THE JOURNEY

My worries started looming around me even ten days ahead of that dreadful day. I started having sleepless nights and my stress level kept on rising, ultimately the day too arrived I woke up early, took that extra care that I have to be pleasant able at the venue and should not find myself out of place, are you all guessing what this dreadful day might be, well it was a journey that I had to perform by flight.

Travelling by AIR even thou had a lot of fancy for me, the procedures and the environment that prevails once you step into an airport, makes you scary and dizzy, The first point of fear grip from that weird doubtful look that the security man, gives you at the entrance, than comes the next issue of checking in your baggage ,should I go to the scanner or go to the counter this doubt lingers on than I start swaying my eyes to capture what’s going on with the other co passengers who are heading in different directions .I start following one of them, trying to clone what ever is being done by him/her. But the doubt still there whether I am in the right queue, has my baggage been  loaded in to the right flight, am I following the right track/gate and till such time I get into the flight I have undergone  a thousand ripples I guess if an ECG machine is left at the airport every one would show a mind variation in there heart functioning.

Well once settled into my seat, now the next level of tension gripped me, is this journey going to be safe, I hope the flight takes off in time and with out any issue, the moment the cabin crew starts giving the safety tips I roll over my eyes to make sure that 8 exits do exist. Try to locate them and also have fixed up which can become the shortest route to escape, in case of emergency and whether  an emergency is anticipated or not I am fully geared up to meet it.

I say a few prayer to myself once the engine is switched on ,cling on to my seat(I think I don’t require a seat belt) my fear has fastened me more firmly to my seat, and really give a large relief when I start seeing the diminishing sizes of buildings, oh the take off is over, and soothe myself that things are fine for the moment, but I cant assure anything for the present,(sorry for being so pessimistic)By nature I am quite optimistic only this flightophobia(a new word of my invention)make me sick. Now turn back the same sequence of anxiety, despair and helplessness till such time that the flight makes a safe landing (me too).

Yeah this was the psych of mind when I started my journey from my home town , imagine what is in hold for me at the destination. I started tailing my co passengers ahead of me not taking my eyes off , following them praying that first I should reach the baggage collection point, second my baggage should arrive (shouldn’t have traveled in a different flight) and should really land up at the right exit gate, where some one might pick me up, lets run this sequence and see what happened, walking across various conveyors/escalators I reached a point where the conveyors were scrolling on with baggage, I waited for 10 min, couldn’t sight my unique bag, because it was in a rare colour (easy to identify).Then I look up on the CCTV information board which says my baggage collection is at a different point ,I scan around, locate the point, move on with a bit of nervousness and stand, staring at the moving corrugated conveyor, with more expectations  to sight  my bag, by then  the person assigned to pick me up  has already given me two to three calls, stating he waits at gate no 3(very exact details) I should not miss him. Atlast my bag has come, and carefully I head thro exit no 3, scanning around all the boards to locate my cab, and I fail to notice him? Is there another exit gate 3 and I landed else where, I now make a call on his mobile and say I am out. He too confirms he is right there, we both on connected mode start searching each other oh ,both of us are just facing each other. The only mistake he has made is to have given his own spelling for my name, which was beyond recognition. Well so far so good I am in a cab  hopefully heading towards my destination. And I am sure that each time I have to make a journey thro AIR, EVERY TIME ITS GOING TO BE THE SAME DEAL