These Thoughts of Mine...: December 2010

She waved as the car pulled away from the curb and headed out of the drop-off area. She was on her own now. Though it was a scary thought it also excited her. A whole new experience awaited her. Taking one last look around, she walked into the building pulling her luggage after her.

She had done this several times before but never on her own so she knew where she had to go first. The customs official she stopped in front of smiled at her and she smiled back.

“I see you’re travelling alone…?” he inquired politely as he flipped through her passport.

She let out a long breath. “Yes I am”.

He smiled and asked her to open her suitcase. Quickly but thoroughly he looked through the bag to make sure everything was in order. “You may go ahead and check in. Enjoy your trip!” he sent her off with another smile.

“Thank you very much” she responded. She closed her bag, locked it once more and proceeded to the check-in.

She was quite early because her mother had woken her and made sure she arrived at the airport well before time. Though at the time she had been slightly annoyed at having her sleep interrupted she was grateful now that she saw how easily and quickly she was able to complete the check-in process. Afterwards she climbed the stairs to the waiting area.

The smell of brewing coffee immediately hit her and she remembered she had skipped breakfast. She found a place to sit and placed her luggage next to the seat and out of the way. She crossed over to the small café stand and ordered a cup of tea and two plain croissants. She turned to return to her seat to wait and her heart skipped a beat. Someone had taken the seat next to hers and when her eyes met his, her first thought was, he’s cute! Embarrassed that she should have such a thought she looked away.

“Hi,” his voice broke into her thoughts, “I hope you don’t mind me sitting next to you…”

She looked up to meet his earnest gaze and could not look away. She realized she’d been staring when his mouth formed a smile making the dimples in his cheeks appear.

Flustered she stuttered an answer, “Umm..yea. Oh, I mean no! That is, sure you can sit there”

The dimples in his cheeks deepened as his smile grew broader. “You know, I don’t bite” he said with a hint of laughter in his voice.

She found herself smiling and relaxed as she resumed her seat.

“I’m Kwame and you are?” he introduced himself.

“I’m Maame” she responded.

“Nice to meet you Maame” he said meaning it. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you headed?”

She considered for a moment whether to tell him the truth or to lie since she would probably never see him again. She decided to take the risk. “Well, I’m going to the US to visit some family and friends”

“What a coincidence. I’m also travelling to the US…” he looked pleased. “I was preparing myself for a long, lonely and boring flight but I guess I’m not alone now”

Maame couldn’t help herself; she smiled shyly.

He proceeded to ask her about herself and discovered they were both final year students in university though she was schooling in Accra and he was in Kumasi. As the conversation progressed they realized they shared some interests in music, books and even had a few friends in common.

“I can’t believe you actually played that prank on your teacher!” Maame laughed. Kwame had been regaling her with some of his escapades from secondary school and she had been laughing non-stop.

A voice over the PA system interrupted their exchange. “All passengers boarding Delta Airlines flight DL 156 to New York JFK should proceed to boarding gate 1”

“Wow, I didn’t realize so much time had passed” Maame remarked as she glanced at her watch. She looked up to meet Kwame gazing at her.

“I guess time flies when you’re having fun” he said slowly, never taking his eyes off her.

Maame found she could not look away either and the silence between them stretched until her phone started ringing.

She smiled sheepishly and reached into her pocket for the phone. “It’s my mum” she told him as she pushed the answer button. “Hello, Mummy. Yes, they just announced it” she nodded as she answered her mother’s questions. “Ok, mummy. Bye! Love you too.” She hung up and turned to Kwame.

“I see you’re mummy’s girl” he teased.

“No, actually I’m more of a daddy’s girl” she joked back. “We should get going don’t you think?” she glanced at the passengers who were moving in the direction of the boarding gate.

“Yes, we should” he agreed. He stood up, hoisted his backpack on his shoulders and pulled out the handle of his suitcase. “Need help with anything?” he offered.

“No, that’s alright. There’s nothing much in my bag anyway” she explained as she adjusted the straps of her handbag and pulled up her luggage to a standing position by her side.

“Ready?” Kwame asked.

Maame nodded yes and together they proceeded to the boarding gate for their flight.

They had to wait a while in the lounge at the boarding gate while the airline officials attended to elderly passengers as well as passengers travelling with children. They were not bothered by the wait since each was enjoying the other’s company so much.

