The Bird-man of Malé
“There he is honey, I’ll be right back, I’ll just pretend I’m looking out the window at those birds.”
“All right”, she responded. “Would you mind watching my bag, I’ll use the restroom over there? I’ll meet you there by the window,” pointing with precision, as if directing traffic.
“ Sure thing.”
As I walked towards our assigned gate, my heart skipped a beat. There he was — a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to the famous actor, sitting by himself in an otherwise unoccupied row facing the outdoors.
I drew closer, not wanting my excitement to be too obvious when he chuckled to himself, “You know, I’ve been in a few movies with birds, those birds were real pros, let me tell you.”
His eyes were fixed on the birds outside the window, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was reminiscing about his roles in movies like The Dead Zone and Batman Returns.
Suddenly, a loud and obnoxious toot broke the localized silence amidst the humming background of foreign languages I wish I understood.
My heart sank. I realized that the sound must have come from the man himself. Too embarrassed to be associated with the unpleasant noise, I quickly seated myself next to the gentleman and braced for the noxious fumes that were sure to follow.
