Chapter 23: Goodbyes and Goodlucks!

I accept that I was so excited about my big move to Toronto. But as the days passed, I begin to realize one thing, one most important thing! I'm going to travel to an other part of the world, a part which lies in the extreme end of this world, which means that I could not meet or be with my family and my most beloved friends for at least an year. One year is a very long time. I must travel across a winter, summer, spring and an autumn to meet my family and friends again. This thought haunted me for days. I spent some sleepless nights. The travel excitement slowly faded away and I felt a restlessness throughout the week. My final week in India taught me few lessons which I wouldn't have learned, if not for this travel.

On a rainy afternoon, I got a call from my friend. The phone call made it obvious that she was in some kind of a dilemma and she wanted to talk to me about that. After an hour or so we were sitting in a coffee shop which was inside a nice big mall. We talked and talked a lot, we shared our problems, we had a nice lunch, we shopped, we walked a lot and we finished the day with a nice and long bike ride in the rain. That day was certainly, one of the best days of my life. Later that night, I got an update of a new post in her blog. When I checked out, I was so happy to find out some happy words about the day and the bike ride. I realized that how much she means to me and certainly she means a lot more to me than I think!

Somewhere in the middle of the week, I was sitting and watching some comedy show when I heard the calling bell sound. I opened the door to find a courier delivery for my name. A courier? For me? I swear that was the weirdest thing ever happened. I never, ever got a courier or a parcel. The address read one of my college mate's name, who also happened to be my close friend. I was so curious and I opened it with my sister to find a huge surprise! Lots and lots of gifts! Parting gifts! I can't explain the feeling in words. A book of my most beloved author, a cute coffee cup, a beautiful time piece, a pure white sand clock and my most favourite chocolate bars. I was even more surprised when I learnt that she had already discussed about the plan with my sister and got my home address from her. No one had ever did that to me. It takes at least some amount of affection to make this effort, an effort to make me understand that how much I mean to her and I know that I mean a lot more to her than I think!

It was a cold night, the night before my travel. Everything was set, bags were packed and it was the last night in India, in my home, with my sister, with my mom and dad. It was midnight when I finished all of the packing work.
My sister came near me and said "Today is the last day, right?"
"Yeah"
"Hereafter, I must have to watch 'The Mentalist' and 'The Big Bang Theory' all by myself, right?" by saying this she hugged me and started crying. Those words were strong! Simply strong! I was on the verge of crying, but I had to control. I should be strong, or else it would create an impact. I have to show that I'm happy and excited about the travel. At least that would convince my family. I convinced my sister and that moment made me realize how much my sister means to me and how much she loves me. Certainly, we fight a lot, we do use swear words when we fight, but that's what makes the bond strong. I'll never give up on my sister and I'm sure she would never give me up.

I still had two hours left. My uncle and aunt, my close college buddies Ram and Srivatsan helped me a lot in my final stages of packing and we at last we called a cab and I was all set to for my big travel. Half-an hour later we were standing near the 'Departure Gates' of Chennai International Airport. We accompanied my other two friends who were coming with me to Toronto and their family. Lots of my friends and relatives were present that day to bid me goodbye. I never expected that number. I was so surprised to see my mom handling it pretty well. I thought she would be so upset. My dad was so normal as usual, even he's upset he would never showcase that. That's what dads do right? My sister was so happy for my next big step. The tears and hugs made her strong. Inspite of all the tips, advice, ideas, phone calls, kisses, hugs, I managed to share some time with my friends. After few hours, there came the final boarding announcement. There were 'Goodbyes and Goodlucks' everywhere around the place. Goodbyes, waving hands, my friends, relatives, mom, dad and my sister began to disappear as I stepped into the immigration center. After finishing all the formalities I was waiting for the announcement for my flight. That's when I got a message from my sister which said "Mom is crying!"
That's what mom's do right? Act strong before us! I then called again and convinced her while I got another message from my friend with whom I had that unforgettable bike ride. It said "I'm gonna miss you a lot!"

Finally, after a very long wait, there came an announcement for the passengers, asking us to board into the flight. Out of all the confusions and worries I totally forgot that that was my first flight experience. It was much more similar to a first class train and I was lucky to have a window seat. I was told to switch off the mobile phone and exactly ten minutes after that announcement the flight took off with a great speed. The big buildings, small houses and streets were moving away from my sight. Slowly I was moving away from my city. I looked down as far as I could. Things started to fade away. After a minute or two everything just went blank and as the flight drifted through the night sky, small drops of tear started to run through my cheeks. That tear meant everything, everything I ever said and somethings which I never said!

My Window Seat in the flight!