1 Arrival
"I will always be here for you, my love." I followed along to the dialogue of the movie I'm rewatching. "Even if you leave me, I'll still be here for you." I felt tears jerking up at the corner of my eyes, and I tried my best to stop them, but it was too late. This movie is an all-time favorite of mine, so it's no surprise that it still gets me emotional to this day.
I detected some people eyeing me, so I tried to tone down my sobbing a little bit. I didn't want ro give off a weird impression in front of a crowd, so I decided to protect my image for the meantime. The film that was playing stopped for a while as an announcement prompted on the screen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Gimpo International Airport. Local Time is 12:27 AM and the temperature is 21°C." The flight attendant started notifying us passengers on the flight. "For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain turns off the fasten seat belt sign. This will indicate that we have parked at the gate and that it is safe for you to move about."
"Please check around your seat for personal belongings you may have brought on board with you and please use caution when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight." Another attendant continues after a few moments. "If you require deplaning assistance, please remain in your seat until all other passengers have deplaned. One of our crew members will then be pleased to assist you."
"On behalf of SK Airlines and the entire crew, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice stay!" They wrapped up the announcement as the plane came to a stop. I proceeded to unfasten the seatbelt and opened the overhead bin to get my backpack.
All of the passengers, including myself, has gotten off the plane, and are currently waiting for their baggage. After minutes of waiting, I have finally spotted my luggage and started carrying it to the exit of the airport. I felt my phone ring from the left pocket of my jeans, so I decided to answer it.
"My dear daughter, Clementine! Have you landed safely?" Mom frantically says as I answered the phone. "You have got me sweating buckets here! You know how much I don't trust flights."
"I'm okay, mom." I answer back, trying to calm her nerves down. "Not all planes break down that easily."
"I know, sweetheart." She says, sounding much more relaxed this time. "Tell me how long you're going to stay there again?"
"Just three weeks, mom." I responded, as I got into the taxi that was waiting for me. "Skypark Hotel, please." I said as I showed him a picture of the building, and thankfully the driver understood.
"Alright, honey." My mom sighed, sounding exhausted. "I'm gonna go and get some sleep now, you should get some rest too. I love you." She says, hanging up before I got the chance to say I love her back.
I put my phone back in one of my pockets as I bop my head to whatever the taxi driver played. It was pretty catchy, and definitely enough to keep me occupied.
You're probably wondering what I'm doing in a foreign country, and it might sound weird, but it's for our final project, but I don't think I have properly introduced myself. Clementine Peterson, 3rd year, major in architecture.
I took a two years off resting because of an injury that made me live while sitting in a stupid wheelchair. And again, you're probably wondering who am I and where did I get such an unlucky life from.
May 12, 2023. The infamous Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport plane incident. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it was that day where one plane, five seconds after takeoff, suddenly broke down. Unluckily enough for myself, I happened to be on that flight. It would've been just minor acute injury to my leg, but the two year younger, and most definitely dumber me tried to shake off the medics and ended up sliding down an escalator, fracturing my right leg, while I added further tore ligaments to my already injured left leg. Yikes.
Anyways, I got the last laugh as I recovered from the injuries sustained unexpectedly quick. But that's left in the past, and I didn't even care as much, just wanted it to get over with.
With all the thoughts running on my mind, I didn't realize that I already arrived at the hotel I'll stay at for the rest of my trip. The driver was patiently waiting for me while I was probably staring outside of the window, head empty. "I'm sorry." I apologized quickly, and took out my wallet to pay as I got out of the cab and carried on to check in.
"Passport and registration, please." A tall, young man politely requests, and I made sure not to take too long. I am dying to plop down on my hotel bed and drift off into my dreams. "A single person room for Clementine Peterson?" He asks, as he watches me nod in assurance. "Alright, please take a seat first. We'll just make sure your room is ready for you." He wraps the conversation up and gives me my passport, as he dials up on the telephone for someone to check up on my room. Man, I sure made did the right decision to pay for it online. Words aren't even enough to describe how tired I feel from this horrible jetlag. I just want to sleep in on my first day here, for the love of God.
I made my way to the lounge, where it was lightly packed with people. A sweet, old couple playing checkers, reckless children running around, and the likes. I sat down in a chair in one of the corners, as I felt my phone vibrate for the second time this evening. I took out my phone again to see who was calling, and answered it immediately. "You finally picked up, and if you couldn't tell, you were taking forever." He chuckles. "How are you, princess?"
