| Hawaaon Ke Paighaam | Messages Of The Wind

| Dubai |

Teri ye adaa, janiye
tujhe na pata, janiye
hai aisa nasha, janiye
mere dil ko paar karay...

"Passenger Announcement: Flight KH487 of KL Airlines to Chicago is now boarding at Gate 42."

Heels clacked, dress shoes thudded, and the constant rhythmic hum of cabin bags being wheeled across the marble floors could be heard if one listened closely to rush around Tokyo International Airport. Sipping a lukewarm macchiato with an extra shot of Belgian chocolate, Meerab walked in that purposeful way which seemed to overcome all flight crew when in an airport. You had places to go, planes to attend to and flights to board, and so after a little time as cabin crew, the airport began to feel like an old friend. You navigated them, even ones you were visiting for the first time, with confidence and a prideful purpose, and it always helped when you were in a popular city with an aesthetically pleasing airport.

Tokyo was one such place. Decked to the nines with its New Year's décor, the post-Christmas lull was more than made up for by the anticipation and rush for the impending New Year's Eve in a few hours. Meerab licked her lips clean of the chocolate froth and smiled at a family of four running to make it to their gate on time. Designed as one long rectangular building, the airport afforded you a lengthy look at its interior if you were making your way from one side to the other, and her walk was still far from over. The macchiato soothed her slightly sluggish body, which was practically done with its menstruation, and the residual tiredness from the hectic schedule of Tokyo over the past three days was lessened by the caffeine boost.

Buzz

Her phone vibrated in her blazer pocket but her stride didn't pause. Her hands were occupied with her Chanel carry-on and the macchiato, so she downed the rest of the lukewarm beverage and smoothly disposed of it in the next bin she spied. Still walking briskly to her gate, her hand dipped into the pocket and fished out her phone, her eyes still on the path ahead. A quick look down at the notifications on the lock screen showed it was a selfie from Saba, who was currently enjoying a Christmassy New York on duty. Meerab's eyes slid down to the WhatsApp messeges, which she swiped right to remove and then did a quick peek up to ensure her path was still clear. Eyes on the phone again, she wandered lower and frowned. An unidentified symbol presented with a notification at the very bottom. It had arrived thirty-three minutes ago, when she must've been in security. Frowning and with a quick look up in front of her, she was back to the screen and clicked on the notification.

And finally, Meerab's strong stride halted.

Dubai. ETA 22:00. Car outside Mandarin @ 21:55

Meerab blinked owlishly at the confusingly concise words and numbers on the screen, the macchiato seeming a little inefficient in waking her up that morning. Despite the mysterious and rather confusing message, it wasn't that which had stopped her short. It was what was written at the top of the screen, directly above the message.

You are in conversation with Captain M. S. Khan

She had a very good idea of who Captain M. S. Khan was and now the unidentified symbol made made sense too. It was a tiny black Phoenix rising from the ashes, much similar to how this certain Captain was making his way back into her personal life. She scanned the message again.

Live link

Her thumb pressed the little attachment symbol at the bottom and realised this was how he'd known she would be in Dubai this evening. It was a live link of his flight routes, and not that she was surprised by his reach and connections anymore, hers as well. Clicking on the tab showing his, which was much more sparse than hers since he only flew occasionally and whenever he felt like it, her heart did a little kick when his destination for that evening popped up in the 'Upcoming Flights' section.