Member-only story
Seat 23B. Dead Silence and a Confession
(My personal journey)
I was returning home after a short winter holiday that I had spent in Switzerland, and that trip had passed quietly and without anything unusual, I had been on Mont Blanc, skiing, breathing the cold air and trying to distract myself a little from work and all the constant responsibilities that accompany my days, and when it all ended, I arrived at the Geneva airport to fly first to Istanbul and only the next day to Chisinau, where I had my connecting flight, because there were no direct routes at that time and people had to fly through such complicated itineraries.
I arrived early, as I usually do before any flight, because I like to go through check in calmly, drop off my luggage, drink a coffee and sit for a while by the window, but the moment I stepped inside the airport building I immediately felt a tension that is difficult to describe with words, because it is not something the mind registers, it is something felt by an inner sense, and after only a couple of minutes it became clear that something was happening, because part of the area was blocked off, people were being directed away, airport staff were speaking through radios, and the air felt as if everyone was waiting for an announcement of an emergency.
Later I found out that someone had left a bag unattended, and the owner did not appear…
