As long As You Live

Sudden Surprises

    That's when i realized i was the most stupid person(if that's even correct English) in the whole wide world.I knew she had the tattoo, but never matched it with the symbol on the card.I wanted to shake the hell out of my mom and wake her up, but I controlled my emotions. I woke her up gently. She woke up wearily and looked at me. After staring at me for some time, she dreamily told me," Wake me up when they announce boarding for a flight to Jaipur, India", and went back to sleep. I was enthralled. We were going to a place where I had dreamed all my life to go. But I hadn't forgotten about the card or the tattoo. I decided to ask her during the travel.

Boring, long minutes passed. Still, the flight wasn't prepared for departure. Probably, the flight was late. So I decided to visit the cafe in the waiting area. So I left her a note and walked up to the cafeteria counter. A pretty looking Asian woman, perhaps in her thirties, greeted me with a wide smile. "What would you like to have, darling?" she asked. My eyes searched for any traces of chocolate. My eyes landed on one with a long description.

The Choco Twist (Chef Special)

Milk carefully blended with chocolate ice cream, with hints of chocochips, almonds and many more surprising ingredients. Prepare yourself for this Yummalicious Delight!

The description sounded yum. The picture next to it looked delicious. I decided to buy that one."One extra large Choco Twist Please," I ordered.

"I knew you would go for that one. The love for chocolate is in your blood."

I was taken aback by her comment. But she didn't seem to notice. She just turned and headed for the pantry.

I was staring at the wall when she came back, holding a tray with a humongous glass full of some really scrumptious looking drink. It was doubtlessly my order. She stood parallel to me behind the counter, placing the tray on top of the countertop. The sight of the beverage was enough to make me forget about all my troubles. But I knew my manners. I decided to sit by the counter and have my drink.

"So how is business?" I asked her, before taking the first sip. I knew I wasn't supposed to initiate such an informal conversation with a complete stranger, but she seemed friendly and familiar and genuine.

"Good that you asked dearie, it's smooth out here." she said, leaning on the wall, her hands crossed. She had in an unusual accent, but I couldn't place it. I wanted to ask her what she meant by that weird comment, but right then,

"In-sook! A hand in here, please." A voice came from inside the pantry. Tough luck.

"Coming in, Da-hee!" In-sook answered. I recognized these names. They were Korean. Did I mention that I am a crazy fan of K-Pop! Well, that's another point.

She looked at me and told me she'll be back in a minute. She turned to leave. I thought it was time for me to leave too. Just as I got up, the airport intercom announced," Departure of Flight number A6-EHG, Ethihad Airways, destination Jaipur, India will be delayed by 2 hours. We apologize for the inconvenience caused."

I felt strangely happy that the departure was delayed. Now I had more time to talk with In-sook. She came back within a few minutes. We chatted about temperature, rain, education. "Which school do you study in?

"Excellence International."

"Well then, you must know my daughter, Hyo-jin, too. Just a minute, she's inside."

I almost burst out in curiosity to know who it was. The pantry door opened. A girl of my age walked out. She had calf-length hair, tied up in two braids, beautiful black almond- eyes, and wore the other half of my friendship pendent. She was shocked, or more precisely, stunned to see me there.

"Radha!" she exclaimed.

"Jin!" I exclaimed back.

She was my best friend, or more precisely, the other half of my soul.

Hyo-jin, or Jin, as I call her, is my best friend. When I moved here when I was four, I met her at the airport. She had a strict mother, just like me, who never allowed her kid to go on play-dates. Co-incidentally, we had signed up for the same school, so we begged our parents to get residence in the same locality, so we could meet each other regularly. We never knew our friendship to grow so strong, that it felt like we were mentally connected to each other. But I kind of felt bad, because we hadn't met each other's parents after the airport incidence, maybe because we never go on play- dates or outings. Just school and after school classes, sometimes at the library for group study.

Looking at her seemed like looking at the mirror for me. She had almost the same life as me. She loved archaeology, and her mom did everything she could to make her avoid it, just like mine. So we kind of just hooked up.

We were chatting on for about an hour, when the airport intercom voice announced, "Flight number A6-EHG, Ethihad Airways, destination Jaipur, India is ready for departure. Passengers are requested to board the flight immediately."

"Bye, gotta go, flight to catch!" we said simultaneously. We stared at each other for about 5 minutes. For others who came across, it would have seemed like a staring competition. We were pulled out of our competition by my mother.

"Oh Radha, nice you caught up with your friend. Now shall we leave?" She asked, eying Hyo-jin.

"Yes aunty, but let me get my mother first." She said, with a hint of uncertainty. I was surprised. My mother knew Hyo-jin was travelling.

"Eomma! Ulineun hoesagaissda."

"Um, Radha, subtitles please."

"She told her mother that they got company, mom." My mom knew I was fluent in Korean. Just then we heard bloodcurdling screams from the pantry. 

My mom dashed in. I followed pursuit."Geu jangsoneun bultagoissda! Buliya! Buliya!" 

I never knew, by then, that the screams were a signal that my time had ended.