At the neighboring gate, #40, sits a huge jet.
All loaded, doors closed, faces by windows. Happy ones.
Silvery, muted colors in pre-dawn light.
Massive engines, intake fans spinning smoothly.
Designed to go far—stays aloft for a long time.
Sumptuous curvature.
It looks comfortable, too.
Check my boarding pass again.
Scheduled departure in 15 minutes.
No plane.
How long have I been here?
Others are waiting, too. A full flight?
Checking phones, paperwork, others’ faces.
Nervous talking, though no one seems familiar—to me, to each other.
The jetway door yawns, unlit.
Every other gate has a plane—boarding or pulling away.
“Excuse me,” I say to the agent, proffering my pass.
A raised eyebrow—recognition.
“Your flight isn’t here, sir.”
I spy another plane landing—wrong airline.
“I don’t understand. Do you know why?”
“Afraid I don’t,” the agent says.
“Can you call someone?”
“Not permitted,” she returns. “I don’t make the rules.”
Her bittersweet smile dismisses me.
Ticket in hand, I return to waiting.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Waiting.
Pacing.
Waiting…
Fog rolls in.
No plane.
Clocks—frozen in place.
