Short Story "Encounter at the Airport"

Participation in the "New Talents 2021 - FNAC Portugal Contest

Short Story "Encounter at the Airport"

Synopsis of the Short Story:

The short story "Encounter at the Airport" narrates the story of Pedro and Emanuel, two school friends who reunite years later on a night at the airport. Pedro is an executive who measures life by success in his professional career. Emanuel, on the other hand, is an archaeologist who lives in Mongolia and possesses spiritual abilities.

During a long night at the airport, they have the opportunity to get to know better the events that have occurred in their lives since their last encounter. Years later, Pedro faces a difficult phase: he loses his wife, falls into depression, and even considers taking his own life. Remembering the encounter he had with Emanuel, he begins to seek values ​​that he never imagined existed.

Pedro discovers that the encounter was not by chance, revealing itself as a unique sense that he would only understand years later. From Emanuel's teachings, Pedro resumes life, seeking balance between material and spiritual life. He finds answers to existential problems that were revealed during that single night, in an "Encounter at the Airport".

1 - Returning Home

I was always leaving and returning home. Education conferences around the world, methodologies, and technologies were my horizon as an executive.

It was good to be successful in middle age. But something haunted my heart. Like many children, I didn't know my biological parents and my attempts to find them were always frustrated.

I exhausted my energy at work, leaving aside this issue that embittered me. I came and went like my travels.

I hoped to one day know what happened, to understand the reasons why someone brought me into the world and abandoned me. I needed those answers to move forward.

2 - Pondering Life

At the Washington D.C. airport, after browsing through the bookstores, I found myself standing looking at the planes through the immense glass windows. I lost myself in thoughts of waiting, those we wander just to pass the time.

It was time to go home, to escape the local winter. I decided to sit down and continue pondering life, keeping my gaze empty through the windows.

Almost in front of me, someone was already sitting, wearing different clothing. I was drawn to a vibrant coat with intricate patterns, a felt hat, and sturdy leather boots, in addition to a thick beard and penetrating gaze. Beside him, a sturdy backpack.

He looked like an explorer, perhaps someone from the steppes, maybe making a layover further north in the world.

I thought to myself: "You see all sorts of people in airports."

3 - Finding a Friend

As I diverted my gaze from the immense windows, I turned it towards the stranger, whom I never imagined I would know.

With eyes closed and head bowed down, the traveler seemed to be dozing. At a given moment, he came out of that state, and his eyes gently looked at me. I had the feeling that he was not a stranger; perhaps I had seen him somewhere else.

My eyes returned to the infinity of the window, waiting through the night for the flight that would depart at dawn.

— Are you Pedro? — The traveler looked directly at me and said in a calm voice.

Surprised, I was left speechless. He continued:

— We were school friends. Do you remember? I am Emanuel.

I went back 25 years, looking directly into the light brown eyes of the stranger whom I now recognized.

I realized that I was in front of a great high school friend, from school days. My memory traversed the past as it does when we meet someone years later. Emanuel had light hair, was slightly taller than me, focused, with an extreme learning ability, an excellent athlete. It wasn’t easy to compete with him, nor to forget someone like him, whom I had known, interacted with, and competed against in school podiums.

— I can’t believe it. Is it really you, Emanuel? With those clothes, I would never have recognized you! — I responded, still staring at him.

To which he replied:

— Indeed, I am out of the ordinary. But I am in transit, on my way to another place.

The joy of finding someone familiar in another country, who shares common bonds, makes us happy and excited. Our conversation began with a set of curious questions that linger in our minds when we reunite with old friends. What happened? What had changed? How had the professional life developed? Whom did he marry? How many children?

Our wait would be long until dawn, and the opportunity seemed rare. We decided to have coffee and talk about life.

4 - Mapping Life

After a brief conversation about the old times and the good student life, we began to explain what we had become. He started the conversation:

— But, tell me about your life.

He said after a few sips of coffee, sitting at the small table in the airport café.

