Airports

December 21, 2016… 8:27 p.m.

Kansas City Airport. So many different faces shuffling around. A boy, who looks lost, has past by my seat at least 5 times. Each time I see him, he seems more and more annoyed. I don’t blame him, it’s easy to get lost in here. People walking one way, people walking the other way. Everyone seems to be rushing somewhere. A couple stood at the self check in kiosks. The man kept checking his pockets and the woman was rummaging through her purse. “Where is my damn phone, Carson?”   “I don’t know, Derek, maybe you left it on the bus.”  I hope they’re not going on some kind of vacation together, because this would be a horrible start. A man sat across from me, he must’ve called at least 5 different people, and seemed extremely happy. A woman sat against the wall, her eyes closed. It seemed like this was the first time she got to truly relax in a really long time. I could tell her eyebrows are usually pulled together, because there was a crease. Another man is sitting alone. He keeps checking his phone and I can’t really tell if he’s doing it out of habit or if he's waiting for a message.We’ve made eye contact several times now, he doesn’t seem too happy. He seems very bitter. A family just came to sit in my area. The typical mom, dad, a son, and a daughter. They’re all blonde. The kids have the most adorable noses and eyes. They look like they’re excited for whatever their parents have promised them. However, the parents don’t seem like they’re in love. The husband kissed his wife’s cheek in the same manner that he helped his child up into the chair. I don’t think they’re having problems, I just don’t think they love each other the same way they did when they first met and decided to get married. A man just ran by, barely holding all his stuff, he must be running late… Every single person here ranges from messy grey on grey sweatpants and sweatshirt, to high heels and dressy trench coats. Really brings me to wonder, who are they? Where were they? Where are they going? Did the boy who was lost finally finally find what he was looking for? Did the couple who couldn’t find Derek’s phone, find his phone and make up? Is the man who called 5 different people, finally going back home to his family? What stresses out the woman with a crease between her brows? Why can she only finally relax at an airport? Is the bitter man who keeps checking his phone, in an argument with a loved one? And I wonder about the husband and wife who don’t seem to love each other… did they ever love each other? Was their marriage and an impulsive decision? And the man who ran past me… I wonder if he made it in time…

Airports are an amazing place to go. Inspiration for writing flows frown every corner. Every single person is going somewhere, or coming home. Every single person has a story. Something has led up to them arriving at that airport with wide eyes and toothy grins. 

In the dozens of times that I have visited the airport, I have seen so much. Someone running into their parents’ waiting arms. Someone, just married, excited for the adventures awaiting them. Someone hugging a loved one, with tears streaming down their face like a river. Someone getting broken up with in the middle of the airport. So many beautiful people that I’ll never know, and beautiful stories that I’ll never hear. We often allow ourselves to just think that there is uno world outside of us and our personal problems, but that’s not true. This world is full of unwritten stories, just waiting for someone to pick up a pen and paper and turn it into something.