Alone

This one is more of a narrative and descriptive combined. Was looking for more descriptive but I'm a fluff kind of person, and I needed a happy ending. The topic given to me was  : Describe the surroundings and your emotions at a time when you felt very alone.

I looked around, searching frantically. The airport was full of sweaty, bustling people, but in their chaotic midst, I felt so utterly alone, so painstakingly boxed in from their world. My heartbeat was too fast, racing yet so slow, creeping and silent, that ultimately, it levelled to an awkward pace that I was nowhere near comfortable with. Sweat beaded on my forehead, desperately clinging to the blotchy skin above my eyebrows. The crowd walked right past me, pushing and shoving in a rhythmic patter, not bothering to notice my face, the tears stinging in my eyes, threatening to spill. I slid to the floor, head in my hands. How could I be this stupid? I had known this would happen. I had known that I would be let down. I had known he wouldn’t come.

But I didn’t know what to feel. Everything was so disturbingly normal, so disgustingly in sync, that I felt so annoyed, so nauseated with the fact the rest of the world could go on, keep moving, while mine felt like it was going for a toss, crumbling below me. 

I stared at my watch, compelling time to slow down, to give him a chance. After what must’ve been ages, I wiped my tears and tried to stand. My knees buckled, facing, for the first time, the reality of being truly alone. I muffled a sob. I would not let grief overtake me, not here. I looked down at the floor, counted to 10 and found the strength to stand, starting to move.

As I drifted about, aimlessly, I could hear him calling out to me, screaming my name, his voice coarse with desperation. I shut it all out, and continued to walk. They had lied. He wasn’t coming back. He told me he’d be safe, but he lied. This too was a lie. Just another heartless person, playing with me. And I would have to deal with it. Alone.

I felt a firm yet familiar grip on my shoulder, shaking me out of my bitter thoughts. I turned around and nothing could have prepared me for that moment. Recognising the face, I gasped, my body suddenly going rigid with shock. It couldn’t be.

His blue eyes shone with tears. He looked so different, like he has seen the bad of the world. His soft, ruffled hair was buzzed short , the length of his arms filled with morbid tattoos. The melancholy gray and army green didn’t suit him, it made his bright spirit look dull.

Suddenly, all the things I had wanted to tell him disappeared. All the things I had dreamt of doing when this moment came, vanished. I now only needed reality. My breath caught, and I softly whispered “Dad?”, questions nearly bursting through the seams of my mind. He smiled knowingly, and soon enough, I was blubbering like an idiot, right there in the middle of the airport terminal. He put his bags down, and looked at me, as if he never believed he’d see me again either. I flew into his arms, tears soaking his shirt, my fingers fisting for whatever they could hold on to. He kissed my hair, quietly muttering, just loud enough for the both of us to hear, “Oh, pumpkin. We’re gonna be alright. We’re gonna be just fine. I promise you.” I nodded furiously, all grief and bitterness leaving me, escaping my thoughts. We both stood there, seeking comfort in each other’s arms with the realisation that we were not alone. And that, was enough.