Beijing in the Fall

Part 1

Maybe now we can talk about the long hug you gave me when we said goodbye at the airport. How I shed more tears than your mother, and even more tears than the woman you then loved.

She thought things like this to herself as she boarded the plane. 13 hours. That’s how long it would take before she landed safely in his arms. It had only been four months since she’d last seen him, but four months is an eternity when you’d spent every day together like they had. They were inseparable, so much so she believed his love for her was equal to that of her own for him. She should have known better.

He’d let her down before, many times in fact. You see, he was one of those guys who had both confidence and insecurity; knowledge and ignorance; charming, witty, and tall in stature. Porcelain skin, dark, thick hair, and freedom. He was such a free man, that was how she’d come to know him, because she was a free woman. He never had too much money, only just enough to survive, every time. He never did more, nor less than what was needed, and that afforded him a certain level of carefreeness uncommon in a man his age. He was uncommitted, and emotional, and dashing.

Those were her thoughts now. Thoughts she had fought for so long. Everyone knew she liked him, but she could never bring herself to say the words, really because she knew better than to say them. If she said them then everything would be broken between them.

Their relationship was as strong as it was because they were committed emotionally to one another; not romantically, but strangely logically. Everything about their relationship was logical, and that is why they could never work. They knew this, because they know everything.

5 more hours and I can get off this God forsaken plane! She thought to herself, adjusting in the very narrow seat she’d been forced to take, though she was thankful she could exchange if for the one she had previously.

“This is the last time we fly American to China.” Her sister said snarkly to her. “What a trip this is! We paid for the more spacious seats, but they switched planes and now we’re stuck, cramped on this plane. Then they have the audacity to serve us frozen sandwiches! Can you believe it?! FROZEN! This is ridiculous!”

“Don’t be mad at the flight attendants. They’re just as mad as we are about all of this. They can only do what they can do.”

She was always the voice of reason amongst the two of them.

Her older sister was a passionate woman. Her demand for justice in all things could only be matched by the gavel itself. Compared to her older sister, she was far more frugal, and far more understanding. This drove her older sister mad, not that it was anything new between them.

They were never particularly close as children; she had a strangely vivid imagination for a child, but her older sister was only concerned with grownup type things, despite the only two year difference between them. Her sister was a studious child, who somehow grew up to be a sort of emotional wild child. She herself was the one everyone thought could go either way: billionaire or murderer. But somehow she landed in the middle somewhere. Wherever that may be.

Be that as it may, together they somehow made the relationship survivable, and here they were, traveling over 6,000 miles from home, with nothing but hope and prayers to lead them. Stepping into territory unknown and impossible to truly plan for.

There’s something about traveling to a place like China. It is so unknown, outside of its Great Wall, and it is almost impossible to plan any aspect of the trip, aside from tourist attractions.

This wasn’t that kind of trip though. They had no plans to go to any major attractions, or to even act as tourists. They wanted to feel as if they were living in China, as natives. Imagine that: two black girls in China, living as natives. It seemed realistic at the time.

“We will be landing in Beijing in approximately 30 minutes. Please put your tray tables away, lift your seats to their upright positions, and if you are a foreigner, please be sure to finish filling out your information card for immigration. Thank you!” The flight attendant announced.

“We finally made it! I can’t wait until we land.” She said to her sister as they tidied their area and prepared for landing. “Let’s lift the window lid so we can see what it looks like.”

There it was, green and never ending. The variations in the heights of the buildings made it seem so unusual compared to the States. It was all so real now, and a million thoughts were racing through her mind.

Are we really here? Is this really happening?

What if we’re not allowed in the country despite our Visas?

What did he tell me again? Just smile and nod. Speak Chnese whenever possible. Be polite to the natives. Don’t be nervous. Answer the questions briefly and specifically.

Ah! Questions? What kind of questions? What if I get them wrong? What if my nervousness makes them suspicious?

He has my mother’s phone number right?! In case I’m detained for some reason.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic.

Thoughts of him fled from her mind by the time they exited the plane. There was no time for love, or romance, or hope. There was only one thing to do: Get Wifi.

Wifi is the lifeline of any foreign travel. Without it they would not be able to inform others they’d arrived safely, nor could they locate him in the largely unknown airport they had now found themselves victim to navigating through.

”There really is no English here huh? We’re really in the thick of it.” Her sister spoke in almost disbelief.

The luggage came swiftly, and they located their driver with ease.

Her older sister, being the fancy woman she was, arranged for a driver to pick them up and take them to the luxury hotel they would stay in for the first two days of the trip. He was initially polite, but quickly became impatient when he realized they wanted to purchase SIM cards at the kiosk.

He rushed them, “Where is the other guy? Where is he?” He said to them in Chinese.

“He is outside. He is already here. When we go outside we’ll see him.” She responded.

He had taken a train from his house to the airport, and they arranged to have him ride with them to the hotel. The driver didn’t know this of course, assuming he was on the flight with them. It was more pertinent than ever to find him, and quickly.

“This driver is very impatient and he is stressing me out.” She said to her sister. “Let’s forget about the SIM card. He said he had one for us. Let’s just go find him. We need to find him!” She said.

Walking briskly through the airport, her emotions began to swell. Nothing was going as planned. No wifi, no SIM card, a horribly impatient man to greet them, and no way to contact the man she so desperately wanted to see.

They finally exited the internal part of the airport. Amongst the crowd of delighted faces, waiting for their own loved ones to exit and be greeted, they did not see his familiar face.

“Where is he?!” The driver continued. “Where is your friend?!”

“Please! Just wait! We’re trying to find him!” She responded.

Remember to be polite. Smile. Be happy.

Don’t panic. Don’t panic.

She noticed straight ahead that there was another exit from which those arriving could come out from.

“Maybe he’s over there.” She said to her sister.

She felt frantic as she searched for his face; a man with porcelain skin, thick, dark hair; tall in stature; American. Familiar.

Please let me find him. Please let me find him soon! She prayed silently, her heart rate rising. And as if sensing the crescendo of her emotions, he finally came into sight.

He stood there, no more than 30 feet in front of her. She could tell he had been searching for her too.

“MARTIN!” She shouted, tears filling her eyes. He turned his head to meet her gaze, and quickly a smile appeared on his face.

Like a lost child, she ran to him. A smile had never been so beautiful, nor a face more welcoming as his was in that moment.

His face read of comfort and security; his long arms stretched widely like those of an owl.

His presence said that everything would be okay now; she knew she’d be safe now, as she fell into his arms and cried.