Part 1: Sprinting to the airport |
| All the seats by the window were taken, so I had no choice but to settle for a middle seat. |
I thought I wouldn’t make it to the airport on
time. At 3:45 PM, I was still on the MRT, wishing that it was a bullet train I
was riding on. This is bad. My flight is at 6 pm!
At 4 pm, I was still at the station, trying to
hail a cab to NAIA Terminal 3, but getting refused every time.
Damn Manila traffic.
I had to use my last resort: Grab Car. With a bit
of hesitation, I pulled out my phone, clutched it tight in my hand—lest someone
would snatch it—and ran a booking. At that point, I didn’t mind paying a higher
amount, which was brought about by the price surge, just to catch my flight. While in the
car, crazy thoughts were running in my head.
What if I
don’t make it on time? Shall I book another flight? Shall I just stay in Manila
and feel sorry for myself for a flopped trip? Shall I go somewhere else and just forget about all the plans I laid out, the paid reservation at the hotel, and all the crazy stuff I should be doing in Davao City?
Then my optimistic side toppled the pessimism. I will make it.
I arrived at the departure area a few minutes
before 5. After getting through the X-ray machine and having my bags checked, I
went straight to the self service check-in machine, half-walking, half-running
and panting the whole time.
A beautiful Cebu Pacific personnel assisted me
along the check-in process and in less than a minute, I got my boarding pass. I
was then told to go straight to Gate 116, as boarding time was 5:15 pm.
Whew, thank God I made it. Now, I wait.
