Going Home's Such a Lonely Ride (2)

GOING HOME'S SUCH A LONELY RIDE (2)

Dehli to London (Gatwick).

Got my passport and boarding pass, credit card and purse; all that I need and nothing that I'd wanted. Eight hours to endure from the time of take-off. Then, the M23, and home via Dorking.

Home to everything I'd tried to leave behind.

My boyfriend left me at the check-in desk. He didn't wait to watch me untie my boots and walk barefoot through the security checks. He never saw my searching look.

It was a night flight.

I sat next to a couple. The wife was keen to talk and her husband went to sleep. He snored a bit while we kept up the chit-chat. She had stories to tell; Asia suited her so well. I worked hard to stay interested but felt tired and bloated.

I tried to remember what I knew; that to stay whole you have to hold on to the past; the geology that is you - petrified forms that define you - and not get scared.

Finally, thank God, we descended and landed.

My mother and father were waiting for me.