ALL IN THE HEAD 1

THE PACKAGE

'I am finally gonna get to come out your way.'

Paul smiled as the words appeared on his computer screen, still, even though he liked what he read, he didn't quite believe the words and it would take a moment or two for him to adapt to the statement as being something of fact and not an empty promise or a promise that may not come to be, but this was something which was actually going to happen whether Paul is ready for it or not.

'What? Sure, when?' words he would soon type having paused for a moment, hitting the enter key once he completed the query.

'Six weeks from today. Flights booked and all, I get in about half two in the afternoon your time, Tuesday the twenty second.'

'Seriously?'

'Yeah, are you alright with this? I can stay with you, right?'

'Of course, as if you need to ask.'

For a little over nine years at this stage, Paul and Susanna have had an online friendship. With the distance between them geographically being as large as it is, they have never physically met each other though putting that right seemed to be very much on the cards.

Paul, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Susanna, would himself arrive at the airport a little over an hour before her plane was due to land. He collided with a young man upon entering the arrivals area. No harm was done with both men apologizing, claiming fault, and Paul would soon take a seat and begin to think of ways with which he could occupy himself so that his wait might seem to pass a bit quicker though this free time would soon be taken away from him.

An older man, scraggily looking with a long two-tone grey beard and thinning grey hair on top with clothing that looked heavy and worn, came to sit two seats away from Paul.

'Family member?' asked this man.

'Excuse me?' Paul looked around unsure as to if this man was speaking to him or not as the man had just looked straight ahead instead of turning towards Paul as he spoke.

'Oh, just making conversation, asking as to if you are waiting on the arrival of a family member' spoke this man briefly throwing a look Paul's way.

'Ah OK, actually waiting on a friend, from the States but is flying in from Belgium.'

The man opens a sandwich and takes a bite. It had been tin foil wrapped rather than having been in any kind of store-bought packaging.

'Belgium, it has been many a year since I last visited Belgium, have you ever been there?'

'No, I can't say that I have.'

The old man soon finished his sandwich and stood.

'Well, time to get on with my day, will be seeing you.'

Paul thought this to be somewhat of an odd thing for a stranger to say to him though he thought it best not to take it literally; instead, he just looked up and politely said 'have a nice day.'

'You too young man.'

As the man walked away, Paul noticed a package on the seat in between where they both had sat ... the seat right next to where Paul still sits.

'Hey, wait' called Paul after the old man as he now stood himself, presuming this package belongs to that man.

Paul reached into his jeans pocket before he could do anything else and noticed that his mobile phone was not where he usually keeps it.

'Shit' he spoke to himself.

Having checked his jacket pockets and his surrounding area there was still no sign of his phone. Noticing that there were two pay phones only about twenty feet or so away from him, Paul gathered all what he had with him and placed such on the seat he had been sitting on before making his way to the pay phones. He would proceed to ring his own number and would be more than surprised to hear it being answered.