Point of View: The Story (chapter 7)

"This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental."

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Part 1: The Departure (continued)

Now that I think about it, my brother and I are the embodiment of ‘Man’s and woman’s mindset are totally different!

“Sela, the bus has come! Are you ready to go? Did you forget anything?”

“I’m ready, mom.”

“Let’s bring the luggages into the bus!”

“Yes.”

Today is the day I leave Cambodia for Japan!

Today I am in Cambodia…

But tomorrow, I will be in Japan!

It is the first time I have ever experienced this!

My parents and my brothers takes a day off from their job to see me off. Since there will be a horrible traffic jam from here to Phnom Penh in the evening, dad decided to rent a bus to go to the airport together instead of going separately by their own cars.

As I bring my luggages to the bus, I feel that there are many pairs of eyes targeting me. The voice coming from my parents and neighbors talking about me just keeps running into my ears.

Finally, I have become the center of attention!

It is so exciting!

But it is also suffocating and uncomfortable…

I try to keep my posture and straight face, then lift the luggages with my third brother to put them in the bus without looking at anyone at all.

Along the way to the airport, we all chat with each other just like when we dined out. Because the driver is dad’s old friend, he also joins the conversation contentedly.

However, I cannot be happy for long because after sitting in the bus for 10-20 minutes, my body begins to react to the bus’s odor.

I do not like the smell of perfume, especially when the perfume is put in a car. Usually, I cannot even stand with the perfume itself. And now, perfume plus the bus’s smell? I almost faint immediately! Gradually, I feel not only is the scent floating into my nose, but it is also penetrating every sweat pores. My body is about to burst at any moment!

My head is getting heavier and heavier. The food once inside my stomach is now on the edge of my throat. I want to release it right now, but for some reason, I cannot.

I hate this feeling! Being nausea but unable to vomit is so frustrating and miserable!

I tell mom and receive some medicine from her. She massages my head, but the pain is still there. She asks me so often if I get better, so it is only the matter of time that I get annoyed by her question because headache will not go away that fast!

“I’m okay, mom. It’s getting better.”

I try to keep calm, not letting my angry voice out. Hearing that, mom seems relieved and stops massaging me.

But of course! My car sick and headache have not relieved yet!

I try talking to my family, hoping that I can forget about my sickness. But it still goes on. Why?!

The last resort is…

To sleep!

Sleep well. When I wake up, I will be better!

I lay down and close my eyes, but my mind has not calmed down yet.

Why does it become like this?

Why do I get sick on this important day?

Will I be okay when I am on the plane, traveling through a very long night, all alone?

When I open my eyes again, what I can see is cars and motorbikes squeezing each other on the road.

Traffic jam again!

Because everyone comes out from school or working places, the irritating traffic jam has become a norm at this time.

In fact, we almost reach our destination, but we have to go through this place first, so it may take 30 minutes to 1 hour to get there.

Sigh!

It is good that I am not the driver now. If I were him, I cannot imagine how frustrated I would be.

Also, I still have another thing to be frustrated with.

I still have car sick!

Both of the headache and nausea are still there. Furthermore, my body is like a jelly. I do not even want to speak.

Mom looks at me with her worried eyes.

“Sela, how are you now?”

“I feel fatigued and… hungry.”

“It’s okay, Sela! We’ll have dinner at the airport.”

Dad speaks from the front seat.

“Yes, dad.”

I reply with hope. If I eat something, I will have the strength to fight against my condition now.

Bare with it! You’ll be okay!

Finally, we reach the airport and have dinner at a restaurant around there.

I am starving, but I do not have much appetite. Despite that, I try my best to eat the food until there is nothing left in the plate. On the other hand, I gain strength after drinking some coke. So strange!

“Have you got better? How is your headache?”

I slightly smile to mom.

“Yes, compare to before, I feel a lot better.”

After dinner, we take a lot of pictures as a family in the waiting place. Everyone is smiling, making me unable to stop thinking that if I were in a better condition, how cheerful I would be in this special day.

Speak of which, on Ka Heng’s departure day, everything was perfect. He was in a healthy state. His face was fulled of smile. He laughed with everybody. His family came to see him off, and after he departed, he still had other students accompanied him along the way. Moreover, his friends also saw him off.