I began to speak quickly, as I was excited to see my friend again:

— I graduated in Communication and Marketing.

— I specialized in Education, joining an institution in this field.

— I became interested in technology and ended up in the area of new educational businesses.

— I didn't get married, but I have someone who has been with me for many years.

I continued telling my adventures, business ventures, and comings and goings to other countries. My enthusiasm was great, and I spoke like someone who needed to overflow with success. He listened to everything in silence, concentrated, slowly drinking his coffee. His eyes seemed to approve of everything I was saying. From time to time, he helped me develop the stories with small questions. I was the only one talking. Suddenly, I realized I needed to listen.

— And you, Emanuel? What have you done in life so far?

His calm and accented voice began the answers:

— I took advantage of my athletic talents and went as an athlete to an American Christian university, influenced by my father.

— There I obtained a bachelor's degree in Archaeology and the opportunity to work in Mongolia in a museum, searching for ancient sites.

— Life in the tents and the solitude of the vast plains provided me with a peace I had never known.

He made a long pause, and for a few moments, we sat in silence, drinking coffee. I thought about how life unfolds differently for each person. Emanuel was calm in his youth, focused, distant, immersed in something to be done later, not at the moment. I liked to talk. Good conversations helped me a lot in my professional life.

5 - Secrets of Life

During this long wait, there was much to talk about. And I asked:

— Emanuel, how was it possible for you to adapt to that world?

He looked at me for a long time, as if the answer was still being formulated.

— Look, Pedro. I didn't even suspect that this would be possible.

— I thought it would be a temporary job, for a few months.

— In the end, I stayed there. I married a woman from Mongolia. I have a son.

I wondered how someone could live and adapt in such a distant place with such a different culture and way of life. He continued:

— The solitude of the plains, the cold northern wind that stings the face, the harshness of life on these steppes, brought me spiritual peace.

— In the deep silence of the nights, a voice from other times said to me:

— You are here to find yourself, to identify the origin of your spirit.

— Your past lives. Your mission in this life.

— At first, I didn't understand very well what that meant.

— For days, I heard this voice guiding me, consoling me, trying to lead me on a new path.

Emanuel paused for a few minutes to refill his coffee cup and continued:

— My first understanding came when I met my wife.

— When I met her, I had the feeling that we were acquainted, from other places, perhaps from another life.

— When my son was born, I realized there was a special mission that would unite a family divided in past lives.

He paused. I took a deep breath, a bit stunned, a bit skeptical even. I quickly reflected on what I had heard and asked him almost without thinking:

— But, what are your conclusions about the voice and your decision to continue your life there?

He hadn't lost his distant manner, seeming not to hear the question, and the response came more slowly:

— When I was young, I had dreams of running across plains wearing fur clothing and living in tents on the steppes.

— I went to Mongolia because I had lived there in past lives, brought to me in dreams when I was young.

I became contemplative as Emanuel continued:

— In this life, I needed to return to Mongolia, to reunite with my wife and son who were taken from me in a past life.

He seemed visibly emotional, and the pause before he spoke again was longer than usual. His eyes remained distant:

— For that reason, I was destined to go to Mongolia.

Being early in the morning, with my senses not as sharp, I found it outside of my logic. I had always been skeptical. At times even atheist. I didn't believe in past lives, reincarnations, or soul reunions to justify actions in life. My skepticism could go far, but I considered the explanations of a friend.

6 - Understanding the Encounter

Our senses can deceive us when we are sleepy. Time was passing, and there was still just over an hour left to talk. I asked hurriedly:

— What is the reason for your trip, Emanuel? What are you doing here in this airport?

He was not bothered by the question, and the answer came calmly, already thought out:

— I came to visit a friend at the request of that voice.

— A friend helped me survive in past lives, so I needed to repay him.

And he continued:

— He was not a good person, making mistakes with his family, his father and mother, which brought discontent in this life.

— My visit was to bring peace to his heart and warn him about the future, where he will find himself in a situation attempting to take his own life.

