Belles chances !

by Nicole Nhira (France)

A leap into the unknown Luxembourg

The sky full of tumultuous ,dark ragged clouds meant that a rough drive to Toulouse Blagnac awaited us.Jowad warmly welcomed my sister and I into his car .“Get into the front seat, I'm not a taxi " he joked .The progression of the conversation led to the revelation that Jo-wad was Moroccan,the serenity that settled within me , knowing that I was safe in the company of an African brother allowed me to freely engage in the discussions . Sadly the journey soon ended,however ,the long anxious wait for the flight to Luxembourg occupied my unsettled mind. The flight time was short contrary to what I was hoping for, I knew the challenge that lay ahead after landing would be burdensome . Having budgeted only for the plane tickets and communal transport, the plan was to sleep at the airport for the two nights i would spend in luxembourg. Unbeknown to me the petit Findel airport closed at midnight . Faced with this new dilemma ,the heavily sleep sedated eyes refused to give in to darkness until the twelve am announcement would decide our fate. The intercom announced the closing of the airport and advised people to begin vacating the premises, I on the contrary remained deeply rooted in my seat waiting until the last moment just so I could savour the few remaining seconds of warmth before having to brace the cold winter night on the unstable steel made benches just outside the airport. As the patrolling security guard approached us, my heartbeat accelerated due to the rapidly mounting anticipation "You speak Portuguese or French”he asks.``No English only”I murmured ,I then went on to explain my situation to him in English and he politely asked to see my return ticket. Upon presenting it to him he further inquired ,”are you staying here for two nights?” “No ,I'm only here for the night”I smoothly lied. “Okay” he doubtfully agreed. The language barrier evidently saved me as the luxembourgeoisie guard did not comprehend what I was saying. Tossing and turning into the early morning was the result of spending the night on the couch in the dead silence of the airport ,an uncomfortable luxury it was. With only one already occupied charging socket on the entire first floor of the airport, I had to rely on the locals in order to give me directions to the institute that was expecting me for a test . As I boarded onto the bus with my money in hand , “Pas ici” (not here)the conductor jovially said ,I then got onto the bus free of charge and during each transfer the same phrase was repeated . It was only later on during the day that I realised that communal transport was declared free 3 days prior to my arrival! I finally located the institute just before my exam start time. I wished the test lasted longer because I knew the uncertainties of what followed were more overwhelming than the test itself. I then proceeded to ask a local from the institute ,if she knew of any extremely cheap accommodation nearby.“ I have 3 empty bedrooms !” she emphasized. The sudden relief I felt released all the heavy weight I was burdened with. The cancellation of the flight meant that we had to stay 4 more nights, the stress and anxiety began to mount up again,not wanting to overstay our welcome ,my sister and I decided to go back to the airport and try our luck. However,the warmhearted Cameroonian lady insisted that we stay with her and her twins until our departure date and that is how I spent the entire week in Luxembourg without having paid for accommodation and food! I'm grateful to the guard who unbeknownst saved two girls from spending the night in the cold, to Jowad who kindly adapted his departure time to fit into our schedule ,a heartfelt appreciation to Geezman the mama Africa who sheltered and fed two twins like her own children. The greatest lesson I learnt during the trip is that life is like the pattern of our heartbeat,a series of short lived ups and downs which allow us to remain afloat.