Mother and Staff Member
Vignette- Independence
Airport
My vision was blurry. I heard thousands of voices overlapping each other, people rushing around carrying their luggage, bumping into one another. In order not to get trampled by the crowd, my mom and i hurried to the counter.
‘She’s an unaccompanied minor’ my mother explained to the staff behind the counter. They took a while to arrange the documents, and gave us a slight nod.
‘A staff member will bring her to the lounge, you don’t have to worry.’ she said, giving us a warm smile. I hugged my mother for the last time and followed the staff member through security.
There was nothing I could do, i was alone now: me, myself and i. The lounge provided me with snacks and drinks. However, the silence that hung in the room brought a sense of loneliness in me.
It was time for boarding. I followed a group of minors to the gate and waited. The waiting felt like hours, just sitting there just watching, observing: Mothers carrying their babies, comforting them when they had the urge to cry; Fathers holding shopping bags on one hand, passports and boarding passes on the other; Children sitting together, happily playing their card games.
Flight
It was around four hours before the flight attendant dimmed the lights. The people scurried across the aisle, getting ready for ‘bed’. I laid there staring at the ceiling, wondering what will happen after i arrive and the responsibilities i had to take on, everything was going too fast.
The seat was hard , i rolled and rolled trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. My legs stretched too far front that i had to bend my knees, and each time i opened my eyes, i could only see emptiness in front of me, darkness surrounding me.
Dinner was served. I ate pasta with shrimp, it tasted awful. The shrimp was bland whilst the pasta was dry. I wished for my fathers delicious beef noodles, there was always a fragrance of freshly brewed beef soup, a flavor that was infused into the noodles.
Airport
My vision was blurry. I heard thousands of voices overlapping each other, people rushing around carrying their luggage, bumping into one another. In order not to get trampled by the crowd, my mom and i hurried to the counter.
‘She’s an unaccompanied minor’ my mother explained to the staff behind the counter. They took a while to arrange the documents, and gave us a slight nod.
‘A staff member will bring her to the lounge, you don’t have to worry.’ she said, giving us a warm smile. I hugged my mother for the last time and followed the staff member through security.
There was nothing I could do, i was alone now: me, myself and i. The lounge provided me with snacks and drinks. However, the silence that hung in the room brought a sense of loneliness in me.
It was time for boarding. I followed a group of minors to the gate and waited. The waiting felt like hours, just sitting there just watching, observing: Mothers carrying their babies, comforting them when they had the urge to cry; Fathers holding shopping bags on one hand, passports and boarding passes on the other; Children sitting together, happily playing their card games.
Flight
It was around four hours before the flight attendant dimmed the lights. The people scurried across the aisle, getting ready for ‘bed’. I laid there staring at the ceiling, wondering what will happen after i arrive and the responsibilities i had to take on, everything was going too fast.
The seat was hard , i rolled and rolled trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. My legs stretched too far front that i had to bend my knees, and each time i opened my eyes, i could only see emptiness in front of me, darkness surrounding me.
Dinner was served. I ate pasta with shrimp, it tasted awful. The shrimp was bland whilst the pasta was dry. I wished for my fathers delicious beef noodles, there was always a fragrance of freshly brewed beef soup, a flavor that was infused into the noodles.