It felt like the club lounge in the airport. You know the one where your Dad takes you as a kid.. up the escalator, open the glass doors to the front desk. A man with hair that looks too perfect to be natural, greets you with a friendly but artificial smile. Kids are frowned upon in this adult sanctuary. Only people with a herculean goal are allowed to be here to rest their weary heads. Walking past the desk and poking your head around the corner, you scope around the place. Everyone is either sitting down transitioning between their laptop and the lounge tv, or quietly shuffling to and from the buffet of fruit and coffee/tea.
They are all here for the same reason. Like their fellow travellers before them, they are in transition, somewhere between where they started and where they want to end up.
This place was built to comfort them during their limbo, and whilst they enjoy the temporary amusements the place offers, they long to leave this confined space. Images of a final destination swirl between thoughts. A place where their dreams become reality.
At the moment they are invisible. Nobody around them gives them a second glance. Of course, they all feel this way. They wonder when the day will come when others around them will give them the attention they so desperately crave. Deep down they yearn for it to happen. Their deepest fear is that the day will never arrive. They will move from airport lounge to airport lounge, and never arrive at the destination they seek. They will always be a stranger to everyone around them.
The announcement of flight KG140 is projected from the speaker. Their excitement sinks a little when they hear the flight number is not their own, and yet others stand up, grab their bags and head towards the glass doors. One step closer to their destination, wherever that may be.
Days, weeks, months go by. He has been waiting in that lounge almost a year and a half now. He has met many people during this time, some stay for a while and offer knowledge and company but eventually their number is called and they too must leave.
Hard work and perseverance is all he knows. Its all he thinks about. He keeps going through the daily grind, never letting it beat him down. He never thinks about quitting, only working harder, smarter. He knows this is the only way he will ever leave this damn lounge.
This particular evening was different. The announcer's voice can be heard over the lounge. "Ladies and Gentlemen, flight KG100 has begun boarding. Please make your way to gate 10 with your tickets ready, thankyou".
He looks down at his ticket. Flight KG100 is staring up at him. "Finally" he thinks to himself "Its taken far too long to board and others are much further ahead than me".
With that he grabs his bag, heading towards the glass doors that will take him down the escalator, on his way to the next airport lounge.
Clean and Jerk 100kg milestone.
Inspired by Jon North.
