A Promise to the Stars - Journey Begins: Chapter 1
Istanbul
The airport intercom broke her reverie.
“This is the final
boarding announcement for Flight TK6565 to Istanbul. All remaining passengers
are requested to proceed to the gate immediately.”
Pari came back to her
present with a jolt. It was 3:30 a.m., and she hadn’t slept in over 30 hours.
She was looking forward to her trip to Istanbul, her dream city. She always
wanted to travel to Turkey ever since she read a book about it a while ago; but
the last few years were like a dream – she can’t remember how time flew – her company, Kabir… Yes, she always wanted
to visit Istanbul with Kabir. But with her work and his travels they just
couldn’t find a time to travel together. And then time flew past both of them.
She took out the boarding
pass from the book she was pretending to read and walked towards her boarding
gate. She loved this New Delhi airport. Every time she traveled through an airport
she wondered how people behave differently inside an airport and outside of it
– humans are strange beings and therefore, perhaps, so interesting.
Standing in a line had
never really been her strong point. Why did people stand in line? She often
wondered. So she waited near the boarding gate until the last person went
inside and then showed her boarding pass to the attendant. She had a long
flight ahead of her and a lot to think about. Perhaps all the espressos she had
at the airport since 1 a.m. would help her stay awake and do her thinking. Pari
was a bad sleeper on flights, regardless of their length. This usually made her
slow and groggy the next day when she reached her destination, but this time it
didn’t matter if she slept or not—she could sleep all day at her hotel if she
wanted. She had absolutely nothing to do other than think, and she would have
at least ten days to do just that.
One disadvantage of
getting onto the flight late was that there wasn't any overhead luggage space
left. Though Pari was a light traveler, she usually carried an extra pair of
clothes and some basic necessities in her small hand baggage when traveling
internationally. A few lost baggage incidents here and there had been enough to
teach her that lesson. This massive Turkish Airlines flight, however, had
plenty of space for everyone. She found her window seat, put her hand luggage
and purse into the baggage holder opposite her seat, and squeezed in. The
blanket and small pillow already looked tempting.
On the flight, they
served a good breakfast. She loved the cheese that came with the bread and made
a mental note to find out more about it. She watched a charming Turkish movie,
and halfway through, she dozed off against her will.
Pari landed at Ataturk
International Airport in Istanbul around 8:30 a.m. local time. She was
surprised to see so many people from all over the world walking to and from the
immigration area. “I think I’m going to love this place,” she thought to
herself. Immigration was efficient, though long. The luggage collection was a different
story, though. She realized India was smarter when it came to baggage
collection and unnecessarily smiled at that thought. Here everything was
written in Turkish, with no sign of English anywhere. She heard someone shout,
“Even-numbered belts on your right, odd numbers to your left.” That saved her
some time, at least.
By the time she stepped
out of the airport, it was almost 10 a.m. The November winter breeze hit her
hard in the face. She took her winter jacket from her handbag, put it on, and
went looking for her hotel placard. There were so many of them! How was she
going to find her hotel in this sea of placards? As she was starting to worry,
she suddenly heard her name called from behind. She turned and saw a very handsome
man smiling at her and asking if she was a guest with the Topkapi Princess
Hotel. When she said yes, he asked her to follow him to the car park.
The car wasn’t far. After
she put her luggage into the boot and settled down inside the nice warm sedan,
she took a long breath. “If the first man I meet just after landing in Istanbul
is this handsome, I don’t know what to expect!”
As soon as the car left
the airport area, the man looked at her through the mirror and gave her a
nervous smile. “Hi, my name is Iskander, and I’m a friend of your hotel’s
owner. November is a very busy time for tourism here, and he was completely
booked today, so he couldn’t arrange for a car for you on time. He asked me to
pick you up from the airport. I’ve never done this before, so if my manners
were not appropriate, please pardon me,” he said in heavily accented English.
My God! He’s a friend of
my hotel’s owner, and he came all the way to pick me up, and he’s apologizing
to me too? Is he for real? Pari was taken aback.
“You were perfect. And
please accept my thanks for coming all the way to pick me up even though it’s
not your job. I appreciate it very much,” Pari smiled and replied.
Pari lived in Bangalore,
and its traffic congestion was legendary. But Istanbul could beat Bangalore
hands down. Getting caught in the morning office traffic in Istanbul was the
worst thing one could do. But Iskander was a smart driver and seemed to know
the ins and outs of this beautiful city. Pari looked through her window,
mesmerized by the skyscrapers, flyovers, bus lanes, and fast cars. She didn’t
mind the time in the car; in fact, she was enjoying every bit of it.
“Why didn’t I visit this
place earlier?” she wondered.
-------
Pari woke up with a
start, hearing her mobile phone ringing.
“Hello!”
“Hello Di! How was the
flight? Did you reach all safe and sound?” It was her brother Rano, calling to
check up on her. “Did you meet anyone handsome yet? I have heard Turkish men
are very good looking and expert flirts.”
Pari loved her brother
dearly. She knew he was trying to cheer her up and smiled at his poor attempt.
“Yes, Rano. I just met
the world’s most handsome driver and already decided to run away with him. Are
you happy?” she quipped.
“You found a driver!
Smart girl... now all your travel in Turkey will be free, I suppose. Yes, I am
very happy—my sis has not lost her entrepreneurial skills yet. You have my
permission to run away with him. Just come back to India after 10 days.” He laughed
out loud on the phone.
Pari stuck her tongue out
as if to protest to her brother. “Now don’t be jealous. And let me have some
fun,” she laughed too.
They hung up the phone
after exchanging some more news from back home about their parents and family
and promised each other to keep talking every day.
Pari looked at the mobile
phone screen and saw that it was almost 4:30 p.m. “Oh my God! I slept so much!”
She jumped out of the bed and rushed to the bathroom. She wanted to go out and
walk along the Bosphorus in the evening, try the famous Turkish tea, and
perhaps grab her dinner in one of those nice little restaurants she had seen on
the sidewalk.
#novel #newnovel #findingmyself #fallinlovewithyourself #storyofawoman #story #stories #turkey #bangalore #Istanbul
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