but she wasn't there... no, it can't be this flight.. cos it's a premium airline and she's on a budget...

6:17pm. the last plane - the last hope - touched down. would she be here?

it took another eternity for passengers to begin trickling into the arrival hall. then the baggage.

no sign.

he looked around - duty free shops of liquor, perfume - no sign. no sign of her, nor her group.

just wait... i must get my answer. what exactly happened, how can 20 people suddenly vanish into thin air like that...

6:45 pm. a call. it startled him, and he put away his earphones to pick it up.

"I'm here."

Dispense-A-Dream '07
Live your dream!
12:38 am

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