Terminal 3

Dalia was drama, and Jess loved every bit of it. Their friendship began on the playground in elementary school when Dalia offered Jess the remains of her veggie snacks at recess. Dalia was picky about who she let touch her food. She had a tube of hand sanitizer attached to her backpack and used it religiously. Jess took a carrot out of the container, but it slipped through her fingers and fell onto the concrete. She bent over to pick it up, blew on it, and ate it. Dalia immediately squirted a dollop of sanitizer into her palm. They had been inseparable ever since.

“Do you remember that night?” Dalia said.

“Which night?” Jess replied curiously.

“You know… that night?”

“Oh, of course I do. You couldn’t stop laughing.”

Dalia’s hands lifted over her face as a snort accompanied her laughter. The silent airport filled with the sound of her cackle, catching the attention of families busily heading towards their flights.

“You were being funny!”

“You’re right, I was being funny,” Jess said, fitting her sweet but narcissistic nature.

“We almost got arrested!”

“Oh come on, Dal. That cop just wanted to scare us.”

“Well, I’m lucky you’re a smooth talker. I don’t know how I’d tell my parents that I ended up in the drunk tank or even prison for public urination!”

Jess shook her head at the exaggeration. Dalia’s petite smile stretched wide enough to send a warm breeze over the winter air that snuck in through the opening and closing automatic doors. Even in December, her eyes still looked like October. Jess studied Dalia’s hair, looking into the black tangled curls that caressed her face. Jess’s freshly painted fingernails anxiously wrapped around the strap of her suitcase. Her family waited by the terminal entrance, watching the two girls in awe of the forever childhood best friends, leaving each other for the first time.

“I’ll call every Saturday,” Jess said, bringing a level of seriousness to the conversation.

“Hmm, that’s not good enough.”

“Okay, how about every Tuesday and Saturday?”

“Hmm, I think I might need to hear from you every day. Who else is going to listen to me talk about my day?”

“Dal, nothing eventful ever happens in your day.”

“That’s not true! Just yesterday some guy was staring at me at the gas station. I thought I was going to get murdered.”

“Well, thank God you didn’t,” Jess said mid-giggle.

Jess’s smile was sleek and cute at the same time. It would be months before Dalia would see it again. Jess would spend four long months alone in a foreign place that she hoped to call home. She’d read at the library, explore museums, and visit her family while speaking the remains of Mandarin that she remembered.

Dalia loved the winter; her nose would be pinched red in the icy wind back in their hometown. She’d sit by the window, drinking a hot chocolate, watching the snowflakes fall one by one. By the time Jess returned, it would be summer again, and Dalia’s nose would be her regular skin tone.

“Don’t forget about me while you’re there.”

“I would never.”

“I want to hear about everything. The boys, the fashion, the wild adventures. Please, please, please spare no details.”

“Dal, I will tell you everything, okay?”

“Okay.”

All passengers flying to Taipei City, please make your way to Gate 32B. Boarding will begin shortly.

“Dal, I still have to say bye to my family. My nai nai is waiting.”

“One more minute? Please.”

“Okay, fine. One more minute.”

Jess grabbed Dalia’s back and pulled her in tightly. She squeezed every bit of her, hoping to carry her scent onto the plane.

“I’m scared, Dal,” Jess whispered into Dalia’s pierced ear. The twinkling of her diamond earring shone straight into Jess’s hazel eyes. Dalia’s hair smelt like her classic Moroccan oil shampoo, the one she used every day. It was the only shampoo that didn’t make her hair frizz. Jess knew the smell inside out.

“I know Jess. I’ll be waiting right here when you get back.”

“I love you. You know that, right?”

“I love you too Jess.”

“No Dal, more than that.”

“I know Jess… but we can’t in front of your family.”

“I know… but I want to.”

“Let’s save this talk for when you get back.”

Dalia pulled away, but left her fingers still interlocked with Jess’s. Jess stared at Dalia. Her looks were just as big of an exaggeration as her personality. Jess imagined ripping off her tight pink shirt and throwing her into the airport bathroom, kissing slowly down her neck until her lips reached Dalia’s thighs. Jess’s straight black hair would intertwine with Dalia’s curls, and their smooth skin would melt into each other like a hot summer’s day. But instead, she gripped her hand as tight as she could. The airport voice called again, louder than it should have.

“Goodbye, Dal.”

Jess let go of Dalia’s hand, leaving it white from the intense squeezing of her skin. Jess gave one last hug to her family, who were waiting patiently by the entrance. Dalia joined Jess’s family, as they all watched her enter the airport gates, rolling her suitcase further and further away. Each step grew harder, with pain soaring through her legs as she forced herself to keep walking. And just like that, she vanished into the crowd, with words unspoken and only a faint scent to hold on to.

Dalia’s cheek was coated in tears and crusted makeup, but she wiped it away as best as she could. The family exited Terminal 3 and made their way back to the mundane and now lonely streets of their hometown.

“Such good friends you two are. Don’t worry, she will be back before you know it,” Nai Nai said to Dalia.

“Yes, such good friends,” Dalia said as she lowered her head and watched the airport drift into a memory.