Family

I had been out there in the parking lot of the Cali International airport for at least three hours waiting on the arrival of the delayed airliner, someone had to pick mummy up and i got the honours so here I was. waiting was no fun until my mind took over and went into overdrive and showed me this:

She would have been about five years old, pretty as they come and looking dashing in her carton brown three quarter shorts and the pink sneakers to match her pink blouse. The smile on her face told me there wasn’t a care in the world that could bother her, not even the weight of the bag she was carrying. Who would leave such a damsel alone along the busy walk way of the Cali international airport? Apparently no one, which is why closely behind her was ‘aunty’. I wish she would take that heavy bag from little miss though.

Tall and elegant in the way she carried herself.  Her hair was made into tiny braids, there must have been like a thousand of those,  all packed into one bunch in the back held together with a green ribbon which matched perfectly with her green shiffon blouse. Below that was a belt around the waist of her perfectly penciled blue jean trousers which continued seamlessly with the reason she looked so tall, her five inch high wedge sneakers. Good thing five year old had ‘aunty’ watching over her from behind but why didn’t she reach out to take the bag which five year old was now dragging along the walk way. Aunties making nieces carry their travelling bags is just wrong I thought.

Mummy wasn’t taking chances either; she was two paces ahead of five year old. With glistening skin that only an excess of female hormones could produce she wore a free flowing gown to hide the reason but I could tell that tummy was big, big enough to stop he from seeing her toes without a mirror. She looked to be in her late twenties and was heavy with child, her second I thought. In that case, grandmother’s practical lessons on family planning, as evidenced by the age difference between mummy and aunty, had paid off.

Who were they here for? Who was so important that these two generations of ladies had come to meet today?

As mummy’s pace quickened a smile began to form on her face then her arms spread out into a hug, I followed her gaze and it landed on daddy. A handsome young man in his late twenties; sharply dressed with a suitcase in hand. His shoes, I couldn’t help but love his shoes.

The puzzle was finally complete, or was it? Where had five year old and aunty disappeared to? Ah there she was, she had dragged her bag across the car park and was about to hop into a car. Her mother was helping her put the bag into the boot. She wasn’t with pregnant mummy after all.

And aunty? She had stopped along the walk to have a chat with one of the men wearing a reflective jacket. Only then did I notice the name tag hanging off her neck. She was an airport staff. She wasn’t with five year old after all.

And so, three happy lives were made into one just by fiction of my imagination and the coincidence of seeing them take a few strides in tandem along a walk way. Maybe that is my idea of a near perfect family but now it is gone, broken apart to form real and hopefully happy lives.

Maybe someday I’ll have such a happy lot and be able to create such images in the hearts and minds of many who see us. Maybe some will wish and work towards having same but for now I will keep wishing and working towards mine.

If that is ever possible.