IT - Pieces in the Dark

Chapter 6 - The Hermit

Chapter 6  -  The Hermit

 

Having booked his plane ticket to Athens, he packed a rucksack with a few clothes, his leather organiser and a few other essentials. Brina, despite her discomfort, had got out of bed and checked off what he had packed, and then added twice as much in other ‘essentials’ that he hadn’t thought of. It was an indication of how absent-minded he had become, and how preoccupied he was with thinking of other things rather than of day-to-day living.

He had always had a lot of common sense, and was quite used to being efficient and self-sufficient, but lately his mind just kept wandering off, and he would spend several minutes just staring out of the window; which is what he was doing now.

He had even forgotten some simple basics like sun tan lotion and his razor. It was just as well then that Brina had remembered to put in a battery operated shaver and a ‘hand-luggage friendly’ sized liquid sunscreen. She had become very attentive towards him now, checking him over, and surrounding him in a protective, mindful focus, like he was her responsibility or ward.

He continued to stare out of the window at the early morning sunrise. Just thinking, letting thoughts roll in and out of his head. He heard a gentle cough behind him a few minutes later; Brina had been watching him, but hadn’t wanted to distract him.

She just was trying to help remind him that he had to be on his way, and that she had sorted everything out for him. He smiled at her apologetically. “You know you are behaving like an expectant father, don’t you?” she asked and she handed him his flight rucksack with a smile.

He did remember to kiss her as he left the house, which in his current mind state was good, and she acknowledged his departure by brushing his jacket lapel free from hairs with the palm of her hand. She hadn’t really asked him about what he was doing or where he was going, she just knew he had to do something, and she was sure that it didn’t involve any other women so that was ‘ok’. Just so long as he was safe.

 He took a taxi to the airport. He would have normally have driven there, and parked in one of the remote outdoor car parks, where the planes nearly skimmed the tops of the cars as they landed. Where occasionally, if you were lucky, the shuttle bus picked you up to go to the terminals, if it wasn’t raining.

 However he didn’t want to have to think and drive, or worry about where he had to be, so he took the easy option.

 With just hand luggage it was much easier to hop around and about, and before long he was on the plane. The trip seemed to take no time at all and was uneventful. Then onto Athens, which was hot and dusty and the air was very short on anything useful, and full of plenty that wasn’t. From the Arrival gate he went straight to the travel desk, and looked at the ferry timetable to Naxos as he had originally planned.

The whole setup looked quite complex, more so than on the diagram he had seen on the Internet, and there seemed to be quite a few cancellations and delays being shown on the board. The ferry that he had wanted to catch was not even listed.

 The alternative was a local flight with Olympic Airways, but that wasn’t until the morning, so he booked a slot on the first flight out in the morning, found the nearest local transit hotel, and checked himself in.

He had forgotten to pack his alarm clock despite Brina putting it on the side for him before he left. He must have forgotten to pick it up, so in the end he had relied on the hotel wake-up system to get him up early, which failed to work. 

Luckily his flight wasn’t until later in the morning so he had enough time, but the shower and coffee were a bit rushed. The whole thing was frustrating. He had just assumed that everything would be easy and simple for him to get from ‘A’ to ‘B’.