Ain't no mountain high enough, Ain't no valley low enough,Ain't ....

Ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from getting to you babe..oo baby
(Courtesy: R&B song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson)

I am no mountaineer so I need crash course to even scale a molehill; neither can I travel at subterranean speeds; and flap like a clipped flamingo in a pool of 4ft.

Now how would I ever get to you realistically? Isn’t that asking for too much honey, with no notice or proper arrangements so that I arrive in one piece?

I can’t remember how I was late; it was perhaps my alarm that was repeatedly snoozed to death or time-consuming-sorting to check if red and burgundy belong to same colour lineage as per my washy machine manual. Or was it sudden craving for peanut butter for breakfast?

I call up the travel agent and croak – ‘When does the United Airlines desk close?’

You need to be 3 hours before departure for check-in.

Erm...I grunt –‘When does it close?’

‘You should be in security check by now’. Bang my answer! The check-in desk was closed and I was still enroute. There was exactly one hour for the flight to take off from the slant of the next tick in my watch.

I almost topple trying to get past the straight-laced lady while alighting and wanted to assure that I am not tipsy owing to last night hangover. I dash to the lift and scare little tommy and the hobo to keep the door open, like a maniac heralding the Mayan cataclysm.

Another look at the watch would have blown it to smithereens with my intense gaze. I glee like a gutty meerkat seeing the ‘DEPARTURES’ sign and trundle like a victorious warthog cooing ‘Hakuna Matata – finally reached’.

I whiz past the doors and head to check-in desk .Okay my ticket says Iberian airlines operated by United Airlines or the other way around, for all I know I am at the wrong desk. I leave my luggage behind and slide past that low economy rope barrier to shoo away reckless acrobats like me, crikey that hurts. An officer pats from behind. ‘Show me your ticket, Miss’. I scream like a banshee that I am laaaatttte and I need to be on that flight.

‘You are too late’ – he trails…

“I know I know tell me something I wish to hear …”

‘Follow me’ and the next moment I am swished off to a small kiosk that read ‘Premier Assistance’. Oh man, you are on the right track hunk – I think to myself now that I could see his muscled body clasped by that crisp shirt clearly.

He talks to his superior momentarily and then waves to the other gentleman – ‘Hey this lady need to be on that plane’. I stay still like a mummified cat on her eternal journey passing through the gates of hades for judgement. He hands me to another officer who quickly scans my passport.

The check-in officer shrills– ‘She has check-in baggage’. His words pierce me more than his pitch.

The officer-in-charge furrows his eyebrows – ‘You have luggage’, with an expression that would abate the crimes of Alcatraz prisoners.

He disappears from the radar of my anguish and returns with a chilled coke.

‘Send it as soon as possible’, he commands.

I snicker like a snail rescued from a bad-hair(re)-day.:queen

‘Now listen carefully – the boarding has commenced and you have twenty minutes to seal your fate. This is your ticket and I can’t promise that you would get past that security. Run and no looking back.’

I hug him (I should have kissed in retrospection). :crazy

I scramble past the anxious passengers queuing at screening screaming – ‘my flight is taking off’. I remove my belt, sandals and anything that remotely resembles metal while quivering in minimal clothing - more prepared than a patient undergoing MRI scan.

That was the first time I ran bare foot in public in my life. I removed my sandals, flung my handbag around my neck and sprinted; all the while cursing the moronic engineers who designed never-ending escalators instead of hyper-drive wormholes. I don’t know if people laughed or cheered but I was running as if I was chased my hideous soul-sucking dementors.

I gasp for breadth at the boarding desk to be greeted by a lady cordoning the entry – ‘You would have rammed past that plane door with this force’, she snorts. ‘Hurry my darling’ – urges the stewardess as the ground staff are getting down. I giggle and hop on to the flight just in time for the door to close and be air-borne.

I sit with a smugness that would put to shame an Olympic winner in a marathon.As my aeroplane manoeuvres along the mountainous ridges, plateaus and leaping tsunamis, I hum to myself…..ain’t ....hold on..

Till date I don’t know why they helped me so much to get on board that flight, perhaps they saw that I wanted it so badly more than anything else, felt that I needed to be with my family and friends more than anywhere else, believed that they would do their best in giving it to me more than anyone else. No feeling is greater than the feeling of being with your loved ones this festive season and I could leap, sail and wade to get there…er ..with some assistance.

As the run way zooms out in the background, I scrape off the unrealistic & surreal acts to gloat only on the tangible feats I have accomplished to trill to the melody ….

Ain’t no ticket expensive enough; Ain’t no security threat enough ; Ain’t no clock late enough lalala..da ..da ..da

That was when I realized that no spirit is greater than the spirit of love and be loved which defines every moment of our life. I wish you all happy holidays during this festive season with your near and dear ones. No matter how far they are, they try try and forever try hard to be close to you always beating the unbeatable.

P.S: Dedicated to my dearest buddy -I could not have missed spending that vacation with you, the chap at the airlines whom I would have dated, married, starched and ironed his uniform daily and bore him three children (Duh! If only I took your name to search in FB) and to Kkrish, no proposal ever looked so endearing to accept– BIG hug for that sweet gesture.

 

To All,

Bad ,Bad very Bad !

Not even one person has commented on my avatar?!:rant
Cmon, guys I can customize my avatar now that I am jLite and was waiting eagerly for someone so say something..phewwww it look me a hour to scour through the net for that perfect image to complement my id. Yes, I know it is incongruous but only if someone can refute that Indo-European trade sytem was not active in Hastinapur and women always have a 'thing' for flairs in any era. I was dangling by the limited moon edition giving the impression that 'It was my moon' to Mansi.:twisted:

Loved reading all the feedbacks, shall get back shortly and respond individually...