Finally it was time for them to board the plane. They went through the final security checks and went down with the other passengers to the tarmac to join the small bus which took them to the plane. After they got down and ascended the stairs into the plane, it hit Maame that they would probably be sitting at different parts of the plane and she realized the thought of it made her a bit sad. In the short time that they had conversed and gotten to know a few things about each other, she had relaxed considerably and had no longer been dreading the long flight. However, now that they were getting on the plane, she had become conscious of the fact that they would have to part ways. As all these thoughts were running through her head, it got to her turn and she showed her boarding pass to the flight attendant at the entry who in turn directed her to her seat.

Behind her she heard Kwame ask the flight attendant a question she didn’t quite hear. She figured he was probably asking about his seat so she walked ahead to find hers. It didn’t take long for her to find it; it was a window seat and she was glad because she enjoyed looking out at the clouds as the plane travelled through the sky. She made sure she had all that she needed from her backpack for the duration of the flight and then put the bag in the luggage compartment above her seat. She was just settling into her seat and trying to put on her seatbelt when she heard a familiar voice ask, “Is this seat taken?”

She looked up to find Kwame’s grinning face staring back at her. She could not help herself; she continued to stare at him agape until he repeated the question.

“I don’t think so…” she trailed off, confused. “Is this your seat?”

Kwame grinned wider. “Nope! But I did ask the flight attendant if I could switch seats so I guess now it is my seat” he responded cheerily. “May I sit?”

Maame was pleasantly surprised. She had not expected this. “Of course, you can sit” she gestured to the seat and moved her books which had been lying there.

After Kwame had also settled, they easily slipped back into conversation and soon they were laughing together like the oldest of friends. They were so engrossed in their banter that when the plane took off Maame, who was usually scared, hardly noticed that the plane had begun its ascent.

Throughout the flight, they watched the same movies and ate together while chatting the whole time until they were both so tired they nodded off and fell asleep.

When Maame woke up, she looked out the window and realized dawn was breaking. She turned to her other side and was startled to find Kwame staring at her.

“Ei, I didn’t realize you were already awake” she said sheepishly. “But you slept, right?”

“Yes, I slept. I woke maybe about five minutes before you did,” he grinned at her. He looked at his watch. “Hmm. It looks like we have about forty-five minutes till we land”

“Oh wow, really?” said in surprise; she hadn’t realized she had slept for so long. “I guess we better get our things together then” she suggested.

They took turns using the lavatory to freshen up. By the time Kwame, who had gone last, returned to his seat, the flight attendants had begun serving the passengers with a light breakfast. They ate together while chatting and laughing as though they had known each other for ever.

Not long after, the pilot’s voice came over the PA system announcing that they would be landing in a few minutes so they fastened their seatbelts just as the other passengers were doing. Finally, the plane landed and as soon as the pilot indicated that they could begin disembarking, the passengers quickly began unloading their bags and items from the overhead cabins. The excitement amongst the travelers was palpable; most were overjoyed because they had returned home and others were excited about the experiences anticipated in a new country. Maame and Kwame also joined the others as they moved towards the exit of the plane and headed for the customs and baggage check. Though they were also excited about having reached their destination, both were quiet as they realized their time together had come to an end.

The queue at the customs checkpoint was long but the customs officers were efficient so, soon they were through and went to the baggage carousel to wait for their bags to be unloaded.

“So….” Kwame broke the silence that had settled between them. “How long are you going to be here for?”

“Well, I’m not too sure. My ticket is for August, but I might change it to return earlier” Maame responded. “Oh, that’s mine!” she pointed at a navy blue suitcase that was heading towards them.

When it got close, Kwame lifted it off the carousel and placed it on the trolley Maame had gone for. As though they had planned it, Kwame’s suitcase was not far behind Maame’s. They put his also on another trolley and followed the signs to the arrivals hall.

On reaching the arrivals hall, they each scanned the crowd of waiting families, friends and business associates for the faces of their family who were supposed to pick them up.

Maame spotted her big sister waving at her from the back of the crowd and her face lit up with a wide smile. She turned to Kwame who was still scanning the crowd. “That’s my sister,” she pointed at a slightly older looking version of herself who was making her way towards them. “I guess this means goodbye” her smile faltered slightly.

