Flight 0954

It would be a relatively short plane ride, they told me. Of course, I already knew that. 

I always thought there was something extremely peculiar about planes, those gigantic metallic machines that bridge one place to another.. that skip one time zone to another, almost defeating time.. Challenging what we once recognised as possible.. a plane was home’s calling, but when adventure raised its voice.. it was also its demise.

But despite these more or less obvious observations, those hours we spend in the shelter of a plane.. floating in thin air.. everything seems to hit a short pause.. literally, life queues in transit. 

I slowly poured my purplish red wine into a fragile plastic cup. I welcomed it dearly, even more so than usual. 

“And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Comforting, I thought, as I stared at my worn out copy of Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist. the cover was literally falling apart. It was my fault after all, I’d postponed reading it for over 8 years. 

8 years is a long time.

I read most of the book on the plane .. and while our Spanish shepherd roamed half the world. I was still rooted in my seat, sipping average wine, under fake airplane-cabin stars, trying to pass the time.

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say.”

To dream was important, I figured. To chase those dreams was also fundamental. But to be certain that we chased dreams that were our own, and not those of others, was the most significant of all. In other words, While The world paints dreams with the same shade - make sure you pick your own colors.

3 hours and 55 minutes. That’s how long it took to set the foundations for a life changing decision. What was a few hours in “clouded” transit, became the thought process that uprooted the train tracks of my life. There wasn’t a sound to contaminate the purity of my thoughts and the honest pleas of my heart. There was only me. For the first time in what must have been years. For the first time, I listened. 

The extrovert finally caved.