The Engagement

It was midnight. Probably around 3 a.m. Like any other person who has an early morning flight, I was devastated and wondering whether the trip is worth my precious sleeping time or not. I had promised my cousin that I wouldn't miss his engagement ceremony. The "one" cousin that we'd spent our whole childhoods together.I usually tend to miss such occasions; it's better to be known as that one family member that never shows up for family occasions than a good relative who's always there. People will get excited when they see you, you have stories to tell, accomplishments to brag about and you'll stay interesting till you leave. But, this one occasion was not to be missed. My cousin, Samir, called me personally and talked to me in such a way that he is sure that I'll be there anyways, he's just calling to let me know about they exact date so I can schedule accordingly. Very smart way of dealing with people like me, to be honest! I had entangled myself into a historical trap; what I like to call: "being a nice person syndrome". At 3 a.m. I packed my backpack, made sure that I have my ID on me and got dressed. I usually dress freely, as if nobody is going to be interested in me by looking at my attires, but when I dress up for planes, I dress up as if nobody is going to even look at me! So, you can imagine me in my sport pants and my oversized hoodie looking like I'm about drop the hottest rap hit of the year! Said goodbye to my sister and got out of the house. Just like that, my day was started at 3:30 sharp.I was waiting for my Snapp, which is the Iranian version of the Uber, in the cold weather of the midnight. I like midnights; everything is the same yet nothing feels the same. A kiss feels different at midnight, a bite feels different, conversations feel different and to look at it a bit more deeply, people are different. Maybe it's because you usually don't spend the midnight, like past the 2 a.m. , with someone you dislike . It happens to spend a day at work with a colleague you hate, or an afternoon with a friend who you didn't want to meet; but it's extremely less to spend your midnights with someone that you don't like. Maybe that's why midnights seem so magical. Maybe we act different and perhaps more freely, cause we feel nobody is watching us. Maybe if we'd live our lives as if nobody is watching us, we'd enjoy it more!My Snapp arrived. An old guy was behind the wheels. Not so old to doubt about his driving abilities, but around the age that you feel sorry for seeing him still at work. Don't get me wrong, I would never feel sorry if he was sitting behind a table in an office in a tall building, but when you see them working like this, at midnights, you wonder. You ask yourself: "is he happy?" and the answer is usually based on things that are hidden behind human qualities like pride, humor and other things alike, In this case, my quick deduction dictated that the answer is a plain "no". I Got into his car. He gave me an enthusiastic "hello". The kind of enthusiasm that you would expect from someone working at 3 a.m. He seemed ill, or not as healthy as you want to see someone in that age. You want to see old guys healthy cause that gives you reasons to believe that you can be as healthy as that old guy, or even healthier, when you get to that age. Nevertheless, he was not one of those old guys. He seemed like he has too many stories to tell with none of them lacking dark dramas. We weren't far away from the airport when he started to cough; badly and heavily! If it was at the beginning of the Covid era, I would probably freak out, but his coughs sounded similar to that of my father, however, much scarier! He had an usual habit of yelling out a word after each cough. Like he would cough heavily and then convert the last one into saying out loud: "KILLER" or "DESTRUCTIVE" ! It was unusual but I got the hidden meaning that was laying behind this conceptual performance of him. He affirmed my theory by asking: "do you smoke cigarettes, sir?" At the moment, I thought with myself that this would make a great anti-smoking commercial for a health department campaign. I replied: "no sir, never" and added "at least not cigars" in my brain! The driver said: excellent sir, EXCELLENT! You see, I've been smoking since I was 18, now my lungs are filled with the breaths of the devil. It's like shaking the hand that are going to strangle you one day, every single day, until it does actually strangle you!"Not going to lie; he had a point and he made it really good. You see, in this world that we're living in today, it is not enough to have a good point. You need to know how to make it across or nobody will like the "good point". A point is usually regarded as good since nobody else has noticed it yet. You can spit this fact into other's face, insult their intelligence and seem like an asshole, or you can plan it perfectly and put the audience in awe. You can make it as if they were the ones who figured the "good point" and you were merely someone who helped them. Exactly the kind of approach a good teacher would choose. It happens everyday in the advertisement world as well, where I spend my working hours at. To get back to my original point, the driver was good at doing this or at least, this particular pitch of him worked brilliantly.I told him that I would never smoke cigarettes cause I do not like the taste of it. He coughed a couple times more and we arrived at the airport. The airport seemed busy. I guess a lot of people were trapped the same way I were, on the other hand, I guess a lot of them felt really good about what they had in front of them. Maybe a lot of children were having the time of their lives, maybe a lover was waiting to see his loved one, maybe an old guy was going to meet his grandchildren for the last time, without knowing that it's the last time. Airports are weird; everyone are waiting. Some for people to arrive, some for planes; but, everyone are waiting. You see, airports convey such lonely and depressing vibes cause everyone are there, waiting to "leave". No one goes to airports to stay, everyone are there to leave. It's like a microcosm of our entire reality. Aren't we all here to eventually leave?I had the CIP lounge reserved, so I just sat there, drank a coffee and listened to some podcast until a guy announced my name and then it was time to leave. The good things about these lounges are the fact that take you to the plane with a different car. So, I could feel like an important guy arriving to the plane in my own car while others were getting smashed in the crowded bus! I mean, it's good for the business, after all. It encourages me to reserve the lounge every time that I want to travel. They're using the "principle of exclusivity". In simple terms, they make you feel like you're important, so you pay them everytime! President candidates apply the same principle during their campaigns, so you vote for them. They can make you feel important and heard and as a result, you vote for them cause your vote is "important". In other terms, they tell you're important and therefore your vote is important; you'll vote because you've chosen to believe that's the truth. Anyways, I got into the plane. Why do I have to get deep about everything?The plan was nearly full. There were kids everywhere. Come to think of it, it was just yesterday that I was considered a kid as well. Then it was the time for adolescence where you get confused whether you're an adult or not, and then adulthood hits. This one doesn't leave any room for doubts; when you get there, you'll definitely know. It was a long flight, relatively. I slept for an hour or so and few minutes later we had arrived. Like always it was hot and humid. Sun was on my head like I was under the god's spotlight.