"Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with you"

Although not alone in this, I think I might be airport farewell phobic. The truth is that goodbyes are never easy, no matter how many times you rehearse them. I could see airplanes landing and taking off as we approached the airport. Small planes circling like flighty songbirds, and jumbo jets thundering in from their long haul across the Atlantic. It all seems so easy when you are the one leaving -wheeling the bags to the airline ticket counter, showing the password to the agent, waving goodbye at whoever accompanied you, passing through security, finding the gate. All set. 

We share a glance as we enter the terminal gate and I help him carry his bags until we reach the check-in line. A couple nearby are joyously hugging and kissing; she cries silently while he tries to suppress emotion, excited nonetheless. Folks busily pushing their carts with smaller or bigger baggage, stilettos and flip-flops speeding up to get in line. At the Departures area, some hug, others cry, most stay still as they check their watches and tickets to make sure they are headed to the right gate. As we walk closer together toward the security checkpoint I begin to feel more and more out of place. The tears running down my cheeks are rather unconscious, as I try to hold back my emotions with everything I have.

Every single airport acts as a crossroads. It often marks the transition from one stage of my life to another. I seem to give myself permission to reflect on my past and ponder my future, without the distractions of daily routines. I have a temporary reprieve from everything and everyone. 

As he walks away from me towards the security gate I turn back and walk away through the entrance we had just gone through together. My reflection in the glass looks wrong and I am completely out of character. 

I just found myself wrapped in a small blanket watching a movie I have seen umpteen times before. Now she says: "(...)Home is where the heart is, and my heart is with you".

Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury in Mira Nair's film

Mississippi Masala (1991).

Mississippi Masala Trailer (Youtube)