Gentle sleet snowed down upon me whilst I dragged my suitcase behind me. The slight accumulation of the built-up icy-snow crunches under my feet.
I always become so nervous when I go to airports and boy is this year no different. But along with all the nervousness, my body is also welcomed by the odd feeling of euphoria.
I approach the automated door and seconds pass before they open, allowing me inside.
"Welcome to Euromania International Airport..." but before the automated voice could finish its message, I have already walked into the main terminal. The warm air welcomed my cold body. I feel my hands become wet ever so slightly. I look down just to see drops of water scattered on my hands, on my outfit from the snow.
I regain my concentration on what is in front of me. Without a second thought, I shift my direction towards the departures.
Entering the actual terminal building, I make sure to take a look at one of the monitors.
"Check-in area 9," I mutter to myself before proceeding my way deeper into the terminal.
With no further assistance, I easily manage to see and walk myself to 'Area 9'.
Immediately I walk into the queue as I notice the line only growing bigger and bigger with each passing moment. Taking my place, I am now hoping that all this will pass by very soon and I will get to my gate on time. But all I can do is hope.
Turning around left and right, I can't help but notice the queue only grow bigger in size. Briefly diverting my sight to myself, I look at my wristwatch. 10:08 AM.
I let out an impatient sigh as my eyes return to subconsciously scanning my surroundings.
'Am I going to even make it on time?...' I ask myself.
I turn my head towards the end of the line just out of curiosity to see how long the line has become. But, my eyes suddenly stumble upon a young man. I can't help but find him attractive. His confused face is only boosting his attractivity. His dark hair sexily draped over his forehead, the furrowing of his eyebrows adds to his seriousness that is oh-so-visible. The more I look at him, the sexier he becomes.
I get kicked out of my thoughts when someone cleared their voice behind me. I then realise that the line has moved. Quickly grabbing my things, I catch up.
Waiting, I take another chance and look towards the direction of the young man who seems to be lost. I am not going to lie, I have seen many attractive men, but this one right here... he is my definition on handsome. My ex couldn't even compare to him.
I am once again kicked out of my thoughts when his teal eyes meet mine. Only seconds pass before he smiles at me.
His actions instantly cause me to look away as I feel a blush spread upon my cheeks. It was also when I looked away from his beautiful eyes that I realised the line has moved, so I catch up by scooching a step or two.
I try to keep my eyes off him, I am looking at the queue, looking for any movements. I can hear some murmurs from behind me, I can't help but think that those murmurs have something got to do with me.
Each second feels like a minute, five minutes felt like five hours. I can feel the temptation in me rise and it is getting to the point where it is becoming unbearable. A couple more seconds pass before I give in to the temptation, I feel the thirst, I want to see him, so I look back. It didn't take long before I notice him. My eyes pop out of my sockets when I realise he is in the same queue as me.
Once again, his eyes find their way to mine, his smile mesmerises me, but his wink really set me off guard. It caused another, more intense rush of red to stretch across my cheeks and before I knew it, I had my eyes back down on my bag prior to me filling the gap that laid in front of me.
It felt like hours have passed, when in fact 30 minutes or so have ticked away until I was next in line to get checked in. For those thirty minutes, I took any and every chance I found to look at this gorgeous gentleman. At times I was thankful that my clandestine sighting worked to my favour and at times I cursed myself for falling under his spell when his eyes met with mine.
I quickly reacted when one of the employees by the counter called out 'next', leading me towards them. Walking up to the counter, I am greeted by a young staff member. He smiled at me before helping me place my suitcase on the belt. After that, I handed him my passport.
"Where are you off to, if you don't mind me asking?". His question caught me by a surprise.
"...Ermmm, I..." I find it hard to begin my sentence, which only makes his let out a silent chuckle. Looking up at him, I am met with his friendly gaze. I take a deep breath before trying again.
"Belgrade, Serbia," I tell him.
"Very nice," he replies before scanning my passport. I can see him work something out with the tickets. Within ten seconds, he returns me my passport with a boarding pass inside.
"Vas let je na kapiji 125. Uzivajte u vasem letu. Srecan put.
You flight is at gate 125, enjoy your flight. Safe travels
," he says.
"Hvala vam puno
thank you very much
," I reply.
With that, I begin walking towards the exit of the check-in counter. Quickly looking down, I look again at my wristwatch. 10:45 AM. I have just about an hour before boarding begins, so I quickly head towards the gates, but before getting to the gates, I must go through security.
Reaching the queue for security, I am met by a long line right before me. Taking my place, I am once again forced to wait. I let out a gentle sigh as I am coming to the realisation that this may take longer than expected. Who am I kidding, this will take longer than expected.
Forty minutes drag by and I finally go through security. I feel relief by the fact that I manage to pass through security without any hassle.
Reaching the other side of security, I am met with many duty-free shops, they fill every single corner of this huge hallway.
Although I'd love to go into a few of these shops, my worry wins and I continue moving along. I need to find my gate because I don't have much time left.
A couple of monitors on the way to my gate catch my attention and I am forced to stop. I look at the information displayed on the screen for a double check, it does not take long before I find my flight EMA 6571. My assumptions are proven correct once I see the boarding time, and that my gate has not been changed.
EMA 6571 - TO- Belgrade - ON TIME - Boarding 11:50 - Gate 125.
From there on, I follow the signs above me to lead me to my gate.
I have walked about a hundred meters before reaching the end of the duty-free section and a barrier to where the gates are. The barrier is two automatic glass doors, one letting people into the gate section, while the other is used to let people back out into the big duty-free section.
I quicken my walk and go towards one of the two doors. They open and allow me access into the gates. It's bigger than I expected it to be.
Seconds pass before my eyes got caught by the gate numbers.
101, 102, 103, 104, 105...
I continue my walk whilst glimpsing at the flight information laid out of the monitors right outside each of the jetbridges.
Gate 105 -> EMA 2161 To - Narita - Final Call - Boarding Time - 11:00.
Gate 107 -> TPA 1957 To - Lisabon - Boarding On-Time - Boarding at 11:25.
Gate 113 -> EMA 4132 To - Seattle - Boarding On-Time - Boarding at 12:05.
Gate 115 -> AM 6684 To - Washington D.C. - Boarding Delayed - Boarding at 12:45.
Gate 117 -> EMA 8167 To - Rio De Janeiro - Boarding On-Time - Boarding at 11:50.
Gate 122 -> EMA 5146 To - Los Angeles - Boarding Delayed - Boarding at 13:05.
Gate 124 -> LF 5413 To - Frankfurt - Boarding On-Time - Boarding at 11:30.
And finally, my gate.
Gate 125 -> EMA 6571 To - Belgrade - Boarding On-Time - Boarding at 11:45.
I arrive at my gate with around fifteen more minutes to go. I see some people standing while most are still sitting. I get even more confused when I see that there isn't a plane at the gate. I hope the flight won't be delayed...
But all I can do is hope...
