Whispering Obsession.

2.

They arrived at John F Kennedy Airport with the suitcases rolling loudly on the tiled floors barely thirty minutes to check in time for Naomi’s flight. Luckily, Naomi had mistaken their 3am flight for a 2am flight so they weren’t as late as they thought they’d be.

The departure board showed their flight to Athens with a status of “Check In Open”.

A clock near the counter read 30 minutes to the check in deadline. The tension in the air is palpable.

Naomi approached the airline check in desk. She had imagined her boyfriend, now ex would hold her hand and walk her into the airport and do all the checking in himself while she stands right next to him prettily enjoying the view and daydreaming.

The queue was short and she was so thankful for that. Pen had wondered how awful she’d feel if they missed the flight. Her only job was to make sure the minutes left before the flight were blissful.

Her turn came in no time and she presented her passport and flight details.

The airline agent weighed her luggage, printed her boarding pass and tagged the suitcases.

"You’re all set," she says, handing back their documents with a polite smile. "Boarding begins an hour before departure at Gate 32. Security is just down the hall to your left."

They hurry to the security checkpoint, where a winding line of passengers awaits.

“I honestly can’t stop thinking of how tanned you’ll come home to me!”, Pen squeaked quietly enough to not attract attention to themselves or so she thought.

The line moved steadily, and soon, it was their turn again.

“Please, let go and have fun, friend” Pen says pulling Naomi into an embrace. “Be strong”.

“I love you” they chorus quietly before letting go of each other’s arms.

She watched as Naomi proceeded with what she’d concluded were a hundred procedures. She just hoped her friend’s trip would be fine and she wouldn’t run into any more trouble”.

A security officer verifies their passports and boarding passes before waving them through to the screening area. She got cleared to travel and her bags checked. She had about thirty minutes left to boarding before moving to immigration.

Naomi had planned this trip because she shared a likeness for Greek mythology with Israel. They had known a visit to Greece would not quench their affinity for the sultry stories of the gods and goddesses.

“You know, there’s chances that when we visit the museums housing famous paintings of these goddesses, they just might not let me take you back home with me” he had said one day randomly.

“Because you my angel, have a sit right there” he continued pointing to the skies.

“With the gods of their myths” he flirted every chance he could and she loved it.

She threw her arms around him thinking how lucky a woman she was to have him in her life as a partner.

People had said it was getting odd that she had no rock on her fingers when it had been over five years not only spent with him but devoted entirely to him and being better for him. It was five years of her learning and unlearning the things that made her personal in order to accommodate him and increase their compatibility as a life time couple.

She was ready for a rock to sit on her finger too but she’d told everyone she was not traditional and everything didn’t have to be about marriage and the conventional order of things. This was a lie she told a bit too often.

Naomi wanted it all; the big proposal and the jittery feeling of being blessed with family and friends in attendance. She wanted to be so swamped making arrangements for her wedding just as she played a major role in the wedding arrangements for Sukie, her sister. And there’d been moments she wallowed and feared that might’ve been her only shot at ever truly experiencing planning a wedding unless she was ready to take up a different career path.

Despite not being the most extroverted in any room, she wants to buzz like a bee when it came to weddings and this was a part of her that he had not paid any heed to.

She arrived at Gate 32 just as the boarding area began to fill with passengers.

With a few spare minutes, she waved her friend goodbye and they blew kisses to each other. She sat quietly and entertained the thought of grabbing a coffee from a nearby café but she soon put it to the side. She was battling with having a heavy heart about a huge part of her life crumbling in flickering seconds after she fought so hard to make it work. But that was what this trip was for; meditating. She should’ve been chatting about her excitement for the trip with the man she’d devoted herself to but instead she was seated alone at Gate 32 thinking. Heavy.

“Hey there, Child”, she heard a voice call out to her. The expression on the elderly lady’s face was more of amused than blank. Naomi figured it was because she had probably called out to her one too many times before she withdrew her from her trail of thoughts.

Realizing that, she apologized smiling at the lady who looked very kind.

“I’m so sorry, I must’ve really drifted in my thoughts. Do you need help with anything ma’am”

“You’re such a gorgeous girl, would you mind sitting closer? I’m straining myself a little too much to hear your sweet self”.

How sweet.

“Oh!” Naomi exclaimed upon the realization as she moved closer to the woman adjusting her hand luggage too.

“You’re too gorgeous, not to mention young to have thoughts that keep you that deep in them” she smiled in a way that comforted and put Naomi at ease.

“It’s just what I plan to do on this trip, a lot of thinking and restrategizing” she replied honestly.

“Oh sweet girl, I’m Mrs. Smith, I’m ..” she paused looking around as though she was trying to find someone. “I’m actually traveling with my grandson today. Sorry, I got distracted, I just clocked that I haven’t seen him since I sat but he’s been so busy working. Well, I’m Eighty-four and I think I’ve seen a lot. I’ve worked a lot and I’ve been at different places and phases in life ” she chuckled and Naomi smiled in response.

She continued “So now I travel and see the world though I have to admit I have a few favorite places.”

“Is Athens one of them?”Naomi asked finding the elderly Smith lady quite talkative but very interesting.

“Yes, yes actually. It holds so many memories for me. I’m sorry, you just seemed like a nice girl and I thought I could use your company for the next couple minutes but that’s entirely if you don’t mind”.

“You’re so adorable and I could use your company too ma’am” Naomi beamed. The lady had a very calming aura she could’ve really used around her given all the chaos that had transpired.

“Please, call me Angela” the lady playfully nudged her. They smiled at each other.

“You’re most graceful, it’s so endearing… Angela” Naomi laughed softly.

Soon, the boarding announcement came over the PA system.

“I sure hope my grandson heard that-Oh” she exclaimed on seeing him head towards their direction. “Always on time”.

Naomi quickly put her bags together once again, only to look up to see a figure she didn’t believe belonged here on earth.

“What in the name of the universe is this face?” She thought to herself.

He looked like the runway was where he belonged—a runway in heaven along with the angels.

She gave him a warm smile waiting for him right before he turned his attention to her after his grandmother and his expression dropped.

Naomi thought she thought she saw wrong but it really was not mistakable.

In fact,He seemed like he went through about three negative emotions on seeing Naomi’s face. One of them gave off the thought of him wishing he could shoot himself in the leg rather than be standing in her presence.

This beautiful man looked rather irritated to be in her presence. Turning some hair behind her right ear, she leaned a bit back into her seat to think of what the matter could be possibly. Maybe he could sense her aura of sad and lonely and he didn’t want that around his grandma or himself.