“Yes, I guess so,” he smiled sadly. He hugged her and Maame wished he would never let go but he broke away and also pointed towards the crowd. “I see my uncle”

“Ok, then. I hope you enjoy your vacation” Maame waved as he made to move towards his uncle.

“Enjoy yours too, Maame. It was really great meeting you” he said sincerely, waving back.

Maame was about to respond when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and her sister enveloped her in a warm hug.

“Ei, so who was that cute guy I saw you with just a moment ago?” her sister teased.

“Oh, Akua!” Maame laughed shyly. “We met at the airport and we sat together on the flight here”

“I sense there’s a story in there somewhere” Maame’s sister continued to tease. “I hope you got his number because he is CUTE!”

Maame groaned. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Now it seemed there was no way she would ever see Kwame again. “I didn’t get his number o” she said regretfully.

“Ok then you can look for him on Facebook then…or?” her sister suggested helpfully as they exited the arrivals hall to find where she had parked.

Maame became more sad as she realized even that was not an option. “I only know his first name. There’s no way I can find him”

On noticing the sad look on her younger sister’s face, Akua patted her back gently. “Don’t worry, I have a feeling you just might meet him again. In the meantime, tell me the whole story” she consoled Maame as she unlocked the car and they both got in.

Meanwhile, after settling into his uncle’s car and they had set off, Kwame also realized he had neglected to ask Maame for her number. “Oh no!” he groaned in frustration.

His uncle looked at him in concern. “Did you forget something? Is something wrong?”

Kwame sighed and proceeded to fill him in on the source of his frustration.

~ * ~

“Maame, I hope you remembered to pack Nana’s medicine” Akua said as she pulled in to the baggage drop section of the JFK airport.

“Yes, Akua, I remembered” Maame sighed, rolling her eyes. Her sister had asked her the same question more than five times already.

“I just want to make sure. I don’t want Mummy calling and blasting me on the phone like the last time” Akua got out and helped her sister take out her bags.

“I know, I know” Maame was starting to get annoyed.

Since she had already checked in online, they only had to weigh the bags and then dropped them off. After they had taken care of that the two sisters hugged.

Akua smiled. “I’m so glad you came, little sis. My greetings to everyone at home and make sure you call me as soon as you arrive, ok?”

Maame rolled her eyes at her sister’s reference to her as ‘little sis’ but smiled in spite of it. “I had fun too. I’ll call you”

They hugged again and Akua returned to her car. She waved as she drove off and Maame waved back.

Maame hoisted her backpack on her back and walked into the airport. She had quite some time left so decided to browse through the duty-free shops. She first went to one of the bookstores and bought a few magazines to keep her occupied for the long flight home. As she paid for them, she remembered she had promised to get some chocolates for her best friend. She spotted one ahead and went there.

She was looking through the various chocolates displayed on the shelves wondering how much to buy when someone covered her eyes with their hands. “Who’s this?” she asked nervously; the airport was full of strangers and she was not expecting to meet anyone she knew.

The person did not respond and with much effort Maame managed to pull away the stranger’s hands from her face. She turned round to face the person and gaped at the person she saw.

“Yes, it’s me” the person announced, grinning widely.

“Kwame!” she yelled and hugged him in excitement, making the other people in the store turn to look at them.

“You’re surprised to see me, huh?” his grin was growing wider by the minute.

“Surprise doesn’t even begin to describe it!” Maame exclaimed. She couldn’t stop staring and smiling at him.

“That’s good,” he smiled back. He looked at the chocolates in her hand. “Why don’t we pay for those and then get out of this shop?”

Her eyes followed his gaze and remembered her reason for being where she was. She laughed. “Of course”

Afterwards they found seats in the waiting area and began updating each other on how they had each spent the vacation. As they talked it seemed as though they were alone and before they realized, it was time to board the plane.

Maame looked at her watch. “Wow, the time went by so fast!” she commented.

“As they say, time flies when you’re having fun” Kwame noted with a lopsided smile.

Maame smiled back. “I think I agree with you”

“I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy this flight” Kwame said softly. “But this time, may I have your number before I lose you again?”

Maame laughed, wrote down her number on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

“Ok, now that that’s been taken care of, shall we?” he got up, holding out his hand. Maame took his outstretched hand and they joined the queue of passengers boarding the plane.

THE END

These Thoughts of Mine...

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Brown Eyes

Still Waters

The Flight