Hi, just a short story. Well came out longer than I expected. It's not based on romance like most stories so pls don't expect anything sizzling scenes.. :D --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Damn!” Komal cursed to herself as she tried to lift her carry on luggage into the luggage compartment of the plane. It was too high for her and being 5 feet zero, couldn’t lift her small but HEAVY suitcase up. Usually if the carry on luggage wasn’t too heavy, she had always managed to put it in the compartment by either pushing it in while tiptoeing or standing on the seat. “I knew I should have taken some of the gundruk out!” She cursed herself for being so greedy. But, couldn’t help it as like other Nepalese when going home, try to come back filling their luggages with all the delicious Nepali goodies and cheap products that are hard to find or even don’t exist overseas. “Talk about greediness in human nature…I am a prime example of it…chyaaa! Well, serves me right.” It was February, and the Boeing was getting ready to fly to BKK from KTM. And there she was, standing in the aisle, obstructing other passengers from moving towards the front area of the plane. Most of the passengers trying to find their seats in the area where Komal was, mainly consisted of Nepalese laborers going overseas to Malaysia for work. They walked over her suitcase while some of them watched her trying to lift the suitcase. No one even bothered to offered to help Komal. In turn, she didn’t feel like asking anyone around her for help. To her, they all seemed short and skinny and thought they couldn’t reach the luggage compartment or lift the heavy suitcase. Pissed, she lifted the suitcase on her seat while looking for a tall guy who might be able to help her put up the suitcase. Before, she could get hold of one, two guys appeared out of nowhere and tried to push their way in the row where her seat was. One thing that always ticked Komal off was when people pushed. Fuming, she yelled at them. “Aay dai! Bhitra jaani agardi malai help garnus yo suitcase sanga. Natrai bhaiye bhitra jaana garo huncha hai.” The guys stopped pushing and stood staring at her as if she had just told him that she was going to shoot them. Komal stood firmly in front of the aisle seat…blocking their seats inside. She wasn’t going to let these fellas in unless they helped her put her suitcase in the luggage compartment. Though they were medium height like others, Komal was tired of trying to find a tall fellow passenger, and the air stewards were not to be seen anywhere in her section of the plane. She pointed her suitcase at one of the guys and asked him to help her put it up. Giving her a blank look, it finally dawned on him what she was trying to say and probably thought the only way he was going to be able to sit in his seat was to do what she said. Knowing it was heavy, she helped him lift her suitcase up into the compartment. Woohoo! That wasn’t too hard was it? Feeling happy and generous, she even helped the guys put up their bags, and finally moved out into the aisle and let those two guys in to their seats. After seating and making herself comfortable, Komal clicked on her seat belts all ready to go. There were still several passengers walking around the plane looking for their seats. Many couldn’t read the seating numbers which were labeled in English. Since there a large number of these “lost” passengers, the Thai air stewards and stewardesses were not able to help all of them in time. Near her seat, Komal saw one guy standing looking quite agitated. Finding nothing to do at the moment, she decided to become an air hostess herself..well, atleast for the preflight stage. “Dai, what is your seat number?” He showed her his boarding pass. It said row 60. “Ay, tapai ko ta pachardi chaa” “Kata?” “Utta” she pointed him to a row behind hers. Without thanking her, he went to find his seat. “Didi, mero kata cha?” another person asked Komal. She unbuckled her seatbelt and placed her on the seat so she could see the seat numbers properly. Plus, it was easy to move around in the seat. “Tapai ko utta ho” None of them said ‘thank you’. But, Komal didn’t mind. She was having too much fun pointing out seats to the ‘lost’ passengers. Being an air hostess wasn’t bad at all! A few rows behind, a boy of 10 was being seated in the seat by his father who had a seat in a different row from his son. The boy’s seat was also next to those passengers on their way to Malaysia. After his father left, the boy, buckled his seatbelt and reached out his hands to his fellow seat partners. “Mero naam Ashok ho. Tapai haru ko naam ke ho?” At first, not knowing what to say, they finally muttered their names to him after few seconds. He took their hands and shook it. “Tapai haru katta jaana laaunu bhaako?” Komal smiled to herself looking at the bubbly kid. At first, she was shocked and amused as she had never seen a young Nepalese kid showing interest and courtesy to those who were in the economically lower class of Nepalese society. Most kids would have settled themselves in their seats…probably ignoring their fellow seat passengers or given one small introductory smile through out the journey. From his frank behavior, she analyzed him to have lived abroad..after all, which Nepalese kid actually shakes a stranger’s hand and introduces himself? “Please remain in your seats and fasten your seatbelts. We are ready to take off.” Komal turned around and sat on her seat. She clicked on her seatbelts for the second time. The guys next to her were staring at her again. She reached over and clicked on their seat belts. “Hamlai kehi thachaina. Hamro pailo paatak ho plane ma.” One of them told her a with a half embarrassed and half friendly smile. “Thika chai. Malai sodhey paani huncha kehi thaha napaye pachi.” She smiled back at him. The journey from then onward was different from any that Komal had experienced. It was the one and only time she ever got to be an air hostess..even if it was dealing with only two passengers. She taught her fellow seat partners how to put on the ear protection cover on the head phones, ordered their meals as they didn’t know what to order, showed which utensil to use for what food and helped look for the sugar and creamer sachets to put in their tea. Life was certainly interesting. Komal sighed as she thought about going back to the States where life was monotonous….work..home..work..home..and more work! She always knew she enjoyed helping people who were less fortunate than her, and had always wanted to do something in her life to help those who were in need. Donating money to charity didn’t count. But, as usual, she couldn’t manage herself to quit her job and fly off to Nepal to join a charity organization. Security was important in her life as the world today mainly dealt with money to survive. Suddenly remembering the boy earlier in the preflight, she looked backed at the row behind her. The kid was busy teaching his new ‘friends’ the difference between the sugar and the salt satchet. Komal felt like going up to him and giving him a big fat kiss right on his chubby cheeks, but had a second thought about it. Finally, after three hours, the Boeing landed in BKK airport. As the plane was taxing towards the terminal, Komal jumped out of her seat. “Dai, mero suitcase taala liyadnus na.”