The Other Side

Pranjali Jagtap
Sep 1, 2018 · 3 min read

It was 11:30 pm. The airport was almost empty. People had left to their houses pretty quickly. She came out in the taxi parking area. There were two cars parked in the distance. A homeless man sat near a pillar at some distance staring at his palms. She looked at her dead phone in exasperation. She just stood there in the hallway surrounded by her luggage. “And this is how this side of the earth looks like!”, she said to herself laughing quietly. She tried adjusting her 3-pc baggage and a check in bag in a single row and tried moving them together. She couldn’t walk with everything. There was nothing else to do but to hope for some help. She gazed across the hallways to look for a security guard but didn’t find one. She looked down at her shoes and tried to think of something. Staring at her shoes always made her think of ideas. But this time, nothing worked. She raised her head to find a face staring right back into her eyes. Her heart began to run so fast that it could have come out. “This way please”, said the man in the shadow. She didn’t know him but she trusted him readily. The man took two of the bags and started walking towards a black car parked down the road. She rolled the other two bags and started walking behind him. She felt like she was supposed to know the man somehow. He had a burgundy t-shirt and a leather jacket on. His face was steady and his gaze focused ahead on the road. The luggage was adjusted in back of the car. She opened the left door to find that it was the driver’s seat. ‘ Oh America!’, she smiled and went to the other side of car and slid in. The man got inside, adjusted his seat belt and started the car. “You might want to fasten you seat-belt”, he whispered. “Oh sorry”, she smiled nervously and fastened her seat-belt.

She thought of striking a conversation but found her head totally devoid of thoughts. She looked at the man’s face, still focused on the road. He suddenly looked at her that caused her heart beat to race again. “How was your journey?”, he inquired almost smiling. “It was good. I’m sorry but do I know you? How did you know I was gonna need a ride? Who are you?”, she fired her questions. “I am your friend in this side of the world. I know just this.”, he said while his face turned a bit sad. She got angry with herself for asking. She couldn’t bear the sadness on his serene face. Her mind got overwhelmed by unclear emotions. She looked out the window at the beautiful roads and golden street lights. The moon shone brighter than usual. She tried to think why she felt so safe with a stranger, why she felt such a strong connection with him. She only had millions of questions and no answers. She closed her eyes for a minute. Everything felt so calm and effortless. His presence seemed to quieten her endlessly restless mind. That was the last thing she thought before she slid into a peaceful sleep lasting forever!