The Journey
I stepped off the aeroplane grasping my belongings with one hand and using my other to steer myself through the commotion of the crowd. Many of the passengers had flocked to the exits of the plane as the plane landed. The crowd resembles a herd of cattle charging at full flow. You could hear the discontent of the small children as they screeched ‘‘I am tired” and other statements which were intimidating to the states of minds of the passengers. This led to a slouch in posture from dejected parents who had survived the long trip only to be faced by a barrage of meaningless statements and malicious taunts.
I entered the arrival terminal and gazed at the faces that stood before me. A barrage of people clustered together holding cards with names on. A tall, robust woman held my name on a piece of tattered card; I gazed at her for a brief second before I waved to alert her of my presence. A dark lanky man stood by her side. He shook my hands firmly then began to take my bags. He leaned forward peering at the back of a blue cavalier. He emptied the trunk of the car and scooped up my bags and flung them into the trunk. The car looked slovenly, parts of the paint work started to strip off leaving patches of metallic across the car’s body work. On the car’s body work there also laid dents which travelled across the surface of the bonnet. The man began to tune his engine and glared until I arrived in his car. I was reluctant to enter his dishevelled car. I stared at the car then grimaced. The man stared at me frequently and asked many questions which were money related. ‘‘How much do you make then” he repeatedly asked. I replied “not enough” .The discussion begun to fizzle out as I began to become agitated and edgy towards him. The man glared at me, he offered me a sweet that looked as if it had been deposited in his trousers for days. I declined his offer and reminded him that I felt no need to spend the whole trip discussing personal matters with a stranger and that he should travel with more haste I did not wish to be stuck in a car with him for much longer. The remaining part of the journey was spent in awkward silence but I could deal with it as long as I was not subjected to his questions.
