Part 1 – [Add link or paste content]
Bonah was sitting in the middle of the departure hall of Kotoka, sipping Ekumfi juice and enjoying the less busyness of the hall. Around her, there were few conversations here and there, a few trolleys and suitcases being dragged and the occasional announcements on the airport intercom system. “I can sit here forever!” she whispers to herself. “But definitely not in the evening.” She quickly reminded herself. “In less than 12 hours, the hall will be packed as though the whole of Ghana is leaving Ghana. Beneath the hall, the whole of the world will also be trooping into Ghana for December in GH.”
Less than 12 hours ago, she was on track to missing her flight as she thought her departure time was 1pm.
“When is your flight?” Darkoa, her sister, asked.
“It’s 1pm, or is it not?” Bonah replied with less certainty.
Sensing the uncertainty in Bonah’s response, Darkoa asked, “Do you want to check?”
That was what got Bonah to reluctantly check her email and to sleep immediately to enable her to wake up on time, pack, and get to Kotoka at least two hours before 11 am, the correct departure time. Less than 12 hours later, she arrived at Kotoka, close to four hours before departure time, thanks to her alarm clock, which worked, her effective packing system, which worked, the uber, which wasn’t 60 minutes away and thanks to whatever strange thing that happened to create less traffic on the Spintex road.
As she continued to enjoy the calmness of Kotoka departure hall and the Ekumfi juice, she tried to remember the last time she took a morning flight from Kotoka and realised that this was her first in close to four years. She began to wonder which flight time would be her most preferred from Kotoka, but before she could get to a conclusion, her phone vibrated, interrupting her thoughts.
It was Asibi, one of her girlfriends.
“Hey, globetrotter, where are you heading to?” Asibi asked.
Bonah laughed and replied, “How did you know I was heading out? Are you stalking me?”
“Oh! You didn’t know?” Asibi responded.
They both laughed. Asibi told her that she was checking if Bonah was available for the ladies’ brunch on Sunday and that the other ladies have confirmed. Bonah confirmed her availability, indicating that she was only going to be in Lagos for three days and will be back on Friday, Godwilling. As they chatted away, making jokes, a baby started crying in Asibi’s background.
With a big smile on her face and eyes of love, Bonah said, “Awww, my nephew, I can’t wait to meet you soon.”
“Yes, and I can’t wait to ship him off to you.” Asibi hilariously responds. “You enjoy your flight. I hope love catches you in the air, this time. I miss your narrations of love.”
Trying to sound poetic, Bonah said, “I will open my eyes to see Love. I will search for Love until our eyes meet. When our eyes meet, I will watch love so intently that Love will say, Bonah, please let’s catch each other, for Asibi awaits our story.”
They both laughed for minutes until the baby cried again to remind them to say their goodbyes.
After the call, Bonah repeated her poetic words to herself and giggled. She remembered her conversation with Sena a few months ago. According to him, she and Love haven’t caught each other because while Love is stationed at the Bole International Airport, her disloyalty to Ethiopia Airlines means they keep missing each other. “Ah, let me ask Love to try the plane instead,” Sena teased. That recollection got her to giggle again.
Her phone vibrated again. This time, it was a WhatsApp message. Unlocking the phone to read the message, the time caught her eye. “Oops! It’s already 9.15 am. The check-in counter should be open by now. ” She said to herself, as she grabbed her luggage and found the nearest bin to dispose of the empty Ekumfi juice carton. She then proceeded to the check-in counter for Africa World Airlines.
Upon getting there, she realised that the queue wasn’t long. “Good!” she exclaimed. She searched her bag for her travelling purse, which contained all her travel documents; passport, yellow fever card, and Covid-19 vaccination card, among others. After her hand made several rounds in her handbag, she finally located it, tucked under her laptop. With her travelling purse finally in hand, she raised her head to scan the queue to know how many passengers were ahead. And it was only then, their eyes met.