A Thousand Years

Chapter 1

"Excuse me ?" I heard a faint voice of a lady behind me, "I think you forgot your earpods in the cafeteria". I turned around and heard a gasp. What the hell ? Do I look that awful that someone would gasp at me after seeing my face? Well my flight got delayed by 2 hours and I have been sitting in this airport for like the last 4 hours so I guess the gasp makes sense. I took the earpods from her hand, thanked her, turned around and started walking again. I desperately needed a cigarette break. LOL. She calls me again, "Wait! Maria is that you?" What the hell again. How does she know my name ? I turned around and now I was the one who gasped. I gasped so hard it felt like I inhaled a flying bat. Obviously like the socially distant and axious woman I was I didn't even look at her face while thanking her previously, but when I look at it now, all the gasps make sense. It was her. Veronica. Oh I sure remember that face even after 15 years, how amazing! I can even tell how many new wrinkles she has which weren't there before.

"It's you right?" she said. "Yes...yes it's me. What are you doing here?" Well ofcourse I had to ask her that, cause obviously I didn't expect to meet her in John F. Kennedy International Airport, halfway across the world in New York, when I last met her 11 years ago in India.

"I live here, in New York", and when the hell did that happen?

"You moved in here? When ?"

"In 2032. I got a job here and last month I finally got a 10 year VISA"

"Oh wow! That's amazing" I said. "What about your husband? Did he transfer hear as well? I thought he had a government job"

I don't know what reaction I caught, but it felt like it was a sigh.

"Uh no, we are separated actually"

Oh wow. "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that, when did it happen?"

"In 2031, that's when I starting preparing to move here"

"Did your daughter come here too?"

"No she is with her father"

Silence.

"Enough about me, tell me about you Maria. What are you doing here? I thought you were working in Korea last when I checked."

Yes. I am Maria and I'm a miserable, workaholic, 31 year old woman with no social life. (Wait I'm not 31 yet, I still have 20 more days left to turn 31, I'm not old ugh.)

"Oh I live here, yea. I have been working for a budgeting firm in NYC for the last 4 years"

"Oh wow! Where in NYC do you live?"

"Amisson's. Just opposite to Central Park."

"What! The blue building?"

"Yes" , why is that so surprising? Duh.

"Do you know Boston and Cream's there ? I live exactly around the corner of the road there. I took a house for rent."

TROUBLE.

"Yes I do. I go around that road to reach office."

"Let's sit somewhere and catch up Maria. Or do you have a flight to catch perhaps?"

"I do actually, that's where I'm headed. Can we meet up some time later? I'll contact you" Lie. Big Lie.

"Oh yea yea, sure. Where are you headed to ?"

"I have to go to Kenya for a fundraiser"

"Oh long trip!", then she hugged me tightly, the same hands, one of them wrapped around the back of my head, and the other lying on my lower back. "Have a safe trip, it was so nice to see you. Let me know when you come back okay?"

"Yes I will", I said with a big smile. "See you later, bye"

"Bye"

I almost started running. I lied. I still had 1 hour left before my flight time, but I lied cause I couldn't look at her anymore. I felt my voice shaking while speaking to her, my mouth dry, throat lumpy, hands hold, and legs weak. What's wrong with me? It's been 15 years girl. Get over it. Yea well I was over it almost, and then she comes again all across the globe to shatter my life into tiny atoms like before. Every memory of the past comes alive, as if I was living in it right now. I fled to the restroom, washed my face with chilling cold water and took my anxiety pills. I was avoiding my pills since last month cause I was trying to leave them, but I have a flight in 1 hour, can't risk dying on air!

I was ordering a coffee from the vending machine when the pre-boarding announcement was made.

"Good afternoon passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 89B to Kenya. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes time. Thank you."

I bought a sandwich from the stall bar and headed towards the huge line for customs.

Within 25 mins I was in the flight and the take-off was exactly at the right time. I had a good sleep for almost the whole flight. Basically all I did was eat and sleep and pee twice. I slept for 8 hours, can you imagine? EIGHT. Didn't get 8 hours of sleep for the last 3 months, this project had been keeping me so busy. But anyhow, I managed to get a good bonus, that's all that matters.

I remained awake for the last 2 hours before landing, that's when I went to my digital journal and scrolled down to 2019. That's where it all began. It was time to refresh my miserable mind with more miserability all over again.