He continued:

— In the spiritual realm, taking one's life is the worst of choices.

— This friend will need peace in his heart and soul to avoid this tragedy.

And he concluded:

— I fulfilled my mission. And I am returning happy, because I found him and we talked about what was necessary.

— So I am returning to the steppes.

I was speechless and irritated. Those explanations left me confused. I realized that I was talking to an old friend, but he seemed like a different person. His spiritual convictions were not related to mine, the theories did not fit into my reality.

With the little time we had left, we still talked about life, its essence, the karmas we acquire, dreams and their meanings, the choices we make, the mistakes and successes of life. Although the conversation did not please me much, the presence of the friend made it interesting.

Time ran out and I said goodbye to Emanuel. I remember his image as a man of the steppes walking silently towards the boarding gate. We agreed to meet again someday.

7 - Secrets Revealed from the Encounter at the Airport

How good it is to return home. Time passed and the conversation was forgotten. Twenty years later, the worst happened. Without having children, my wife passed away. I lost my ground and life lost its brightness. That proud and invincible executive had given way to a vulnerable, depressive, apathetic person with no future. I had only one choice left: to take my own life. I thought about it daily as a one-way process. To once and for all resolve the suffering of not having had parents and having lost my wife.

Late into the night, awake, brought back memories of the encounter with Emanuel. I realized that he wanted to warn me about something I did not understand at the time. I began to recall details of his words, and their secrets began to be revealed.

1 - First Secret

The friend Emanuel referred to that he had gone to visit was me. His journey from Mongolia to Washington had only one purpose: an encounter at the airport with his friend Pedro.

He was there to help me uncover some spiritual principles of action and reaction that might be useful in the future. His debt to me was paid, as I had helped him endure the loss of his wife and son in a previous life.

2 - Second Secret

I clarified one of my biggest doubts: that I would never meet my biological parents. I had made this choice in spirit to return to this life and not know them, a tribute to my actions in previous lives.

3 - Third Secret

I should reduce my ego, be in tune with spiritual life, and recover my essence to have peace.

Taking my own life would be the greatest mistake I could make. My soul and spirit calmed down. A calmness invaded my being.

My sleep returned. I regained the understanding that life is above other priorities and that it should never be taken. Mistakes must be forgiven, and faith, the main human motivation, must be recovered.

My pride vanished. I lost professional interest and sought to answer life's questions with answers not only from human logic but also from the spiritual side.

I do not have all the answers from that encounter. How was it possible for him to know that I would be there on that day and at that time at the airport? Why was he sitting in front of me if I was the one who chose the place and arrived after him in the seats near the windows? What was the reason for finding me in a moment of reflection, looking through the glass windows?

Who knows, maybe one day I will be able to answer these questions.

8 - Resuming Contact

I had to find my friend again, to thank him for what he did. I searched for Emanuel in Mongolia and in the seven corners of the world. I think he didn’t want to be found. If it is God’s will, in this or another life, I hope to be able to repay him for what he did.

I could never have imagined that an encounter at an airport could teach me so much about life, that it would save me in the future by allowing the search for new paths. You might think this doesn’t make sense, that it’s just a story and that encounters at airports are coincidences. But everything is natural.

How many people meet at airports, or other places without knowing they are going to learn a lesson. The spiritual plan finds a way to call us, a tug on the ear for the things we promised in another realm, and that sometimes, due to life’s circumstances, we end up straying from. In necessary moments, spiritual friends appear to help us make corrections, to return to the chosen path.

It is a natural mechanic that happens in our lives subtly and that few people notice. 

I learned something important that I leave here as advice: always take advantage of encounters with old friends and listen to them with great attention and care. They may be oriented to awaken something in you that will transform your life. 

Don’t let your life pass you by and lead you down the paths of vanity and egocentrism. Try to understand life not just from one side, but from different angles. Be careful with what you believe to be the only truth.

I wish you much peace in your heart and spiritual growth.