The cantankerous noise of the alarm woke me up at about 7:30 AM. It felt like just another day of our vacation even though I knew this was my last day in Europe. For some reason, I thought I had one of the most peaceful sleeps the night before. This was strange because I knew I was troubled from leaving and the thought of going back to India made me nauseous the night before. I imagined it was because Andrej had never hugged me this tight or felt this close to me before that somehow that intuition cast some positive spell on my sleep as well. I was under the impression that the departure time was 11:00 AM, whereas the real time was noon. What an oversight on my part! Andrej was still asleep so I did some last minute packing. We left our hotel at about 8:30 or so and arrived at the Marco Polo Airport forty-five minutes after. I had noticed during our time together that he always took care of my bags and carried them for me. He continued to do that at the airport. I’m not really the type of a woman that says “Well, he’s a man, that’s his job!” So, I was appreciative of the fact that he would be thoughtful like that without me having to ask him. Sometimes, it’s the little things that get me. Gestures one often takes for granted or forget to acknowledge but without such gestures, however small, human relationships wouldn't be as fulfilling as they can be.
The counter for FinnAir was not opened yet as we arrived at the airport “too” early. In India, a person traveling to an international destination is expected to arrive at the airport 3 hours before the departure time. I suppose I was under the impression that the same ruled applied for European airports. I felt quite stupid at my desire to follow and stick to laid-down rules which in this case made me appear to have lacked discretion. Andrej felt a bit edgy and I felt accountable for the extra expenditure he had to incur for parking. The Italian airport was so stress-free in the sense that there were no pestering policemen, no security check hassle at the entrance and no uniformed personnel in sight to question or harass us, save the airport staff. So different from the suffocating environment of my own, how can anyone expect me to let go of such a carefree life and living I wondered. Andrej waited with me till I got my boarding pass. There was no excess baggage which was terrific news because I did not have the resource to cover it. I wanted to stick around longer but I could tell Andrej was in a hurry to leave so I didn’t bother him further. I hugged him and kissed him. He told me he was not the sentimental guy with a naive look on his face. I told him I know, it's okay. We smiled and we said bye to each other.
It was unimaginable for me to accept that our vacation was over. I held myself back and walked right on towards the security check. I looked back but Andrej had disappeared in the crowd. I wanted to chat with a friend there and then so I could ignore the numbing ache I was feeling at some place within. But the fact is, no matter how much I talked or shared, the truth would be apparent and reasonable only for me. I had to look for the positives and reminded myself what a fabulous time we had and all the beautiful memories we created. And to know that I would be seeing him in December offered me peace and assurance. And even though I was sad to leave, I constantly reminded myself that it’s only a matter of four month’s wait which pales in comparison with the six years it took for us to meet again. The vacation may have been short lived but it surely endowed in me a greater capacity for patience. After knowing the extent to which he could go to make me happy, to make our first vacation worth it, I promised myself I would make his trip to India count for him as much as my trip to Slovenia did for me. We have much to talk about still and to do when we meet again. For now, I’ll count the minutes until that day arrives…and look forward to more exciting travels, more journals to write and more memories to cherish.
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