Chapter 13: The New Beginning
I got nostalgic even before I got to the airport, passing my old school and seeing places like the Al-Cream store which brought back a lot of memories both old and new. The building that housed the Al Cream store was once a park with swings and see-saws. I couldn’t help but reminisce on all the times I spent sitting on the swing all by myself after school waiting for my father to come pick me up. I didn’t have to tell him that I was at the park; he just knew. That happened every school day for my entire elementary school education and every moment was as lonely as the previous. The memories were nostalgic but also haunting because they reminded me of the good times I had with my dad who was no longer around. He was my hero and in the movies, heroes always died in big external fights but my hero died from within, slowly and painfully as his insides gave way to his cancer-stricken bones. He suffered from chondrosarcoma and it destroyed the very foundation that kept him sturdy; his bones.
At the age of 41, he was diagnosed with Stage IV bone cancer and he died a couple of months later on a hospital bed, only days after his hip bone broke. My mom tried consoling me after his death but I ended up being the one having to console her. My dad wasn’t only a father but also a husband. It was a tragic loss and ever since then, my mom cringed at bad news.
Thinking about it, maybe leaving wasn’t that much of a bad idea. Maybe I had the same motives for leaving as Kate; escaping the current reality and starting a new, happier one.
“Are you ok?” Kate, who was sitting in the front seat talking to Adam, asked me. “You’ve been staring out the window for almost an hour. Adam and I just had a deep conversation about the education system and you didn’t even contribute.”
“Yeah man, it was so intense,” Adam said.
“Sorry. I just have a lot to think about,” I answered.
“Yeah, moving must suck,” Adam scoffed.
“It doesn’t suck,” Kate said.
“How do you know? Have you ever moved before?” Adam asked.
“No,” Kate answered.
“Then how-“
“Have you ever moved before?” Kate interjected.
“Umm…no.”
“Then shut up,” Kate joked.
“Do I have to remind you that you’re in my car and I have all right to kick you out?” Adam joked.
“Can you both just shut up,” I said. “We’re almost at the airport.” I pointed to a low-flying aircraft.
“I know I give you two a lot of shit but I’m going to really miss you, especially the knucklehead in the back seat,” Adam said.
“Awww,” Kate said.
“Thanks, buddy,” I said.
“Don’t mention it.” He seemed sad when he said the words; sad with a façade of aloof coolness.
After about 8 hours of waiting, we were finally able to book a flight to a Caribbean territory known as Trinidad and Tobago. We both scurried onto the plane and were Caribbean-bound. After a couple of hours, we landed at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and the first thing I noticed was how much smaller everything was. The planes were smaller, and the buildings were smaller but it made life 100% simpler as everything in the airport was within walking distance. We didn’t need any moving walkways to get to our destination.
The place, however, was incredibly crowded as Christmas neared. There were a whole lot of signs on the walls informing travelers about the dangers, symptoms, and causes of the Poxin virus which seemed to be cause for concern in crowded airports around the world. The airport workers all wore special gear like gloves and face masks and from the speakers, loud messages about the outbreak of the disease bellowed out.