In Between

Sometimes a stranger can hold you together...

The Airport

It was 2 a.m., and I was hugging everyone at the airport. My immediate family, friends, and cousins surrounded me with so much love, and I knew I could never replace these relationships. Around thirty-two people had come to say goodbye. Even now, I still think about it.

Before passing through the gate, I handed the extra things from my luggage to my dad to take back. Then I walked through, found a seat, and sat down. Fear and excitement showed up at the same time.

I flew to Istanbul, where I had a few hours of layover. The airport was crowded, with very little space to sit, so I ended up on the floor. Across from me, a woman was sitting nearby.

I smiled and looked away, busy reading and replying to the flood of messages that started coming in as soon as my phone connected to the internet. A moment later, I looked up. She was smiling at me. This time, I didn’t look away. I smiled back.

“Are you traveling alone?” she asked.

“Yes,” I answered briefly.

Then she asked about my next destination.

“Toronto,” I said.

At the time, it was a city of unknowns to me, a place I hoped would hold new experiences. She told me she was going to the U.S. They had immigrated a few years earlier. One of her children still lived back home, and she traveled whenever she could to visit.

Meanwhile, I was caught in my own thoughts, quietly holding mixed emotions: excitement, homesickness, and fear.

As if something had just occurred to her, her expression softened.

“Do you have anyone there?” she asked.

I gently shook my head.

There was something in the way she looked at me. A kind of care that felt familiar. Almost like, for a moment, she saw me as her own.

During those few hours, she tried to tell me about life there, to make it feel a little more familiar, a little less distant. Then she took a couple small sandwiches out of her bag and offered it to me.

“Here, dear. I made it. Let’s share it.”

I thanked her and said I had money with me, that I could buy something if I needed to. But she insisted.

“It’s just a few bites. We’ll share it.”

The airport was full, so we sat on the floor and shared the sandwich. A few hours passed. She made sure I was at the right gate for my flight, and then she left.

I always thought courage was something I had to carry alone. But sometimes, in the most uncertain moments of our lives, we are held by people who may even only stay for a few hours. A stranger can become part of the story.

To the woman whose name I never even learned, I still remember your face, your smile, and your kindness.

Who made you feel a little less alone in a moment when you needed it most?

With heart,

Bahar