Time ticked by slowly

She was brought back to the moment suddenly when the trolleys banged against those parked in the return bay.

Taxis were honking their horns as they were dropping off their first passengers of the day.  The conveyor belt engines kicked into gear and the ticket machines all clicked on.

It was time for the airport to wake up.

Coffee started to fill the spring air, footsteps echoed against the walls and emotions started to rise and fall as people were starting to brace themselves for a goodbye, or calm their emotions waiting to greet their special person they’ve been waiting for.

This is what they had in common. Not only waiting, but the feeling that time was ticking by slowly.

She was also waiting for something. For someone. Someone who she could share new memories with, and feel like they treasured her.

Time ticked by slowly.

She watched as people rushed past her, not wasting a second of their time to look her way. They wanted to take advantage of the duty-free shopping and started to fill the air with various floral scents.

She wondered what it would feel like to have the perfume on her own skin. To smell and feel fresh while tackling the world one minute at a time with her new friend.

Time ticked by slowly.

Another young traveller was walking her way. This was it. She put forward her bravest face.

He kept walking past her and straight to the headphones. She hadn’t had the chance to hear anything other than airport ambiance since she had arrived. She felt trapped in a box, and started to think about how much better life would be with different bands.

Time ticked by slowly.

She watched as the group at the perfume counter moved to the next beauty counter. She could hear them talk excitedly about the benefits of the latest moisturisers. She looked down at her tired hands and longed for something that would give her some relief from what she knew she was made to do, but yet couldn’t help think it was just going around in meaningless circles.

There was so much more she could do, if she could just meet the right person.

Time ticked by slowly.

She watched as everyone took their baskets to the counter. And then she spotted one coming towards her. It was empty. She didn’t want to get her hopes up but he was attractive, stylish and looked like quite the adventurer. Most importantly, there was nothing on his wrist.

He started to point at her.

Could this be the moment in time she had been waiting for? As the question she had been dreaming about left his mouth, she felt like her hand skipped a few beats.

“Excuse me, how much is that watch?”