I wasn\u2019t supposed to be at the airport this long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The departure board above gate B17 blinked again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DELAYED \u2013 2 HOURS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I leaned back in the plastic seat and sighed. Around me the terminal buzzed with the usual airport noise \u2014 rolling suitcases, distant announcements, the smell of coffee drifting from a nearby caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Airports always make me feel a little different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like the rules of normal life don\u2019t fully apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody knows you. You\u2019re just another passing face on someone else\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I crossed my legs slowly, adjusting myself in the seat. My shorts rode slightly higher on my thigh and I felt the cool air from the terminal brush against my skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s when I noticed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was sitting across the waiting area, pretending to scroll through his phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pretending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every few seconds his eyes lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And landed on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t help smiling to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being alone in a place like this gives you a strange kind of freedom. A playful kind of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I stretched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My arms lifted above my head as if I was tired from traveling. My back arched slightly and my shirt lifted just enough for the cold airport air to slide across my stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the corner of my eye\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stood up after a minute, mostly because sitting there had suddenly become too entertaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The vending machine hummed quietly while I pressed the button for a bottle of water. When it dropped down with a dull clunk, I bent forward to grab it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when I turned around\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was standing there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Closer than I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSorry,\u201d he said quickly, giving a slightly nervous smile. \u201cAre you also stuck here because of the delay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His voice was calm, but I could still see the hesitation in his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tilted my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLooks like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a moment we just stood there in the middle of the terminal, the soft airport lighting reflecting off the polished floor around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two strangers. \u201cWhere are you flying to?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHonestly?\u201d I said with a soft laugh, leaning lightly against the vending machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight now\u2026 nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He laughed, relaxing instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We ended up sitting near the big windows overlooking the runway. The evening sun painted the tarmac in warm orange light while planes rolled slowly past like giant sleepy animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversation came surprisingly easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travel stories. At one point he paused, looking at me in a way that made the moment feel just a little heavier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou seem like the kind of person who always ends up with a story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe he was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because somewhere between the delayed flight, the warm sunset pouring through the glass, and the quiet tension of sitting a little closer than two strangers normally would\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The airport didn\u2019t feel like a waiting place anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It felt like the beginning of something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A final boarding call echoed through the terminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a second we just looked at each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two travelers who happened to cross paths in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I leaned slightly closer and gave him a playful smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll get delayed again somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And with that I walked toward the gate, feeling his eyes on me until I disappeared into the boarding line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes the best stories don\u2019t start at the destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes they start in the wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I wasn\u2019t supposed to be at the airport this long. The departure board above gate B17 blinked again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[263,267,265,268,266,270,272,271,269,264],"class_list":["post-370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-aiden-illusion","tag-airport-life","tag-airport-story","tag-chance-encounter","tag-layover","tag-short-story","tag-solo-travel","tag-summer-travel","tag-travel-diary","tag-travel-story"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"nl","enabled_languages":["en","es","nl"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"nl":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"\n
Nobody will probably ever see you again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two hours to kill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cities we loved.
The strange feeling of meeting someone you\u2019ll probably never see again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n