Bumping into an old friend at the airport

As one navigates an airport, the brain is always overstretched. It’s focused on the mechanical process – you enter the airport after lining up for the entry check, hand over your luggage at the counter, then – the most challenging bit – go through the ‘big’ security check. But, sometimes, this single-minded focus on the journey is broken by the pleasant surprise of meeting an old friend out of the blue.

Invariably, the first question that pops up is: what are you doing here?! It’s a redundant question, but one that captures the suddenness of the moment perfectly. The hustle and bustle fade into the background.

A memory game is thrown in: when did we last meet? After five minutes of exchanging notes, neither remembers. But the pleasure of the happy surprise overtakes everything else.

As both of you navigate the terminal, updating each other about your life stories, the airport transforms from a boring place of transit into a happy reunion party venue. And this chance meeting serves as a reminder that, sometimes, life has a way of bringing old friends back into our lives when we least expect it, turning a routine day into an extraordinary one.