The best place to work?

The hall was flooded with anxious people. Thousands of them. Desperate and impatient. All their attention focussed on the same place. A young pretty girl stood in the middle of the tall crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of the front. 'Thank god i wore heels today,' she thought. A bright red rose peeked out of the side of her black handbag. Beside her was a middle aged woman. She was carrying a 4 year old girl in her left hand, who was trying to free herself from her mother's hold. An 8 year old son stood holding the lady's right hand, desperate to know whats happening beyond the crowd. 'You shall see pretty soon, my dear,' she whispered, stroking his soft hair. An old couple stood in the front row, holding on to the rails. They glanced at each other for a moment. It mirrored an excitement that they had never experienced before. A tall guy stood behind the crowd of people, continuously adjusting his recently coloured hair. In a futile attempt to control his restlessnes, he kept juggling his car key. He had already dropped it thrice.


Finally, the long awaited moment arrived. The status on the display board changed. An unrehearsed, yet perfectly synchronised sigh echoed though the crowd. One-by-one, people walked in from inside, towards the crowd. Each one of them happy, excited and equally anxious. A young gentleman, dressed in casual jeans and t-shirt walked out in swift, long steps. His eyes immediately recognised the fair, tender hands that waved out to him. He dashed straight towards the young girl, gave her a warm, tight hug and slipped a bag labelled 'Swarovski' into her hands. He watched her cheeks turn pink and then kissed her gently. The young man then picked the bright red rose from her handbag and said, 'You forgot to give me this!' She blushed, once again. They melted into each other and forgot about the world around them. Another middle aged man walked out. The 4 year old kid waved out to her father and sprang from her mother's arms. The gentleman took her by his arms, and bent down to kiss the boy, who was still holding on to his mother, meddling her sari's end. The man then looked up at his wife and asked, 'How are you?' She was tongue tied with happiness and gave him a shy, relieved smile.


A couple walked out next, lead by their twin sons. The boys took no time in recognising their grandparents and raced towards them. They were not surprised to find grandpa confuse their names! A small tear of joy trickled down grandma's wrinkled face as she tried to lift one of the twins. Grandpa gave a welcome pat on his son's back and welcomed his daughter-in-law with a smile. Suddenly from behind them shouted a voice, 'Daaaaiiii machaaan!!' A dark and handsome young guy waved out to the tall man in the crowd. Soon they were punching into the other's tummy and teasing each other's new looks. And thus, the whole place was filled with greetings, smiles, hugs and kisses. A few metres away, stood a man in uniform. He was holding a mop in his hand and beside him was a bucket of soap water. He looked at the crowd of happy and satisfied people and said to himself, 'Mopping the arrival hall is so much more fun than the departure hall.' He smiled to himself, adjusted his 'international airport staff' tag and continued his work.