THE STRANGER AT GATE 12
1095 Words
The air inside the airport terminal buzzed with the familiar chaos of arrivals. Announcements echoed overhead as weary travelers shuffled toward baggage claim. Mariana walked briskly, clutching the small hands of her three children as they navigated the crowd.
“Tomas, stay close!” she called out, glancing down at her youngest. He was clutching his stuffed rabbit, a faded companion that had seen better days. The twins, Mia and Marco, walked ahead, each dragging their tiny carry-ons with newfound independence.
“Is Daddy meeting us here?” Mia asked, her voice filled with the boundless hope only a child could possess.
Mariana hesitated, her grip tightening on the strap of her bag. “No, sweetheart. Daddy won’t be here.”
“Why not?” Marco chimed in, craning his neck to look up at her.
“It’s… complicated,” she replied softly, avoiding their inquisitive gazes.
The truth hung heavily on her heart, as it always did when their father came up. How could she explain to them that he had disappeared before they were even born? That she had no idea where he was, or why he had left?
She was jolted from her thoughts by a sudden tug on her arm. Tomas had let go of her hand and was staring at something—or someone—across the terminal.
“Daddy!” he exclaimed, his voice ringing out above the din.
Before Mariana could react, Tomas broke free and dashed into the crowd, his siblings following close behind.
“Tomas, wait!” she called, panic rising in her chest as she hurried after them.
She caught sight of her children weaving through the sea of travelers, heading toward a tall man standing near Gate 12. He was dressed in a dark trench coat, his back turned to them as he scrolled through his phone. Something about his stance—broad shoulders, a slight tilt of the head—struck her as familiar, though she couldn’t place it.
“Daddy!” Tomas cried again as he reached the man and wrapped his arms around his legs.
The man froze, his phone slipping slightly in his hand. He turned slowly, revealing a face that made Mariana’s breath catch in her throat.
It was him. Eduardo.
Her mind struggled to process what she was seeing. His hair was shorter, streaked with silver at the temples, and his face was etched with lines that hadn’t been there before. But it was unmistakably him—the man who had once been the center of her world, the father of her children, the ghost she had spent years trying to forget.
“Daddy, it’s us!” Mia said, her voice brimming with excitement as she and Marco joined Tomas, clutching at the man’s coat.
For a moment, something flickered in Eduardo’s eyes—recognition, confusion, or perhaps regret. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a cold, steely expression.
“Get off me,” he said, his voice sharp and unyielding. “I don’t know you.”
The words struck like a physical blow. The children recoiled, their faces crumpling in confusion and hurt.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Tomas asked, his voice trembling.
“I said I’m not your father,” Eduardo replied, stepping back and brushing them off as though they were strangers. His tone was low, but the harshness of his words cut through the air like a knife.
Mariana finally reached them, her chest heaving as she scooped Tomas into her arms. Mia and Marco clung to her sides, their wide eyes brimming with tears.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice shaking as she addressed Eduardo. “They didn’t mean to bother you. They’re just…”
Her words faltered as their eyes met. The recognition hit her like a freight train. It was him. Older, hardened, but undeniably Eduardo.
“Eduardo?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
His expression didn’t change. If anything, it grew colder.
“You’ve got the wrong person,” he said flatly. “Leave me alone.”
With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd without a backward glance.
Mariana stood there, frozen, her mind reeling. The children’s questions bombarded her, their voices a mixture of confusion and heartbreak.
“Why did Daddy say he didn’t know us?” Mia asked, her tears spilling over.
“Is he mad at us?” Marco added, his small hands clutching her coat.
Tomas buried his face in her shoulder, his tiny body shaking with sobs. “I just wanted to say hi…”
Mariana hugged them tightly, fighting back her own tears. “It’s okay, my loves,” she murmured, though her voice cracked with emotion. “It’s going to be okay.”
But as she stood there, holding her children and watching the space where Eduardo had disappeared, she wasn’t so sure.
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Later That Night
The hotel room was quiet, save for the sound of the children’s breathing as they slept. Mariana sat by the window, staring out at the city lights. She had thought coming here would give them a fresh start, a chance to leave the pain of the past behind. But now, it felt as though the past had followed her, taunting her with its unresolved mysteries.
She couldn’t shake the image of Eduardo’s face, the way his expression had shifted when he saw her. He had recognized her—she was certain of it. So why had he pretended otherwise? And why had he denied his own children with such cruelty?
Her mind drifted back to the last time she had seen him. It was a crisp autumn morning, the sun streaming through the windows of their small apartment. She had been humming to herself as she folded laundry, her heart full of excitement. She had planned to tell him that day—that she was pregnant, that their family was about to grow.
But he never came home.
Days turned into weeks, then months. She had searched for him, desperate for answers, but he had vanished without a trace. All she had left were unanswered questions and the tiny lives growing inside her.
Now, after all these years, he was here. Alive. But the man she had seen today was a stranger—cold, unfeeling, and unreachable.
Mariana pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to ward off the headache brewing there. She needed answers. Not just for herself, but for her children.
And she would get them, no matter what it took.
- Writer
