through the blink of an eye

the world seems to be flying past me. around the world adventures for a month finally bring me back to boston. between europe, work day, rush, and my last semester at MIT, i've been keeping myself busy. too occupied to blog regularly. now you know that i have too much time on my hands if i'm updating my blog.

"i have to get go back to mit. what a drag. hurry along now, have to catch that plane" i walked a few paces faster towards the subway-aka the 'tube' platform. "oh, i'll make it. it's only a little past 11. for a 1:45 flight, i should get there before 12:15. the airport can't be that far away".

Victoria Station comes into sight. there are a myriad of bus stations. which one is the right one? "excuse me, do you know where i can catch the shuttle bus to gatwick airport?" "yes, m'am, you have to walk over to the coach station" "yes, m'am, it's over there" after minutes and minutes of wandering, i arrive at the ticket counter. "ticket to gatwick please." "now?" "yes. how long will it take?" "an hour and fifteen minutes."--what! i might miss my flight--"the bus will leave in 15 minutes, at 12, and arrive at gatwick at 1:20"--that's 25 minutes before my flight leaves! i can't get to the airport that late! "there's no faster express bus?" "this IS the express bus, miss"--i WILL miss my flight! what to do? how can the airport be over an hour away? no choice. this is my only option.--i reluctantly hand over 10 quid to the lady.

i arrive at the gate. tons of people with luggage are sitting patiently around. ok, they haven't boarded yet. i walk around, make some phone calls. i am not missing this flight. it can't be possible. i am not paying for another flight. i am not going to be stuck in london for another day. maybe if i called some friends, they could check in online early for me. or maybe they'll let me check in if i call the airline in advance. no luck finding an internet cafe or telephones.

back to the gate. people are still waiting patiently.--that can't be possible. it's practically 12. something is wrong. maybe another minute or two people will start moving out.--another minute...nothing. i walk out of the gate and scan the row of buses in front. suddenly, the bus directly in front begins to move. i see the gatwick airport sign on the bus flash before my eyes. "stop!!! please! stop! i have to get on this bus"--bus keeps moving...--"STOP!"--bus stops. an employer approaches "miss, you can't be here." "please, i have to get on this bus. i'm going to miss my flight." "sorry, you're late. this bus is boarded and is leaving" without hearing my last words, she turns around and ignores me. "but i was here the entire time! i didn't know it was boarding." brain is heavy, heart is swelling, eyes are tearing. bus moves again. "NO! STOP, bus driver!"--HONK--wave arms frantically--HONK--'please understand', screaming--HONK. no use...i step back and watch the bus leave. tears streaming down. limbs frantic. emotions welling with anger. i run through the crowds, sobbing, expelling the excess energy.

breathless, helpless, hopeless; i plop down on a bench. sobbing, crying. how did it come to this? i had everything planned out. how could i be stuck here, alone? i must've been sobbing in the bus terminal for about 5 minutes. "excuse me..." i look up. a warm smile is greeting me. an old man with a british accent. "excuse me, miss. are you ok?" breathless, still, "yes, i'll be fine. i just need to..." short breaths "take a breath, and figure something out." he continues looking. "really, miss, will you be ok? what happened?" i was hesitant to tell him at first, but seeing his eagerness to help, i spill the beans. "well, i'm from around here, and i think there is an express train to gatwick. i hear it's quite convenient." "do you know how fast is it? i don't think i could make it anyways." "oh, i don't know, but we can make some inquiries. come, i'll walk you over to the train station. it's very close to here." i agree to follow him. we had a friendly conversation along the way. he tells me that he is going home to australia that day, and that he's stopping in hong kong. of course, i tell him i'm from hong kong and so on. finally, we get to the train station and he says, "we'll at least try to get you to the airport and see if you can catch your flight. it's at least more hopeful than staying at the bus terminal." we find out that the train is only 30 minutes, and the next one leaves in 3 minutes. and i can pay for the ticket on the train. the man was so nice and walked me to the coach doors. "do you need anything else? are you going to be ok? do you have enough money? is there anything else i can help you out with?" i said that i was going to be fine and thanked him a million times. he smiled, "i was so glad to be able to help you. you looked like you just needed some help. i'm so glad." with that, i thanked him again and got into the train.

i arrive at the airport around 50 minutes before departure. i'm running all over the place to find northwest airline check in. when i get there, the lady at the check in approaches me. "are you on this flight?...sorry, check in closes an hour before departure." "please, i don't need to check in my luggage. i just want to get on this flight." "we'll have to check with the captain and crew. but allowing you to board will be at your own risk. if you don't get to the boarding gate on time, we won't wait for you." "yes, yes." she walkie talkies the airline personelle. meanwhile, a security guy is questioning me with long-winded questions. "do you have anything that you can use as a weapon?..." finally, the lady comes back and says i can check in and my luggage can check in too. she hands me the boarding ticket, "you must get to the gate asap. the flight has already started boarding." i take it, and sprint to security. luckily, there weren't many people travelling that day. i get through security and start sprinting towards my terminal. the gate is pretty far, but the entire time, i just focused on getting myself on that flight. when i get to the gate, the boarding line is nearing the end. i take a deep breath and silently thank all the nice people in this world.

in the end, if i had taken that bus, i wouldn't have caught my flight. so it's true, some things happen for a reason.