I do not care whether I go alone or in a group. I cannot do anything about the university’s decision which chose only me to go abroad. Going alone is also a great experience for me.   

However…

Other than my family, no one comes to see me off…

Many cars and motorbikes come in and go out of the airport without a break in contrast to the sun, which has already left this place. What remains is me, whose neck maybe becomes longer because of looking for my friends.

Still, not even a single one of them has come.

I close my eyes and let out a big sigh.

Whatever! There’s no need to wait for them! You’re not even a closed friend of theirs! You didn’t even ask them to see you off! And they also have their own work to do! Why the hell do they need to think about you?! You’re the one who goes on the plane! Not them!

You’re not important in their lives!

And they’re also not important in your life!

All of you are just friends who got to know each other by studying at the same school! They were kind and you were a hard-working student back then, so we were bond by benefit! Now that we’ve already got what we wanted, we have no reason to meet each other again!

So DON’T be upset! And DON’T expect anything from them!

“Sela, it’s time for check-in.”

Dad tells me while looking at the screen in the waiting place. My brothers help me bring the luggages and we all walk to the building.

Are they… really not going to come?

I stand in front of the building, hesitating to take another step. I cannot take my eyes off the road in the airport. My chest is so tight that I almost cannot bare it.

“Go! Sela. Don’t be late!”

But… my friends… they haven’t come yet!

Hurry up, Ravy, Nimol, everyone! Please come here quick! I’m going now!

Please, I’m begging you!

“Go, Sela! Go!”

Dad keeps telling me. I have no choice but to go into the building.

In the end, on one comes…

I knew it.

I go for check-in with my mind floating around.

It’s okay. Having someone see you off is not that amazing. Also, my whole family came! Be grateful!

I walk to the escalator to the 2nd floor.

After this escalator, I’ll lose my chance to meet you all!

Suddenly…

The front wall of the building is made of transparent glass. Through the glass, I can see some hands floating in the air.

Ravy, Nimol, and some of my high school friends have come!

Yessssss!

Eh?! Wait? Can I still go out of the building after check-in? I heard that it is okay, but is it true? I do not want to do anything stupid or I will get into trouble!

“Excuse me, after check-in, can go out a bit?”

“Yes, it’s okay. But after you go to the second floor, you can’t go back.”

I thank to the staff and run to the outside promptly. Even though I have headache now, I cannot help but smile to my friends.

Thank you so much for coming here! Thank you!

“Holy shit, Sela! Why did you go inside so fast?”

I answer carefully to Nimol because dad is still standing there.

“Ahahaha… because it’s time for check-in. It’s my first time going on a plane. I can’t help but worry that I’m gonna be late.”

“Come on, come on! Let’s take pictures together!”

We follow Ravy’s suggestion and stand next to each other, having my third brother taken pictures of us.

Ravy, standing next to me, holds my right arm with her both hands. It is a pleasant surprise to me and also a slap in the face.

After that incident, did her perspective about me really not change? Even though she said that she had forgot about it or that she did not care, I cannot believe it. I mean I betrayed her! How can she forgive me that easily? But if she has not forgiven me, how can she hold my arm as normal?

I am glad that she still treats me as if nothing happened, but I do not deserve it.

Nevertheless, I swallow this thought and show my last smile in my home country to the camera.

“Kla, when you come back from Japan, don’t forget to buy me a Japanese toy. You got that?”

Nimol speaks in straight face, but I know what she means.

Please don’t say the word “Japanese toy” to me in front of my parents, Nimol!

“Ahahaha! I know! I know! But you have to send me your money to have me bought it! I won’t buy it for you for free!”

I hope my parents do not understand what we are talking about.

“Well, I’m off!”

“Bye! Bye!”

“Bye!”

We wave at each other for the last time. Suddenly, I remember that I did not do one thing which I have always wanted to do for long time because I have never done that ever since I entered junior high school.

I want to hug dad.

But it is so embarrassing! How am I going to do that?!

We will not meet each other for a while. I should not let the embarrassment to take over me, right?

So just do it!!!

“Dad!”

“Oh! Hahaha!”

I hug dad tightly, trying to remember this feeling. I do not know what kind of faces my family and friends are making right now because I have already closed my eyes. It is embarrassing, just as I thought. But the thing is…

I will not regret for what I did today!

End of Part 1

To be continued